The closure of Mint & Mustard on Cardiff’s Whitchurch Road earlier this year perhaps didn’t get the attention it deserved.
Whilst the Penarth branch of the restaurant still remains, its original base on Whitchurch Road was one of Cardiff’s most influential restaurants when it opened back in 2007.
It’s where Anand George started his culinary journey in Cardiff before leaving to open his critically acclaimed Purple Poppadom. The refined Southern Indian style of cooking which he pioneered at Mint & Mustard can now be seen in myriad restaurants across Cardiff.
Whilst Mint & Mustard’s Whitchurch Road branch is no more, it’s been replaced by Chai Social, a Mint and Mustard stablemate and the sibling of Cardiff city centre’s Chai Street.
What makes Chai Social particularly interesting is its billing as an all day drinking and dining destination. It certainly looks the part, with half of the space retaining a restaurant feel and the other adopting more of a colourful and casual cafe-bar vibe.
Mrs G has already visited Chai Social for a boozy night out. With their good range of punch, cocktails, craft gins and beers, it sounds look a fun place to have a session and something to eat.
Chai Social’s whopping menu offers something for every time of day with both classic Indian and fusion dishes available depending on your persuasion.
Mrs G has already visited Chai Social for a boozy night out. With their good range of punch, cocktails, craft gins and beers, it sounds look a fun place to have a session and something to eat.
Chai Social’s whopping menu offers something for every time of day with both classic Indian and fusion dishes available depending on your persuasion.
On the brunch and lunch section of there’s a full Indlish, kati rolls, loaded naans and even a bottomless brunch option for £30.
For lunch or dinner there are small plates, including tandoori cauliflower wings and slow-braised meatballs with kashmiri chilli sauce, as well as a selection of clay pot curries and larger dishes such as Ceylon devilled beef, a Social burger and Amritsari fish and chips.
We were drawn towards Chai Social’s express lunch menu, which is available from 12pm till 4pm from Monday to Friday, and offers a range of main dishes for a very well-priced £6.95. For research purposes (sheer greediness) we ordered three to share as well as an additional small plate.
Excellent thick and ice cold mango lassis (£3.50) had bags of tropical fruit and a creamy tang of yoghurt.
For lunch or dinner there are small plates, including tandoori cauliflower wings and slow-braised meatballs with kashmiri chilli sauce, as well as a selection of clay pot curries and larger dishes such as Ceylon devilled beef, a Social burger and Amritsari fish and chips.
We were drawn towards Chai Social’s express lunch menu, which is available from 12pm till 4pm from Monday to Friday, and offers a range of main dishes for a very well-priced £6.95. For research purposes (sheer greediness) we ordered three to share as well as an additional small plate.
Excellent thick and ice cold mango lassis (£3.50) had bags of tropical fruit and a creamy tang of yoghurt.
An onion pakora scotch egg (£6.95) was every bit as delicious as it looked; the golden crusted and light textured pakora surrounding a fudgey-yolked scotch egg. Whilst a slightly runnier yolk would have been preferable it was still a cracking bit of comfort food. It was accompanied by a delicious sweet and tangy spiced tomato relish and tasty yet run of the mill McCain-like chips.
The other stand out of our meal was a plate of okra fries (£5.60), which reminded me more than a little bit courgette fritti, one of my favourite beer snacks. A tangle of tender okra ribbons were coated in the lightest of batters. They were delicious scooped up by the fistful and dredged through a bowl of sweet chilli sauce.
A loaded naan bread (£6.95) certainly lived up to its billing. A mountain of very tasty things were piled onto a crisp and soft naan bread - coriander and tamarind chutneys, melted cheese, chargrilled paneer, crunchy pakora and poppadom pieces and crisp peppers.
It would have been rude not to put a curry through its paces and a chicken makhani’s (£6.95) spicing was bob on; the thick and creamy tomato sauce was fragrant with fenugreek and a good chilli heat. Plentiful chicken pieces could certainly have been a touch more tender but it was still a lovely curry accompanied by a mound of fluffy rice and poppadoms.
We had a very good lunch at Chai Social and it’s the kind of place I could genuinely see myself visiting any time of day. Whilst Mint and Mustard’s original home may be gone, it’s exciting to see the place start its next chapter as Chai Social.
The Details:
Address - Chai Social, 134 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff CF14 3LZ
Telephone - 029 2062 0333
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