Chai Kadai Croydon

You're walking down South End towards the station and the smell hits you first: cardamom, curry leaves, hot oil. That's Chai Kadai calling. It's the kind of place where they're not mucking about with fusion nonsense—just honest South Indian food done right. The menu reads like a greatest hits of Kerala and Karnataka: crispy dosas that shatter when you bite them, idlis that are properly fluffy, and curries that don't apologise for their heat. Regulars pack the place out, especially at lunch when office workers from the surrounding streets queue for a quick fix.