Chai St Indian Bistro Menu

Masala eggs, keema, aloo paratha, chai-soaked French toast, fresh fruit, yoghurt, chutney.

Masala eggs, spiced lamb sausage, tandoori mushroom, grilled tomato, baked beans with curry leaf, pav, chilli jam.

Chilli-cheese toast, two poached eggs, spiced hollandaise, green chilli. V

Stuffed paratha, salted butter, lime pickle, yoghurt. The Punjabi standard. V

Chickpea curry, puffed bread, pickled onion. V

Indian-spiced scrambled eggs on charred sourdough.

Steamed string hoppers — delicate, lacy, served warm in a bamboo basket. Light Keralan stew of coconut milk, curry leaf, cardamom and ginger, simmered slow. Built bite by bite at the table. The way breakfast is done in a Kochi house on a Sunday.

Steamed string hoppers — delicate, lacy, served warm in a bamboo basket. Light Keralan stew of coconut milk, curry leaf, cardamom and ginger, simmered slow. Built bite by bite at the table. The way breakfast is done in a Kochi house on a Sunday.

Steamed string hoppers — delicate, lacy, served warm in a bamboo basket. Light Keralan stew of coconut milk, curry leaf, cardamom and ginger, simmered slow. Built bite by bite at the table. The way breakfast is done in a Kochi house on a Sunday.

Crisp puris, yoghurt, tamarind, pomegranate, sev. V

Crisp wafers, avocado, yoghurt, chutneys, pomegranate. V

Smashed samosa, ragda curry, yoghurt, tamarind, sev. V

Crisp shells, spiced water, potato, chickpea. Six per serve. V

Naan wrap, chicken tikka, onion, mint chutney.

Naan wrap, paneer tikka, onion, mint chutney. V

Chickpea curry, puffed fried bread, pickled chilli. V

Mumbai’s burger. Spiced potato, soft bun, garlic chutney. V

Spiced lamb mince, buttered pav, pickled onion.

Wok-tossed, ginger, greens. Veg, chicken, or prawn.

Wok-tossed, green chilli, soy, spring onion.

Chilli-garlic, curry leaf, wok heat.

Cauliflower, sticky sauce, coriander. V

Dry-tossed, green chilli, soy. V

Cucumber, tomato, red onion, mint, burrata, crispy chickpeas, lemon. V

Charred chicken, gem lettuce, parmesan, spiced dressing.

Grilled prawns, curry-leaf oil, coconut, green mango.

Crab, raw mango, lime, chilli, coriander.

Tiger prawns, Kashmiri chilli, lime-kachumber, curry-leaf mayo.

Flash-fried squid, fried curry leaf, garlic, green chilli, coconut-lime yoghurt.

Tandoor-grilled, black cardamom, mint chutney, crisp lavash.

Wok-tossed in soy, tomato and curry leaf. Sweet, hot, sticky. Tamil railway-station style.

Yoghurt-brined chicken, red chilli, curry leaf, yoghurt-ginger aioli.

Dumplings, spiced chicken, chilli-sesame dip.

Crushed samosa, chickpea, tamarind, mint yoghurt, pomegranate, sev. V

Hand-made. Properly spiced. V

Chat masala, curry leaf, black salt. V

Mango, mint, tamarind, onion salad. V

The easy way to start. Two of you, four small things, one chutney board. Poppadums with four chutneys · Onion bhaji · Samosa chaat · Chicken 65.

Kashmiri chilli, yoghurt, black cumin, 24hr marinade.

Carom seed, ginger, lime.

Cream, cardamom, white pepper.

Bengali mustard, mustard oil, char.

Carom seed, pepper, charred. V

Slow-braised lamb finished in Nizami spices, served with smoked aubergine, burnt-onion raita and flaky parotta in a nihari sauce. Tear and scoop. The way lamb is eaten in Lucknow.

Sea bass fillet, seared crisp-skin, on curry-leaf mash. Raw mango, ginger and coconut sauce. From the house’s own Keralan lineage. A dish this kitchen has been cooking, in one form or another, for twenty years.

Tandoori beef boti, slow-cooked then crisped. Smoked aubergine bharta, green chilli herb sauce, pickled onions, flaky parotta.

Whole cauliflower charred in the tandoor, smoked aubergine, spiced tomato, almond crumble, chilli pickle. Vegetable cooking that earns the long table. VG

Tamil bold spice, star anise, fennel.

