New Madras Tiffin — Restaurant in Kolkata

Recently we visited New Madras Tiffin to satiate our cravings for South Indian dishes, and it was an exhilarating experience indeed.

Place:

New Madras Tiffin is located at the heart of Kolkata, near Hatibagan. It was established almost 43 years back in the year 1978. Though it is surrounded by iconic restaurants like Arsalan, Sutanuti Junction, Ghazab and Bagicha, it never went down like a lead balloon in the competition. When it comes to South Indian food, New Madras Tiffin has always ruled the roost.

Ambience:

It is like an old-fashioned canteen. Seats are well maintained. But to be honest, there is a little paucity of space. Since we went there at peak hour, we found ourselves packed like sardines! The tables were clean and well-sanitized. The stewards were also very helpful and amiable.

Food:

We have visited this restaurant many times before and thus we knew their speciality. We ordered Dahi Vada, Special Masala Dosa and hot coffee. The place is also famous for kulfis. But inclement weather kept us from it. South Indian food is rich in protein and calcium and is very healthy. They use urad dal which is an excellent source of protein. The vadas, deep-fried lentil fritters dunked in creamy yoghurt, were utterly delicious. It was topped with sweet, tangy and hot chutneys. And garnished with fresh coriander leaves and potato julienne! A must-try dish which comes at ₹ 90 only.

Dosa:

The first thing that captures our eyes, is the size of the special masala dosa! If you are looking for a wholesome meal, it is quite ideal. Dosa is prepared by soaking and blending urad dal and parboiled rice to a batter. Then the fermented batter is spread like a crepe on a hot griddle. Special masala dosa was enriched in potatoes, carrots, and coconuts! It was served with coconut chutney, sambar and hot chutney. I liked the coconut chutney the most. The coffee was strong and super refreshing!

Recommendation:

If you are looking for a wholesome South Indian meal at a reasonable price, New Madras Tiffin is quite ideal. They maintain hygiene properly and serve tasty food in a jiffy. I will assign four stars out of five and highly recommend this eatery to all my friends.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pocket Pinch: ₹...

No real complaints. Popular so cramped at even 16:00. You do not want to be paying while someone is trying to get in or out. Clean and has wall fans. Not the most comfortable seating. Four small tables, five medium.

Dhaniya (coriander leaf) special masala dosa huge and tasty. But I found two ingredients in the stuffing odd. Well, new to me. One was a crunchy white vegetable. Turnip? And the green peas were also not 100% cooked. Is that possi le? A nice change for India actually. Soybeans also? Coconut chutney had insufficient black mustard seeds for me. Most sunk to the bottom which I also found odd. And it was thinner than I expected, by about 20%.

I made a mistake apparently. I thought I was ordering those crispy deep-fried lentil vadas but got the standard soft ones. I must learn the correct name.

Good service. Minimum 300 to use card (posted). Waiter was a bit clingy when it came time to pay (hanging around - clearly waiting for a tip - but he offered the shared tray of mouth-refreshing seeds without a spoon and anyway several persons served me). The manager seemed to be very slightly grumpy that I wanted to pay by card but he did not refuse me. It did take a very long time to process, like two minutes instead of two seconds. 'Slow server' was the excuse.

So, all the people are more or less pleasant, the atmosphere is OK, but the food is so-so (acceptable). Best was the sambar (soup). Lots of vegetables in it!

INR320 w/ taxes for a South Indian light ...

I have visited this place multiple times. This used to be a nice place earlier but today I had a very bad experience. We got a seat near the kitchen and this seating position is relevant to what happened next. We had ordered three Onion cheese ghee masala dosa which came with the usual Sambar and coconut chutney but no special Mysore chutney. On asking the waiter, they said it was finished. Later we heard from the lady at the counter who asked them to pack the Mysore chutney for zomato order. We again asked if there was the chutney, I could pay extra and then one staff hesitated to answer and other staff repeated it was finished. Seconds after this, I saw that the very person packed a big packet of the same chutney which was apparently finished and he rushed it into a packet of zomato order, trying to hide from the customers. I could see it from my table as it was facing the kitchen. I don't understand this biased behaviour, are we paying any less? The dosa cost was approx 300 each which is quite higher than usual dosa price, yet this restaurant is reluctant to provide basic condiments. Lying is not expected behaviour from the restaurant.

I highly recommend not going to...