There is a large South Indian community in East Ham, and a few Indians living in London had told me that the best Dosas you can get anywhere outside India are in this area. Even though there are quite a few nearby, Vasantha Bhavan is rated by many as the best.
This place looked the real deal: "Pure Vegetarian" cuisine, no cutlery and metal plates and glasses - it really feels like we've landed in Bombay's Matunga area where all the South Indians live.
Secondly, when we took a look at the menu, we saw they have Mysore Masala Dosa - they have so many different types but this one is the daddy, and even not always easy to find in India. As well as the usual potato masala mixture which goes into the Dosa, this also comes with Coconut and Onion Chutneys inside it too.
Not only was the dosa out of this world, but the sambar and chutneys were probably the best i've had in London. Some of the more mainstream South Indian restaurants have dosas (such as well known Rasa). This however eclipsed it - not only does the food taste so much more authentic, but the place does too (probably also because its the first Indian restaurant i've been to in the UK which only had Indians inside).
We also had a paneer and onion Uttapam - a kind of Indian crepe, but made from the same stuff as Dosas. It was pretty tasty but it just felt wrong to be eating this and taking up valuable stomach space which could have been saved for another Dosa!
Its a bit of a trek, but surprisingly easy to get to from Canary Wharf. Don't expect creature comforts, but its actually much cleaner than the Pakistani places in Whitechapel like Lahore Kebab House - and honestly, so much more authentic.
YUM
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