I hate the name. Hate it! It reminds me of Chennai trains from a decade ago, with their supposedly first class, roach infested carriages. Let me just clarify, the restaurant itself does not look or feel anything like that. It's just the name. If you've been on a Chennai train you'll understand why. The guy that comes on, like a drone, speaking at the speed of light 'rotirotichaichaicarpeecarpeerotirotirotivadaivadaivadaichaichaichaichaicarpeeee'. That being said, considering Roti Chai is based on the cleanest Indian street kitchens...that I've never seen, I think the impression that the name projects just might be intentional.
Depending on what you're in the mood for, the decor and atmosphere of both the upstairs and downstairs is well done. Upstairs does feel like a spotless version of Indian canteens, while downstairs has the same quality of food but feels markedly more special - as it should, with distinctly un-Indian street kitchen prices.
For me, the food started strong; the Aloo Tikki Chaat and the Palak Papri Chaat were delicious. The potato cakes and wheat crisps, respectively were not overpowered by either the sauce in the former or the yoghurt in the latter. The T-Rexes around me ordered a colourful array of meat dishes; chicken 65 and pork ribs amongst others and they were more impressed than me with the food overall. For me, starters or 'street' is where it's at, as the food steadily declined in flavour, not presentation, after that. The Paneer Pasanda was battered, fried, stuffed and and made sure that my tongue felt exactly the same. The Tarka Dhal was a tad too runny albeit full of ghee goodness.
I ploughed on in order to satisfy the needs of my sweet...teeth by ordering a chocolate tart with cardamom infused cream. I forget the actual name of this dish, but it felt sub par to other chocolate tarts brought to me (and you) by those little known folk, the French.
The cream was the consistency of budget single cream when it should have been thicker. Runny cream, pointlessly infused with cardamom does not go well with tart; chocolate cake - yes, Christmas pudding - maybe, if custard isn't around, strawberries - hell yes, tart - take it away.
Fiance ordered the 'Payasam'. It wasn't Payasam. It was horrid and essentially generic Indian flavours, infused into custard which was served on the side of fruits...the kind of fruit selection you see served with ice cream at a kids party. If Roti Chai wants to serve fruits and custard, fine, feel free to do so...just don't pass it off as the wonderful pudding that it isn't.
Breathe. Rage over.
Price: Approximately £130 for a lot of beer, 6 x street dishes, 3 x main, 1 x side, 1 x rice, 2 x bread, 2 x coffee, 2 x dessert and service charge
Veggie Friendly: 2.5/5 (for Indian)
Food: 2.5/5
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
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