Cinnamon Kitchen

This new Indian beacon in the peaceful surrounds of Devonshire Square makes the most of its heritage sight – it's a nice contemporary spin on a historical warehouse setting. I loved the elliptical lampshades whose light softens the setting's harder edges. Currently there's lots of space between tables and the user-friendly menu reflects rather than duplicates the Westminster template, but despite a relatively tight set of options I found them all appealing.

Excellent flavours, nice spicing, lots of wider Asian influences. Loved the aubergine dish, above. Look forward to trying the tandoor bar.

Private room with full view of kitchen is bright, fun and stylish.

5.12.11
Went back last week and tried their excellent canape tasting menu. This is a brilliant way of trying 14 dishes for just £30. I'd forgotten just how good the crab and cod cake with a green prea ratia shot was. Other favourites included the intense-flavoured sweet corn soup, the tandoori black leg chicken breast, and the shrikhand cheesecake with tamarind glazed berries.

Excellent food. I tend to have my out of office informal and formal client luncheons at Cinnamon Club. And the good part is that, each and every client has left licking their fingers. I would suggest this place to all. Only drawback I have found is the loud music from the bar spoils the cosy dinner.

Excellent food. Shame the music from the adjoining bar spoils the atmosphere of the restaurant (too loud!)

I would have given Cinnamon Kitchen a 10 for food if the main courses were as good as the starters and the grill dishes. The chilli pepper with paneer was not at all what I expected it to be but was one of the most divine and original tasting things Ive eaten in a long time and was so more-ish. The cocktails were delicious, the bill reasonable, and the staff friendly but only thing nice about the layout and design was the light coverings; the restaurant has a horrible canteen feel and the battleship grey does nothing for the look of a restaurant.

Every once in a while, you encounter a restaurant dish that just makes you realise why you love food so much and why sometimes, you are quite happy to pay frightening sums of money for such a basic commodity. Once you've devoured it and wallowed in it's splendid and glory, you then suffer the lingering after affects. It's with you constantly, like you a new puppy nudging you to remind you it's there, clinging to your senses. It's with you on the train to work, down the pub on a Friday with your mates and dare I say in bed with you and your partner when at that time, there should be many other wonderful thoughts drifting through your mind. Other food and dishes become insignificant and pointless. Eventually, you can gradually let go and return to some foodie normality.

I am talking of course about the Pistachio cake served at the end of my meal by the Cinnamon Kitchen in Devonshire Square. OMG, how fragrant and wonderful it was, a soft green, grassy valley of flavour and textures where you run bare footed and care free like some character from the Sound of Music. This was my first meal with this little sister of the Cinnamon family which also links up with Bar Anise adjoining. A fabulous and vibrant joint and an ideal meeting place to sip some great cocktails before your meal, but for some reason always lacking in customers?

The service at the Cinnamon Kitchen felt just right although the wine waiter seemed somewhat lost with our request for a pint of Guinness. Our table of four opted to try five different starters and we all agreed that the vegetarian Bengali style vegetable cake was a sure winner with the pork ribs a close second. The mains were just as impressive. The biryani we ordered served two and was good value and you can choose either chicken, vegetable or lamb. A truly magnificent and fragrant dish, so delicate and yet so flavoursome served in it's own little ceramic pot. But hang on what's this arriving with our steak, “Masala Potatoes Wedges” having the appearance and texture of wet Guinea pig's ears and reminiscent of those frozen fellows you can buy for in Iceland for next to nothing. Come on Cinnamon Kitchen, please drop those floppy awful things in the bin where they belong and be a bit more creative with your potatoes!

My second visit to CK but this time, it was not warm enough to sit out on the terrace, which was a shame as I cannot say that I am particularly blown away by the room itself. Yes it is big, grand and elegant, but the regimented table layout means that you are aligned and very close to the neighbouring tables (a particular bug bear of mine) and many diners do tend to take a somewhat haphazard route through the room, meaning that many tables feel like you are sitting in a throughfare to the “facilities”. The noise from their neightbouring bar was also much more noticeable this time and is somewhat at odds with the elegance of the restaurant.

