NALAAS South Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in England

Went to Nalaas along with my family on 1st May at 0930pm. As we stepped in, the gentleman in reception looked bit confused and i asked are you open and he said yes. Chef was sitting in the restaurant looking equally confused and it took nearly 2 mins for him to decide whether to go into kitchen or not. The order was placed and immediately a loud female noise from the kitchen - "WE ARE CLOSED , WE ARE CLOSED". Hearing that my wife said lets go from here and i asked the guy are you ok to serve us and immediately he said she did not shout at us but someone else. The food came- Chicken Tikka - it was as good as chewing toffee dipped in turmeric. Absolutely Bland. Chilli Panneer - Panneer not even fried, soaked in soya sauce and chicken pepper fry was somewhat ok. Next was main course. I have never tasted a pathetic biriyani like this. I have no idea what the chef has mixed on top but it tasted like rose water or more of star anise and surprisingly both lamb and chicken biriyani tasted the same. It looked as if they mixed rice into a gravy. The meat both chiken and lamb very chewy. Butter Naan was good. Chicken chettinad was more like butter chicken . We left more than 70% of the food. Kids were clearly disappointed and one of them said I will never ask you to take us to restaurant. A sheer waste of time & money. The owners should review every bit in that restaurant to turn it around. I am not sure how it managed to get 4...

Being fond of South Indian cousins I’m very picky and can easily get offended by ‘non South Indian food’ served under South Indian banner. My experience at Nalaas was extremely enjoyable in terms of both food, service and atmosphere. Truly authentic South Indian cousins at very reasonable prices with top notch service. 5 stars for both Food and Service, 4 stars for environment as you feel bit of squeezed in being in a very small place with people eating all around you with distance not more than 35cm. They definitely need to upsize their place. Tips: on weekends always book your table by calling them and avoid waiting for a table to be vacant.

There’s very limited car parking space in front of the restaurant which is busy most of the time but you can park on the side road and the road exactly opposite the restaurant (next to the chippys) free for 2 hours after 6pm.

If you’re planning to go there before 6pm you can park on side roads without restriction which are like 10 minutes walk from Nalaas, I don’t remember Road name but you’ll easily find them once you’re in the area.

Try their South Indian Chicken Chattender (or similar called) too...

Crack a coconut off my head. WOW!

Amazing little restaurant tucked away in the back streets of Derby.

Parking on the streets is a bit hit and miss, but less than 2 mins away is a public car park.

Kingfisher, cobra and other bottled beers available. But the star attraction is the food. I had the masala dosa chilli and coriander. Sublime, full of flavour and a snappy sambar (dhal based veg curry) to accompany the dosa. My wife had the chilli fish tilapia.

Both were great and could have had double portions. But be mindful, portions here are big.

Main course for me was lamb chettinad and my better half had the chicken chettinad. Both were a taste treat. Portion of boiled rice and a couple of chappattis.

Now about the chappattis... I'm a bit of a connoisseur when it comes to chappattis. These... these were magnificent. Top quality, light, fluffy and cooked to perfection.

I would have forgone the rice and had two chappattis.

Service, perfect and can't fault it. Just a final note it is Cash Only.

Grab a coconut and lob it at your mate's head and repeat after me, "Oi, let's go to Nalaas right now. I'll take you to...