Nalaas South Indian Restaurant and Takeaway

Nalaas is the South Indian restaurant on Monk Street, set in the dense grid of Victorian terraces in the West End of Derby a short walk from Friar Gate. It is one of the few genuinely Southern Indian kitchens in the East Midlands — Tamil and Keralan cooking rather than the North-Indian / Bengali curry-house template that dominates the rest of Derby — and it has built up a serious reputation for it.

The dosas are the headline. Masala dosa comes giant-sized with three chutneys and a spiced dal; idli, vada and uttappam round out the breakfast / tiffin section, and the meal thalis bring South Indian curries with sambar and rasam rather than the usual tikka masala range. Filter coffee tastes as it should. The biryanis are made the South Indian way and the Chettinad dishes carry proper heat.

The room is small, neon-fronted and looks more like a takeaway than a dining room from the street, but the inside is set up for sit-down service. Cash only — worth knowing before arrival. Reviewers rate it among the best Indian restaurants in Derby for authenticity, and it sits high in the Tripadvisor city ranking.