Spending money in an upmarket Indian restaurant is always a tough sell. Close to the forefront of your mind is the likely proximity of a budget substitute which, if the food quality is poor, acts as your benchmark. This is a reasonable test, as the quality of London restaurants such as Lahore and Tayyabs set a high bar for quality, even if they offer plenty of scope for an improvement in service and location.Off to Cinnamon Kitchen then, the pret a porter offering from the Cinnamon Club. First impressions were a little mixed. The reception area offered the opportunity to leave your coat on an unattended rack by the front door whilst being assaulted by decade old house music from the club, the entrance to which sits opposite that of the restaurant. The wine list with it's Ramseyesque markups drove us to beer and cider and the waiting staff were a little vague, though undoubtedly friendly.
The food however was good. Welsh lamb kebabs were a good proxy for Tayyabs' Seekh Kebabs, a venison patty was well spiced, the ox cheek was pronounced excellent, the Paneer stuffed chillis turned out to be peppers but proved an interesting side dish whilst the sea bass was served with a plain cup of rice and a fruity curry sauce that was entirely inauthentic but perfectly well cooked.
This is a restaurant which tries too hard to soften the description and impact of its cuisine and seems to assume that an increase in price requires that the dishes be described and presented in a way that is unchallenging to diners or in some way international in outlook. Londoners do not need to be protected from a menu, the origin of which the country has adopted as it's national cuisine and the cost is entirely in keeping with the location in the heart of the city. Cinnamon club changes nothing about its food, but adds layers of service, it;'s sibling should try an informal version of the same approach.
