Admittedly, on a sun-soaked springtime Friday afternoon, your first thought for lunch may not be a curry. However, Khai Khai is not your average curry house.
Since opening in December 2020 at the height of Tier 3 restrictions, the restaurant has bounced back emphatically, first with a roaring takeaway trade and now as a ‘Victorian dining rooms’ spotlighting retro Indian comfort food expertly prepared with fire and smoke.
Set on Newcastle’s Queen Street, the restaurant possesses a postcode of fine culinary reputation and occupies the former site of Vujon which was another firm Indian favourite.
Khai Khai recently won the award for the UK’s Best Innovative Restaurant Concept at the British Curry Awards has drawn such acclaim it was even favoured by one Harrison Ford when filming the fifth Indiana Jones in the North East last Summer. To paraphrase his other most famous alias, we had a very good feeling about this. I therefore pitched up with my son Jack – another staunch Indian food aficionado- to see what all the fuss is about.
Khai Khai’s raison d’etre is to evoke the magic of India’s culinary history, showcasing elemental cooking techniques and heritage dishes perfected in villages and culinary hotspots for centuries.
To achieve this, the restaurant uniquely employs a special ‘Josper’ oven, which prepares food over red-hot coals and burning wood – a traditional cooking method used in India.
Khai Khai describes its style of cooking as ‘smoke play’ – dishes are cooked over a natural flame: the oldest, most rudimentary form of cooking.
This emphasis on Indian heritage is also captured in the interior – a supremely stylish space with Indian wall murals, copper trinkets and crystal glassware. I was first to arrive (we’re spotting a pattern here) and noticed a bright and airy lunchtime buzz with the dining area absolutely packed. Of an evening meanwhile, the restaurant’s bespoke mood lighting creates a backdrop which is more cosy and intimate. Reflecting more modern tastes, Khai Khai also offers a cocktail menu which captures the cosmopolitan buzz of contemporary Newcastle. Many even are brewed to complement the smokiness which pervades the food offering. Whilst all this sounds marvellous, Jack and I are two unabashed guzzlers and swerved the cocktails in favour of two large cobras. Starters arrived shortly thereafter. Jack chose a stunning Kolkata chilli chicken, a dish of Indo-Chinese origin, stirfried with green peppers and burnt red chillies.
I chose the classic onion & samphire bhaji, done very well here, embellished with fennel and served with a chilli garlic dip. Indeed, upon arrival we each eyed each other’s dishes enviously so decided to share the lot in a full-blown tapas style feast. This continued into our main course where we both enjoyed the achari king prawns with pickling spices, fennel and dill and the chicken pepper roast with vivid pink peppercorns and caramelised onions.
Both dishes possessed that gorgeous, smoky char and were nicely complemented by a signature tandoori broccoli and a peshawari naan.
This had been a superb meal however we still had room for the Josper grilled pineapple with coconut ice cream which proved a winning palate cleanser.
Khai Khai’s cooking techniques may be all ‘smoke play’ and mirrors, but I can assure you this restaurant is the real deal.
