The Tamil Crown
Beef masala uthappam, a small thick dosa spread with spiced meat, which the Good Food Guide calls an absolute standout.1
Why go
Prince Durairaj came up through Roti King, opened The Tamil Prince in Barnsbury, and then took the old Charles Lamb pub on Elia Street behind Angel.1 The building runs over two floors, with a traditional dining room upstairs and a ground-floor bar that kept its fireplace. The cooking is Tamil Nadu: okra fries, robata lamb chops, Thanjavur chicken curry, and the uthappam.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the beef masala uthappam first, then the okra fries and the lamb chops off the robata.1
- Avoid: treating it as a new discovery if you already know The Tamil Prince. The Good Food Guide calls this "almost a carbon copy" of it, with more space and a calmer room.
What locals & experts say
- The Good Food Guide, on the dish to order: the beef masala uthappam is an
absolute standout
. On the room: the venue isspread over two floors with a traditional dining room upstairs and a ground-floor space including a bar, complete with a cosy fireplace, candles and a sofa.
1
Good to know
- Where: 16 Elia Street N1 8DE, a couple of minutes behind Angel station.
- Booking: taken on the restaurant's own site, which also handles group and private dining.
- Sibling: The Tamil Prince in Barnsbury is the first pub and a separate room.
Verdict
should-visit — Prince Durairaj, who made his name at Roti King, took the old Charles Lamb on Elia Street and put Tamil Nadu cooking in it, following The Tamil Prince in Barnsbury. The Good Food Guide's order is the beef masala uthappam, a small thick dosa spread with spiced meat, which it calls an absolute standout, and alongside it the crispy okra fries, robata lamb chops and Thanjavur chicken curry. The building runs over two floors, with a proper dining room upstairs and a bar downstairs that kept its fireplace. The honest caveat is the Guide's own: this is close to a carbon copy of the Barnsbury pub, calmer and roomier, so it is a second visit rather than a second discovery. It stops short of the top rung because the Guide's review could not be read in full and no chef's own words were reachable.