Chennai Dosa arrives in Cardiff as a fully-formed idea. With branches as far afield as Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Croydon, Leicester and more, the prospect of their take on Southern Indian meets Sri Lankan cooking might have a few local rivals worried.
Based on my two visits, they shouldn’t lose any sleep, at least not until some significant issues are addressed.
Service is very pleasant, but skittish- I am asked for my order within two minutes of arriving, despite the menu running to seven pages, excluding drinks, and if I’d like another beer when I am only a quarter-way through the pint in front of me.
Across both visits it’s a mixed bag. Literally: a misunderstanding means my food (as I order, I check if they do takeaway, so I can order plenty and take away any leftovers. Yes, they say, that will be no problem) arrives ready-boxed-and-bagged at my table. No matter. I eat it there and then.
Mushroom 65 should be hot and crisp. At first, I am told they are out of mushrooms- odd, I think, with Canton’s grocers (and even, at a stretch, Tesco) nearby. Minutes later, good news: they have some, after all.
Sadly I find myself wishing they had remained unfound. What arrives feels even more old and tired than I do: mushrooms which should be lightly battered, crisp and hot are lukewarm and spongy, with an oddly flaccid texture. They taste for all the world as if they were yesterday’s, reheated, though I’m sure that couldn’t be the case.
Mutton rolls do that ‘sag on first bite’ thing they are probe to when the mashed potato in the mix releases steam from within. (It’s a common issue: to know how it can be avoided, read this), although for only £2.50 they offer robust spicing.
On my return, mutton rolls are sold out, so Chicken 65 substitutes: this time the coating works much better, light and crisp, as does the Nethili fish fry’s whole anchovies in what seems to be the same batter.
Egg curry is thick and rich and dark with long-caramelised onions and promises much, but is oilier than that balding fortysomething middle-manager trying to impress the new temp at Friday drinks. (And if you’re thinking, ‘Wow, this would be an opportunity to see ‘unctuous’ used properly for once in a restaurant review- isn’t that exciting?’- then I can’t blame you.) That slick dominates, unfortunately, though it is rescued at home with kitchen roll and chapati. Gobi Manchurian, the comparatively recent innovation which has become an Indo-Chinese menu staple, has been overcooked into surrender. It delivers the expected aromatic sweet, hot and tangy: but texturally this is a let down, offering none of the hoped-for contrast of batter. It’s a shame.
Few things in life are as quietly life-affirming as a good biryani, are they? Unfortunately, this version, which feels less ‘true’ biryani, more ‘meat and rice’, feels muted and suffers by local comparison. I had, very recently, tried a truly memorable version for just a couple of pounds more: so if you want to see it done properly, in all its sumptuous subtlety, just head upstairs to the Tukka Tuk Street Food stall in Cardiff Market and tell Ebin I sent you. It’s a stark contrast.
Mutton curry is offered in a choice of spice levels: I ask for ‘home strength’, and it is a highlight, punchy with black pepper and clove while a competently-made parotta wears its layers well. Rice comes as an impressively huge portion of rice but it has been overcooked into submission: my dosa has been left cooling on the pass, so it is a little greasy and limp (supply your own punchline here, chaps) losing its delicate though its spiced mutton filling and sambar are satisfying enough.
You get the sense of a kitchen which, even during a quiet period, is struggling: that menu needs reducing by half, and soon. Ultimately, Chennai Dosa’s challenge will be to draw you in when the city offers hariyali kebab, achari and nihari from Lahore Kebabish, or Khyber’s mixed grill and haleem or spicy chicken naan, or the casual Keralan menu at the nearby Mattancherry.
Even if you’re the kind of poor benighted soul who thinks Grangetown starts and ends with ramen- your suggestions on a postcard as to why that might be, for a fun game- there are more direct comparisons to be found in City Road’s Ponnuswamy, Cathays’ Curry Hut or the class-defining Tukka Tuk Canteen.
There’s a choice to be made here, Cardiff. At the last, you’ll pay considerably more for your dinner: but you’ll eat food of consistent refinement and skill, of nuance and polish. Food which is the finished article: and ultimately, that will always count for more. Until some basics are taken care of here, you should file Chennai Dosa under ‘missed opportunity.’
348-352 Cowbridge Rd E, Cardiff CF5 1HE
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