South Asian café chain, Cha Sha, opened the doors to its Kingston branch, located on Surbiton Road, on Friday, 26 September.

Seeing as I love South Asian food, I knew I just had to try it, I booked myself in for a special lunch time treat last Friday (3 October).

Arriving at 12pm on Friday, I was not surprised to see that the café only had a few customers (especially as it was pouring down), but as the afternoon went on, it soon became super busy with customers, particularly students, coming in for a quick lunch.

Given that the weather was awful last week (thanks Storm Amy), I loved how bright and colourful Cha Sha's interior was – along with its cushioned seats and casual dining experience, I felt as though I was in sunny South Asia and not rainy Kingston.

Cha Sha has a bright interior (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

The café has a small but spacious seating area upstairs, boasting a pastel pink and turquoise theme and a colourfully painted back wall depicting the life cycle of Cha Sha's infamous speciality teas.

The circle of life for Cha Sha's speciality teas (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

But do not be fooled by this as the café has a bigger and equally exciting seating area downstairs.

Cha Sha has a spacious seating area downstairs (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Upon entering Cha Sha, I was welcomed by the lovely Dylan who provided excellent customer service and was always on hand to answer any questions I had as well as suggesting recommendations.

Dylan said that he has previously worked in hospitality, though mostly pubs, and so, much prefers the calmness of working in such a lovely café and serving Cha Sha's friendly customers.

He added that over the weekend of Cha Sha's official opening, it was "extremely busy", but, as is expected, was less busy during the week.

Dylan provided excellent customer service (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

However, given that the café is ideally located near Kingston University and the busy Penrhyn Road, I can imagine that it will soon be more busy.

Cha Sha's menu is huge, offering a variety of snacks and starters, all day breakfast dishes, paratha (flat bread) flavours, burgers, sandwiches, loaded fries options, authentic South Asian street food dishes, sheermal dishes, rice bowls, curries, paratha pizzas, desserts, teas, coffees, hot chocolates, speciality drinks, and soft drinks – so it took me a while to decide what to have – I really wanted to try everything.

Now, I've never been a tea drinker, but seeing as Cha Sha specialises in South Asian teas, it would have been silly not to try one.

However, I did not know which tea to try, so upon Dylan's recommendation, I decided to try a taster of three of its most popular teas; the Karak Chai, Matka Chai, and Cha Sha blend.

Dylan served me my teas in very good time and expertly explained to me what each one was.

First came the Makta tea, which is a traditional tea, and was probably my least favourite as it really did taste like tea and as I mentioned, I'm not a huge tea fan, but I can imagine that this one will be popular among tea lovers.

Matka Chai (left) and Karak Chai (right) (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Next, I tried the Karak Chai, which is a strong tea brewed with black tea leaves and blended with aromatic spices.

For me, this tea was much nicer than the Matka as it was sweeter and had more flavour to it.

However, my favourite tea was the Cha Sha blend, which is the café's signature tea and had a hint of cinnamon.

I love cinnamon and couldn't get enough of this drink – I think it might be the only tea I will ever drink. Its cinnamon(y) kick helped keep me warm on that wet and windy day.

I loved the Cha Sha Blend (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Cha Sha's teas are batched cooked every morning and afternoon and customers can ask to have their milk steamed if preferred.

Both the Matka and Karak Chais are usually served in homemade clay cups handmaid in Pakistan to enhance the flavours (mine came up in normal cups as they were tasters), which customers can take home and are included in the price.

Cha Sha's chais are served in clay cups hanfmade in Pakistan (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Now onto the food. As I mentioned earlier, it took me a while to choose what to have as I wanted to try everything - this just means that I will keep going back – but after long deliberation, I opted for the Vada Pav to start, which Dylan said is extremely popular, and the Paneer Paratha for my main meal – I'm a little obsessed with paneer, so knew that I'd get something with paneer in it.

As with the drinks, the food also came pretty quickly.

I absolutely loved my starter, which is a stuffed spiced potato patty in a bun and a popular Mumbai street snack.

The Vada Pav is at Cha Sha is a popular starter option (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

The Vada Pav was perfectly spiced, meaning it is a good choice for people like myself who are not so good with spice, and I loved the mix of textures; the middle instantly crumbled in my mouth as I took my first bite and that, compared to its crispy exterior, made for a very satisfying munching experience.

Shortly after the arrival of my starter came my paneer wrap and it was divine. With Cha Sha's wraps, you can either opt for a paratha or large tortilla wrap. But I'd definitely recommend opting for a paratha, which is a crispy flatbread, as not only is this option cheaper, but parathas also have a lot more flavour than a standard tortilla.

I absolutely loved the crispiness of the paratha mixed to the soft textures of the paneer, which was cooked perfectly – a skill I am yet to master.

The whole dish was super flavoursome and not spicy, which was ideal after my slightly spicy starter.

Cha Sha's Paneer Wrap is delicious (Credit: Tilly O'Brien)

Now, my meal might sound slightly carb heavy (I mean, it was a Friday), but it was actually very light and I was that perfect level of full but not too full.

I also loved that my meal was served in cardboard boxes with wooden cutlery, not only because it is good for the environment, but also because it was perfect for a casual lunch treat and again made me feel as though I was eating in a South Asian street market.

Now, I am incredibly nosy, so while enjoying my lunch, I could not help but notice that the majority of the cafes customers ordered from its all day breakfast section – I even heard one customer tell Dylan that he "really enjoyed" his breakfast, so I will definitely be back to try one.

I would give my whole experience at Cha Sha a 10/10 – the service was excellent, the food was phenomenal, and the interior was extremely clean.

What's more is that Cha Sha is super cheap too – you won't be spending more than £8 for one dish.

Thus, with its casual dining experience, cheap menu, quick service, and ideal location near the university, I would say that Cha Sha is the perfect venue for a quick lunch or dinner break that is more exciting than a Sainsbury's meal deal.

Cha Sha is open from 11am – 12am seven days a week and also offers takeout service.