Tuk Tuk – tuktukonline.com
426 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3JD
Date night in January took us to the newly opened Tuk Tuk restaurant on Sauchiehall Street. Their flagship restaurant opened in Edinburgh in 2012 and had been recommended to me more than once. When I heard they were bringing the goods to the West I was pretty excited. They serve small plates of Indian street food, “inspired by the food hawkers of India.” Here is a small excerpt from their website to get a feel for their ethos:
ly prepared food of the people and represents the tastes of India today. We pride ourselves on being the pioneer of Indian street food culture and delivering exceptional customer service. Using fresh ingredients and authentic spices we have a selection of delicious dishes for everyone. Our philosophy is all about experiencing and sharing good food.”
The interior is incredibly colourful and the darkened ceiling really helps set the ideal restaurant mood. Incense sits on the welcome desk, and after entering we were quickly taken to a table. It took us a while to order as the menu is packed full of options – I had to order the Indian lemonade drink Limca to tide me over. It might be worth noting the restaurant is BYOB, so don’t expect any booze on the menu.
Tuk Tuk serve their dishes in small portions (think Tapas style) and have an amazing selection of starters (‘roadside plates’), curries and sides to choose from. The menu also offers a small range of meat dishes. They recommend three dishes per person, and you can order more if needed. We opted for the Tuk Tuk Samosas (pea and potato) and Golgappa for starting, the Butter Chicken, Lamb Kolhapuri and Daal Makhani curries, and sides of steamed rice, popadoms and garlic naan. The number of dishes we ordered was pretty spot on; the portions aren’t large but are generous enough, and this was enough to satisfy us both.
We had never really been to an Indian street food restaurant before so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but I had a great experience at Tuk Tuk. The curries were quite different to anything I had had before in terms of flavour, and thankfully not too spicy. I’m a bit of a wuss with really hot food so if you’re like me there’s no need to worry. The food all tasted really fresh and the sides and starters were cooked perfectly. Their menu says to speak them about any dietary requirements; I got the vibe they’d be pretty accommodating. There were loads of vegetarian/GF options available.
So the restaurant is on Sauchiehall Street, and their Edinburgh flagship restaurant is on Leven Street. They also do a set lunch menu for £12, 12-4pm every day, which I think is a smashing deal. I can’t wait to go back and try some other dishes. Overall I’d totally recommend paying Tuk Tuk a visit. And thanks for reading.
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