Indian Street Food

Mowgli Street Food

24/03/24

Hanover Street, Edinburgh

We’re not big on chains, but some of them are worth it. Dishoom, Wahaca, Wagamama: we’re looking at you. And now we can add Mowgli to the list.

I’ve been past this place on the bus a few times, and it looks lovely: a grand old building with more twinkling lights than Fairyland at Christmas. My interest is further piqued by listening to owner, Nisha Katona, on the Off Menu podcast. The concept – “the kind of food Indians eat at home and on their streets” – seems strong and some of those dishes sound amazing. Treacle tamarind fries? Yoghurt chat bombs? I need to try them

We’re long overdue a catch-up with some friends, so what better excuse to head into what, it turns out, was once the Clydesdale? “I used to bank here,” our pal tells us. The conversion has been more sympathetically managed than the Edinburgh Hawksmoor, also housed in an old bank, and which we found very imposing and austere. Here, the lofty space has been cunningly sectioned off so that it feels cosy and inviting, as well as very glamorous.

The food is good. It’s all small plates, and between us we sample four items from the House Kitchen (Agra ginger chicken, house lamb curry, mother butter chicken and Aunty Geeta’s prawn curry), two from the Hindu Kitchen (temple dahl and green ginger and rhubarb dahl), three Curry Companions (Mowgli slaw, roti breads and basmati rice) and, of course, those treacle tamarind fries. To the disappointment of one of our friends, there’s no Mowgli house keema available tonight, but he’s happy enough with what he orders instead.

The standout dishes are the lamb curry, which is melt-in-the-mouth tender – and, surprisingly, the slaw. None of us has ever considered coleslaw as an accompaniment to curry, but it works a treat, offering a cool, crispy contrast to all those rich sauces. We’ll be aiming to repeat the trick at home. But almost everything tastes great: the flavours are robust and interesting; the spicing delicate. I only have minor criticisms: I find the tomatoes in the prawn curry a little too astringent, and I can’t really taste the rhubarb in the ginger and rhubarb dahl. The tamarind fries are a revelation though. They’re very sweet and rich, so one portion between four of us is certainly enough, but they’re truly delicious.

None of us drinks alcohol, but there are several mocktails on offer, as well as a couple of 0% beers. The Estrella Dam goes down well with the others, and I enjoy a bottle of sparkling water.

We’re too full for either of the ‘big’ puddings available (gulab jamun or a chocolate brownie) but we can always find room for a little sweet something, so we’re pleased to see homemade ice cream cones on the menu. Sadly, the same friend who wanted the keema now learns that there’s no coconut ice cream, so he decides to do without. The rest of us go for either the salted caramel or the mango sorbet, and both are excellent.

All in all, we have a lovely evening. Of course, a lot of that is to do with the company, but Mowgli feels like a strong addition to the Edinburgh food scene, and I’m sure that we’ll be back. After all, I still need to try those yoghurt chat bombs.

4.1 stars

Susan Singfield

Tuk Tuk

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23/08/15

Leven Street, Edinburgh

Tuk Tuk, located at the top end of Leven Street, offers what it describes as ‘Indian Street Food.’ In essence this means that the diners select several small dishes (they recommend three to four per person) along with the usual sides of rice and naan, and everyone tries a bit of everything. The restaurant is spacious and roomy and there’s no licence, which means you’re encouraged to take your own alcoholic drinks (no corkage is charged.) This is refreshing because we all know that buying beer or wine on the premises can generally double your bill. There were four of us to dine on a Sunday evening, so  the place wasn’t particularly busy, but it took a while to get the attention of a waiter. When he came, however, he was perfectly affable.

We decided just to select two items per diner, which we would add to if needed and after a short interval, the dishes began to arrive. It quickly became apparent that some of them were very good, others average and one or two of them, rather unpleasant. The good dishes first: the Butter Chicken was deliciously creamy and satisfying, as was the Paina Lamb Karahi and the two Lamb Chops we were served were succulent and deliciously spiced.  Rather less successful were the the Bengali Fish Cakes, which were stodgy and flavourless, while the Bun Kebabs (two mini-burgers served with chips) had the consistency of fried hockey pucks while the chips were greasy and overcooked. Worst of all was something called Golgappa. The menu described it as a ‘very famous dish from Benares, you will have to taste it to experience it!’ Well, we followed the advice and that’s an experience we won’t be repeating any time soon.

The sides were rather average as well. The steamed rice was just so-so, while the naan breads (both plain and peshwari) were of the thin and disappointing persuasion. The bill, when it came, was very reasonable, around £15 per head, but I left with the conviction that with some attention to detail, this could be a more satisfying dining experience than it was.

3 stars

Philip Caveney