Address - Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 2-5-20 Opening hours - Open every day from 11:00 to 23:00 Map - Yes Telephone - 5285-8522 Menu - In English and Japanese CC - No

Tetulia* is a new restaurant I heard about some time ago from a friend, and I went one evening without knowing what to expect. I am delighted to report that it's a cheapie, but excellent and interesting.
Right at the intersection between Shin Mejiro Dori and Meiji Dori, it's just a small room occupying the corner of a building. The Indian cooks behind the counter are as dark-skinned as Sudanese, and that, plus the presence of coconut milk in some curries and some biryanis (a dish somewhat similar to fried rice) makes me think they might be from South India.

The first thing I noticed is that the menu includes several new (to me, at least) and delicious dishes, like Mutton and Dahl Curry or Ghi Naan (Naan is Indian clarified butter) and others that are not very common, like the mentioned biryani. The second impressive feature of the place is the prices, mostly below 900 yen. Yet the curries are creamy and full of flavor, their naan soft and pleasantly moist, the pakora fragrant. Alas, I cannot say the same for the biryani, which all turned out to be lumpy and mediocre.
Still, if you avoid those there's no better Indian food in Takadanobaba, and the only other significant problem Tetulia has is space: if it becomes more popular, you might not find a seat.

March 2004

* The Bengali name of the Ganges river.