Four years is a culinary lifetime, particularly in London, but I have always retained fond memories for Ma Goa, a Putney-located Indian restaurant. Finding myself in the area on a recent weekend, the opportunity to return seemed too good to pass up. In summary, the restaurant has had a make-over, but the food remains as differentiated as before. A quick glance at the website tells you all you need to know re the angle the venue is going for, namely, ‘Indian home style cooking and craft beer.’ For any aspiring south-west London hipsters, this is manna from heaven – a range of distinctive and original local beers on tap in a dining room that has been stripped of much of its family-friendly Indian paraphernalia (per my last visit) and replaced with wood panelling and fewer artefacts. The repositioning is clever though, taking the preconceived concept of the local Indian restaurant into the 21st Century and broadening the addressable market. Importantly, however, the ethos behind the cooking is unchanged: home cooking by the founding family, all the ingredients sourced from Tooting Market and each dish prepared individually. There’s no onion bhaji or chicken tikka, rather some genuinely innovative offerings, drawing obviously on Goan approaches to cooking. Even the humble poppadum (pictured) gets a makeover here, broken into pieces and dressed beautifully with mango chutney, red onion, coriander and raita. Similarly, there is none of your standard samosa fillings. On this occasion, we got the chance to try a moist and intense venison offering. It is the mains where Ma Goa really stands out. Our group shared a range of dishes, but highlights for me were Porco Vindaloo and a Sambhur Curry. The former embraces the Portuguese legacy of Goa, combining rich, spicy, sour and hot notes. Each mouthful was a flavour sensation. Meanwhile, the sambhur took in Southern Indian influences, combining aubergines, drumsticks (a new one on me: the seed-pod from the horseradish tree) and guwar beans with lentils. The dish was smoky, earthy and very satisfying. For those who don’t want beer, the wine list has also seen a notable upgrade (the owners also operate a neighbouring wine and cheese shop) and Austrian Riesling offered a wonderfully bracing acidity to pair off against the spice of the dishes. Pay a visit here, before the place gets overrun with too many bearded wannabees.
PS: if you have not seen, a thank you to Feedspot for including my blog in its top-ten UK restaurant blogs: https://blog.feedspot.com/uk_restaurant_review_blogs/