So we’re nearly halfway through Lockdown 2 in London. It seems very different this time around. It’s autumn so the days are much shorter (and colder and rainier) and the rules aren’t as strict as summertime Lockdown 1. This seems to mean a lot of people aren’t even adhering to these rules, it’s almost like they’re taking it less seriously.
For me the biggest thing is how the rules seem to vary around the world. So while in the UK we can’t see our friends and all bars, restaurants and non-essential shops are closed, in places like the US and South Africa (where I have friends) life seems pretty much to be close to back to normal. There’s new restaurants and bars opening (some stunning looking ones, too) and plenty of partying. What a confusing thing this Covid is.
News of a vaccine on the horizon brings some hope. And lucky for you I’ve managed to store up some restaurant visits so you can start your wishlist for when we’re unlocked again. And this is one that needs to go top of your list.
Cinnamon Bazaar in Covent Garden is quite simply absolutely fabulous. It’s part of top chef Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon group which consists of four London restaurants and one in Oxford. The idea behind Cinnamon Bazaar is that it serves modern Indian dishes inspired by bazaars through the ages and along the trading routes of the Old World. It’s even cleverly decorated to give the feel of a bazaar. Good start.
Today we decided to treat ourselves and try the 9-dish sharing menu. It was part of the London Restaurant Festival 2020.
What’s on the menu
We enjoyed dishes in four ‘courses’. Starting with two delightful chaats and some spicy chillis. Chaats are a savoury snack typically served at roadside tracks from stalls or food carts across India. Exotic little snacks of deliciousness. And ingredients I’d never tried before. Love that.
Like this Colocasia & fenugreek tikki chaat. Spiced colocasia cake is served with sweet yogurt, coriander chutney and chickpea sev. Colocasia is a kind of root vegetable that grows in Asia – yes I had to google it.
The watermelon chaat of pressed watermelon, amaranth seeds and masala cashew nuts. Fresh, crunchy and spicy. Those masala cashews are incredibly moreish.
The third dish – Kadhai spiced bullet chillies with poppy seed gun powder. Like the Spanish padron peppers I love but topped with an extra chilli bite. Delicious.
On to the next round of three dishes.
Another one of those magical chaats. A Punjabi vegetable samosa with curried white peas and a tangy tamarind chutney. This is a samosa elevated to another level. What a great combo of flavours.
Next up tender, spiced tandoori chicken breast soola with Rajasthani spices. I love that you feel you are travelling around India as you eat with dishes inspired from all over the country.
This pepper fry is inspired by the food of Kerala which I fell in love with on my recent trip there. The shrimps are fried with curry leaf and cracked black pepper, quite simply a match made in heaven with the juiciest of seafood.
And on to mains
So now we are on to the final savoury selection. The mains if you will. Starting with Malabar boatman’s kingfish curry with kokum berry. A silken savoury sauce and chunks of beautifully cooked kingfish all topped with more of those crispy curry leaves.
The most incredible Kashmiri lamb shank roganjosh. To be honest we’d overdone it by now! Though that didn’t stop us from loving this slow-cooked dish with all the classic roganjosh flavours. Next time I’d be tempted just to order a bowl of this and polish it all off.
And a bowl of their fabulous dhal. I love a good dhal and this one was right up there.
And on to pudding – Shrikhand cheesecake with marinated seasonal berries. A kind of deconstructed cheesecake it was light and zesty and the perfect finish to a stellar lunch.
And here’s a shot of the bazaar-like interior.
I loved this restaurant so much I can see it becoming a regular haunt when life is corona-free. There’s also an intriguingly exotic-sounding afternoon tea menu or an irresistible chai and chaat combo with Indian Masala tea. So plenty of excuses to return – oh and I must focus on trying the other Cinnamons in the family. A good post-lockdown goal.
Today’s price point
And finally.
The 9-dish sharing meal as described above was great value at £33 per person.
We enjoyed a lovely bottle of Spanish wine with our lunch for £28
Cinnamon Bazaar is at 28 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden WC2
On the bucket list if we ever get to the UK. Yum
Definitely we will go there next time you visit. There will definitely be a next time!