Chatti Is The Ultimate Love Letter to Kerala Cuisine

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Chatti is Chef Regi Mathew’s Kerala restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, built around toddy-shop food culture. Start with the shareable Touchings, jackfruit cutlets and Trivandrum chicken fry among them, then move to curries like the Malabar-style mutton. Let the chef steer the order; every dish we were guided to landed.

Located in Midtown Manhattan, Chatti offers a deeply personal introduction to Kerala’s Toddy Shop Food Culture through shareable ‘Touchings,’ aromatic curries, and hospitality that makes fine dining feel like home. Ask enough Indian chefs what they’re trying to build with their restaurants and eventually you’ll hear the common word: home. It’s not hard to see why. For many who left India in search of opportunities around the world, finding a meal that recreates the feeling of home has immeasurable value. Even taking that aside, there is the simple fact that the meals many people remember most fondly weren’t eaten in restaurants at all, but rather at home, often prepared by a close family member. After having the chance to visit dozens of Indian restaurants over the years, I’ve begun to notice that while the idea of “home” remains remarkably consistent, every chef’s interpretation is different. At Chatti, Chef Regi Mathew takes that idea and gives it a distinctly Keralan identity. Most experiences begin before I take a single bite, but that has rarely been truer than it was here. As I settled into my seat, I was met with a beautiful blue seashell waiting at the table. A kindly written note, coupled with encouragement from the staff, invited me to hold it to my ear in order to hear the “whispers of the sea.” The shell harkened back to the experiences of travelers and traders from centuries past who found themselves in India’s lush southwestern state, whose history, cuisine, and culture have long been shaped by the water. Honestly, for a moment there, I forgot I was nestled in Midtown Manhattan, and the meal could not have started on a happier note. However, the one thing to take away from this was that, here at Chatti, Chef Regi Mathew and his team not only serve amazing food, but also offer incredible service that is excitingly theatrical. Then the water came. You rarely expect to be surprised by the water, but we were served the house-standard pink Salmon Wood Water, a refreshing drink traditionally believed to aid digestion, and had a remarkably pink hue. That was followed by a tamarind amuse-bouche that gently awakened our palates and our cocktails, my favorite being the Malayali Old Fashioned that was a unique take on a classic drink and presented beautifully in a wooden case. Now, your meal at Chatti should begin with its “Touchings” menu, Kerala’s answer to shared small plates. The menu may be daunting, but rest assured of two things: everything on the menu is actually great, and Chef Regi helped tailor my experience, which I strongly encourage you to follow. First were the tender jackfruit cutlets, croquettes that were delicately seasoned and paired with a succulent sauce that demonstrated that subtlety can often be more satisfying than sheer intensity. Rather than masking flavors beneath spice, the seasoning existed to elevate them and produce a broader flavor profile that I was shocked jackfruit was able to produce. Equally memorable were the steamed prawn pouches, wrapped neatly and beautifully in banana leaves and filled with perfectly cooked shrimp whose sweetness remained the star of the dish. We followed that up with small bites of beautifully seasoned Trivandrum Chicken Fry, which disappeared almost embarrassingly quickly, along with the Malabar-style mutton curry. Both of these dishes earned high marks from me, especially given that both were strongly reminiscent of dishes my own mother would make. They were rich, deeply flavorful, and patiently cooked. They reminded me less of restaurant food and more of something you would find at home, proudly served around the dinner table. Then came one of the evening’s most entertaining dishes: the Seafood Moilee Soup. The soup was served tableside from a pot still on the fire, setting us up for great excitement. It was filled with prawns, clams, calamari, and other seafood in a fragrant coconut broth that was simultaneously comforting and elegant. Crisp appalams served alongside provided a satisfying contrast in texture, adding another layer to an already outstanding course. As I write this now, reflecting on my experience, I wish I had another bowl in front of me. The theatrics and quality service continued with the Kandhari Shot, which was prepared and served tableside. Not only was it fun to watch being assembled, but it also offered a digestive boon before making way for the heart of the meal. If the opening courses introduced Kerala’s flavors, the main courses showcased their remarkable versatility. First was the Mutton Biryani, whose history Chef Regi himself explained. Kerala’s biryani traces its roots to Arab traders rather than to the Mughal Empire. Unlike many biryanis that rely heavily on long-grain basmati rice, this version uses fragrant short-grain rice, creating a dish that emphasizes aromatic depth rather than overwhelming spice. Every bite reflected the same philosophy that had quietly guided the evening from the very beginning.  The prawn curry also stood out as one of the more nuanced prawn curries I’ve experienced. It paired beautifully with warm Malabar Fried Bread, Nei Pathiri, whose subtle sweetness complemented the curry without distracting from it. It was the sort of pairing that made it impossible to leave even a drop of sauce behind and one that clearly showed the thought that went into the preparation of this menu. Then came the Duck Mappas. The duck was exceptionally tender and cooked perfectly, scored skin and all. It was served in a deeply flavorful curry and paired with Steamed Hoppers, which were almost like fluffy, semi-sweet cakes. The subtle sweetness of the Steamed Hoppers, coupled with the spice and depth of flavor of the Duck Mappas, produced one of my favorite bites of the year so far and will likely make it one of my most memorable dishes of 2026. Dessert provided a fitting finale. Chef Regi’s signature Cloud Pudding lived up to its name, remarkably light with a custard-like texture that never became overly sweet. The Palada offered a richer contrast, being both creamy and sweet without crossing the line into being sugary. The traditional Kerala rice pudding somehow managed to feel indulgent without ever becoming cloying. Throughout the evening, what impressed me most just the quality of the cooking, although it was consistently excellent. It was Chef Regi’s ability to let Kerala speak for itself. I love a menu that is filled with purposeful intention that tells a story and Chatti certainly checks that box. There was no attempt to dilute the traditions and history of Kerala or exaggerate the spice of the food. Instead, every course felt like another chapter in a story about a place, a people, and the meals that defined them throughout history. As the meal wrapped up, I looked around and thought about how Chef Regi had interpreted the idea of making Chatti feel like home. The restaurant is exquisitely dressed, and unlike many restaurants that feel like you were sitting in your rich aunt’s dining room, Chatti felt like a fine dining establishment in the middle of Manhattan, which it was. Despite that, the room was filled with numerous Indian families, with Chef Regi himself making the rounds to each table as if each guest were a distant family member who had traveled great distances to be there. I love Chatti because, as a native New Yorker, it feels like the most New York Indian restaurant on the scene. It isn’t trying to replicate a moment from 30 years ago. Rather, it’s reinventing what it means to make your home in the place you chose to be rather than where you were born.