Dinner at Cinnamon Club

The Cinnamon Club

The Old Westminster Library,
30-32 Great Smith Street,
London SW1P 3BU

T: 020 7222 2555  
F: 020 7222 1333
E-mail:

info@cinnamonclub.com

Something very strange happened she I got to the Cinnamon Club the other day. I was a bit early for dinner with my sister Fi, she doesn't like tardy. As I got there, there was a queue forming to get into the restaurant. Firstly I thought that it was one large table but soon realised that it was a mass of people in twos and fours coming for dinner. The receptionists handled the queue brilliantly and all were settled in their seats in no time. But really I cannot remember arriving at a restaurant and there was a snaking queue waiting to get in. It just goes to show the they, The Cinnamon Club have lost none of their reputation as being one of the finest Indian restaurants in London, and I have to say after my dinner it is my personal favourite.

The food is not what most people have in mind when the word curry is mentioned. The emphasis is on the taste of the spice rather than drowning component parts in a wet sauce. I can only explain this in what I had to eat. I started with roasted plaice with bengali spiced crab followed by smoked loin of lamb with saffron sauce, ground lamb kebab. To kick off with the roasted plaice and bengali spiced crab, plaice is not one of the most flavoursome of fish in fact it has a very delicate flavour and the crab does have a very distinctive  taste too,  but with the addition of the spices to both these components it just went to bring out the flavour rather than over power and leave you with no doubt that you are in a curry house. The same can be said for the main course of lamb which has a much more robust flavour but again the addition of spice only enhanced the flavour . My sister had the  carpaccio of cured salmon , tandoori salmon and green pea relish followed by spice crusted sea bass with chickpea salad, green mango and coconut chutney. The green mango and coconut chutney was spectacular, such a clean taste but with a heat that didn't overpower the fish. The subtlety in the whole meal was exceptional. We also had some side orders, masala chicken livers with green peas, black lentils, stir-fry of broccoli with‘ kadhai’ spices and peanut as well as some of the best flat breads I have had in a long long while. This really was a feast  for the taste buds and one which I hope will become a much more regular one. I used to go quite often after it opened but having been back and seen that they have just got better and better over the intervening years, it really would be my first place to recommend should someone ask me where to go for the best curry in town .

Not only is the food wonderful but they also have some of there most courteous staff I have come acres pin London and their attention to detail can only be reflected in the amount of awards that they win year in year out.