Though I’d heard good things about Nawras Seafood Restaurant, I was a bit wary of the place when I first walked in and sat at my table. It felt like it was trying a bit too hard to be fancy. I was afraid it might be style over substance.
The seafood soup that came before my meal definitely didn’t fill me with a whole lot of confidence — it was fairly bland, with a gloppy, overly thickened texture that was vaguely unappealing. It was basically fine, but I really didn’t have high hopes for the rest of the meal.
I ordered the Samudra meal, which is Nawras Seafood Restaurant’s version of a thali — essentially an Indian sampler plate that comes with various small dishes.
It turned out to be really, really good. It came with a really impressive variety of curries, mostly seafood-based, though a few were vegetarian. They ranged from creamy and mild to bold and spicy, and there wasn’t a weak link in the bunch. I could have happily eaten a whole meal’s worth of any of them.
It was also basically all-you-can-eat; everything is refillable. I got a second portion of rice as well as a couple of the curries, and it was an intense amount of food.
And if that’s not enough, it comes with a dessert as well: kheer, an Indian version of rice pudding. It’s very similar to British rice pudding, but soupier and with a kicked up flavour thanks to rosewater and some other spices. It’s quite good.
All that, plus a big bottle of water, came up to 299 rupees (less than six bucks Canadian). It’s a hell of a deal.
Location: Near Bus Stop, 23, Chittoor Rd, Pullepady, Kochi, Kerala 682035, India
How to find it: It’s a big blue building and the sign is in English. You can’t miss it.