Cinnamon Club – London, England: Housed in the former Central Westminster Library, a Grade II-listed historic building, Cinnamon Club serves contemporary Indian cuisine. This restaurant has the distinction of being the first Michelin starred Indian restaurant. Reservations are highly recommended here.

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Cinnamon Club has a main dining room, private dining room and a bar. The main dining room with its lofty ceilings, wooden floors and wood paneling has a studiously colonial air. Leather bound books line the gallery overlooking the main dining room. Glass paneling separates the two dining areas. The Club Bar has a modern décor and serves innovative cocktails along with a variety of canapes.

We had heard a lot about Cinnamon Club and its amazing Indian food. We decided this was a place we would just have to dine at and review as we are ardent lovers of Indian food. We visited Cinnamon Club for lunch and were impressed by the sheer grandeur of the place. The diners here were very upscale, with lots of suits and ties, business men and women.

We were handed the menu the moment we were seated. The lunch and dinner menu is basically the same. There were six appetizers to choose from. Some of them were the Grilled Scottish king scallops with stir-fried baby squid and cauliflower puree (£15.00), Tandoori breast of Anjou squab pigeon (£14.50) and Crisp zucchini flower with spiced vegetables and slow cooked marrow (£8.50).

For the main course, seven options were available. The interesting ones were the Herb crusted black bream; Jerusalem artichoke podimas with tomato lemon sauce (£18.00); Char-grilled halibut with tomato and shrimp broth and curry leave quinoa (£25.00); and the Roast saddle of Oisin red deer with fenugreek onion sauce (£32.00). A variety of side dishes such as Masala chicken livers with green peas (£6.50), Black lentils (£5.00), Stir fry of broccoli with kadhai spices and peanut (£4.00) and a selection of bread (£6.00) were also on offer. A few tasting menus were also available.

However, after going through the menu, we realized this wasn’t the regular Indian fare we were expecting and hoping for. Instead, the menu at Cinnamon Club was high-end and “modern” in style. To be honest, we were a bit disappointed with the menu as we were on the lookout for some awesome Indian comfort food.

We finally ended up ordering Ravioli with wild mushroom and tomato truffle dressing (£8.50) as our appetizer. For our main course, we ordered the Hyderabadi style saddle of lamb with sesame tamarind sauce (£25.00). Both dishes were very nice, but they were too complex and formal. And, with a name like Cinnamon Club, we were expecting the dishes to be spiced up and full of flavor. Needless to say, neither dishes really impressed us much. For dessert, we ordered the chocolate mousse and kulfi. Both desserts were fine, but at £87.50 and £7.50, they just didn’t live up to the price.

Cinnamon Club offered an extensive wine list. Again, the wines came at a steep price, just like the food. Service was attentive throughout lunch.

Overall, Cinnamon Club was a nice experience, but not worth the £120+ bill for just two dishes, a couple of sides, coffee and water. As much as I would like to give it a Bombastic rating, I cannot, it just simply did not measure up to our expectations for a place of this caliber. Our rating for Cinnamon Club is Between Bombastic and Not.

What I liked: The décor and ambience

What I didn’t like: The steep prices and the absence of regular Indian fare

Rating: Between Bombastic and Not

Address and Telephone Number:
Cinnamon Club
The Old Westminster Library,
30-32 Great Smith Street,
London SW1P 3BU
Tel: 020 7222 2555

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