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I am back with my first review of 2024 after a short Christmas break!

We started this year off with a bang with the grand opening of Chaiiology on Mill Road. It has been a long time coming, as it feels like Chaiiology has been in the works for ages but it is finally here and there is a lot of excitement surrounding this one!

Chaiiology is a franchise offering classic Indian dishes and street food. They already have numerous restaurants across the country, including Manchester to Birmingham. After speaking to the owner he has confirmed this is their 8th restaurant.

The restaurant is clean and modern with a corporate nature theme. This is mostly credited to the green and brown colour scheme, plants, and wooden furniture. It was a comfortable place to be with high chairs available for children and a disabled toilet. No complaints whatsoever.

Pani Puri

Chaiiology has a large menu but as this was a pre opening launch event we were limited to a select menu. First, we were presented with Pani Puri, a popular Indian street food dish that consists of spherical fried bread that is served with side sauces and potato filling. This can sometimes be in the form of flatbread also.

The presentation was good but it didn’t particularly inspire. It’s hard to keep up with other versions I have tried from Tawa Bites on Hills Road but it was perfectly acceptable none the less. It is a light dish but can be quite messy, especially if you are as ham fisted as I am, so I wouldn’t recommend ordering it to go. It is still a fun dish and great for sharing, so it is a good one to order between friends in the restaurant itself.

The Pani Puri came with some lovely mocktails. There was a choice between mint lime spritzer, strawberry woo woo, passion punch, and blue lagoon. All of which are alcohol free. We decided to go for the mint lime spritzer and the strawberry woo woo. Both were light, refreshing, and fun. I can see these being great in the summer but also a great drink to accompany any dish.

French toast

Next was a beautiful looking pistachio Brioche French Toast. This was covered in chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. The French toast was lovely, springy, and thick, with a nice fluffy innards. I would also like to take this opportunity to share my delight at the vanilla ice-cream which was done to a great standard. I have lost count at the number of times vanilla gets overlooked or is done on the cheap but this tasted great.

Bowls

One particularly exciting idea at Chaiiology is the bowls to go. These can be eaten indoors of course but are ideal for people on their way to work or on their lunch break.

I had a cheeky peak at the official menu and saw the prices, coming to around £6-8 each which makes them just about within lunch price territory. This makes them good for people who walk or cycle down Mill Road on the way to work.

We tried the samosa chaat and the daal rice bowl, which were both good size portions and will easily fill you up. The bowls and cutlery are recyclable and biodegradable making them good for the environment.

The daal rice bowl was my favourite. It came with steamed basmati rice, savoury chick pea and potato salad, house slaw, all served with green chutney and crunchy papri. It was colourful, healthy, and full of flavour. It had a smooth texture with lots of fresh crispy veg in it to give an exciting textural pop. There was a lot going on at once, making it as exciting as it was delicious. Marvellous!

The samosa chaat was also a good dish, especially when you consider the value (under £7). I found the samosa to be a little soft which failed to add a satisfying crunch to the bowl but it was a good size, fluffy, and gave a warm spiced flavour.

Burgers

Next, was the smashed beef burger and gourmet burger. Both very similar in presentation and flavour but were worthy additions to our meal. These were never meant to be the main attraction of Chaiiology but having them there added some versatility to the menu. I enjoyed their simplicity and were executed well. They will likely fail to excite foodies but are good all rounders while still ticking all the boxes.

The thin cut chips were generic and ordinary but won’t offend. There for mostly filler 🤷‍♂️

There is an option for a Cheesy Naan Melt or a Cheesy Parataco. Both come with an option of different fillings, ranging from butter chicken, keema matar, and chicken tikka. We decided to go with the butter chicken and the seekh kebab which were both really impressive.

The butter chicken reminded me of hunters chicken with a slight BBQ flavour. The chicken was pulled into tiny pieces which made it lovely and juicy but more importantly, made it easy to hold together in the toasted wrap. I would definitely order this again. 👍

The seekh kebab was also brilliant. What I liked about these is that they were heavy on the meat but light on the carbohydrate, which is often the sort of lunch I am looking for. Just like with the butter chicken parataco, this was also easy to eat on the go, making it a perfect lunch while passing through.

Tandoori Chaii

The crowning jewel of the evening was their Tandoori Chaii. This is, as the name suggests, chaii made with buffalo milk that is then cooked in a tandoor.

This has to be one of the best (if not, the best) chaii I have ever had. It was thick, creamy, and exploding with flavour! I was discussing this with others in the restaurant who were in agreement that the Tandoori Chaii from Chaiiology was something special.

This alone is worth the trip!

Conclusion

It was an exciting evening at the Grand Opening of Chaiiology. There was so much to get excited about, especially with the Tandoori Chaii, which was utterly sublime! The daal rice box and the cheesy naan and parataco’s are also something I can see myself ordering again.

Cambridge is buzzing with small Indian restaurants popping up across the city, all offering traditional Indian cuisine and street food. I for one welcome this with open arms as there are lots of healthy options, great vegetarian choices, and new and exciting things to explore. Better still, it’s great value and good to eat on the go.

Thanks for reading