There’s a blurb on the Raja food menu that states the Sydney eatery “draws its inspiration from the kaleidoscope of various cultures, people & stories that make India so special”. That statement sums up this vibrant eatery where everything – from the food to the drinks and decor – has a lot to do with the adventures of its owners Nick and Kirk Mathews-Bowden, who spent time in India on their travels.

Sydneysiders are grateful the couple also ventured to Istanbul, as Turkish cuisine is what underpins the menu at adjacent restaurant Ezra. At Raja, Kolkata-born head chef Ahana Dutt (ex-Taj Lands End/The Westin in Mumbai and Firedoor in Australia) has been tasked with the job of lifting the lid on regional Indian cuisine.

Raja is a royal Sanskrit title used for South Asian monarchs, some of whom appear in the framed photographic portraits that line the walls of the main dining room. The term Raja also appears in Urban Dictionary as “an amazingly cool, devilishly handsome guy who knows how to climb, surf and skate in style”. The latter describes a large chunk of the demographic of diners at Raja, which is humming with hip locals on this Friday night. The high-energy restaurant replete with poppy soundtrack seems to have cachet with second-and third-gen Indian Australians too.

Although the interiors were conceived by NYC-based interior designer Rosie Rainbow, it was Guru Projects who delivered the concept. The dining room appears to have borrowed bits from Bollywood and Wes Anderson’s film The Darjeeling Limited and leans full tilt into the colour, kitsch and carefully curated chaos. The venue, a restaurant since the 1960s, has been reimagined as Raja with an array of different alcoves that, together, mimic a big informal dinner party at a friend’s house in Mumbai.

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The hallucinatory decor includes two carved tiger chairs, a mahogany drinks counter painted with the words “Chai Walla”, art deco chandeliers and leopard-print upholstery. Kick off the party with a Jaipur gin fizz followed by a small heap of sashimi-grade albacore tuna served on a peppery sesame leaf with lemon jam, which is mild and sweet and balanced with fragrant curry leaves and a touch of spicy balchao (chilli mix). It’s lip-smackingly good.

There are only a few lagers on the drinks menu; the rest is devoted to some 150 wines from around the world such as the 2021 Philippe Balivet Bugey Cerdo which sommelier Ella Stening poetically describes as “a sommelier’s secret crush”.

The tables inside the 90-seater restaurant quickly fill and diners spill into the leafy terrace. We move onto the dosa, a rice and lentil crepe we use to fold and dredge through coconut sambal and ghee, which we needed more of to duly complete the task. Next came the goat riblets, which fell off the bone and had the promised hit of heat from the habanero sauce. The Spanish mackerel malaikari was the dish of the day: poached to a slippery velvety texture and finished in a puddle of coconut sauce and turmeric oil that amplified its delicate flavour. A cos salad with curry leaf and pistachio was a textural triumph.

Bouncing between Raja and Ezra is like taking a magic carpet ride from India to Istanbul. It’s Sydney’s best new big-night-out restaurant and it’s found its niche in the back streets of Potts Point.

Related review: This Potts Point eatery puts a refined twist on Turkish cuisine