Expect no baltis and a true taste of Indian food at this new eatery
Arun Rajan is the owner of Madras Eatery, a new Indian restaurant (Image: BirminghamLive)
A new restaurant opened in Bearwood last month, promising a true taste of South Indian food where staff prefer customers to stick to the menu.
Located on Bearwood Road, Madras Eatery replaced Punjabi restaurant Red Oven, but incorporated food from a different region of India.
Arun Rajan comes from the state of Tamil Nadu and wants people to experience authentic food from his area.
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This is reflected in the restaurant’s name, Madras previously the name of the Tamil Nadu capital until 1996.
“Madras is our authentic name and we want to keep our roots. Everyone knows about madras and we want to keep our culture too, the restaurant has to come from the name,” Arun said.
Inside Madras Eatery, a new Indian restaurant (Image: BirminghamLive)
Arun partnered with head chef Usman Ali, who previously ran prestigious restaurant Yukti in Liverpool.
At one time, the Indian restaurant was sixth on Liverpool’s Tripadvisor ranking and the duo hope to receive similar acclaim in their newest venture.
What makes Madras stand out from other Indian restaurants is the menu – Arun prefers customers to stick to what they serve in order to keep the restaurant true to its identity.
He added: “We have mixed a bit from the north because British people would still like to see butter chicken and naan bread on the menu.
“But we don’t want to go out of our area, we won’t be serving baltis.
“If someone asks for a dish not on the menu, we would prefer to stick with what we can offer you.
“If people want butter chicken spicy for example, you would just get the heat and lose the flavour. We would prefer to recommend a different dish.”
Dishes include aloo bonda, a vegan dish consisting of potato balls laced with spices and dipped in chickpea flour batter.
Aloo bonda from Madras Eatery in Bearwood(Image: BirminghamLive)
Another option is the chettinad chicken, a curry cooked in Madras-style gravy with chillies from Ariyalur in Tamil Nadu.
His first time running a restaurant and paying tribute to home in the menu, Arun is full of hope for his new home in Bearwood.
He added: “It’s been quite good and rewarding so far to see good reviews. We’re providing a different type of flavour which customers haven’t tried before and we’re moving in the right direction.
“Bearwood is a multicultural area which appreciate good food and like to support local businesses.
“Food is an art, it’s love and passion. If you don’t have that, don’t go into the industry because I have to meet the trust and responsibility of the customer.”
Madras Eatery is located on 607A Bearwood Rd, Bearwood, Birmingham B66 4BJ