NYC's Most Exciting New Indian Restaurant Explores the Food of Kerala

Chatti by Regi Mathew presents many unique and memorable dishes

A selection of dishes from Chatti by Regi Mathew.

Thirty years after South Indians began arriving and setting up temples, dosa houses, and biryani restaurants, the cooking of the region has flourished at a flock of newer establishments, including Hyderabadi Zaiqa, Semma, and Kanyakumari. The most recent addition abruptly appeared in Manhattan’s Garment Center. Named after a clay pot used for cooking, Chatti by Regi Mathew debuted in early February at 252 West 37th Street. Regi Mathew is the chef who was born and raised in the southwestern coastal state of Kerala; this is his first American restaurant.

Traipse past shops displaying lacy prom dresses, teetering bolts of fabric, and flowered Italian sports coats to reach the sprawling premises, which is still the only restaurant on a block that’s dark and secluded in the evenings. The ground floor is deep, seating 100 or so in a lounge that looks like an apartment living room, followed by a bar, and then a succession of barely demarcated dining rooms, over which a balcony hangs. On the walls, stamped metal silhouettes depict a swarm of dragonflies, a standing pilot poling a shallow canoe, and a man fishing with a bamboo rod.

One of several dining areas at Chatti.

Chatti is not the first to focus on the cuisine of Kerala — for that we must turn to Taste of Kerala Kitchen and Kuttandan in far eastern Queens. This newcomer is fancier than those working-class joints, but like those restaurants, it doesn’t do dosas. Chatti is supposedly inspired by establishments in Kerala called toddy shops, low dives that dispense snacks and booze, according to a friend from Kerala who came to dinner with me. This setting is quite the opposite.

One characteristic of Kerala cooking is its lavish use of beef, an ingredient rarely seen in the rest of India. (Note that the state’s population is about one-half Christians and Muslims, which partly explains the phenomenon.) Toddy shop beef fry ($15) is a straightforward expression: brisket slow-cooked with a spice rub that anneals to the surface, darkening and concentrating the flavors. Crunchy bits of coconut add extra enjoyment to this marvelous dish.