Toddy Shop by Marthanden Hotel restaurant review 2024: Kara Monssen visits Fitzroy Indian diner

This new Fitzroy hole-in-the-wall is known for its seriously good southern Indian cuisine— and there’s one dish you have to try.

Toddy Shop is the first permanent venue by chef Mischa Tropp.

“If you see goat on the menu, you have to order it.”

I heard this throwaway line on talkback radio many moons ago, and for some reason it’s been burned into my cranium since.

Surely not applicable in every scenario, but when you’re out for Indian and you can picture glorious hunks of meat falling off the bone into a velvety rich stew that’s been simmering for hours on end, can you really say no?

At Toddy Shop, the goat’s here every second week.

The curries change weekly at Toddy Shop. Picture: Ashley Ludkin

The coconut-based stew is inspired by food from chef Mischa Tropp’s upbringing.

His mum and her family grew up in Kerala, in southwest India, with this recipe borrowed from the local Syrian Christian community. The meat (if you’ve never had goat, has the fattiness of lamb and the richness of beef) is smoosh with a fork tender in a luscious sauce with the perfect balance of spice and warmth. It’s one for the books, but really, most things you get at this hole-in-the-wall diner are quite special.

Tropp has been kicking around Melbourne restaurants for the last few years.

He was head chef of Fitzroy’s Rochester Hotel between 2018 and 2019, peddled his lockdown-famous Elsie’s Butter Chicken in the Covid years and spent some time on the Mornington Peninsula for Avani Wines summer pop-ups.

Now he’s back northside, with mate Michael Mabuti (Kariton Sorbetes) opening his first permanent spot; an Indian diner in Fitzroy.

The beef and pork fry are interchangeable. Picture: Hayden Dibb

The full name is technically Toddy Shop by the Marthanden Hotel, a nod to Indian culture which refers to restaurants as ‘hotels’, with Marthanden his family surname a few generations back before it was anglicised. Look for the pastel-pink brick building where Mono XO used to live on Charles St. Watch your elbows, as the dining room’s tight. Cosy, yes, and I’d guess a little rowdy after a few bevs, with a ceiling fan whirring on overdrive to keep the curry sweats at bay. Indian disco beams over the system, which adds an energy and buzz. I like it.

Seating 20 at a time, it’s walk-ins only. Though at 6pm on a Thursday, 20 minutes is just enough waiting time to sink an icy Kingfisher beer at the standing room only bar. A nip of the namesake drink, the toddy, is also obligatory. Made from fermented coconut juice from toddy palms; it tastes like kombucha meets sake (Japanese rice wine) bringing funk, fizz and fun (to some). It’s an acquired taste.

Mischa Tropp ate a lot of cabbage thoran as a kid. Picture: Hayden Dibb

Cocktails lean fruity, heady and spritzy, with the darjeeling boozy iced tea (served by the jug) is perfect from groups. Wines are exclusively Victorian, save for a few choice SA numbers, and pair nice with spice. All bottles are affordably under $90.

As for the food, eight curries are listed on the dining room wall, with five available on any given week. This visit beef, pork, goat, fish and prawn get a go, next visit we’ll try the chicken, calamari and duck. All curries cost about $25, served on traditional silver plates, and are deceptively filling for their size. If you add a few sides namely the parotta (a layered flatbread which isn’t made in-house due to the kitchen size), cabbage thoran (Tropp’s mum’s stir fry recipe) and okra pachadi (cooling raita-style yoghurt), you’ll have plenty.

Toddy Shop is a clubby, cosy and plenty of fun. Picture: Ashley Ludkin

The pork fry was another favourite: a dry pork dish roughened up with spices and black pepper, fried in the pan until gnarly crisp and squishy tender within.

Spice haters will love the prawn moilee, a sunny turmeric base that’s creamy, light with subtle heat, bouncing with three fat king prawns, sweet tomatoes and fried curry leaves.

We’re truly spoiled in this city for great eating, and Toddy Shop nails the assignment: affordable yet rightly delicious, intriguing, simple drinks, cool space, friendly service, and creates the urge to return quickly for another serve of goat curry.