Vannakam! (Welcome!)
Ooty Station – Named after a quaint little hill-station town located in the dense Nilgiri mountains. Popular with the British during the Raj and continuing to hold its appeal as an idyllic tourist destination. Ooty Railway Station is Indias only rack railway with a fleet of steam locomotives. And now, close friends Pooja Nayak and Aseela Goenka have decided to recreate the nostalgia of their childhoods in India and bring Ooty Station, a new South Indian Street Food restaurant to Selfridges Food Hall in Birminghams iconic Bullring.
Working alongside the hours of Selfridges. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays 11:30am – 8pm and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 11:30am – 9pm. Sundays see the restaurant open from 11:30am – 5:30pm.
Me, Hubby and our two little ones, headed along to try out what Ooty Station has to offer.
We booked a table for 12pm to avoid the lunch time rush, however it quickly filled up once we arrived and by the time we left, they only had a couple of tables left. For me, this shows how inviting the restaurant looks and how tempting the food menu is. The tables are spread out nicely so you can have that romantic lunch for two or that catch up with friends without feeling like you are sat on someone else’s lap – always a positive.
Our waiter Moyou was exactly what you want when you go out to eat. Friendly, efficient, accommodating and also gave us ideas of what the best options from the menu were. And I have to admit, he was right!
We chose our drinks first. My husband had the Mango Mule (£5.95), a perfect combination of juicy, sweet mango, honey, fresh cucumber and a splash of ginger beer. He really enjoyed it and said he could drink it all day. Even yesterday (the day after our visit) he was talking about it again). Me and the girls were less adventurous and opted for Coca Cola for me (£3) and Apple Juice for the girls (£3.50).
The drinks in my opinion were a little pricey, but do not let that put you off as the food, well, it is mouth watering, and delicious. And well priced I thought, so it all balances out.
We decided to have all of our food out at the same time so ordered some starters, mains and sides to all share between the four of us. Call it an Ooty Buffet. I recommend you all do it. Share your dishes, they are good portion sizes and it is so nice to try new things. All of the food is cooked fresh and the kitchen is open so you can see what is being created/prepared.
We had the Malli Chicken Wings (£6.50). These are crispy chicken wings that are flavoured with coriander and tossed and covered in Ootys special sauce and a wide of chutney and salad. They were great. A subtle kick of spice to them, the chicken almost fell off of the bone.
Masala Potato Wedges (£4.75) these are a must as a side to your meal. Crispy, with sprinkles of spices on top. They were moreish and tasty. Filling too as we left a few at the bottom (very unlike us).
From the griddle menu we tried the Kheema Dosa (£8.95) this I think was my favourite item that we ordered, it was delicious and we plan to come back again soon and I’ll be choosing it again. It is a pancake with a lime and curry leaf flavoured lamb filling, served with sambhar and coconut chutney. If you’re unsure what to have, go for this. It was Moyou’s wonderful suggestion to have this and I’m so glad that we did.
Kasoori Murgh (£11.95) this dish came from the main menu and comes with rice. It is an Ooty twist on a Chicken Tikka Masala. Chicken coated in a rich tomato sauce with an in-house garma masala blend. It was tasty.
No Indian meal is complete without some poppadoms and chutney. You’ll find this on the menu entitled Papad & Mango Chutney Basket (£1.95). The mango chutney was delicious. So much so, I dipped my masala potato wedges into it too.
As it was Fathers Day weekend the restaurant were giving Dad’s a bottle of Kingfisher Beer (£5) for free. Or for those dads not drinking alcohol, they could choose a none alcoholic cocktail for free. How fab! Keep an eye on this restaurants social media as I think they will have more special offers on, during special weekends.
They currently do not have a children’s menu as it is in production but the chef popped out to see us and told us he could make us something specifically for the children if needed. We were fine as ours will try all foods but I’m told the children’s menus and colouring pages will be in the restaurant soon.
We had a fantastic lunch trip and will definitely be returning. If you want to try experimental and playful twists to traditional Indian Street Food, this is the place for you.
Just look at Matildas happy face when asked if she wanted to have some more of the Kheema Dosa.
I had a few questions regarding the restaurant after my Instagram stories and a couple of you have said you were heading there on Sunday. Did you have a nice meal? What did you think of the restaurant?
Disclaimer: We were kindly gifted this meal. All thoughts and views are entirely our own. Thank you for having us Ooty Station. We loved the food, the drink, decor and your amazing customer service. Everyone went above and beyond for us.