Tucked away in a little corner of Kochchikade, walking distance from the St. Anthony's Church, lies a gem of a place: Thoma. The name of this place, I find as confusing as you do, but the food?
It is bewilderingly stupendous.
The Food
Thoma has a range of burgers and subs, kottu, biriyani and noodles.
We opted for the Mix Roti (Rs. 600), Dolphin Kottu (Rs. 490), and for the sides, the Thoma Special Burger (Rs. 390) and the Chicken Shawarma (Rs. 400) along with an Iced Milo (Rs. 120).
Let me start with the Iced Milo. Now I know how we have the debates about who has the best Iced Milo, and as soon as I had the first sip from Thoma, I knew that their Iced Milo will be a very, very strong contender. A strong and pure burst of milo flavour emerging from the drink, and just the slightest tinge of milk, our guess is that they'd added a streak of chocolate as well, and did we revel in the taste! Enshrouding our tastebuds with its refreshing taste, the Iced Milo gets a 10/10.
The portions of food here at Thoma are huge. We were not aware of this. Phew.
The Mix Roti (which turned out to be Kottu!) came in a sawan, and could have fed three to four people.
We expected something different since they already had a kottu menu, but we were wrong. At just Rs. 600, it's an absolute steal. Since they didn't have mutton (we were informed of this earlier), this was subbed by jumbo sausages, and the chicken and the beef in the fray was delicious.
We would have loved there to be more meat, but alas, that was not the case, but there was just enough for us to not complain about it either. The roti was the perfect balance of not too dry or wet, and tasted ridiculously good and fresh. The pieces of roti had absorbed the flavour of the meat, which gave it that extra edge.
The Dolphin Kottu (two kottu dishes in one day!) also came in a large portion, and it also had a slight cheesy/milky tinge to it. As to be expected, the irregular pieces of roti infused with the flavour of the chicken was so very satisfying, and the chicken we received with this was not as succulent as we would have expected and slightly dry, but still, not so bad that we can really complain about it.
The buns used in the Thoma Special Burger was quite fresh, and the filling was simple. A crispy, fried chicken as the patty, cheese, a saucy concoction, lettuce and ketchup. As simple as this sounds, the taste it provided our tastebuds with was infused with so many complicated flavours as all of the ingredients merged together to bring about that taste. The chicken was bathed in batter and fried, and was more fried batter than meat, which was the only aspect we couldn't approve of.
The Chicken Shawarma was not as brilliant as the standards set by the previous dishes, but quite alright nevertheless. The wrap was slightly touched and rubbery but the filling consisted of ample meat and the same concoction that the burger had.
The side of fries we received too was top notch. Not too oily, fresh and crispy as well as fleshy, it was the perfect starter.
Service and Ambience
Regarding the ambiene, they just have a few tables for dining in, but from what we observed, they're mostly a take-away place.
The service, of course, was very pleasant, as the staff were quite friendly and accommodating and were prepared to help with anything.
Conclusion
Definitely loved our experience at Thoma! Quality food, a great quantity of food, and all that for a very affordable price. They're also open until 12, so the next time you and the boys want to go out for a hearty meal late at night and to somewhere that doesn't need you to drain your wallets, you know where to go.
