Indian Street Food at The TAVA Shop

Spotted this upcoming shop a few weeks ago which finally opened.

Before they opened, I couldn't quite tell what cuisine it was because you find TAVA in Turkish cuisines as well as Indian.

When I went in the shop, I discovered that it was Indian and the reason they are called The Tava Shop is because they use a tava which is a convex metal griddle used to Vada Pavs etc.

It has been a while since I had Indian Street food and here it won't disappoint with the two chefs both named Pravin who are former hotel chefs.

Initially I wanted to order the Mughalai egg bhurji to compare it with this other place but I had the Gujrati Dabeli and Mumbai Vadapav recommended by the chef.

Both turned out really tasty.

The Mumbai Vadapav is basically a potato dumpling in a pav which is like an English soft roll with green chutney, fried onions and spiced peanuts.

I tried this ages ago elsewhere but I prefer this one because you can taste how clean their TAVA is.

Mumbai Vadapav

The Gujrati Dabeli is highly recommended and similar to the Vadapav but it was like a rainbow of flavours inside with everything sprinkled with delicate finest strands of sev (fried gram flour vermicelli).

The pav itself is pressed like a Ciabatta while the tangy potato filling is so comforting and moreish with the tamarind and onions.

I would say that the Mumbai Vadapav is similar to the Gujrati Dabeli but it has only one dimension with the spices because the Gujrati really steals the show with all the different dimensions.

Also had the Redi Tikki Chaat which was the best I have had, you can taste everything from the potato tikki to the refreshing moreish yoghurt and sweet and sour sauce.

As for some light snacks, I had the desi wings which were fried to perfection.

Finished with Deewani Chai which is similar to tea in Asia which is very milky but infused with spices and not overly sweet.

Deewani Chai

They also had the Mastani milkshake which was amazing because who doesn't love a good creamy milkshake, although I would love to see lassi milkshake would be delish!

Mastani Vanilla milkshake

Will definitely be coming back as there are so many items on the menu to try.

Their Potpurri aka set meals includes a drink and side which will only set you back as little as 7.99 if you have the non meat pav or chicken burger.

As an Indian Street food joint I would love to see items like the Mumbai chilli cheese toast, Lokandwala Frankie rolls and even Rangoli patterns all over the place or even a cool tuktuk for photos.

The Tava Shop:

248 High St, Croydon CR0 1NF