Chaiiwala (Indian) – Coventry Road, Birmingham

Chaiiwala have been rather busy in recent years, particularly in Birmingham where they launched two only last year.

Of these, it was their 14th branch, which opened this past April on Coventry Road in Small Heath, that we chose for our first review (as well as the fact that someone had already contributed a Your Say review of the Ladypool Road branch).

Of course, what makes Birmingham a good choice, unlike London, is that, on average, one can save around 25% in comparison.

This fully Halal restaurant has a seating capacity of 28, and offers a simple menu that revolves around the Chaiiwala – a tea artist or master craftsman of tea (known as Chai in the Indian sub-continent) – who works towards perfecting the art of tea making.

(Left-right) Ice Chaii £2.50, Rose Falooda £2.50, Limbu Pani £2.00

A solid start, with a trio of beverages that were all distinctly good. The ice tea Chaiiwala-style was cold and refreshing, and ensured that depth of flavour so distinct of a well made brew. A must for ice tea aficionados.

And we can fully understand why the Rose Falooda is the cafe’s best seller. With whipped cream on top, which we enjoyed mixing in with the falooda, and the rose water coming through as it should, this was the best one had on the night.

Being a lemon-based drink, the Limbu pani was tart, but not overly so, with the sweetness of the sugar helping to make this a balanced one.

Desi Breakfast – Masala omelette, masala beans or daal, two classic roti or toast and karak chaii, £4.95

We were expecting more of the robust flavours and spices of India that make an authentic Desi Breakfast so memorable. Instead, while this was well executed, it was simple, despite being great value for money at just £4.95!

Karak ChaiiMasala omeletteRotiMasala BeansDaal

Karak Chaii £1.60

As a blend of black tea, milk, sugar and spices, which have all been boiled and boiled on a low heat to develop some level of depth, this Karak Chaii might possibly be the best we’ve ever had. The balance achieved between the spices and the hit of the fragrant cardamom was something to behold. Superb!

A simple omelette with scatterings of peppers and tomato here and there. The spices and seasoning, however, were minimal.

These pair of roties were well made. However, we would have preferred the richer buttered versions (this must be the healthy approach), particularly with the duo of daals.

Beans for breakfast we understand; but beans with roti?! No! An unusual combination. As for the beans, then nothing much to speak of.

The daal is unusual in that it delivers on the same taste as the beans. Nevertheless, this is probably the better option to have with the roti.

Vegetable Samosa Cone x5 with sticky tamarind sauce £2.50

Your standard vegetable samosas that are served in a cone with plenty of newspaper to boot.

Size-wise, they’re small, and offer a crispy exterior.

On the inside, there’s plenty of peas, some potatoes, and a touch of masala.

Otherwise, this is what it is: standard vegetable samosas.

Pav Bhaji – Mixed vegetables in spices, served with onions on soft bread, £3.50

Chaiiwala do try to be inventive; but for us, again it’s way too simple!

And this is how we’d sum this up: Make-your-own-toast, with a side of curry and a bowl of diced onions.

As such, the mixed vegetables comprised of a lightly spiced tomato base.

Mixing this with the onions and having it with the bread, culminated in a rather forgettable meal.

Bombay Sandwich – grilled potato sandwich with a coriander-mint chutney, £2.50

What to say of a cheese and potato sandwich that’s been grilled?

The only thing to speak of here was the coriander mint chutney!

Kebab Roll – Hyderabadi kebabs chargrilled chicken seekh, £3.00

This is where we really took some notice of the food.

This Kebab Roll was a new addition to the menu, and whose succulent chicken kebab, onions and mint chutney, all wrapped up in a soft paratha, not only made this easily the best hot dish of the review, but possibly one of the best kebab rolls going at this price.

Masala Chips – Potatoes peeled and cut into chips and marinade with masala sauce, £2.00

Soggy masala chips are never good thing. In this case, they were made worse by the overwhelming nature of the masala itself.

Chilli Paneer – Delicious cottage cheese chunks in a tangy sauce topped with onions and peppers, £3.95

While the tangy sauce on these rubbery-cum-tough paneer cubes was decent enough, there wasn’t anything chilli about these. Requires a major rethink, we’d say.

Chocolate Chai Mousse £3.50

How good was this dessert? Not only did this Chocolate Chai Mousse have a beautifully smooth, velvety texture, but it had a deep, rich and satisfying chocolatiness to it that we really enjoyed.

And though it’s true that the chai was simply drowned out by the strength of the chocolate, we’d still recommend this all the way.

Gajar Halwa Cheesecake £3.50

And if the above was good, then this Gajar (carrot) Halva Cheesecake may have been even better!

In fact, it ought to be renamed a lemon cheesecake, since the carrots were pretty much non-existent. But, given the perfect texture of the cheesecake, we’d recommend this just as much as the above, even if it might constitute false advertising of sorts.