Rajasthan’s red. Genuinely hot. Wear the right shirt.

The dining-car classic. Mild, tomato, slow-cooked, the way it travelled the rails.

The chicken curry every Indian grandmother cooks. Onion, tomato, whole spice, slow.

Konkan coast. Coconut, raw mango.

Coconut, kokum, curry leaf.

Kashmir. Black cardamom, dried ginger.

Not apologising for it.

The vegetarian butter chicken. V

Twenty-four hours. Worth ordering, worth waiting for. V

Wok-cooked. Bell peppers, ginger, tomato, dry spice. V

Coconut, mustard seed, green mango. Bright, sour, distinctive. VG

Kerala stew. Coconut, fennel. VG

Punjabi-style chickpea curry, slow-cooked with tea-darkened chickpeas, tomato, ginger and warm spice. Robust, deeply spiced. VG

Hyderabadi method. Rice, spice and your choice layered into a clay handi, cooked in its own steam for 40 minutes. Mirch ka salan, burani raita.

Weekdays 12-3pm. Choose one kari from today’s board. Rice, roti, daal, raita, pickle, poppadum. Upgrade to lamb or prawn +£2.00.

Express lunch · weekdays 12-3 · in 40 minutes. One chaat or street plate + one kari with rice or roti.

Express lunch · weekdays 12-3 · in 40 minutes. One chaat or street plate + one kari with rice or roti, add a sweet.

Onion bhaji, paneer makhani, seasonal veg curry, black dal, basmati, raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum, naan, gulab jamun. Vegan default — paneer add +£1.50. V / VG

Grandma’s chicken curry, chicken 65, black dal, basmati, raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum, naan, gulab jamun.

Rogan josh, lamb seekh, black dal, basmati, raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum, naan, gulab jamun.

Chicken curry, chicken 65, lamb curry, black dal, basmati, raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum, naan, gulab jamun.

Keralan chilli squid, prawn koliwada, Kerala fish moilee, black dal, basmati, raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum, naan, gulab jamun.

Two starters, three curries, the works. The way an Indian feast was meant to land — shared, picked at, conversation slows down. Chicken 65 · Lamb seekh, burnt onion · Onion bhaji · Samosa · Grandma’s Chicken Curry · Lamb Rogan Josh · Saag aloo · Black dal · Chole · Basmati · Naan · Parotta · Raita, kachumber, achar, poppadum · Gulab jamun.

The dessert we’d order ourselves. Dark chocolate ganache on cardamom shortcrust, finished with rose cream and a pinch of sea salt.

Two warm, syrup-soaked dumplings. Vanilla ice cream melting into them. The Indian comfort dessert.

Mango, pistachio, cardamom.

A cheese course, the Indian way. Three British cheeses with kokum-quince paste, chutney and wholegrain crackers. Ask your server for today’s selection.

Mild and creamy.

Char-grilled, plain naan, cucumber sticks.

Mild paneer in tomato sauce. V

Chicken or paneer, soft naan wrap, no chilli.

Yellow dal, basmati. V

Rose sharbat or mango & ginger fizz.

Strong, whole milk, hand-spiced.

Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger.

Strong, ginger-forward, warming.

Green tea, saffron, almond, rose.

The South Indian way. Dark roast, frothed with hot milk, served sweet.

Old Monk rum, jaggery, cardamom bitters. Smoked under glass at the table — the smoke is yours to release. Indian rum the way it should be drunk.

Saffron-infused gin, lime, prosecco. The Indian French 75.

Bourbon fat-washed with coconut, jaggery, orange bitters.

Vodka, freshly pulled espresso, cardamom, jaggery.

Konkan coast. Tart, pink, salted.

Cumin, mint, black salt, tamarind. The original.

Raw mango, black salt, roasted cumin.

Lime, black salt, chaat masala.

Keep it coming. 90 min.

Vodka, tomato, chaat masala, chilli.

Cachaça, tomato, Indian spice, lime. The sugarcane choice.

Prosecco, Alphonso mango.

Newport. Welsh red ale. Champion Beer of Britain 2015. 4.6%.

Newport. Tropical IPA. Mango, passionfruit, peach. 5.5%.

Pontypridd. Premium vegan lager, 500ml bottle. Local, considered. 4.3%.

The Indian classic. Crisp, clean lager. 4.8%.

Floral, mineral, brilliant with fish.

Twelve months in oak, drinks beyond its price.

Properly biscuity. The grown-up celebration.