Vijaya Krishna has been at the heart of Tooting’s restaurant scene for nearly a quarter of a century! We went along to meet Biju Mullath, the owner of this highly-popular family-run restaurant, to find out more.

Biju takes up the story......

It was my father, Vijayan, who started the restaurant back in 1984. We lived on Trevelyan Road and I went to Ernest Bevin School so we were very local and this massively helped us to give it the personal touch, which is so important. I took over the running of the business a few years ago along with my cousin Girish – we both still live in Tooting.
 

Although we had quite a major refurbishment 3 years ago, it’s the quality of our food that has stood the test of time and kept our customers coming back – we even still have regulars from when we first opened!
 

Most of our food originates in and around Trichur (where our family originate from), a region of Kerala in South India. We serve many authentic Keralan vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, but also broaden our menu with a couple of Pakistani karahi-style dishes.

The cuisine of Kerala is characterised by the use of coconut, either chopped or grated and used as garnish; coconut milk or paste is used to thicken gravies; and coconut oil is used for cooking. The use of chilies, curry leaves, mustard seeds, tamarind and asafoetida are also key ingredients.

If someone was visiting our restaurant for the first time then, depending on their taste preferences, we may well suggest they try some of our signature dishes such as:

Alleppey Lamb Roast (Lamb Fry): lamb sautéed with black pepper, green chilli and chopped onions.

Cochin Prawn Curry: a traditional prawn curry made out of king prawns in a medium spiced sauce containing garlic, tamarind, sliced green chillies and fresh curry leaves.

Chicken Karahi: our own take on the classic Pakistani chicken curry, flavoured with garlic, ginger, cumin, and other spices and, of course, fresh green chilies.

Lamb Green Masala: tender lamb cooked in a green masala sauce of green chillies, coriander leaves and mint, resulting in a medium spiced lamb dish.

Beetroot Thoran: a colourful and nutritious stir-fry dish consisting of beetroot seasoned with coconut, curry leaves and mustard seeds.

Having been located here on Mitcham Road for nearly 25 years, we’ve seen a lot of changes in this stretch of Tooting but none more so than in the last couple of years, especially with the amount of new places people can choose to eat and drink. Places such as Goldfinch (formerly Little Bar), Brick & Liquor, Daddy Bao, Aubergine and Pierogi are all quality venues and really help to further enhance this area of Tooting as a great destination for a night out.
 

It gives us great pleasure in knowing that we have been able to provide quality food at affordable prices to a large number of Tooting residents for so many years and we look forward to being part of the Tooting fabric for many years to come!

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Vijaya Krishna is located at 114 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NG and open: Sunday – Thursday: 12-3pm & 6-11pm (closed Monday lunchtime) and Friday/Saturday: 12-3pm & 6pm-midnight.

You can order home delivery (minimum order £15) by calling 0208 767 7688 / 6342 .

NHS and emergency services staff receive 10% off their bill.

You can visit the Vijaya Krishna website and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.