Chennai Dosa (Wembley)

529 High Road
Wembley HA0 2DH
020 8782 8822

Website

A delayed post on a trip to one of the outlets of this London chain of dosa joints. N was there before me this time! The place is a stone's throw away from the tube station. The restaurant was bigger than I expected with mirrors along the inside wall giving an illusion of even more space. N has already ordered a salt lassi when I got there. I ordered one too - the lassi was thin and decently spiced although still not the blend I really like. I dig the chaas they serve in Gujarati restaurants and I am guessing that the South Indian lassi is distinct from chaas.

About the food - we went to town - idlis, uthapam, and two dosas. The idlis were very good - soft, fluffy, with just the hint of tanginess from the fermented dough. The accompanying chutneys were all good - the coconut chutney in particular stood out. And the good news was that we could refill the sambhar and chutneys to our heart's content from a side table. Now that is more like it!

The star of the meal was undoubtedly the uthapam. N ordered one with a mixed vegetable topping. The uthapam was thick with just the right consistency - absolutely delicious. The dosas were ok - a bit oily we both thought. Yours truly is a glutton for punishment and ordered the podi dosa again and predictably could not finish because it was way too spicy to handle. N stuck to the traditional masala dosa and seemed to enjoy it although she was partial to the uthapam.

There was also a buffet lined up against a wall. There appeared to plenty of curries to choose from but N was less than impressed after peeking at the dishes on offer.

We finished off with Madras coffee which was served in the traditional steel tumblers. The entire bill was less than 20 quids, and we were stuffed to the gills. Excellent value for money. Our rating 3.5/5.