Dosa Club — Restaurant in Crawley

Visited this restaurant twice now to make sure it wasn’t a fluke the first time.

The restaurant itself is clean but basic. No flock wallpaper or sitar music in the background. Not a fine dining Indian as they call themselves these days. Mostly booth style tables which are comfortable, and do the job quite nicely. The staff here are very pleasant, and accommodating. There is ample parking outside in the shopping precinct. There is a no booking policy, so you can’t reserve a table. You can’t get a drink here as they are not licensed.  The menu is not exhaustively extensive as most Indians restaurants tend to be these days.

Now taking all that into account. The food here is nothing short of stunning. What they do. The do exceedingly well. The Dosa here is the best I have eaten outside of India, and still better than most I have eaten in India. They are large and have that delightful crispiness you just can’t get enough of. The potato filling in the masala Dosa is just right. Neither bland, nor over spiced. All of the side chutneys are delightful too. Especially the coconut.

On the second visit we added Chilli Crab Masala to the mix. Another stunning dish. You wouldn’t want to get elbow deep in shells, and crab juices in a fine dining restaurant. But here it just feels natural. The crab was well cooked but still soft enough to get through using hands only. The masala gravy was chilli hot but not enough to take away the taste of the crab. A heavy masala sauce full of rich curry leaves.  All the other food we saw going past our table looked of amazing quality too.

The toilets here are also spotlessly clean, and more modern than the appearance of the place would lead you to believe. Disabled access is not a problem.

We will...

Dosa Club 1 is the original restaurant and that’s where I’ve been going for years. But have gone to Dosa Club 2 in town about a half a dozen times in the last couple of months but was disappointed the last time I was there, hence avoided that tonight. The atmosphere is more relaxed at Dosa Club 1 and the food is always great as is the service. The Manager is really great too at Dosa Club 1 (whereas the Manager at Dosa Club 2 did not even come to speak to me despite me asking to see him). Tonight, we were waited upon by a lovely young chap called Basil. He was professional, very attentive, very helpful and very polite without being intrusive. He really made such a difference to our experience and made it much more enjoyable being looked after by Basil. He is a credit to the restaurant. Thank you so much for your excellent service Basil - you are doing a great job. Wish you all...

Though known for the dosa, which is essentially a kind of savoury crepe, served with chutneys, but I can vouch for their parotta , which is a typical south indian layered round tortilla (closest for those of who don't what a parotta is though it is very different in taste and texture). We ordered a Chicken Chettinad and Mutton Kadai, both dishes had this unique visual appeal which is typical of an Indian homely kitchen, not a common visual in the UK curry places. Curries that I have witnessed whether in India or around Crawley has been thoroughly disappointing but Dosa club comes as a breath of fresh air. It wasnt too tangy, nor too sweet which is generally served in Indian. Their menu is very basic but authentic and not Anglicanized! Don't fancy a lot of service, it is a very unornamented place which serves nearest gem of a food though I won't order a dosa at their place which...