By Lakshmi:

It was a rainy day in Gothenburg.  We had been walking for a long time in the rain, lost somewhere in the city.  The sole of my shoe had come undone and my feet were soaking wet and I was starving.  I wanted some good Indian food and we found Maharani which according to the staff at our hotel was one of the better Indian places in town.

For SEK 130, Siddhi and I had a set vegetarian lunch.  This included rice, dal, a paneer vegetable and an eggplant dish.  Additionally, we ordered a mango lassi and naan as well.  It might have been the rain, it could have been the hunger, it could have been the food, it might have been the ambience or it could have been all of the above…..but Maharani came though for me.

Eating Indian food in Sweden again was certainly not in our plans.  However, the following evening, a bunch of newly met friends invited us to a night out at Maharani.  This time we were guests of the owner Naem Chitaar and his lovely wife Annika.  It was an absolutely lovely evening with a really yummy multicourse meal, three appetizers, multiple vegetables and meat dishes, and the perfect finishing touch, two desserts.  The conversation among the dozen or so attendees spanned a plethora of topics from life in Sweden and vacations to education and the challenges of raising kids.  The people around the table were some of the loveliest people we met on our trip and their hospitality floored us.

Siddhi and I left the restaurant feeling enriched, not with just all the food that we had eaten, but the warmth of the people that enveloped us that night.

Maharani is located at

Första långgatan 4

413 03 Göteborg

Phone: 031-14 11 80

Tram Stop: Järntorget