This Kerala Indian restaurant has two locations in Brampton and Scarborough. The location I went to is located on 370 Main St N, Brampton, ON. I was incredibly lucky to be accompanied by two friends who originated from Southern India with one from Kerala in which he has insisted that this is one of his favorite Kerala’s restaurant in the GTA area. I was super excited!
Historical Context
Kerala is located in the southern western coast of India. It has a unique culture, not only diversity in religion traditions but also with its own language, Malayalam. Kerala state is estimated to have roughly 34M residents. Fun facts about Kerala:
- Highest literacy rate in India (over 93% vs. national average of 74%)
- Highest female to male ratio (1.084 vs. national average of 0.940)
- Lots of coconuts .The name ‘Kera’ means coconut tree and ‘alam’ means land. Therefore even the state name derives to land of coconut trees.
- Early Church, Mosque and Synagogue of India were established in Kerala (show diverse in religions)
Source : https://www.holidify.comz/pages/facts-about-kerala-446.html
Value & Vibe
Value: Great price for a decent portion. Plenty of options for different type of meat and seafood. For your perspective, the majority of the non-vegetarian entrees price is between $14-$20 with seafood being on a more expensive end of this range which is reasonable. I really enjoy the varieties since it has more seafood options than many Indian restaurants that I have been to.
Vibe: First I would like to shout out to my two companions that recommended this place and also helped me with the menu selection! Overall the vibe was relatively modern. Great decoration. Friendly family settings atmosphere.
Taste
This my first time having Kerala’s Indian food so I was super excited!
Coconut Grill Chicken (Left) – This dish has a fairly mild taste with a very strong coconut taste and aroma. This was the first dish that was served as an appetizer and this dish was unlike other Indian dishes that I have eaten. The coconut based sauce really stood out and is a great foreshadowing to the other dishes that will also be heavily influenced by the use of coconut for Kerala’s food.
Koonthal Tawa – Kerala style marinated squid and pan fried (Right) – This was my favorite dish of this meal. In many instances, pan-fried squid for this large portion can be less appealing if the squid was overly cooked but I found the squid to be perfectly cooked. It also went really well with the sauce. Again, the coconut aroma really stood out. But unlike the appetizers, it also packs plenty of spice and heat. Along with this we ordered Parottas which were great to eat with the curry.
Mutton Varutharachathu – Gravy mutton dish with coconut paste (left) – This one I believe is closer to the other curry that I have tasted in other Indian dishes before. However, what is different is that it also has a subtle smell of coconut. Great flavor and taste. Mutton was also well cooked and comes in big chunks so that you can get a mouthful taste of mutton. Overall another excellent dish!
Fish Biryani (center, right) – This is by far the most pleasantly surprise that I had for this meal. I have had biryanis in a typical North American Indian restaurant before but this is nothing like it. The middle picture shows the dish before being eaten, I wouldn’t have imagined a biryani to look like this as I have always thought of it as mixed in. However, the spice and the fish was buried in the bottom. And man was it great! The dish comes with huge pieces of fish and the onion cooked with incredible spices provided the base for the flavor of this dish. It also comes with a boiled egg. This dish was by far the most eye-opening for me to the variations that exist in the world of biryanis that are still waiting for me to explore!
Overall highly recommend and I would come back to try more dishes. Especially would recommend this restaurant to anyone that would like to try more unique Indian dishes!
Score
Atmosphere: 8/10 (Decent service)
Price: 8/10 (Great value)
Taste: 8.5/10 (Excellent all around. First time trying Kerala food so reluctant to say how good it is. Would love to try more for comparison. But honestly it was great )
Scale:
Would not recommend: Below 2
Need some improvement: 3-5
Average: 5
Decent: 6
Great: 7
Excellent: 8
Outstanding 9+
Website: https://mrjohnskitchen.ca/
Genuine Food & Travel Review 
Leave a comment