Vijaya Krishna

6 Reviews on “Vijaya Krishna”

• CURRYBOND

  Our venue, which hopes to reach for the heights of the CURRYBOND leaderboard, and topple Dosa N Chutney, is Vijaya Krishna. Chosen in 2015 by former Tooting MP, now Mayor of London and generally top Tooting bloke, Sadiq Khan as best curry in Tooting for the annual Tiffin Cup. So with a top endorsement expectations were high.Vijaya Krishna is not in the heart of the curry corridor, situated along the Mitcham Road it certainly stands out with a clean, cream exterior and classy signage. It’s certainly benefitted from a relatively recent make-over. As we take our seats the overriding impression is this is a proper restaurant. Welcoming staff, cosy interior, other patrons, table cloths. Good stuff.Venue score – 9.3/10.We’re back in South India for the curry on offer, but with our limited numbers we choose our dishes carefully. Starters are, the now regular, Prawn Puuri and thank the Lord we can re-open the Bible with a portion of Bhajis. The Puuri is puffy and the Bhajis are crunchy, tasty and hot, rewarded with a Bhaji Score of 9/10.Next up comes the curry. The selection is good, a nice combination of classic options as well as some previously frequented South Indian specials. The CURRYBONDers plump for Lamb Bhuna, Butter Chicken and after some Masala based confusion Chiken Tikka. We partner up with some parathas and a pilau rice. It is all, frankly, delicious. The Chicken Tikka is charred and has a deep Tikka orange spice which is juicy and tender. The Bhuna is deep and spicy, mild but incredibly moorish and the Butter Chicken is rich and creamy. After close to 100 curry dishes sampled to date, you come to recognise the real curry champions. The difference it seems, to my amateur curry palate, is the depth and the complexity of the spices, without swimming in butter and stinging with salt. It’s safe to say Vijaya Krishna hits the mark.Food Score – 9.0/10.Perhaps the greatest compliment to the food on offer comes when we achieve the as yet thought unachieveable…we clean our plates!With bellies comfortably full and a timely finish for the Bond leg our bill comes in at 51.50 minus the tip which was added automatically so an upper end 17.17/CURRYBONDer but with beers included the value was good.Value Score – 7.7/10.Classy exterior, welcoming service, blinding Bhaji’s delicious curry and Cobras on offer there are zero complaints. Even the toilets get the thumbs up from Rimmsy. Our CURRYBONDers are happy, and duly reward Vijaya Krishna with the highest score to date.Overall Score – 9.2/10.

  October 30, 2016, 1:21 pm

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• Dev S

  decent interior and good kerela inspired kitchen. the calicut chicken and the cochin prawn curry are simply superb. the delivery is a little slow. one of the good indian restaurants around tooting.

  February 15, 2016, 11:06 am

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• Ladyandfood

  Terrible, violent, women degrading, they show no respect for women. I felt my life was under danger for complaining about their coffee quality..

