Food: Chaakoo Bombay Cafe, 79 St Vincent Street, Glasgow

Step back in time at Chaakoo Bombay Cafe

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Decor

Modelled on the Irani cafes of Mumbai circa 1950, Chaakoo takes its name from the Hindi word for “knife”. I was intrigued to find out what was on offer and have a look at the glamorous decor as Chaakoo has replaced the Irish pub Failte, which has been swept away with hardly a trace left. Now the space is filled with wood, mirrors and beautiful retro lighting (I love that look!). There are booths with gorgeous leather seats, tables with traditional dining chairs plus a quiet secluded area for a tête-à-tête.

The pub may be away but there’s still humour with blackboards listing house rules such as “No flirting with customers” and “All chai is coming strictly without opium”. Aww, I wanted Opium!

Passed the toilet check, sparkling!

Food

We ordered from their lunch menu, and for this you can either get a sandwich or a roti with fries for £7.50 or something from their grill selection and curry menu plus either masala fries or jeera rice for £9.95. Being a pair of grubbers (Glaswegian for greedy gits – should I start a Glaswegian dictionary?) we went for the two piece menu. WOW! This is what you get for two people.

An impressive haul for their “light lunch” option.

The Colonel picked Smoked Chicken Tikka, which was deliciously tasting of tikka and charcoal. I’ll be ordering this next time.

He then had Butter Chicken which looked very much like tomato soup and had us worried for a second! It was one of those, everything is perfect don’t ruin it moments…and they didn’t! The Colonel likes a milder curry and this was a hit. A lightly spiced, smooth curry.

This is the quietest lunch we have ever had. Just mmm try a bit of this will you. A good sign.

I picked Shakahari, which was vegetable pakora. Crisp, not greasy at all and perfect for pulling off chunks and dipping into the accompanying sauce.

I’m a sucker for lamb in a curry so picked the lamb rogan josh. No need for a knife here, the lamb was so tender it collapsed under my fork. Yum!

We were very impressed with the lunch option at Chaakoo. It’s tasty, quick and a good price as well. This is sure to be a top lunch option for the Colonel and I.

TL;DR

+ tasty grub
+ good price for lunch
+ big portion for a light lunch
+ love the decor

– jazz cover of Black Eyed Peas where is the love, ouch

Location:

Chaakoo Bombay Cafe 79 St Vincent Street Glasgow G2 5TF

Opening Hours:

Monday – Thursday 9am -10pm (food) 9am -11pm (drinks) Friday & Saturday 9am -10:30pm (food)
9am -12am (drinks) Sunday 10:30am -10pm (food) 10.30am -11pm (drinks)