Come with us as we visit Cutting Chaii in Leith's Salamander Street.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00If you have taken a walk down Leith Salamander Street, you may have noticed Indian restaurant Cutting Chai, which is a standout dark green facade.
00:08It's described as a Bombay cafe, which is a traditional and popular type of eatery in India, which serves classic dishes in a comfortable and sociable setting.
00:17The restaurant, which opened in 2019, was also named Outstanding Restaurant of the Year at the 2025 Scottish Curry Awards.
00:24I went along to pay it a visit and taste the food, which everyone I speak to seems to rave about.
00:30First on the menu was Cutting Chai's specialty, Indian tapas, which was served alongside poppadoms and a variety of chutneys.
00:38The tapas menu has many good options and we could easily have ordered one of everything, but we ended up opting for five dishes to share between the four of us.
00:47Our fish and meat choices were the Colawada fish, Chicken 69 and Momo chicken dumplings.
00:53We also got two potato-based dishes, Secret Bomb potato and paneer doughnuts, and chopped tiki.
00:58The tapas was really unique and everything was absolutely delicious.
01:03Even the sauces and chutneys were a talking point because everything was so full of flavour.
01:08Next it was time for our main courses and I opted for the Maaz Butter Paneer, which is said to be the restaurant's signature dish for vegetarians.
01:14The curry was packed with flavours, it was perfectly spiced and had a nutty, creamy sauce which went perfectly with my pilau rice and garlic naan bread.
01:22Those I was eating with were equally as enthusiastic about their choices.
01:27Among the meals ordered at my table was a lamb ruby murray, gunpowder chicken, chilli and garlic chicken and railway chicken, all of which were recommended by the chef.
01:37In fact, there wasn't one dish that disappointed and they were so good that we asked to take away anything that we couldn't eat there and then.
01:42All in all, cutting chai is somewhere I would highly recommend if you're looking for brilliant Indian food, really welcoming and friendly staff and a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere.
01:52Thank you very much.