The food: The style of cooking is characterised by the use of coconut in all its shapes and forms, from a garnish to a paste, and they also cook in coconut oil.
Seafood is also popular in the south and features prominently on the menu, as well as the standard chicken korma, Madras dishes, masalas and chilli dishes. For the not so adventurous, there are also burgers and fries.
But first up for us were uzhunnu vadai - lentil doughnuts - with a coconut chutney (surprise, surprise) and some lamb rolls, which resembled over-sized croquets. Yum yum. Both came with a couple of dipping sauces too. A pretty good start.
We followed up with a masala dosa, a kind of very light and thin naan bread wrapped around a potato masala. Again, delicious.
This was all served with a creamy chicken dish and what the Sheriff described as "paper jellyfish" and "bread clouds," which we used for dipping in the beautifully flavoured sauces. By the way, "paper jellyfish" are appam, a kind of light rice pancake, and "bread clouds" are idly - fluffy, soft rice muffins.
We finished with a traditional sweet dessert known as semiya payasam, made with vermicelli, tapioca and milk.
Needless to say, we were chocka-block after that lot.
The drinks: Nothing scary here. The usual range of beers and spirits at reasonable prices. They also do masala tea, coffee and fruit juice. The wine list covers all the bases and is entirely Kiwi made.
The service: It was polite, friendly and attentive. Don't be afraid to ask what is in your potential dinner. Their guest book is stacked with favourable comments.
Overall: The service was quick, the food beautifully flavoured and the prices very reasonable. Especially for your starters, most of which are priced between $4 and $5. Mains, anywhere between $10 and $16.
There are plenty of great vegetarian options and many of the meals are gluten free. They also do takeaways and can be found on Facebook - Coconut Cafe and Restaurant, Rotorua. We'll definitely go back to try a few more things on the menu.
