What They Say
Cinnamon Bazaar offers diners modern Indian dishes inspired by the marketplaces that lie on the various trading routes connecting the Old World empires. It offers an ‘all welcome’ and international Indian market experience, bringing together flavours from across India and the surrounding sub-continent.
Inspired by the hustle and bustle of India’s ancient and modern bazaars where goods, ideas, flavours and experiences were exchanged, Cinnamon Bazaar Richmond’s menu, from Vivek Singh and Head Chef Rakesh Singh, runs from breakfast through to dinner and features pan-Indian, street food style dishes that blend modern cultural influences with classic spices and flavours.
Designed to transport you to colourful markets of India, interiors are vibrant and playful with bright neon signs, bold patterns and illustrations whilst a spacious al fresco terrace is the perfect spot to while away the day and indulge in a spot of people-watching.
The Style
Just as they say in the blurb, the interior is a cheery mix of green-painted woodwork with shocking pink chiffon curtains surrounding the central bar and at certain windows. The ceiling is papered with Indian newspapers, the loos with labels from Indian matchboxes. There are more shocking pink accents on chairs and pale blue stools at the bar. The effect is welcoming and fun.
If the weather had been nicer we might have been tempted by the outdoor terrace, which is decorated in the same bright shades of pink and green. As it was pouring with rain, we were very pleased to be inside.
The Crowd
The lunchtime we visit is pretty busy, and a lot of the customers are Indian, which seems a good sign. Service is extremely friendly and professional – you can tell our waitress really enjoys working here. She recommends dishes with extreme enthusiasm and we’re soon looking forward to our meal even more than we already had been. My husband Andy spots two people discussing ballet and we realise they must be from the Royal Ballet School in Richmond Park where he has worked too (he’s a ballet pianist). According to our waitress, it gets busier at night but it’s still a pretty good turnout on this washout of a spring day.
The Food
Fantastic! We start, helped by our waitress’s enthusiastic recommendations, with a trio of chaats: Dahi Puri Chaat (tangy potato in semolina shell with spiced yoghurt and tamarind chutney) – £7.50, Samosa Smash (Punjabi vegetable samosas, curried white peas, onion and chilli) – £7.75 and Dahi Bhalla Papdi Chaat (lentil dumplings, sorbet, wheat biscuits & chutneys) – £8.50. My God, these were explosions of flavour in the mouth, the like of we had only before encountered at Vivet Singh’s Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea. It’s quite difficult to distinguish the chaats, but highlights were the Dahi Puri Chaat – the semolina shells were so crisp that they broke with a tap of a spoon to reveal their brilliantly spiced soft potato with its fragrant duo of contrasting chutneys; and the Bhalla Papdi Chaat, with its intriguing hot/cold contrast of the sorbet against the spicy dumplings. The samosas were great too though!
Next up is a trio of Bazaar Plates – Lamb Roganjosh Shepherd’s Pie (Time Out ‘The 100 Best Dishes in London’) – £18.00 (well, with a description like that, how could we not?), Bazaar Chicken Makhani (our rendition of butter chicken with pilau rice) – £17.50 – and Tandoori King Prawn (Goan curry sauce, lemon rice) – £25.00 – again, all three shared. With these come sides of seasonal greens (broccoli) stir-fried with garlic and cumin (£6.50) and garlic naan (£4.50). The Shepherd’s Pie is sublime, falling apart-tender chunks of meat in a robustly spiced sauce under a soothing blanket of mash, served bubbling hot in its own little cast iron frying pan. Andy particularly loves the Chicken Makhani, tasty mouthfuls of thigh meat in a creamy, delicately spiced sauce. And we both love the Tandoori King Prawns (Goan curry sauce, lemon juice) which take us both back to Goa, where we’ve spent many happy holidays. The greens and Garlic naan are fine, but there’s too much for us to finish in one sitting, so we take a doggy bag and have the rest for lunch the following day – exactly as we did when we went to Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea.
Somehow we find room in our full tummies to fit in a (shared) mango and pistachio kulfi (£6.50), and it’s very good indeed – fruity, nutty and dense.
The Drink
The cocktail list looked so good that we stuck to cocktails with our meal – the very refreshing Maiden Garden (Camomile Whitley Neil Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Cordial, Lemongrass & Nutmeg – £12.00) for me. As it was a long drink, I was able to stretch out two to last for two courses. The same couldn’t be said for Andy, who had finished his short, sweet Ian Baba (JJ Whitley Vanilla Vodka, Pistachio, Lime, Bitters) – £12.00 – before the chaats were served. He followed it with two Gud Old Fashioneds (Woodford Bourbon, Ginger, Jagerry) – £13.00 each – which he enjoyed thoroughly. I had an Ian Baba to go with the mango and pistachio kulfi and it was a match made in heaven, with its vanilla and pistachio notes.
In a Nutshell
Innovative and delicious Indian food served in bright, fun surroundings. Highly commended.
The Details
Cinnamon Bazaar, 31-35 Kew Rd, Richmond, TW9 2NQ
0203 928 5608
info.richmond@cinnamon-bazaar.com
Opening hours
Monday – Closed
Tuesday to Thursday- 9am to 9pm
Friday and Saturday – 9am to 10pm
Sunday – 9am to 9pm
