Vivek Singh, for many, is a household name when it comes to the world of Indian cooking. His flagship venture, The Cinnamon Club is now over 20 years old, he is a regular on BBC cooking programmes and has published 8 cookbooks. With such an esteemed background, Singh does not need to prove anything. Cinnamon Bazaar, his latest venture, is testament to this: it’s a fun and informal take on India’s culinary heritage. The menu sees Singh go to town happily with no shortage of experimentation.
With a nod to the British love of curry and also traditionalism, a lamb rogan-josh Shepherd’s pie nestles alongside a quinoa and kale kofta combination. In between sits the ‘Bollywood Burner.’ The former was apparently voted one of the 100 best dishes in London by Time Out magazine while Bazaar’s koftas were featured in the ‘future 50’ list of sustainable dishes complied by the World Wildlife Fund. Plaudits to Singh for achieving the on-trend branding. It probably helps bring the punters in. Should diners wish to sample the self-explanatory Burner, then they need sign a document stating that they recognise the potential consequences of so doing. Another great marketing ruse and talking point. In between, there are also many other options, both for the more adventurous and traditional palates (think kingfish curry and a butter chicken offering, respectively, by way of example).
A recent weekday evening saw your reviewer and two colleagues check out Bazaar. It was mostly full, even if perhaps somewhat helped by a novelty effect. Despite the numbers, our serving staff stayed mostly on top of things and nothing seemed too much trouble. A curried popcorn snack, which we had ordered, was returned to the kitchen and not added to our bill as it arrived too close to our mains. Meanwhile, given we were keen to experience the Burner, but only in sample format as opposed to a full dish, a small quantity of sauce was brought to our table just for the purpose of experimentation. Small touches like this make a difference and are remembered.
Everything we ate was very good, even the Burner. Our Shepherd’s pie, butter chicken and kingfish trio of mains gave us a chance to sample broadly. However, everything we ate was also very small in size. The ratio of meat to rice for both the chicken and kingfish offerings bordered on the stingy and at c£15 a pop, the value for money ratio erred on the poor side. Sure, everyone is facing higher costs of living (not to mention elevated Westminster rents if you’re Cinnamon Bazaar), but it’s hard not to feel slightly ripped off at this venue. With a mid-range bottle of wine and service thrown in, we were left with a bill of £37 each – a lot for an informal midweek night out. The restaurant’s website says that the bazaars of India (from which this restaurant draws some of its influences) are “places to buy, sell, exchange, entertain and be entertained.” While we did not feel short changed by entertainment, our experience was still not a totally fair trade.