  August 22, 2014, 7:10 pm

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• London Curry Blog

  12 April 2012 – Vijaya Krishna: Enter PenguinUndeterred by a weekend of gorging on chocolate, we booked in another curry for the week after the Easter bank holiday. After a break from the balti, we were keen to get tucked into a plethora of poppadum, paratha and pilau pleasures. After a lot of deliberation about the venue and turning down a chance to debut in Chennai Dosa on account of its no alcohol policy, we decided upon the South Indian, Vijaya Krishna restaurant.Louise ‘Penguin’ Hitchen had the pleasure of joining the ‘Brothers in Naans’ (despite a number of let downs we are humble and forgiving chaps, and didn’t mind giving Hitch ‘The Stitch’ a third chance).Prior to the curry we had a couple of pints in The Antelope, and – a short spring(bok) to the venue, merely metres away. Louise was waddling, alive with anticipation, she blurted, ‘I haven’t been this excited since the 2011 release of Happy Feet 2!’ Vijaya Krishna, is a curry house held in high esteem by the locals offering light Keralan fare so would it live up to its reputation? Here’s what we thought.VENUEVijaya Krishna is situated East of Tooting Broadway tube, on the Mitcham Road, and generally considered to be something of a hidden treasure. A small, intimate venue, it is a more conventional curry restaurant than some of its canteen-style neighbours. This is certainly to its benefit in some respects, but it does lack the individual character and idiosyncrasies that make a Tooting curry house a Tooting curry house. This issue was not helped by the fact that there was about as much atmosphere as in the exosphere!With ornate furniture and South Indian relics (some disturbingly phallic) adorning the walls, it is pleasant enough for a date (if you were maverick enough to suggest a curry based date) or quiet affair, but more raucous, lager-lugging, curry louts would be best advised to go elsewhere, especially as this is not a BYOB venue. Three huge air conditioning units on the ceiling slightly detracted from the charm, but we’ll give it a cool 7/10STARTERS AND SIDES6 Poppadoms and dipsMysore Bonda Vegetable Biryani (with sauce)Coconut RiceGreen Chilli ParathaSweet Coconut ParathaGarlic ParathaWe started, as is customary, with the traditional poppadoms, which came with a wide array of five dips – raita, mango, onion chutney, lime pickle and a coleslaw-style number. The raita was slightly too yoghurty, but the lime pickle was particularly good. Last time out the proverbial poppadom bar had been raised, so we were left a little disappointed, as these just didn’t stack up (not literally, but from a taste perspective) This lead to Louise’s only joke (contribution J) of the evening ‘Poppadom Preach’……………………………….An awkward silence followed.We then chose the Mysore Bonda for no other reason other than they came in a set of three. The menu described them as potato croquettes spiced with fresh ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, black pepper and dipped in a crunchy batter and fried. These fried balls lived up to their billing and came accompanied with two dips, both of which were a delight and really overshadowed the Bondas themselves. They were coconut based and thick in texture, one spiced with green, and the other red, chilli – a welcome addition to the table as the extra was gratefully mopped up with paratha.The Coconut Rice was garnished with poppy seeds that added a crispy touch and the Vegetable Biryani, not only included okra, but came with a complimentary sauce that added spiced tomato value and texture. On the other hand, the Parathas weren’t as memorable. The difference between the Garlic and Green Chilli varieties was at first difficult to find, although the chillies, if found, did provide a welcome kiss of heat. The Sweet Coconut Paratha was a step in the right direction, but not as sweet as those in Onam, and generally upstaged by previous bread-based outings. Overall the sides and starters were arguably reflective of the whole experience – not a lot to complain about, but nothing outstanding either. 6/10CURRYLamb Green MasalaChicken MalabarChicken CalicutFor the mains we chose three from the specials menu, although like in other establishments, the word special was slightly overused (and thus rendered slightly meaningless). We also had to accommodate that fact that our penguin doesn’t eat fish, so we were putting our eggs in the meat basket Chicken 65 immediately jumped out of the menu, but it read as if it would be dry, much like the fried lamb dish that has been sampled here before. Instead we chose a Lamb Green Masala, a Chicken Malabar and a Chicken Calicut. The lamb was not the most tender, but this didn’t detract from the dish which lived up to its green billing. The chilli had a mild kick and the sauce was delicately creamy – probably the pick of the three. The Malabar and Calicut were less distinctive, but still solid performers. The Malabar was creamier and quite masala-like whereas the Calicut had a drier quality with crunchy green peppers and a spicy finish. All in all, the curries were amply portioned and fairly rich in flavour. However, it is our duty to inform, (putting our bodies on the line so you don’t have to) that there were some repercussions the next day that left us feeling a little empty (Louise made no comment; we are too polite to ask, but let’s assume three strikes). Arguably this was a result of a lot of green chilli, but, either way, we’re obliged to take a point off, so it’s a 6/10 for the curry.SERVICEIt’s often said that children are best seen and not heard, and this adage could aptly be applied to the waiters at Vijaya Krishna; smart and efficient to their credit, but, softly spoken and distinctly lacking in any banter to their detriment. They weren’t that attentive initially either, but almost overplayed this later as one waiter unerringly stood to attention like a soldier at the horse guards parade. Generally though, no real faults, so 7/10 is a fair score, but if you’re looking for personality or an engaging conversation – Stephen Fry these waiters are not!VFMThe bill came to about 22 each, including tip, with the slightly higher price reflecting the fact that this isn’t a BYOB venue (and arguably to cover the electricity bill when the air conditioning units are kicked into gear). You can certainly get a cheaper experience, with more added value, elsewhere so, despite smart decor, efficient service and decent food, it’s a 6/10 for value.A good time was had by all and, with Louise summarising ‘This has been the best night/curry of my life’. However from a curry perspective, the experience was a little non-descript. No real complaints, but on this occasion Vijaya Krishna didn’t live up to the hype found in other reviews or the amount we ourselves had built up after a spell away from the spice. Certainly no X Factor, it’s a 32/50 in total. Join us next time where we will be taking a walk on the ‘non meat’ sidehttp://tootingcurryblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/12-april-2012-vijaya-krishna-enter.html londoncurryblog.com

  June 30, 2013, 11:28 pm

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• Jimbim

  My husbands fav Indian restaurant (I prefer radha Krishna bavan for the ambience) can’t fault the food at v k. Starters are all delicious, and mains are light and not swimming in oil.

  May 13, 2011, 5:34 pm

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• James Bateman

  This is actually my favourite Indian restaurant, amazing food with excellent personal service every time. The favourite dish for me has to be the chicken biriyani but over the years I’ve sampled almost everything on the menu. This south Indian restaurant is definitely one to try if you are in the area and worth the drive if you are not.

  November 1, 2009, 8:00 am

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