Tamila King's Cross

The Tamil Group’s popular south Indian concept Tamila has opened a second restaurant just a two minute slouch from King's Cross. This split-level site follows the same fast-casual approach as its sibling, serving traditional South Indian food for a modern audience. Also like its south-of-the-river sister, it boasts a canteen-style dining room that houses a tightly-packed jigsaw of tables and booths, only this one also has a seductive bar-dining room downstairs, filled with amber tones and ambient lighting that teeter on the verge of special occasion territory. The beauty here is that you could pop in for a curry and a roti in 45 minutes, or sit for a few hours over cocktails and sharing plates with a mate (or date). So yes, Tamila King’s Cross has levels that aren’t just physical. 

We plonk outselves downstairs, tucked into a cosy booth, and admire the space while slurping on a smoky, tequila-heavy Gunpowder Margarita. Not everyone will enjoy the close-knit, small tables set-up, but there's an intimacy to the experience that feels fun and relaxed.  

The menu comprises a reasonably-priced list of Tamil big-hitters: flaky roti, tasty street food snacks, dosas, curries, breads. Over ordering would be easy to do, but the team recommend about five or six to share. We try a tangle of freshly fried onion bhajis with a cooling mint chutney, plus a chilli cheese dosa moulded from a comforting mix of molten cheese and crispy edges. Chana masala, so often the sum of its parts, is rammed with smoky, heavily spiced ammo. People wax lyrical about Tamila’s rotis, and they are fantastic. Flaky, buttery, addictive rounds that are delicious on their own, or for mopping up chutneys and sauces.

You could easily eat well at Tamila for less than £30 a head, AND be full - a miracle in London these days. In fact, it just might have it all: cracking food, punchy cocktails, electric vibes, and a price list that won't make you weep.

A modern interpretation of a traditional curry house, Tamila King’s Cross is best known for its fast-paced, casual dining and exceptional curries, dosa, and chicken lollipops. It’s part of the same group as The Tamil Prince and Tamil Crown, but unlike its forebears, Tamila King’s Cross isn’t part of the Indian pub movement. Instead, like its sister site in Clapham, the restaurant here focuses on interpreting the nostalgia of curry houses for a modern audience.

Influenced by ex-Roti King owner and executive chef Prince Durairaj’s South Indian heritage, the Tamila menu pays close attention to dishes traditionally served in Tamil Nadu and other southern states. But it is a little different to your usual high street Indian restaurant, offering a modernised menu with interesting flavour pairings and fantastic ingredients.

It’s the kind of menu that’s best when shared, offering the likes of fried baby sweetcorn and onion bhajis to start, alongside the famous and ever-popular chicken lollipops with sweet chilli chutney. Smaller plates also include a selection of dosas, including masala dosa, chilli cheese dosa and mutton curry dosa, along with poori masala.

Snacks include fried baby sweetcorn and chicken lollipops with sweet chilli chutney, before dosa and poori options of poori masala and chilli cheese dosas. As for the curries, expect vegan dhal, channa masala, paneer butter masala, Thanjavur chicken curry and Chettinad lamb curry. With each, you can choose from a selection of breads, including incredibly flaky roti, garlic coriander naan, and kulcha naan topped with aromatic spices. We’d also recommend you tag on an order of coconut pilau rice and a selection of chutneys.

The drinks at Tamila King’s Cross include inventive twists on classic cocktails. Of course, as with any great curry house, there’s also a great selection of beers to choose from including a light and bubbly signature Tamila lager.