Bombay cafe offering dishes which are unique in Edinburgh opens in Leith

A Bombay cafe has opened its doors to rave reviews from diners in Leith.

Following a soft launch period from 18 November, Cutting Chaii on Salamander Street has officially opened its doors.

Owned by Sajal Chowdhury, a Silverknowes resident with over 12 years experience in the restaurant industry, and co-owner and head chef Asadul Islamm, the cafe offers a delectable menu of authentic dishes.

Throughout his career, Sajal has opened three other restaurants from Perth to Prestonpans, but opened Cutting Chaii to be closer to home.

The 30 cover Bombay cafe has been incredibly popular

"When details about the tram project down Leith Walk came out I had to think about how it would affect the business so decided against opening directly on the Walk.

"The site on Salamander Street came up and it used to be a pub, when I looked at the area I saw there was lots of businesses in the area and directly opposite is a new development so it was the area for me."

To create the menu, Sajal travelled to India to visit the Bombay cafes there and research what foods worked well and what he could use for his own menu back home.

The food on offer has been carefully crafted by the innovative head chef

“People’s tastes have changed and the Bombay cafe style lets people try tapas style dishes and then lots of dishes can be tried at the same time.”

Cutting Chaii is offering a wide range of dishes to diners in Edinburgh, including some which have come to the Capital for the very first time.

The selection includes chargrilled ‘angry bird’, gunpowder chicken, pondicherry fish as well as vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options with all produce locally sourced to ensure it is served fresh.

The restaurant was created with excellent service in mind

There are also a selection of wines on offer which have been specially selected to match the dishes on offer.

The 30 cover restaurant has been created intentionally small so that excellent service can be maintained across the board.

Sajal said: “We worked with a specialist to select our wines, we handed over our menu and recipes and they came up with the wines which would go best with the dishes, a lot of care has been put in to the menus.

“We’ve kept Cutting Chaii intentionally small to provide excellent service to all of the guests, we buy and serve local and the freshest ingredients which are cooked every day.

“We hope that it will attract all sorts of people, from people going for after work or a tea, to those who want to try and explore different flavours.”

Cutting Chaii is open every day apart from Tuesdays from 5pm until 11pm.

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