Yatri is located between Kings Cross and Euston stations and attracts passengers, tourists, and visitors to one of Camden’s less trodden quarters, Somers Town, to the south of the borough and just off the Euston Road.
The railway theme is further referred to in the restaurant’s name, which means ‘traveller’ in Hindi.
Yatri is travelling fast to achieve the status of one of north London’s quality Indian restaurants.
Prashant Patel, the restaurant’s founder, and Hemant, the chef, take justifiable pride in the richness of their cooking, the décor, and their faithfulness to their Indian culture.
Prashant hails from Gujarat but does not seek to give preference to any one element of the country’s vastly diverse cuisine.
He says: “There is no such thing as authentic Indian food.
“India is a vast country with multiple states and recipes and anyone who claims that their dishes are authentic Indian is misleading you.”
Prashant’s recipes are derived from all over India.
While many dishes are from India’s northern and north western regions, some come from Kerala in India’s South.
I would recommend here his rich fish dish, a tilapia curry in a thick and flavoursome sauce.
The Railway Chicken curry referred to above takes one back to the days of the Raj, our menu tells us.
Reading it, one recalls images of British imperial officials in their white pith helmets, eating tiffin and rejoicing in their favoured placements in the Empire.
In fact, Yatri’s versions of curry are particularly rich and flavoursome.
One suspects it leaves those served up to the British back in the day trailing by comparison.
Yatri’s owners and its chef are committed to sourcing ingredients from their mother country.
This goes to the 30-some spices which grace its relatively small but very select menu.
“We don’t like the sort of menu that goes over many pages and repeats itself, as if having multiple dishes makes it somehow more attractive,” Prashant says.
So Yatri spreads its dishes over a single side of paper, found on the table at every seat. You find its drinks menu on the other side of the paper.
That faithfulness to India even goes as far as the whisky, which Prashant sources from India.
He is on the lookout for an Indian grown wine but has yet to find one of the quality that will enhance his rich and divine curries.
Yatri avoids the fustiness of many more traditional Indian restaurants by letting the light in through its glass frontage and keeping its décor unfussy.
The simplicity allows the diner to concentrate on the food.
As every restaurateur knows, quality food today comes at a price, and Yatri’s prices are no exception.
That said, the traveller who makes it to Yatri will not regret making the journey.
