Cinnamon Bazaar Covent Garden

Cinnamon Bazaar spices up Covent Garden's foodie hotspot, Maiden Lane, with this appealingly vibrant and relaxed bonne bouche that is Vivek Singh’s [Cinnamon Collection] most casual format restaurant to date. The budget menu revolves around different sized sharing plates, snacks and chaats (street food), with sides such as creamy black dal, mopped up with roti or paratha.

Dishes have settled into a consistently well-executed groove, with recent favourites including: papdi chaat topped with yogurt, watermelon chaat with amaranth seeds, date chutney and masala cashew nuts, and a heart-warming samosa that marries vegetables, curried white peas and a tangy tamarind chutney. For mains, we recommend double-cooked 'Koorg-style' pork belly, succulent and judiciously spiced, if it’s on the menu, and a melt-in-mouth lamb kebab with flaky saffron paratha.

Other innovations include an Indian-style afternoon tea or chaat trolley, as well as cocktails, courtesy of star mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr Lyan) – we loved the mango-infused Gin Julep. Colourful drapes and painted walls in the high-ceilinged room recreate the bustle of an Indian market, with plenty of noise and service that is kindly and knowledgeable even when busy. 

Nestled between the Strand and Covent Garden, Cinnamon Bazaar serves up wallet-friendly small plates that showcase a modern reimagination of Indian cuisine. The dishes are inspired by old trading hubs and routes, the influence of which is clear in the Middle Eastern flavours that are also present in the food. 

The interiors invite passers-by in with their pink and green fabrics draped across the ceiling and plant baskets hanging from above. This transports guests to the inspiration behind the restaurant and creates a laid–back and elegant feel. There is also a striking lime green bar at the entrance to the space so guests can observe Cinnamon Bazaar’s bartenders at work. 

The menu is varied offering up a variety of chaat as well as some more substantial ‘Bazaar Plates’. These include dishes like their Tandoori King Prawn with Goan curry sauce, Jungle chicken curry with fenugreek and pilau rice, or their renowned fusion dish of Lamb roganjosh Sheperd's pie. The chaat on offer includes their Punjabi vegetable samosa, smoked pineapple, and kasundi with caramel and puffed rice as well as their shalla papdi chaat with wheat crips, dahi bhalla sorbet, and tangy tamarind and chickpea caviar. These are all accompanied by a range of sides including a House Black Dal, various types of roti and naan as well as both plain and spiced rice. The desserts are equally as tempting with dishes like their carrot and ginger toffee pudding and pistachio kulfi. 

Given this restaurant’s location within a stone’s throw from many of London’s biggest theatres, they offer excellent pre- and post-theatre set menus for guests to enjoy. They also offer a stellar bottomless Sunday brunch with unlimited prosecco, draft beers, and mimosas. Their bottomless offering doesn’t end there with a 3-course menu and unlimited drinks served at lunchtime throughout the week.