I have been meaning to go to Tuk Tuk in Edinburgh for ages, coming from Glasgow I grew up visiting great curry restaurants and I worked in a large Indian restaurant chain as a student, so learned a thing or two about one of Scotland’s favourite dish! So I was super excited to be invited along to experience the restaurant last Thursday evening.
Unlike the traditional Indian restaurant where diners usually choose an individual dish each and the setting is quite formal, Tuk Tuk throws this model on its head as the restaurant is all about sharing and having fun in a contemporary setting. It is this winning formula that has turned the brand into a favourite in Edinburgh!
Background
Tuk Tuk opened back in 2012 and the restaurant is inspired by the food hawkers of India with dishes on the menu influenced by rustic roadside and railway station vendors that are so popular in India. The vendors nourish the appetites of busy office workers, tired rickshaw-wallahs and hungry school children throughout the day. And the menu pays homage to these roadside culinary geniuses. Dishes are simple earthy, lovingly prepared food by the people and represents the tastes of India today.
Location
Based in between Bruntsfield and Tollcross, it’s a crossroads of customers, you have students, theatre goers from the Kings Theatre, tourists and general passing trade.
Ambiance
Decor is a far cry from a traditional Indian restaurant, bright colours across walls and chairs and lots of Bollywood posters inject the place with fun and vibrancy. It’s casual canteen style dining and I love the metal water cups laid out on the tables.
Service
Service is friendly and casual, the staff know their stuff and food is served quickly and efficiently. One word of warning is the acoustics, it’s a busy place, with lots of chatter and the high ceilings means it is quite hard to hear the server.
Menu
There are various menus to choose from, the main food menu features tapas-sized sharing dishes, most of which are around the five to six pound mark and split into Roadside Dishes (starters) with highlights including their Chicken Lollipops, The Pakora Platter, Samosas, Puri Yoghurt Bombs and Pau Bhaji to name a few and their Curry section which includes so many different delicious options; Baby Aubergine and Potato, Aloo Gobi, Sag Paneer (my favourite) and their famous Railway Station Lamb Curry! There is a good range of side dishes which includes poppadoms and chutneys, rices, chips and a good range of naans.
For money savers like me they promote a very generous BYOB service that costs just £1 per person to cover recycling, as the menu serves no alcohol, so you can proudly get your super-market wine out on the table and no questions asked 🙂
They do have a wide selection of soft drinks, and for an authentic taste of India try the Masala Thumbs Up the cola of Bombay flavours with Indian spices or one of their Lassis, made of yoghurt which come in a range of flavours.
What We Ate
We had a real feast, we chose from the set menu, which is £18.95 and is enough food to feed an army, you are presented with a selection of starters (roadside plates), poppadoms and chutneys, and you can choose from four main curries (two vegetarian, one lamb and one chicken) with a selection of rice and naan.
To kick things off we had poppadoms and chutneys, which include my favourite spiced onions, mango chutney, pakora sauce and lime pickle!
For starters a deep fried feast of chicken lollipops, veg pakora and samosas.
For mains we had two veg dishes I opted for the Saag Paneer, this is one of my all time favourites, spinach cooked with paneer cheese, it is rich but not too spicy and took me right back to my trip to Goa where I lived on paneer cheese, and my other favourite Tarka Dahl, like a lentil soup but thick and full of aromatic Indian spices.
And my dining parter chose the Ginger Garlic Chicken and the Lamb Kolhaprui both of which got the thumbs up! The curries were served with pilau and fried rice and a generous side plate of peshwari naan and garlic nan.
They have a good range of desserts on the main menu and on the set menu you can order Gulab Jamin and Ice Cream and tea or coffee which is included in the price of the set menu, but I had to admit defeat by that point, I was stuffed!
Final Thoughts
If you love curry and a good time then Tuk Tuk is the place for you, prices are very affordable and the food is delicious, mix this in with a great atmosphere and cheap BYOB and you have the perfect place for a fun night out or long lunch with friends.
If you want to enjoy the Tuk Tuk experience at home they offer home delivery via Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat and if you are Glasgow based then Tuk Tuk have a restaurant on Sauchiehall Street and further afield they have just opened one in Thailand’s capital Bangkok!
Address: 1 Leven St, Edinburgh EH3 9LH
Web: tuktukonline.com
