New curry house cum pub by team behind The Tamil Prince opens in Angel

A new curry house cum pub opened in Angel last week offering punters a south Indian experience of roti, roasts and real ale.

The Tamil Crown on Elia Street opened last Thursday with a half-price offering which saw would-be diners queuing round the corner onto Sudeley Street.

It becomes the second restaurant from the team behind Islington’s The Tamil Prince and replaces The Charles Lamb which had sat dormant for five years.

Tiffany, 32, a tech worker who attended Thursday’s soft launch with fiancé Ali, 34 who works in fashion, said: “It’s buzzy and cool.

“The staff’s great and the upstairs is really awesome.

“We were like should we get married here?”

Staff sadly informed the duo the focus was on the opening for now.

The half curry-house, half pub idea is the creation of Prince Durairaj, former executive chef at Roti King, and Glen Leeson, also formerly of Roti King.

Leeson said: “The atmosphere has been fantastic.

“There’s been a massive turnout far more than we ever imagined.”

Independent breweries like Warwickshire’s Purity and Cornwall’s Harbour provide beers to the restaurant.

There are also multiple wines available including orange and offerings from New Theory.

The food menu includes Tamil Prince favourites such as okra fries, robata lamb chops and mango lassi.

Served inside the shell, the Karaikudi crab masala is one of the new offerings available.

Leeson added: “The crab is definitely my favourite.

“It’s an interesting dish.

“It’s messy but eating with your hands is what we do.”

Despite not opening till 5pm on Thursday queues started forming from 4pm.

Leeson had to tell customers they would be unlikely to get a table from as early as 6pm.

Student Zaira Khanznda 22, and market researcher, Ahilya Murkunde, 24 waited for over an hour-and-a-half.

Murkunde said: “The food at The Tamil Prince is really good.

“So in my head they’re opening another location that’s different food, different flavours.

“It sounds really exciting.

“The prawn moilee looks really good and the beef uttapam as well.”

Khanznda added: “The crab dish looked really cool and we did discuss that but shell is just really annoying to peel.”

Reservations open 28 days in advance and though busy for the next few weeks walk-ins are encouraged with 30 covers held back in reserve.