I love Indian food – more specifically, I love South Indian food as this was what was mostly available in Malaysia and Singapore and hence what I grew up with. Yes, I ate my fair share of Indian food, Malay food, Nyonya food, Chinese food and Western food too. It was quite a multicultural upbringing I had.
Anyway, two Saturdays ago, I met Blai in Hammersmith and I dragged him down King Street to Sagar as I was craving some Indian food. I wanted crispy things and snacky things and savoury things, all of which Sagar do in abundance. We’d been before for dinner when we ordered their thalis but I’d always wanted to go back for the rest of their menu. From that menu, we had:
An aloo papadi chaat, a snack of chopped boiled potatoes, crunchy pieces of gram flour cracker, chutneys and yogurt – I was shovelling this down as it was mighty delicious and all the flavours just melded well together. Oh, and I’m a sucker for anything crunchy and savoury.
A Mysore masala dosa, a dosa spread with a spicy chili chutney on the inside and filled with spiced potatoes – so good! It was served with a fresh coconut chutney and a sambar, a tamarind and dal and vegetable soupy stew that’s usually served with dosas and rice. Sagar’s sambar was one of the best I’ve had; it was extremely flavourful and not too sour nor too thin.
A coconut uthappam, a thick dosa like a pancake, again served with chutney and sambar. Again, this went very well with the sambar – I want to try their other uthappams next time.
And for dessert, an order of rasmalai shared between us. It was creamy and fresh cheesy and so good – I don’t normally like milky sweets but this I love.
Alongside a couple of drinks, the total was about £20 for the two of us. With the quality of the food and the prices, I can see why this place is almost always packed! I’ll be back when another craving hits.
Sagar
157 King Street
Hammersmith
London W6 9JT
Tamarind and Thyme 
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 03:20
looked and sounded delicious!
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 08:34
Gotta try the uthappam, thanks for the tip S-L.
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 08:50
I worked in Hammersmith for two years and never noticed this place! Looks good.
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 10:56
If you like South Indian food, http://shilpa.keralagroup.co.uk/ is very good.
Its about 200m from Sagar.
Alex
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 12:29
God I love Sagar. I’m going to Shilpa tomorrow, which is just across the road apparently – and serves a similar sort of cuisine but isnt’ a veggie place…http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/12526.html … can’t wait…
Thu, 19 Feb, 2009 at 13:49
I worked in Ham for 2 years and used to eat there once a week: either had the lunchtime thali deal or exactly the mysore masala dosa that you picture above! How cool is that?
Anyway – regarding the sambar – whilst I liked it – I find that the sambhar at Sagar is a bit on the sweet side, but the dosa meals and chaats are nevertheless fantastic. Good choice Su-Lin!
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 07:14
I love it!
But, I’m having an uphill struggle convincing my wife that Indian cuisine doesn’t consist solely of blow-your-eardrums-out curry!
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 11:20
Gosh this place looks good! I’ve never evenheard of it but I am adding it to the list pronto. I don’t like milky desserts either so I am intrigued by this one.
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 13:07
I love Southern Indian food… but it’s difficult to find in London.
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 14:05
South Indian difficult to find? You must be joking, or perhaps not looking in the right places! 🙂 For South Indian, the main concentrations are South (down to Tooting) and North West (towards Wembley).
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 18:59
I missed this place when I worked in W6 too.
Looks like I’ll be heading back there – it looks amazing!
Fri, 20 Feb, 2009 at 23:00
kat: I loooove dosas and uthappams!
Fat Les: You’re welcome! Hope you like the place!
Ginger: Definitely give it a go – very affordable and so good. And we had a bit of a show out front – we watched a couple take it in turns trying to parallel park their car. Took them about 20 minutes.
Alex: Thanks for the recommendation! Sometimes vegetarian food just won’t do!
Claire: Oooh, how was your visit?
Jag: The thali deal is such good value! Shame I’m not near there on weekdays though. Yes, I find most sambhars a bit too sour and this had just the right tang for me! 🙂
travelrat: I find it can be quite delicate – the blow your head off stuff seems to be mostly for those out to prove something!
Helen: I think it helps that the dessert is almost ice cold! But yeah, it’s one of the few milky things I like.
mycookinghut: Oh yes, there are also a few South Indian restaurants scattered about that aren’t in Tooting and Wembley. There’s apparently another Sagar on Tottemham Court Road for example.
Alex (A Brit’s Dish a Day): 😀 It’s starting to sound like most food bloggers need to have a stint in Hammersmith!
Sat, 21 Feb, 2009 at 18:23
Yum. I’ve only been to the one on Percy Street for a set lunch, and although the portions were huge, I wasn’t that impressed. So next time, I’ll go a la carte, as it still wont’ hurt the wallet too much! Thanks for the review…
Sun, 22 Feb, 2009 at 00:44
I adore Indian food, especially South Indian. Thanks for the recommendation!
Sun, 22 Feb, 2009 at 22:45
Great write up, certainly made me want to go.
Wed, 25 Feb, 2009 at 11:27
Helen: Really? Unfortunately, I won’t really have a chance to try it in Hammersmith as I don’t work nearby!
Maninas: You’re welcome – hope you like it!
Amanda: 😀 Hope you’re able to get there easily!
Wed, 25 Feb, 2009 at 14:46
This place sounds good. I’ll be sure to give them a try!
Sun, 1 Mar, 2009 at 17:18
Agirlhastoeat: Hope you like it!
Sat, 18 Jul, 2009 at 18:06
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Sun, 26 Jul, 2009 at 20:47
for south indian food try http://www.indianfoodandspices.co.uk
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