Kastoori

ksidhar1

A Ruined Diwali's Evening 18th October 2009

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Any restaurant manger who greets you with 'Happy Diwali- Yeh' is throwing a greeting at you rather than welcoming you to his restaurant. His greetings and manner was so out of ordinary that 5 of us, who went there on Diwali, were rather taken back and did not know how to respond. I noticed all of us buried our heads in our menus and muttered our thank you. Their drinks were fine, especially the sweet Lassi, which was very pleasant. I am not sure how they can call Faluda drink authentic Indian, if it is topped with sprayed cream from a can which has spoon buried in it all the way to the tip, so you have to retrieve by dipping you fingers in the the cream. How can Faluda drink have no vermicelli in it? To substitute kulfi with cheap sprayed cream is height of ignorance for the server and treating the customer as stupid.

Most starters were fine except the 2 Chilli Panner we ordered. I've never come across Chilli Paneer which is buried in tomato gravy and which has green peppers which have been cooked to death to look sad greenish gray colour and loose their texture and flavour.

I could not believe the waiters ignorance when he started passing us the main course plates without first having cleared the dirty starters plates. Even when he did get around to clearing them, he could not help but leave one dirty plate in the middle of the table, which we had to move over to the end of the table to create place for our main course.

Their aubergines were bitter and almost everyone of us left it on the plate. Their main course dishes, apart from Matoki, had nothing special about them. Their cofta curry were swamped with overpowering taste of Aniseed.

When it came to the bill, they said they did not except Master card, without giving any reason as to why. Luckily, one of us had a Visa. When they put it through, that did not go through either. We noticed the manger disappeared to the back with the card and the machine without offering us any explanation or apology. Is it possible they had not paid their dues to Visa and MasterCard? Luckily, another one of us had a debit card, which was excepted quite readily. Not once were we offered any apology for the inconvinience.£87 for 5 of us without any alcoholic beverage and desert is also not particularly good value for a very very ordinary meal and pathetic service, is also not good value for money.

All in all a ruined Diwali evening which should have been the highlight of our day

samkotonou

vegi food with a twist 25th February 2009

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the food here is very different, great food, great taste!

greeneyedemu

Great vegetarian food 14th September 2008

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Kastoori is a small family run vegetarian restaurant in Tooting. The family that run it are from Uganda so it is a mix of African and Indian food. The nearest tube is Tooting Broadway.
The food here is really unusual. I first went with my partner and my family. My partner and brother were both very worried about the prospect of a meal without meat but the variety of flavours in the curries soon put their minds to rest. The sev puri and the dahi puri are especially good, like little taste bombs, and the masala dosai is also lovely. The sauces and chutneys for the poppadums are homemade and full of flavour. The tomato curry is really delicious. We usually now just go for a few of those mentioned and the specials on the day. They also have a good range of drinks.
The food and drink here is very reasonably priced and I always come away feeling full up without paying a massive price. The decor isn’t exactly great, but with great food at those prices, who cares?
I have always found the service there friendly and helpful, and the owner always comes over for a chat. I’d recommend this restaurant to anyone- veggie or not.

gunners4life

Great VEGE food 13th September 2008

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I cant believe that I am saying this but this place actually make good vege food, I went here once because I was with a vege friend I wasnt too happy but after I thought WOW that cant have been vege. It just tasted so great because my mouth was still watering after, I jsut wanted more so guess what I did, the next day I ordered the same thing again to fulfil me, for indian food i found this place well beyond many others and for vege it has to be in the top 10 in the whole wide world. Overall just go HERE :)

chrisp

Don't mention the V word 13th August 2008

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Here's a sweeping statement to pointlessly antagonise a great many people - vegetarians in the UK, on the whole, do not really like food. At least that is the impression I often get. I'm not talking about those who just avoid red meats, or even those who eat a wide variety of fish and seafood but avoid game and poultry. These are moral or ethical decisions and are often perfectly sensible - I mean even I have "issues" with fois gras and veal although not quite enough to stop me ordering them at every opportunity. Strict vegetarians - those who fill their miserable empty days with salads and nut roasts and bloody Quinoa - these are people who see food only as a necessary evil. The kind of people who love the attention they get being able to grumble about the poor choice at whatever restaurant they happen to have been tricked into going to, and then proceed to pick at their meal half-heartedly all evening while muttering about their waistline. Stick-thin health freaks who survive on wheatgrass smoothies and wear their vegetarianism as a self-righteous badge of clean living, and yet have to supplement their apparently perfect diet with artificial protein pills and vitamins. Vegetarians do not, on the whole, like food. Anyone who really enjoyed eating would stay away from wheatgrass, for a start. And don't even get me started on vegans.

So much the same can usually be said of vegetarian restaurants. First of all, there aren't that many of them, as most British vegetarians would rather stay at home with a pack of Linda McCartney sausages than be seen to eat in a public place. And secondly, they are usually glorified health food shops with a self-service counter groaning with soggy cous cous salads and cowpats of spinach quiche, with the same odd smell of ludicrously expensive dietary supplements, fennel seeds and sadness.

Kastoori is different. You know it's different because when you sit down at a table in what is at first glance a bog-standard local curry house, you are presented with a menu which contains none of the usual suspects of high-street dining - Masala, Korma, Vindaloo, etc. Instead you notice exotic ingredients like green bananas, dosas and puris, each with a short description of the flavours involved and perhaps a short explanation of the history of the dish. Many are family heirlooms, carried over from their roots as forced exiles of Idi Amin's Uganda and mixed with further influences from their native Gujurat. What you don't notice is the lack of meat.

We started with what is fast becoming a locally famous house speciality - Dahi Puri. Described on the menu as "Taste bombs", they were bite-sized crispy pastry casings with a chick-pea, spiced potato and yoghurt sauce inside. You are told to eat them in one go - it gets very messy otherwise - and as the flavours dissolve in your mouth I defy you not to close your eyes and moan with delight. They are simply incredible.

After we'd come under fire from a couple more taste bombs each (sorry), the mains arrived - a thick aubergine curry containing huge black chillis and plenty of coriander, (not always available - this is one of the rotating daily specials), panir cheese stuffed with mint and coriander in a lovely creamy sauce, and a Dosa so big it actually overhung both sides of our table, served with a rich coconut chutney. All of it was nothing less than excellent, especially the Dosa which had a quite unexpected vinegary/herby taste and despite its generous size disappeared very quickly. I'm no expert on Gujurati cuisine but I know practiced, expert cooking when I see it, and Kastoori has yet to disappoint on that front.

As if vegetarians needed anything more to be self-righteous about, they also have one of the most exciting restaurants in South London to call their own. But let's not do Kastoori a disservice by calling it vegetarian. It is a brilliant restaurant by any standards.

anon730

50/50 19th June 2008

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Pretty decent I suppose.

Natty

Vegetarians (and others) rejoice 1st February 2008

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An excellent Indian restaurant that just happens to be vegetarian. The dishes are interesting, and flavours are fresher and more complex than your standard curry house, and the menu has a few delights that you will not be able to find anywhere else.

And cheap, did i mention it is ridiculously cheap? The owner is lovely too, and it is obvious that he is passionate about the food he if offering - and he wont mind telling you that they are the best curry house around.

Highly, highly, highly recommended.