After having Chaula's recommended to me as very authentic (and highly delicious) by a friend, I had the opportunity to try it out for dinner. So glad we went!
Chaula's is pretty small and fairly casual, with a wall mural being the focal point of the room, fairy lights on and bhangra music playing.
They have a large wine list, and Cobra on draft and in bottles. They also have fruit juices, such as mango and salty and sweet versions of lime juice. (I got the latter, but it was a tad too sweet for me).
There is a large vegetarian selection on the menu, with more variety than the average curry place (though they do have the usual dhansaks and kormas with various meat additions). For a starter, the Dheli Chat was quite spicy, but an oh-so flavourful mix of chopped samosa and different sauces all together. T'm already looking forward to curing my next hangover with it!
I got a vegetarian thali, which came with three curries, dal, saag, rice, naan, raita and a sweet. These were definitely the most flavourful curries and dal I've had in Brighton. They were full of balanced spice and each one complemented each other well. My only beef was that the thali would have benefited from one more sauce aside from the raita, such as a tamarind or mint chutney, but I'll just remember to check out the 'Sundries' list on the menu next time.
The sweet was one of the little sponge balls that is soaked in a sweet and slightly fragrant syrup. It wasn't to everyone's taste, but I'm a fan. It tasted like it was laced with rosewater, and though it's intensely sweet, it certainly satisfies a sweet tooth.
The non-veg thali was equally delicious (or so I'm told, and according to the bit of very tender chicken tikka I tried, I'm inclined to agree) and we all agreed that this was seriously satisfying food. I am looking forward to going back to try more of the menu! read more