412 Barking Road, East Ham
Amma cooks. We carry the plates.
Jaffna Tamil food the way Vasanthi makes it at home. Crab curry that takes all afternoon, kottu off the hot plate, and hoppers made one at a time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
What's cooking
Everything is made here, most of it that morning. Tell Arun how hot you like it and he'll tell Amma.
Pick a main, and it comes with red rice, dhal, two vegetable curries, mallum and papadum.
- £24.00
Jaffna crab curry
Whole blue swimmer crab, roasted curry powder, drumstick leaves. Messy. Worth it.
- £16.50
Mutton curry
On the bone, cooked down for four hours with Amma's own curry powder.
- £15.50
Black pork curry
Goraka and dark roasted spices. Arun's favourite.
- £15.00
Cuttlefish in coconut milk
Soft, sweet, a little chilli.
- £13.50
Jackfruit and cashewveg
Young jackfruit, whole cashews, fresh coconut milk.
The roti goes on at eleven. The first kottu comes off at twelve.
Hopper nights
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from six, Nila stands at six little pans and swirls the batter round each one by hand. The edges go crisp, the middle stays soft, and an egg hopper with seeni sambol is the best thing we make.
They can't be rushed, and they can't be reheated, so they only happen when Nila is here.
- Pans going
- 6
- Hoppers a night
- ~300
- Hopper set
- £14
One family, one kitchen
Kolam opened in 2012 in an old chip shop. The name comes from the patterns Amma draws on the doorstep every morning in rice flour. The birds eat it by lunchtime. She draws a new one the next day.
Vasanthi
Amma. Runs the kitchen.
Grew up in Nallur, Jaffna. Came to London in 1996 and cooked for the whole of Plashet Grove before anyone paid her for it. Grinds her own curry powder every Monday.
Arun
Front of house
Left a job in accounts to open this place with his mum. Knows every regular by name and will talk you out of ordering too much.
Nila
Hopper nights
Works days as a pharmacist and runs the six hopper pans on weekend nights. Taught by her grandmother over FaceTime.
People who came back
“The crab curry tastes exactly like my aunty's in Point Pedro. I sat there with my hands covered in it and nearly cried. Arun brought extra napkins without me asking.”
“Come for the cheese kottu, stay because Arun won't let you leave without trying the watalappan.”
“Hopper night is the best £14 you'll spend in East London. Get there at six or queue.”
Come and eat
412 Barking Road
East Ham, London E6 2SA
Five minutes from East Ham station, opposite the library. We take bookings for six or more. Smaller tables, just come in. Bring your own drinks, no corkage.
Opening hours
- Monday
- Closed
- Tuesday to Thursday
- 12:00 to 3:00, 5:30 to 10:00
- Friday and Saturday
- 12:00 to 3:00, 5:30 to 10:30
- Sunday
- 1:00 to 9:30
Hoppers Friday to Sunday from 6pm. Kitchen closes 30 minutes before we do.