FOOD : Chaiiwala Indian Street Food, a must visit
When a restaurant/cafe is busy on a Monday mid morning, you know that it’s popular and a must visit spot. Chaiiwala Indian Street Food recently opened up at Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh and I have to say I think they made a mistake in opening here.
They need a spot twice as big because this place is busy. I’ve returned twice now and there is always queues! I’ll take that as a good sign though.
A REVIEW OF CHAIIWALA INDIAN STREET FOOD AT FORT KINNAIRD, EDINBURGH
It’s fairly small inside with 2 booths opposite the counter and the remaining tables and seating by the windows. The space is light and bright, a modern take on an Indian dhaba serving up delectable Indian street food.
A chaiwala is a tea-seller on the Indian subcontinent. Chai is the Hindi and Urdu word for "tea", as in masala chai, and wala indicates the person performing the task, so chaiwala is a street vendor of tea. And of course Chaiiwala do serve up some serious hot drinks.
I tried the Garam Chocolate (£2.95), slightly spicy and wonderfully rich; whilst TartanSpoonie, Carmin enjoyed the Chai Latte (£2.95), rich and smooth. Both drinks were super hot!
Drinks are served in take-away cups and food served on traditional thali plates and bowls.
Their menu isn’t vast but it is filled with gems!
We tucked into
The Mumbai Mac n Cheese (£5.50) - Carmin is a mac n cheese conneiseur so knows her mac from her cheese and she gave this a massive thumbs up. It was creamy with a lovely hit of spice.
Samosa Chaat (£4.95) - Translated from Hindi, “chaat” means “to lick” and you’ll definitely be licking your lips after one bite of this. There’s a samosa hidden underneath a high pile of chickpeas, onions and tomatoes with tamarind chutney and yoghurt. Delicious
Kebab Roll (£4.50) - Chicken sheekh with mint yoghurt sauce topped with fresh onions, wrapped in a paratha. We loved the mint yoghurt sauce and their paratha’s are super fresh but the chicken was dry. Not a favourite.
Pani Puri (£5.50) - these are just little pops of fun. They taste amazing served with chana mix and tamarind pani
Lastly two must order items.
The Masala Chips (£3.50) loaded with cheese. Oh my goodness, these are cheesy chip heaven.
And then my favourite dish, the Keema and Paratha (£6.50). Subtly spicy lamb with peas served with a warm fresh paratha. This is street food at its very best.
We also took away two of their cakes - the Coconut and the Pistachio - bloody lush!
The only downside to Chaiiwala is that the service is slow and I’ve been told that on weekends you can have up to 1 hour wait. The drinks seem to take the longest, ours took at least 25 minutes, but the staff are friendly and if anything, they are definitely understaffed.
For me Chaiiwala is a great addition to the street food craze in Edinburgh. If I worked nearby this would certainly be a great lunch spot as you could pick up a decent lunch of a hot dish, a side of fries and a drink for around £10. The price of their drinks is on par with any other cafe/restaurant and I think the portion sizes are decent.
Things to note about Chaiiwala
They are located at Fort Kinnaird Shopping Centre so there is plenty of free parking.
The cafe is small and maybe only seats 60 people.
They offer takeaway.
Vegetarian options are available.
Disabled access - there are a few small steps that lead up to the cafe front but I think the pavement from the left allows for wheelchair access.
Toilets are level and accessible.
No dogs allowed.
Chaiiwala, Unit 11a, Fort Kinnaird Retail Park, Edinburgh EH15 3RD. www.chaiiwala.co.uk
My Spoon Award : Silver 8/10
