Om’s Cariad Curry, Grangetown

How long have I had ties to Grangetown? A while now. It has been four years plus that I’ve been banging the drum for eating here, but it goes way back. Longer than I thought: long enough, apparently, to have my dinner this week cooked by someone I taught in primary school.

I almost feel guilty for disturbing the two young lads playing pool. But that’s how it works here: you pay for your drinks at the bar- £3.50 a pint will do nicely, thank you- then order your meal directly from Om and his brother.

Om’s Cariad Curry is a new kitchen takeover at Sai La Vie, which means trays loaded with foil containers for an easy takeaway if you over-order. in this long, low sports bar on Clare Road. No frills, no fuss.

Good eating, though: bhajiya, his speciality (£8.50) are particularly good, the crisp chickpea flour batter cracking open to reveal well-marinated chicken in telltale turmeric and chilli.

The menu is heavier on vegetable options than meat- 7 to 3 starters, 4 to 3 on mains- but that’s no accident, with Om keen to highlight the rich tradition of Indian vegetarian cookery.

I’m in a meaty mood both times, though: a rich, well-spiced lamb keema (£8) has that trick of keeping you bobbing back in for another spoonful. Pile it over the jeera (cumin) rice (£3.50).

There’s plenty to like about scooping up the house chicken curry (£7.50) with a chilli garlic naan (£3.50) hot from the tawa.

Butter chicken (£7.50), much darker and heftier than many, is much less about the cloying sweetness which can bedevil others than a hearty, robust masala base. It’s particularly good with the garlic coriander naan (£3.50).

Om’s Cariad Curry has its roots in hard times. The twin blows of lockdowns and a long illness meant others paths were suddenly shut off: but that gave Om time to reflect and decide to do what he loved: feeding people, and seeing them satisfied with good food.

A man on a mission, then, so the last few years have been about formal training, researching dishes and practising what has become this menu. It shows: this is confidently done stuff. There are no frills here, no fussy plating: this is cooking accessible to everyone. Later, Om describes it as ‘village’ cooking: ‘My style comes from Indian villages, not city cooking. Cooking food in the village is always made with so much more care, as it’s for the people you care about the most.’’

I like that. This is a gutsy, full-flavoured menu which does exactly what it needs to, and fits in with its home. More than that, Cariad Curry is a fledgling business from a young man making an effort to build something he can call his own, something good from the unfortunate cards he was dealt. That’s something to support, no? Don’t add it to ‘your list’ and let it languish there for six months. Get out and try it for yourself. Do it soon.

Om’s Cariad Curry
Sai La Vie
109 Clare Rd, Cardiff CF11 6QR

7 days a week, from 12pm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oms.cariadcurry?igsi=YWhwM2NleGg3eGJp