Cafe Malabar

Cafe Malabar brings the coastal cooking of Kerala, on India's southwest coast, to Victoria. Chefs Kiran Kolathodan and Karma Tenpa both grew up in southern India and met while working in a local hotel kitchen. They began with a walk-in counter in the Victoria Public Market, which YAM Magazine covered for its dosas, idli and lamb shank biryani, and now cook in a room on Swift Street by the Inner Harbour, pairing Kerala tradition with Vancouver Island produce.

Tourism Victoria describes a menu built on spice, coconut and seafood: Chemmeen fry with prawns, fish pollichathu, egg hoppers, flaky parotta, vattayappam, and steamed puttu with chickpea curry and pappadam. Kokum-cured tuna shows how the local catch finds its way into the Kerala repertoire. Air Canada enRoute ranked Cafe Malabar #5 among Canada's Best New Restaurants in 2024.