Barman Ryan Chetiyawardana mixing a Masala Cola Float for Chef Vivek Singh.
About a month old but well on its way to super scrumptious stardom, Chef Vivek Singh’s Cinnamon Bazaar near Covent Garden is a smart place for a full-flavoured meal. And with a bar boasting a list of signature cocktails created with master mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana, it’s a clever destination for drinks as well.
I had a lovely time tasting a range of dishes and drinks recently at Cinnamon Bazaar and am delighted to share some of my faves with you.
The food menu is divided into six groupings: Snacks, Chaats, Bazaar Plates, Sides, Sweet Treats, and Desserts. Highlights were many.
Kadhai spiced bullet chillies (£4.90) were a terrific snack. Think: Padron peppers with a more certain fiery kick and South Asian seasoning. All the chaats I got to sample were gorgeous. Perhaps most memorable were the watermelon chaat (pressed watermelon with amaranth seeds, date chutney, and masala cashew nut, £4.50) and the dahi bhalla chaat (chilled lentil dumplings with spiced yoghurt and toasted cumin, £.4.50). As for mains, the tandoori Kentish lamb fillet (with mint chilli korma and masala cashew nut, £16) was a dream; that meat was so flipping tender! Lucknow style chicken biryani, burhani raita (£14.50) was awesome as well; I had to turn away from it to avoid eating far more than my fair share. The house dal was great. Naan was fab.
“Bazaar Cocktails by Mr Lyan” wet my whistle with flavoursome flair.
The Bazaar Old Fashioned (coconut-washed Indian Scotch, coconut sugar, burnt cinnamon, £10.50) corrected me of any “ain’t broke/don’t fix” notion as it might pertain to classic drinks. The Gajar Army & Navy (carrot-infused Colombo Gin, honey-cashew orgeat, lemon, £11) went down especially easy wowing my palate mightily as it did. And the Masala Cola Float (aged rum, Karma Cola and masala ice cream, £8.50) was like all my childhood dreams in a glass, spiced up with a shot of rum. Yeah!
As a longtime fan of Singh’s other Cinnamon restaurants and an admirer of Chetiyawardana’s innovative bartending, it was exciting for me to try their collaboration. As a lover of Indian cuisine who finds Covent Garden to be a part of town I often pass through or a convenient area for convening with friends, I’ll be sure to keep this new restaurant in mind for future feasting.
Cinnamon Bazaar is located at 28 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7JS. Find out more at cinnamon-bazaar.com.
