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"Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping?"

Friday 11 October 2013

Still missing you, Kastoori: the unforgettable flavours of Tooting's best restaurant

Some famous restuarateur type has said he's about to open a new fried chicken place in Tooting.

Obviously it will be a posh fried chicken place - a la "gourmet" burger joints - and thus a bit pricey.
Much more annoying was his claim that  - until he arrives - Tooting had no "name" restaurants.

Maybe it doesn't want or need "name restaurants", whatever they are. Sounds a lot like a place where you pay extra because it has a fashionable name. Or am I wrong?

Or perhaps he's right. But Tooting DID once have several of the finest Indian vegetarian restaurants in London. And the best of all was Kastoori.
Whatever happened to Kastoori and its owner, Mr Thanki and his family? We long to hear that it will re-open somewhere nearby soon.
A sad sight - all that's left to remind us of
Tooting's finest  vegetarian restaurant, Kastoori.

How often we'd hit the tube to Tooting Broadway and walk up the high street to this very special vegetarian restaurant.

From the outside, Kastoori looked like any old 1970s style British-Indian restaurant. It occupied part of a big old store, the front of which had undergone some pretty hideous transformation later on, in a typical outer  London high street retail style.

Inside it also seemed bland - rows of tables with yellow covers, high backed chairs, just another rather overdone suburban Indian restaurant.

Onle when you started reading the menu did you begin to realise how different this place was.
There was some explanation of the history - how the owner's family, originally from Gujurat province I think -  had been based in East Africa, how this subtly changed their Gujurati approach to cooking. And just as you were reading this, Mr Thanki senior, the owner, would tend to come over to introduce himself and perhaps make gentle menu suggestions.

The food was very good, and truly different, even in this street of excellent south Indian establishments. The starter dahi puri "taste bombs" were in themselves a reason to visit. But then the amazing tomato and banana currys, the masala dosas, and - my personal favourite - the bean curry, all were excellent and very different from your average Indian vegetarian fare. Something about the spices they used, perhaps.

Mr Thanki was always keen to tell you about his family background. There were stories about cooking for maharajahs in India, or  about how people came from all over the world to Tooting for  a Kastoori meal. And now it has gone.

We worry about the family - Mr Thanki , I think , had diabetes. Some of his sons worked in the restaurant, there was talk of them re-opening a Kastoori somewhere nearby. But we've heard nothing since that delightful last meal.

6 comments:

  1. We remember the restaurant and the Thanki family - Manu in particular - as we lived close by in Tooting Bec. This was our favourite place to eat and the food was absolutely gorgeous. So sad that it does not still exist.

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    1. Thanks, it's good to hear from you. I have almost given up hoping that a new Kastoori will open, but do let us know if you hear anything. Meanwhile, I found a great article about the chef, who I think is the one you remeber, from the Guardian, here: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/feb/28/food-and-drink-restaurants

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  2. Such a special and delicious place. The inventive and altering menu, the warmth and friendliness of the service. What a fantastic and unique restaurant it was.

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    1. Thanks. Yes I agree, Kastoori was irreplaceable. Ten years on there's still nothing like it, in Tooting nor anywhere else in London at least. I still go to restaurants around the Tooting area, there are still some good south Indian and Sri Lankan places (Apollo Banana-leaf is a favourite), or for a vegan feast, Beat Root at Ritzy in Brixton. But Kastoori was in a league of its own.

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    2. I went there countless times when I was a student living in tooting, remember Manu. My favourite restaurant to date. He opened a restaurant in Croydon I think and a small one in Wembley where I grew up.

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    3. I think we were all very lucky to have discovered it 😊

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