Daniel B.
Yelp
Masala Kitchen Kati Rolls and Platters really hit the spot after a long day of traveling. The rolls here were cooked to order and delicious. They were also affordable and served up fast. What more can you ask for?
We had a late check-in at our hotel and were hungry. We ended up leaving our hotel for dinner around 11:15pm. I looked on Yelp for a good, quick, casual place to eat that was also open late. We were tired and I didn't feel like eating at a sit-down restaurant. Masala Kitchen popped up and checked all the boxes. They're open until 3:30am on Friday and Saturday nights. A friend also recommended this place to us.
This is a small fast-casual restaurant located in Center City, just four blocks from Philadelphia City Hall. It's right next to the entrance of a public parking garage. Seating inside is limited to about 24 seats. They have standard two-tops with Tolix chairs and a couple long high-tops with Tolix stools.
During our visit late on a Friday night between 11pm-12am, there was a small, but steady stream of customers. Most of the orders were takeout and delivery. We were the only dine-in customers at the time. The restaurant had plenty of staff on-hand. The kitchen is open. Bottled and canned drinks (from a fridge), sauces, eating utensils, and napkins are self-serve. The space itself is simple and looked relatively new and clean. The ambiance is that of a takeout joint. Since this restaurant is close to a lot of bars, it's perfect for those wanting a late-night snack or meal after a night on the town.
The menu is in the business name: kati rolls and platters. Kati rolls are an Indian street food from Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. Masala Kitchen offers 14 varieties of kati rolls, ranging in price from $4.50 to $5.75 a roll. Buy two kati rolls, get $1 off. One or two rolls is good enough for a meal for most people. Ingredient options include chicken, beef, lamb, paneer (cheese), egg, vegetables, potatoes, Indian spices, and more.
The platters remind me of the platters you can get from The Halal Guys. For example, they have a Chicken-N-Rice platter ($8.75) and the self-serve sauces are similar too -- creamy white and spicy red. In addition, you can get biryani ($9.25-$10.00 each) and a paneer platter ($10). Drinks include mango and rose lassi ($3.70 each), chaas (an Indian yogurt drink, $3.70), masala chai ($3), and more.
The two of us ordered and split the following three rolls:
* Chicken Masala ($5.75) - marinated grilled chicken with Indian creamy tomato sauce "Makhani" and crispy onions
* Achari Paneer ($5.50) - marinated paneer with hint of mango pickle sauce, fresh mint-coriander chutney, and crispy onions
* Mix Veggie ($5.50) - fresh pea, carrot, and green bean mixture cooked in Indian spices with fresh mint-coriander chutney and crispy onions plus egg (+$0.50)
These rolls were great. My favorite was the achari paneer, but I'm fan of paneer. Everything was made fresh to order and came out piping hot. Each roll was wrapped in brown paper and Sharpied to identify the rolls.
The kati rolls are wrapped in what the restaurant calls a "tawa roti." Traditionally, tawa refers to the round, flat metal griddle used in Indian cooking. The roti here had a nice thickness to it, soft, and kind of fluffy with a sort of pillowy texture, lightly charred and appetizing. I like to describe Masala Kitchen's kati rolls as the Indian equivalent of the Taco Bell Chalupa or Gordita. In terms of the shell/wrap, they are more similar to the Gordita (softer, less crispy, not deep fried).
Each of the rolls was packed with flavor. If you like Indian food, I don't think the kati rolls here will disappoint you. The authentic, aromatic, and mouthwatering flavors were all there. The Mixed Veggie roll had a mushier consistency than the other rolls, but that wasn't surprising given the ingredients. I think adding egg to that roll really enhanced it. On the menu and item descriptions above, "crispy onions" refer to fresh, raw slices of red onion.
For sauces, I recommend getting a cup of the white sauce, adding a little bit of red to it, and mixing them together. The red sauce is quite spicy so a little goes a long way. The sauces by themselves are tasty too, so really it's a matter of personal preference. I dipped the rolls into the sauce mixture each time I took a bite. Yum.
Vaishali was our server and she was nice. Masala Kitchen uses the Revel POS system. Transactions, including tipping, are handled on a tablet and you can send yourself an itemized receipt.