That said, the food is nigh on fautless. A trip to India some years ago has made me somewhat picky when it comes to Indian food, but the menu at CK is simply gorgeous. My starter of venison kebabs created a lovely slow burn on the palate as all the flavours developed whilst my friend's Welsh lamb version had so many layers of flavour it was almost beyond belief. Service was relaxed, unhurried and knowledgable – I couldn't decide between the barramundi or king prawns for main course and was gently swayed to the former by the waiter. A fabulous choice as the fish and seafood curry that arrived was full of flavour and beautifully presented. Portion sizes are pretty good – we didn't have room for dessert.

It is not the cheapest of places but for authentic Indian taste and flavour with a modern twist, it is highly recommended. Just that personally, I'll be saving my next visit for when the conditions allow al fresco eating!

Thought the food was exceptional, and while overall the service was good, a few slips here and there brings the score down (ordering an extra starter that was missed and had to be re-ordered to go with mains being one, and very slow to take our order too). Otherwise, lovely decor, interesting food from a simple menu served beautifully. I will be returning. Lunch for two done properly (ie with wine) and coffee afterwards at £112 isnt too bad.

I visited the Cinnamon Kitchen last night. The food was really nice. We had the Vegetable Kebabs, Salmon starter, Mushroom main course and Rack of Lamb. All lovely. Service was polished but not exceptional. Have had far better (The Ivy) for the amount of money we spent. My only issue is that the room is quite big and is quite bare and cold. It was quite buzzy with the noise from the adjacent bar which could be a problem for some. If you are looking for something more sophisticated then I would go to their sister restuarant “Cinnamon Club” in Westminster but if you are in the City and wanting a posh curry with friends then this is a good option as the food we had was very good.

“The best curry I have ever had” said my client whom I took for lunch there. Could not agree more. Though quite expensive it is easily the best Indian restaurant in the Square Mile.

It struck me as I walked in to Devonshire Square that those who work near it and are fortunate enough to take long lunches must be pretty lucky to have a duo of restaurants such as this on their doorstep. As you walk in to Cinnamon Kitchen itself, your instantly hit with clean and crisp architecture and intense greyscale interiors. There's no overkill here and not a chance of sighting the once infamous flock wallpaper of yesteryear Indian eateries'.

Service is speedy without being overly fussy and waiters have clearly read the menu before service starts, which is always helpful. Those who look for the essence of India and are often cynical about contemporary Indian venues such as this, will not be disappointed. Age old herb and spice combinations are present in dishes and milled to perfection and there isn't a chance of bland and watered down recipes in this place. However the dishes can be described instead as damn hot and spicy!

Now i'm Indian by origin but not very good at handling heat on my plate (which is apparently ironic, but I don't think so), so am probably not the best person to measure the heat of the food at Cinnamon Kitchen in isolation. However, by my partners account (he can handle a hot in Nando's with extra hot sauce on top) and by the fact that I was gulping water at a speed olympic atheletes can only dream of running, we determined that it was just too spicy. As a diner you often say to yourself -maybe it was what I ordered-but the dishes chosen were a simple potato cake starter and a malabar fish curry, which I've had before and know it to be mild-medium. I did make it to dessert (just) and enjoyed a few bites of what was a very cooling fresh and tangy trio of sorbets, before we left homeward bound (where I rushed into the bathroom for some much needed gaviscon).

Note to diners: Go by all means, as both the venue itself and the quality of the food is respectable. Just take a fire extinguisher with you – just in case.

Whilst the Cinammon Kitchen aspires to the qualities of the Cinammon Club it falls far short.

The lamb was beautifully done, the desert well appointed, but you were left feeling the object was to milk as much money from clients as possible via the overpriced (soft) drinks and extras.

Service was poor on the whole – very slow.

Half way there – but not much scope for second chances at £65 a head with no beer/wine.