Indian street food to savour

Neil Littman visits Karak Chaii, a South Indian street food chain with a new branch in Enfield Town

Vegetarian thali with chapatis at Karak Chaii

Karak Chaii must have heard about the wish list I wrote a while back, hoping that more places serving South Indian food would open in Enfield as, until recently, this was only available on a section of the menu at Chennai Spice (reviewed in July 2025).

They might be a new name in Enfield, but Karak Chaii have been around a while, steadily opening restaurants around the country (20 at the last count) following the opening of their first branch in Birmingham.

Karak Chaii’s menu includes a sweetened, spiced milky tea that originated in India – and from which the restaurant chain takes its name – alongside Indian street food such as parathas, rice bowls and samosas, served all day.

The menu is divided into roti and paratha dishes and the extensive ‘street food’ section, a concept that seems to be very popular since being imported to the UK.

A few days after Karak Chaii’s grand opening I met up with James Cracknell, editor of the Dispatch, who is a big fan of Indian food – especially as a vegetarian. At Karak Chaii around 70% of the menu is meat free.

We were both very keen to see what was on offer, as we had been anticipating the opening for some time. In our excitement we got carried away and slightly over-ordered!

A complimentary sample of their signature chaii tea arrived, after which we chose a selection of dishes to share, including vegetarian thali (a chicken option is also available) with basmati rice, roti, achar and two curries for only £10; lassi saag, a Punjabi dish made with spinach and yoghurt, served with two parathas; plus bhel puri, made with spicy potato, mixed sev and puffed rice, chopped onions, and topped with coriander and pomegranate seeds. We also ordered a bowl of chilli paneer (Indian cottage cheese) which was quite fiery, as well as more chaii tea and mango lassi to drink. All of this came to an extremely reasonable £30.

The menu is extensive and could take several visits to try everything, including their Indian desserts such as ras mali and gulub jamon, for those with a sweet tooth!

I later made another lunchtime visit and ordered chana paratha and samosa chaat. On this occasion, however, there was nowhere to sit and I had to take the food away – they really should have more seats given their central location in Enfield Town.

A few days later, I made another visit – early enough to get a seat – so I could sample Karak Chaii’s breakfast menu. They offer an English breakfast with chicken rashers and sausages and a veggie option, called ‘desi breakfast’, which includes masala omelette, paratha, and a side order of channa (spiced chickpeas) with a cup of chaii. All this is great value at £8.75.

I found out later that when the Indian railway companies tried to stop serving the desi breakfast and other vegetarian meals in 2013 there was a passenger revolt! They take their breakfast seriously.

Karak Chaii do takeaways and also offer a bespoke catering service for weddings, special events and corporate events.

Karak Chaii is incredibly good value and good quality. In my opinion, this is one of the best new openings in Enfield and stands up well against similar restaurants in Southall and Drummond Street, Camden (both good centres in London for South Indian food).

For more information about Karak Chai Enfield, including opening times:
Call 020 3876 6790
Visit karakchaii.co.uk

Do you have any suggestions for restaurants in Enfield to review or feedback on the places Neil has already reviewed? He would love to hear from Dispatch readers:
Email [email protected]

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