A NEW restaurant serving south Indian food has opened on Basingstoke high street.

The restaurant, Elai, is located in a unit in Anchor Court at the Top of The Town and offers both south Indian cuisine as well as some traditional British food as well as a few Indo-Chinese options.

Elai is owned and run by Unni Bala and Nidhin Satheesan, both of whom have years of experience in the hospitality industry.

Unni explained that, while the restaurant will face competition from other restaurants, there are few places in Basingstoke that offer southern Indian food.

He said: “You have a lot of Indian restaurants here, but traditionally there is no southern cuisine.

“That’s how Elai stands out from the other restaurants: the food comes from the god’s own country.

“We cook all our ingredients freshly, so it’s fresh spices, even if we do a small stew, we need a fresh ginger chopped.

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“So, you don’t get it in Basingstoke anywhere, and the flavours are good.”

Because of Elai’s focus on south Indian cuisine, the restaurant will serve food that will not be available anywhere else in Basingstoke.

One example of this is Keralan paratha, a type of flat bread that has multiple layers.

Unni explained: “In Basingstoke you can’t get paratta because it requires a specialist chef to make it.

“So, you don’t get it.

“Yes, some places do, but it’s not like here; they might be buying it frozen or something, but ours is freshly made.”

Another unique aspect of Elai is that the restaurant is based in a listed building.

Nidhin said: “It was built in the 1400’s, it’s more than 600 years old.

“It’s very old, so we’ve tried to preserve it.”

While the downstairs area of Elia is a dedicated restaurant, upstairs features a private room that can be booked for functions.

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Unni and Nidhin are also planning on offering food making courses to members of the public once the restaurant is fully up and running.

Unni explained: “We want to educate people on how to cook dishes.

“In the lessons we want to give good tips on how to cook good food, healthy food.

“You’ll be able to cook good food in your home in a healthy way.”

Unni explained that he and Nidhin chose to open their restaurant in Basingstoke due to their ties to the area, saying: “I’ve lived in Basingstoke for a long time and Nidhin has lived in Basingstoke for more than 15 years. It’s our hometown.”

Nidhan said: “We want people to come and enjoy themselves.

“We want to make it special”.

Elai is currently open for lunch and dinner, with breakfast and afternoon tea coming at a later date.

More information about Elai, including the restaurant’s menu, can be found on its website https://www.elai.uk/.

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