It’s National Curry Week, so what better time than share with you, and only you, my favourite Indian and Sri-Lankan restaurants in Tooting, south London. If you want to find good curry in London, Tooting is the place to head to. But now I live in Paris, and yes, you can find good curry in Paris too.
Tooting is world famous for curry, along the stretch from Tooting Bec to Colliers Wood stations, you can get a flavour of all the regions of India.
Tooting Mama’s top Tooting curry picks
Dosa & Chutney
Dosa & Chutney – specialises in South Indian crispy pancakes, dosa, with a spicy potato filling. I love the mutton masala dosa. Ignore the orange décor and wall-to-wall mirrors and enjoy a great meal for under a tenner. They also do a kid’s dosa, which is Wonder Boy’s favourite, it comes with a selection of dipping curries, and puri (or the bubble as Super Girl calls it) again with a selection of dipping curries. At the weekend, Dosa & Chutney is filled with Asian families, it’s that good.
Address: 68 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RN
Tel: 020 8767 9200
Apollo Banana Leaf
Apollo Banana Leaf – when I first walked in here I was transported back to my granny’s kitchen in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Apollo serves great Sri Lankan food, which uses coconut as its base (bang on trend). Seafood is a Sri Lankan specialty – the crab curry is to die for. Try the hoppers, a Sri Lankan style pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk – just tear into pieces and dip into delicious curry sauces.
Address: 190 Tooting High St, London SW17 oSF
Tel:020 8696 1423
Sree Krishna
Sree Krishna – is another of my South Indian favourites – specialising in Keralan food. I love their vegetable dishes – green beans & coconut, beetroot and cabbage thoran. The food here has always been consistently good. We used Sree Krishna to cater for our kids’ adoption celebration party, our guests, were wowed by the food. But by the looks of it, this restaurant has now closed down.
Address: 192-194 Tooting High Street London SW17 0SF
Tel: 020 8672 4250
Lahore Karahi
Lahore Karahri – this is another personal favourite. Lahore specialises in Pakistani food. I love the lamb or the chicken methi, cooked with fenugreek leaves, which gives the curry its unique smokey flavour (delicious). Service is quick and efficient, very popular with families at the weekend, we love this place. This is a favourite of London’s new Mayor, Sadiq Khan.
Address: 1 Tooting High St, London SW17 0SN
Tel: 0208 767 2477
Where to find a good Indian restaurant in Paris
You might not expect it, but there are some really good Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants in Paris. The place to head to is La Chapelle, or Little India, just a five minute walk from Gare du Nord station. Curries in Paris are cooked to French tastes, expect them to be mild but full of flavour.
Dishny
Dishny one of the Paris’ oldest Indian restaurants it does a good selection of north and south Indian food. I can come here and have my favourite Sri Lankan treat, mutton rolls. If you can’t decide what to eat, a thali is a good option (a little bit of everything).
212, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, Paris 75010
Tel: +33 1 40 05 18 36
Krishna Bhavan
I love this place, there are actually about four Krishna Bhavans on this street, but they are all good. This is where I head to when I need my dosa fix. Krishna Bhavan is solely vegetarian which is great news for veggies; Paris isn’t the best place to dine out if you don’t eat meat.
21 and 24, Rue Cail Paris 75010
Tel +33 1 42 05 78 43
