"Ooooh, haven’t they done a nice job with the place” we remarked as we crossed the threshold of Albany Road’s Little Kochi.
With its bamboo bedecked walls and twinkling lanterns, it’s unrecognisable from its previous incarnation as Bo Zan, a decades old Chinese restaurant.
It’s certainly one of the Cardiff’s most charming dining rooms, and one which is designed to look like the houseboats that navigate the backwaters of Kerala.
Despite the number of excellent southern Indian restaurants in Cardiff, Little Kochi has still managed to build up a big reputation in the two years since they've opened.
We visited on a swelteringly hot Tuesday night when it was nearly a full house in their cool, air-conditioned dining room.
Nothing quite hits the spot like the first gulp of an ice-cold pint on a hot day. Their Cobra (£6.70) most certainly did the job.
Little Kochi’s expansive menu has plenty of eye-catching dishes, from dosas and biryanis to kingfish curries and pork shoulder peralan. If you’re vegetarian, then it’s worth noting that they have an impressive selection of seven different veggie mains and six sides.
Crisp poppadom shards (£2) were impeccably crisp and grease free. Accompanying chutneys were fairly run of the mill – a mint and garlic yoghurt, sweet chilli and mango chutney.
Little Kochi’s clay oven paneer tikka (£8.20) saw squidgy and creamy cheese triangles coated in an intensely spiced marinade and nicely licked with char. It was a very good dish.
I’m always a sucker for Indo-Chinese dishes and this chilli gobi (£7.90) was no exception. Big florets of tender cauliflower were coated in a soft and thin batter coated in a sticky, sweet, spicy and savoury sauce.
Despite the deliciousness of our two starters, I cast an envious glance at our friend’s paneer dosa (£8.90). The crisp pancake was larger than the size of his cross fit-enhanced thighs and filled with spiced mashed potato flecked with pieces of paneer. Its accompaniments brought extra dimensions – a fiery tomato chutney, creamy coconut and a punchy sambar.
Onto mains, and there was one particular dish which I’d heard rave reviews about – the Keralan roast beef (£15.60). It certainly lived up to its billing. A whopping cast iron pan was loaded with hunks of tender slow-cooked beef coated in a thick sauce with a good hit of chilli, coconut and curry leaf.
A milder and creamier fish molee (£15.50) was a good contrast, its sauce fragranced with turmeric and ginger and packed with big pieces of meaty king fish.
A pair of hoppers (£2.90) were lacy and crisp around the edges with a lighter and soft textured centre. The batter itself had a lovely delicately sweet flavour with a light fermented tang.
Kallappam (£2.90) were very similar, in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they were made with the same batter. This time around it was used to make a thicker more uniform pancake, which was also a delicious vehicle for shovelling curry into my gob.
We probably didn’t need to order any vegetable sides, but I always seem to get carried away.
Cabbage and carrot thoran (£5.10) was the pick of the bunch – the light and fresh stir fried diced carrot and cabbage were nicely scented with coconut and Keralan spice.
I really enjoyed the soft and squidgy texture of a bowl of tempered potatoes (£4.90) but they probably could have done with a bigger hit of spice.
I was congratulated by the owner on my pronunciation of okra mezhukkupuratti (£4.90); it was well worth the tongue twisting required to order it. Stir-fried okra had no sliminess at all and was coated in a light tomato and ginger seasoning.
Absolutely stuffed, we bagged up a couple of containers of leftovers to take home and I can confirm they all tasted just as lovely the following day.
We had a delicious, generous and well-priced meal at Little Kochi. Even if you already have a few favourite southern Indian restaurants in Cardiff then it’s still well worth checking out. Next time there’s a heatwave I’ll certainly be heading back to their air conditioned dining room for a bowl of Keralan roast beef and a dosa.
The Details:
Address - Little Kochi, 78 Albany Road, Cardiff CF24 3RS
Web - https://littlekochi.com/
Telephone - 029 2233 8265
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