15 High Street, Cardiff
02920 399 399 / chaistreet.com
Chai Street On the High Street describes itself as bringing “the best of Indian city food to Cardiff for a taste on the go”. It’s an audacious claim, but its opening night on 22/11 lived up to the all of the expectations of the best Indian food complete with and tasty gulab juman.
It’s a sister restaurant of Chai Street on Cowbridge Road East, whose reputation is already well known. It serves Indian food and street snacks and was created by the team behind the multi-award winning Mint and Mustard group.
Classic Bollywood posters in Hindi and pop art adorn the walls for a contemporary yet warm feel. The menu reaches that beautiful mid-point at that blends tastes from different parts of the Indian subcontinent perfectly in a way many others can only dream of. For example, you can order chole bhatura, a Punjabi dish, alongside classics such thalis, popular in South India.
The chicken lollipops, chicken wings marinated in ginger, spices and garlic were particularly tasty and all of the bread (naan, roti, puri, paratha) is made freshly to order. For a main dish, we had the vegetable curry which was deep in flavour and wonderfully fresh tasting. We also had the spicy chicken curry special with beautifully jeweled basmati rice with accompaniments of naan and raita.
There are a number of South Asian restaurants in Cardiff, but none perhaps quite like Chai street. It’s an oasis of samosas and dum biriyanis in the humdrum of the city centre. It stands out from the mundane and every-day Indian restaurant in quality, taste, affordability and dare I say even authenticity.
words YASMIN BEGUM