Found in the heart of Newcastle, Khai Khai is an Indian restaurant that takes cooking back to its roots. The focus here is Indian comfort food, delving into the country's rich, cultural heritage and distinctive, regional dishes that have been cooked with fire and smoke.
A neutral dining room provides a welcoming warmth, a foliage-filled backdrop where you can easily while away a couple of hours over excellent food. Plush leather seating is dotted around the room, offering several cosy booths as well as a couple of bar stools for those wanting to be right in the heart of the action. It's simple, yet elegant, a moodily-lit spot that is perfect for all-occasions dining.
Dishes here are prepared over hot stones, coals and wood fires, using traditional cooking techniques with dishes prepared in the josper or tandoor ovens. It’s a simple technique, but one that has stood the test of time. Chef’s here are highly skilled, manipulating the heat and flames to intensify flavours and ensure the perfect level of smokiness with each plate.
Menus here showcase local, seasonal produce, that keep with its ethos of provenance and sustainability. There’s also an extensive selection of plant-based dishes, ensuring that Khai Khai caters for plenty of dietary requirements. Start with a selection of small plates offering the likes of kolkata chilli chicken and beetroot shikampuri cakes with yogurt filling. Moving on to mains, you can expect a whole range of curries, with dishes such as smoked butter chicken, kashmiri lamb rogan josh and adraki bhuna lamb.
Elsewhere, you can enjoy grilled seabass with kerala moilee sauce, lamb chops with star anise and fennel, and saffron paneer tikka straight from the grill, for those looking for that classic smoky flavours. Don’t skimp on the sides. Khai Khai offers a vast selection of rice, naans and roti that make the perfect accompaniment to your indulgent dishes.