‘Advert’ – We were invited by the team at Tawa for the purposes of this review. On this occasion we were not asked to pay. No conditions were given on attending or writing the review. Everything written is accurate and our unbiased opinion. For more information on our policy, click here
Tawa Bites has been open for about a week now, so I decided to pop by and see what it has to offer.
It is no secret that I am a big fan of the Tawa Kitchen located around the corner at the train station, which might have you questioning ‘What is the point in opening another Tawa so close to the original one?’.
The answer to this is that Tawa Bites has a different purpose with an entirely new menu. It looks to offer Indian street food on the go that is quick, easy, and fun. This is also a fresh take on Indian food that most of us will be unfamiliar with and is not found anywhere else in the city. This really is a refreshing addition to our ever growing Cambridge food scene. It shows signs that maybe the English market may be ready to move away from the British Indian fusion food that we all know and love and start exploring the wider range of Indian cuisine out there.
Tawa Bites is a small cafe with ten seats indoors and some outside seating. It is a perfect place to pop in on your way in or out of the city centre and grab a bite to eat.
Upon visiting, there were people sitting outside enjoying the sun while enjoying a light dinner. There is a selection of quick bites like Barfi, Ladoo, and sandwiches. There are no paper menus but a large TV with their selection of food.
I started off with some juice cider that is locally produced by the local ‘Cambridge Juice Company’. Just like with the original Tawa Kitchen, the team here try to keep things local as they possibly can.
I started off with some Pani Puri, a popular street food snack in India. It consists of hollowed out puri (a sort of crispy flatbread) filled with vegetables. This is accompanied by a flavoured water or gravy that you then pour in and eat. These were not only fun but great for sharing. In fact, I saw a couple come in and share a plate together during my visit. It was delicious and refreshing at the same time which is great for the hot weather and only costs £4.90.
Next was the ‘Punjabi Samosa Chaat’. A slightly different take on the vegetable samosa chaat I had at Tawa Kitchen last month. For those of you unaware, chaat is a chickpea based dish. The chickpeas are spiced and accompanied with Greek yogurt, mint, coriander and chutney. It is a very smooth and delicious dish that, just like the Pani Puri, is perfect in the hot weather. The samosa in the middle is the centre piece of the dish and adds a little more substance and depth and texture to your dining experience.
Next up was their chicken burger. This was a generously sized burger that was loaded with two fillets of chicken, chutney relish, onion, and fresh lettuce.
Like everything at Tawa Bites, the burger is packed into a sustainable and recyclable box that makes it very easy to eat on the go. No plastic is used here, including the cutlery.
The brioche bun is baked locally and lightly spiced with a slightly sweet flavour. It has a lovely golden colour and has the integrity to hold together anything they can fit in it. I was confident that it was not going to collapse on itself (which is more than can be said for some other restaurants I have visited) and is particularly important considering that this is a burger you are likely intending to eat on the go.
The burger is accompanied with a chutney relish which really adds a nice flavour. Despite this, the burger did feel a little dry which can often be a problem with chicken. This however did not take anything away from the unique Indian style of an otherwise delicious burger that was thoughtfully prepared and also visually stunning.
One of my personal favourite dishes from my visit was the chicken bowl. This also comes in paneer or chloe. It is a perfectly balanced meal in a handy portable tub with red rice, vegetables, and a mixture of greens. The chicken was delicious and reminded me of a creamy chicken tikka masala. I could really see this being a popular dish for people looking to treat themselves to a special lunch but it also has the ability to be healthy daily lunch/dinner every day as it is a perfectly balanced meal. Imagine taking one of these and a ‘Cambridge Juice Company’ juice cider to the Mill Pond on a summers day? Bliss! 😍
Indo Chinese food is also very popular in Indian and the team at Tawa wanted to reflect that. This is Tangra Chicken which is chicken served with hakka noodles and fried rice for £7.50. Again, this was presented in a sustainable and very portable container that is easy to recycle that also contains no plastic.
As it was a blisteringly hot day (for a painfully white Englishman who spends 99% of his time in a dark office) I was presented with a ‘Falooda Rose’. This is a popular dessert drink in India and is absolutely perfect for the hot weather. It reminds me of an ice cream sundae mixed with bubble tea. The rose syrup that it is made with gives it a fun pink colour and for £4.50 is not only healthier than one of those gastly Starbucks frappuccinos but also tastes a whole lot better. Delicious!
Tawa Bites offers even more diversity to the Cambridge food scene and looks to challenge our comfort zones with what we think we know about our beloved Indian food. This is a great place for light/refreshing summer treats, trying something new, and most of all, to grab something on the way in or out of Cambridge. Everything here is as sustainable as they can possibly make it, the packaging makes it stress free to eat on the move, and they use as many local businesses as possible.
Watch out, as I hear another Tawa may be opening very soon 🤫
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to check out the video of my visit below on our Instagram page! 👇
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