Cinnamon Club

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

Flying the flag for posh curry, or ‘Michel-Indian’ as we’ve coined it at Food and Travel towers, Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Club celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with a million-pound refurbishment.

To be fair, it didn’t really need it, with a timeless brushed wood and bookcase aesthetic that would never go out of fashion. It’s a good job too, as for someone without the trained eye of a handsomely-rewarded restaurant designer, it looks exactly the same.

But if the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke’ ever applied anywhere, it’s here. The food was excellent before and remains so now. Singh’s plates are based on his heritage growing up in the Bengali city of Asansol, where his family celebrated Christian festivals as well Hindu ones. This Anglo- Indian influence comes through in the food. Fenugreek-scented tandoori cod, curry leaf and lime crumble exemplifies this ethos perfectly, and saddle of Romney Marsh lamb, corn sauce, pickled root vegetables and masala cashew nuts makes perfect use of the Kentish beast. As this year marks its 15th birthday, the restaurant has also released a seven-course menu featuring its greatest hits over the years, each paired with a wine from the year of the restaurant’s birth. It’s a nice touch and shows the sommelier’s clear skill at finding wines that make a complementary match for punchy flavours. Unlike many Indian restaurants, desserts are, and always have been, a real strong suit here. A super-sweet banana tarte tatin is offset beautifully with thandai ice cream, while a green cardamom brulée with rose petal biscotti is a light and authentic finish.

It’s no accident that Singh chose to open in the shadow of the Palace of Westminster back in 1991. Since launch, it’s been a favourite of politicians and lobbyists looking for somewhere to wine and dine on an expense account that offers both quality, substantial portions and an extensive wine list (the fact that its name sounds as much East End Indian as it does high-end Westminster restaurant probably did no harm at all in the early days of putting those claims through).

If it carries on like this, it will be ranked in the top upmarket Indian restaurants for many years to come. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. MS.