There Are Dosas Galore at a New Fast-Casual Restaurant in Boston’s Seaport

Madras Dosa Co. is now open in Boston’s Seaport District (55 Boston Wharf Rd.), featuring south Indian food. The namesake food, dosa, is the star; the menu offers nearly 30 customizable varieties of the thin crepe, which is made from a vegan, gluten-free batter of fermented rice and lentils. Many of the available fillings, too, are vegan or vegetarian and/or gluten-free, although there are a few meat options, too. Madras’s dosa fillings include both savory (spicy potatoes, onions, Lay’s chips, lamb) and sweet (chocolate chips, fruits, malt, ice cream).

The fast-casual restaurant, which has an open kitchen, also serves idli — fluffy, steamed rice and lentil cakes made from a similar but thicker batter than dosas; sandwiches, including a ghee grilled cheese; and, in a nod to Indian cuisines farther north, a variety of chaat. The drink selection goes a bit beyond many local Indian restaurants: There’s the ubiquitous mango lassi, of course, but there’s also a masala lassi, Indian soft drinks Limca and Thums Up, and more.

Madras Dosa Co. is from the team behind Godavari, a growing chain of South Indian restaurants with locations around the United States, plus one in Canada, with European and Middle Eastern locations coming up next. Locally, there’s one in Woburn. (A few years back, there was very briefly a related restaurant called Godavari Mini in Somerville, too.) The same team also operates Khiladi NYC in New York’s East Village, which is aiming to bring dabba lunch service into the mainstream in the city.

While dosa is typically a breakfast food in its homeland, in the United States it’s become the most visible dish of south Indian cuisine and tends to be served as a lunch or dinner entree. Madras Dosa Co. is open for lunch and dinner daily, with seating onsite as well as takeout and delivery.