Chai Street, High St, Cardiff

The Mint & Mustard group clearly thinks big. This is their second branch of Chai St in Cardiff, and with plans for a third within six months- as well as a brand new M & M in Chepstow to add to Taunton- no one can accuse them of lacking ambition.

So- are they overreaching themselves? Will all this activity lead to a dilution of what makes them successful?

Based on what we ate last night, the answer is a thumping 'no'.

In what was once La Bodega, they have created a space full of their trademark bursts of colour and street style, with murals and corrugated tin wall panels and menu blackboards. "Kerala: God's own country" runs the legend

A spread of starters kicks things off promisingly.

Lamb goes heavy on curry leaf, coconut and chilli, the meat cooked down and down until it's a sticky tangle of spice. 'Sandwiches' of spiced mashed potato between slices of crisp bread, battered then deep- fried, are lighter than you'd think, and laced with the tartness of tamarind sauce for an instant favourite; joining them on that list is Chicken Lollypop, remarkably moreish chicken wings repaying their ginger and garlic marinade.

Chicken 65 is immediately addictive, with its punchy sticky tomato sauce, again with that distinctive curry leaf. Although the heat is very satisfying on a cold night, you can't help feeling that this starter spread would make an excellent workday lunch in itself- quite apart from the thalis, though you'd probably have to miss out on their new IPA.

You get a curry, poppadoms, rice, lentils and a chickpea dish (these carry a faintly metallic after taste which I found unpleasant but my friend loves it). Fish curry splits opinion. I love its creamy but sour flavours, with raw mango giving it that distinctive 'tickle' of heat. Guido is far less keen, though we agree on the biryani as the highlight of the evening. It's fragrant with cardamom  and within lurk huge pieces of lamb. In its indigenous form biryani is a feast day dish, one for special occasions, something laboured over, something sumptuous. This is a far more workaday presentation, of course, but it is our standout.

Chai St's take on a kati roll, or frankie, is a crisp, buttery thin paratha stuffed with shreds and chunks of lamb. Slivers of raw red onion cut through the richness; it's an excellent effort.

Rather foolhardily, we go for dessert. This is often a shambles on many Indian menus, but this is vastly better than the usual frozen penguin affair. If a picture paints a thousand whatnots, the image of Guido cradling his carrot and sultana halwa like a father with his firstborn child, will stay with me for some time; it tells you more than I ever could.

 A resounding sucess, then: a prime city centre location and a tried and tested menu of crowd-pleasers. Chai St High St has style in spades, and you have one more reason to avoid the nearest chain franchise. That's a win-win in my book.

We were invited to eat at Chai St and as such all food and drink was complimentary. This did not influence my opinion.
This review was brought to you by 'You Want It Darker' and 'Skeleton Tree', my albums of the year.

Chai St
15 High St, 
Cardiff 
CF10 1AX

11am-11pm, 7 days a week