Radha Krishna Bhavan is a Tooting curry mile classic for a reason

We often speak about the exciting openings that are popping up in South West London. Call us magpies, but we love the new and shiny. And though we appreciate these businesses that refresh our high streets, it’s important to acknowledge the old-timers too. Because the people and restaurants that have become part of the landscape really make the community what it is. There’s something magical about revisiting the same restaurant again and again and again, the owners knowing your order, you knowing their children’s GCSE results… You know what we are talking about.

Which is why we want to shine a light on Radha Krishna Bhavan. It’s been on Tooting High Street for 24 years so this team really know what they’re doing; the service is warm, welcoming and efficient. It doesn’t look like this was just our experience either, Google reviews rave about their staff providing some of the best their customers have encountered in restaurants. And the food? That gets a big thumbs up too.

Right on Tooting’s famous curry mile, a curry house here can’t be anything other than excellent if it wants to steal the hearts of the locals and keep its spot on the mile. 24 years of being on Tooting High Street is hint enough that Radha Krishna Bhavan were going to be serving us some really delicious Indian food… and they certainly did. To start we got a masala dosa- a paper thin crispy pancake made from rice and lentils filled with potato masala. What a way to kick off the meal! We’d not tried anything like it, but this was a serious fantastic plate of food- a soft potato curry inside a crunchy pancake was really fun texturally, not to mention the delicate flavours.

The menu is extensive. There’s everything you could possibly wish for and more- even additional vegan friendly options that we’d not seen before- so it was hard to whittle down the main courses. We ended up with a lovely trio. ‘Pepper lamb fried’ was cooked with lots of fragrant spices like turmeric, chilli and black pepper making it a nicely spicy marinade for some really tender bits of lamb. The chicken ularthiyathu is a very traditional dish from Kerala. The chicken is dry roasted and the slow-cooking method really infuses the flavours of all the ingredients into the meat making for really, really delicious bite every single time. Finally was a saucy king prawn malabar- juicy prawns covered in a coconut milk based, tomatoey curry was a lovely accompaniment to the other drier dishes.

And, like anyone who knows what they are doing when ordering a curry, we ordered a load of sides too. The Kerala paratha was a flakey, lighter naan equivalent which we thoroughly enjoyed mopping up all the curries with. Then we got two kinds of their thorans (basically a shredded vegetable mixed with spices and often coconut too). The beetroot one was a gorgeous colour and the cabbage version was nicely sweet with the addition of grated coconut. For some extra greenery we also had some green beans which were served with mustard seeds, curry leaves and coconut. Washed down with a mango lassi? A meal of champs.

They serve an extensive menu of really interesting Indian food and they serve it with professionalism and warmth. Because of that they’ve gathered a loyal customer base and survived the tumultuous world of hospitality. So yes- Radha Krishna Bhavan is a Tooting curry mile classic for a reason.