Vijaya Krishna in Tooting recently won the highly competitive Tooting Tiffin Cup, so we popped in to congratulate them and find out why the long-established restaurant is so special (whilst enjoying a spinach vadai and a mango lassi)...

Biju Mullath (Vijaya Krishna’s manager) and his family are understandably proud of winning the 2015 Tooting Tiffin Cup (an annual Parliamentary event which celebrates south Asian food in the UK) and therefore hope to be shortlisted for a cook-off at the House of Commons later in the year.

Vijaya Krishna is a long-established, family-run restaurant. Vijayan Mullath, Biju’s father, started the restaurant in 1994 and now runs it with Biju and Biju’s cousin Girish. The restaurant has recently had a refurbishment by local designer Maureen Yiaxis, and the new, brighter look has suddenly made residents more aware of this long-standing Tooting institution.

However, despite the brand-new look, it’s the food that makes Vijaya Krishna really special and keeps customers coming back again and again. Biju says. “Since opening the restaurant in 1994, we have provided authentic south Indian food from the state of Kerala. Our customer base consists of a large number of regular customers going back to the time we started. We have a wide variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian food that is always freshly prepared to order, using fine ingredients and careful attention to detail. It gives us great pleasure in knowing that we have been able to provide quality food to a large number of Tooting residents for more than two decades at affordable prices, and look forward to doing so for many years to come!”
 

Most of Vijaya Krishna’s food originates in and around Trichur (where the Mullath family originate from), a region of Kerala in South India. They serve many Keralan dishes, but also broaden their menu with the occasional Pakistani karahi-style dish.

For those who have never tried Keralan food, Biju recommends the Chicken 65 (pieces of chicken coated in red chilli and pepper, then deep-fried). However, as Biju admits (and as we’ve tried to find out), no-one quite seems to be certain as to how it got this name. 

 

Other recommendations include other traditional Keralan dishes, such as Cochin Prawn Curry, Lamb Green Masala, Alleppey Lamb Roast and Prawn Puri. They also serve excellent dosai, including a Mysore Masala Dosai (which contains spicy beetroot). Their vegetable options include Keralan Tomato Curry, Okra or Aubergine Theeyal and all sorts of other vegetable curries and dals. And as for their TripAdvisor reviews – well, you can see why they won the Tooting Tiffin Cup!

So, why not pop in to Vijaya Krishna for a meal, or order something to take away. Biju and co look forward to seeing you! Visit them online, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

Vijaya Krishna, 114 Mitcham Road, Tooting, SW17 9NG. Call 020 8767 7688 / 6342.

Opening times:

• Sunday – Thursday 12.00pm to 3.00pm (closed Monday lunchtime) and 6.00pm to 11.00pm
• Friday – Saturday 12.00pm to 3.00pm and 6.00pm to 12 midnight