Chettinad

16 Percy Street, W1T 1DT
020 3556 1229


www.chettinadrestaurant.com

The journey that the dosa makes from its community heartlands to the city centre appears to be a tricky one. After Tooting, Wembley and East Ham, we headed off to Percy Street (near Tottenham Court Road) where Chettinad, a relatively new South Indian restaurant, had caught our eye.

Like its next-door neighbour, Sagar, Chettinad offers a 'box lunch' that appeared popular (NB, with some Indians amongst the clientele). But we stuck to our guns and went firmly for dosas. The menu was moreover intriguing. It included Chicken Dosas, Lamb Dosas and Prawn Dosas side by side with the regular Masala and Rava.

N went for the Prawn Dosa, but was slightly downcast to find just three prawns embedded in the potato/veg filling. Though the filling as a whole was nicely spiced, the dosa had a less attractive leathery quality that might have meant it had sat around before being served. Our companion J however was happy with his Mysore Masala Dosa. But V who had struck out and gone for Onion Chilli Uttapam felt it lacked character and was sadly bland.

We liked the place. It's pleasantly appointed and the service was friendly although a bit slow. But our bill (including coffee, aviyal and one beer) came to £47.19 and made us long for the homely simplicities of Wembley. 5/10.

Dosa n Chutny

66-68 Tooting High Street London SW17 0RN
020 8767 9200

Website


I arrived a few minutes before the appointed hour at this small, unpretentious eatery tucked away in the middle of busy Tooting High Street. It is a very short walk from Tooting Broadway tube. N arrived shortly afterwards - she had actually gotten here early but had been out perusing Indian groceries in shops further long the high street.

I settled on idli and a masala dosa. N went for a Mysore masala dosa and a mixed uthapam. The idli first - just about ok - soft but not fluffy, in fact a tad undercooked in the sense that there were moist bits inside. N's Mysore masala dosa was frankly a disappointment - cold and soggy. The accompanying sambhar was spicy but average in flavor. I liked the coconut chutney which had a nice chewy texture and fresh taste. N did like the reddish stuffing in her dosa - pureed potatoes and carrots spiced with green chilis, mustard seeds, and urad dal (lentil).

My dosa was better. It was warm and flavorful. N's uthapam was loaded with toppings and was decent. We finished with coffee in cute steel cups. Service was attentive.

I would go with a 3 out of 5; N who was put out by her sad Mysore masala dosa is inclined towards a 2.5 out of 5.

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.

Vasanta Bhavan (East Ham)

206 High Street North
East Ham, E62JA
020 847 58986

Website


Agreed to meet N at 1pm to kick off the dosa hunt. I showed up just after 1pm. It is a small place with only a handful of tables. It was lunch hour and there were a number of clients, all appeared to be South Indians - promising. While waiting for N, I ordered a plate of iddlis (which I can never resist) and a salt lassi. The idlis were good, spongy and soft. The chutneys and sambhar were ok although the quantities were annoyingly small. I did not check if I could get a free refill although I suspect that I could if I had asked. The salt lassi was poor - thick and bland. I prefer mine thinner, and bursting with flavors from roasted cumin or mustard seeds, curry leaves, pepper and salt.

A half hour later and no sign of N. I decided to go ahead and order the dosa. Settled for a podi dosa - never had that before and had no idea what to expect. Turns out that podi is good old gunpowder as we used to call it back home in India - a delicious and fiendishly hot concoction of crushed and fried lentils, red chillies, salt, and possibly other ingredients. It is usually served on the side with hot ghee but the podi dosa takes it one step forward - the dosa comes smeared on the inside with this crunchy and spicy mix. The dosa was decent, importantly not greasy, and the podi was yummy but way too hot for me. I had to give up about half way through.

East Ham is a bit of a trek if you are not in or around that part of East London. The restaurant is a few minutes walk from the tube and very accessible. I will give the place 3/5 - food was decent but not outstanding and the lassi was totally ho-hum. The food was great value for money though with the dosas on the menu being under 3 quids each!

p.s. The mystery of the missing N was cleared up a few hours later - she had her dates mixed up. She was suitably mortified and will no doubt make it to all our future dosa hunts on time!