Toddy shop 'touchings' could be the new tapas

With his new restaurant Chatti in New York focused on Kerala toddy shop cuisine, chef Regi Mathew is trying something new

- Shrabonti Bagchi

It's a rainy New York day when chef Regi Mathew shows me around his new restaurant Chatti, located in the OG maximum city's Garment District, over a video call. Holding his phone aloft, he nimbly steps outside to show me the storefront, even as commuters rush past under massive black umbrellas; a surreal experience because here I am, approximately 13,500km away, in dry, warm Bengaluru.

That's how far the chef has travelled to open his third restaurant; his last was Kappa Chakka Kandhari, his signature Kerala restaurant, which opened in Bengaluru in 2019.

"The further the place, the more difficult it is. Better you do the difficult way first," says Mathew about the leap he has taken, bypassing Delhi, Mumbai or even London, which is generally considered an "easier" international location for Indian chefs than New York. Over the past few years, though, chefs like Vikas Khanna (with Bungalow), and Vijaya Kumar and Chintan Pandya (with Semma, Adda and Dhamaka) have created a pathway for modern and hyperlocal Indian food in New York. Chatti, with its focus on Kerala toddy shop cuisine, is as hyperlocal as it gets.

The space that Mathew shows me around reflects that—spread over two cosy floors, the decor is minimal but distinctively Kerala, with copper etchings of toddy tappers and fishermen's boats on the walls, teakwood floors and furniture, and a private dining space with the red laterite walls that speak the state's architectural language.