kettuvallam

Right in the heart of Burton town centre is Kettuvallam, a restaurant specialising in southern indian cuisine. The restaurant itself has a modern feel, a well stocked bar and well spaced tables, not too cramped. The menu was comprehensive with interesting and unique dishes from the Kerala region. A good range of starters on offer, which sadly we opted to miss, so as not to fill up before the mains; very competitively priced though. To begin the meal we did have a selection of poppadoms while we chose our other dishes, an interesting variety - standard, spicy and dried banana chips, a good start.

Mains wise, between us we had a fish curry, a dish of spicy sea bass and a 'Queen of the Arabian Sea' Massala (prawns, coconut etc.) Again well priced with the most expensive being just over £10, but it came with pilau rice. Side dishes were remarkable value at just a few pounds - chapatis, a mango salad, tamarind rice and some very spicy Bombay potatoes was a good range and variety. The whole meal was fantastic - very tasty, full of flavour, but extremely spicy, probably at the limit of heat that we could take, without it taking away the flavour. The whole sea bass in particular was layered with a highly spiced sauce. I have to say I was impressed, it was an enjoyable experience and there are many more dishes I would like to try. The staff were great, helpful but not intrusive, good course pacing too.

After reading reviews, 4 of us (all regular travellers to India) decided to see for ourselves. We found the food excellent and all meals distinctly different. The service was excellent and the prices competitive. I would recommend that people try this restaurant for themselves. Some people who regularly eat Indian food will not like it as they will be used to having the same curries, just with added food colouring, extra onions or maybe a couple of pieces of pineapple and if that's what they like, then fine - but don't criticise if the food is just different to what you prefer. We shall all be returning on a regular basis - but also being selective on the friends we take - no point in forcing a type of food on people if you know from experience that they will prefer Italian, or Chinese etc. (Having been fortunate enough to travel the world we like food from all countries and we feel that this restaurant represents southern India very well)

I concur with the negative reviews about the restaurant on here. Am also an Indian and quite frankly was ashamed after bring some non-Indian friends here. The food was far removed from what they taste like in the Kerala, decor has absolutely nothing to do with the 'Gods own Country' thats what kerala state boasts of, but staff were attentive and helpful. Also, it is quite frankly a bit pricey for what it is - there are far cheaper and better options in Burton.

I have been to the restaurant on the second week after it opened, enjoyed the food and the service. we decided to go last week with our friends and relatives. i wanted to give a suprise to my wife on her birthday,because she wanted to go to the restaurant again.we all enjoyed the food very much.we have been to india and we have been to kerala,and we are happy to find this authentic place in burton.CERTAINLY WORTH 5 STARS.TRY THIS NEW RESTAURANT GUYS,YOU WILL LOVE IT.

There is nothing authentic about this restaurant and while visiting we sat next to a family that was complaining about the food. I am originally from South India, and work as a doctor locally. I was really excited to see a south indian restaurant opening up in my town and i could cut down my miles running to Leicester every week. After the meal with three other friends i must say it is not authentic or traditional. The starters were OK and the coffee at the end was good and thoroughly enjoyed. The interesting part was the menu which we felt just copied as same as from an excellent restaurant we visit in Leicester, including their signature dishes are here, but they taste entirely different. It seems like they are trying to copy everything from a successful restaurant and they even do not have a single dish of their own in the menu. Copies are always a copy. The service was fine and no complaints against the waiters, but the food in here is nothing more than a gimmick, and while there are nice restaurants along there this is simply not one of them. If you fancy a south Indian i recommend 'Shivalli' for vegetarians and 'Kayal' for veg and non-veg in Leicester. Dakshin for low budget similar take out. It is a few miles drive but worth a lot.

Went to the new Kettuvallam restaurant last Friday with my husband and son. Don't believe the hype! Well below expectations
Very poor. The service was good and very friendly but the food was awful. For authentic and rustic, read basic and cheap. I have eaten in lots of places in India, also in Kerala and this is not representative of the food there. The lamb dish was unedible lumps of fat. The veggie dishes were bland and the rice was dry and tasted reheated. We were fooled by the high reviews here. DO NOT EAT HERE.

I've been to this restaurant many times since it opened late last year. I find it a refreshing change from the boring so called Indian restaurants in Burton who basically serve up the same dishes and only vary by their service and prices.

Kettuvallam is authentic Indian food, quality vegetarian dishes and southern indian meat dishes. My favourite being the masala dosas which are almost as good as my Mum's. So when I miss my Mum's cooking I go to Kettuvallam - enough said!

Good prices for freshly cooked dishes, good range of drinks, try the salt lassis folks, this is real indian cooking.

We went on a Sunday lunchtime (13th Feb) and whole heartedly agree with the other reviewers. The food is AMAZING! We had a selection of starters, all of which were incredibely tasty and flavoursome and the same applied to our main courses. The service was fabulous, attentive without being intrusive. A million miles from the usual brown slop with assorted meat & veg & rice you usually get. It's by far the best Indian meal we have ever had. Going again this week & have been raving about it to all our friends. Brilliant! Go there!

Certainly worth the 5 stars.

The staff were wonderful, polite and helpful. Unlike many restaurants, the staff didn't ask you every 5 minutes if the meal was OK - we all hate it when waiters ask us that!
The food was beautiful and very interesting.
It was easy to forget that you were just in Burton.

We've been three times since the restaurant opened. Initially attracted by the appeal of trying something differnent to the regular indian cuisine on offer in Burton, we have not been disappointed. Don't expect to find the usual list of korma, masala, balti, vindaloo curries as this is south indian, and in our opinion is much tastier and more flavoursome. You're left feeling like you've had a nice restaurant experience, without feeling like you've over eaten at a bog-standard curry house. As vegetarians the menu is varied and creative and the prices are also fantastic - not only for food, but also the drinks. The service is also excellent, we were recognised and remembered by the staff on subsequent visits. We initially stopped outside the door one lunchtime to just browse the menu, and a member of staff came out to talk to us and explain items on the menu. She was very genuine and friendly, with no hard-sell. At the end of the meal you are presented with the bill and some indian sweets in a nice carved box, a really nice touch. It's now our plan to visit regularly and sample the entire menu (the meat free parts!). This restaurant is a new, undiscovered gem in the town, we're confident that once word of mouth has spread that it will be a popular favourite. FIVE STARS!!!!!! Rob & Sarah

A new restaurant and a very welcome addition to Burton's range of Indian establishments. The Kettuvallum is not your usual curry house, it specialises in authentic South Indian food from Kerala.

The menu is mainly vegetarian and seafood although a few meat dishes are also available.

I chose the fish stew served with cassava. The stew was well spiced and very tasty, balanced by the interesting but filling cassava - a full main course, no need for extra rice or side dishes. Mrs P's vegetable thali was 3 courses, starting with a delicious drumstick (a vegetable, not chicken) soup followed by a selection of 6 or so small pots of vegetables, each distinctive and flavoursome. This was in turn followed by a traditional desert.

The total price, including drinks and a poppadom starter came to less than £25 - remarkable value for food of such high quality.