It would be fair to say that Vivek Singh is one of the reasons why London is curry-mad. For it is his much-loved Cinnamon Club - the Westminster haunt as famous for its unusual location (it's situated inside the refurbished Old Westminster Library), as for its boisterous, largely politico clientele – that the Indian chef has reintroduced us all to the wonders of his native cuisine.
But vivacious Singh - who celebrated the C Club's tenth anniversary earlier this year in March - is striking again. Set to open a new restaurant and bar in the West End, he hopes to recreate the popularity generated by his Westminster joint and his other Devonshire Square-located locale, Cinnamon Kitchen, whose adjacent neon-lit cocktail bar, Anise, is a hit with post-work revellers.
"Ever since the launch of Cinnamon Kitchen we have wanted to open another site in Soho, which is such a great and buzzy area. So when this site came up, we were immediately interested," Singh explains.
Well, they certainly have a lot to play with. The venue will spread out over two floors of a 2,500 sq ft venue on Kingly Street, and offer a modern contemporary Indian menu similar to that of Cinnamon Kitchen - but only with a ‘lower spend per head’, so as to ‘reflect its more relaxed and informal surroundings’.
What will it be like? There’ll be 75 covers at this venue, which sits on the site of the former Red Bar. A 1am alcohol licence will ensure a returning group of customers, yet an a la carte menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ‘a strong pre and post theatre’ offer, in addition to the late night supper menu filled with tasting plates, will undoubtedly also prove a hit.
“We are delighted to have secured a West End site and are very excited about opening a restaurant with the same ethos of innovation and creativity that drives our other restaurants but in a more accessible and affordable format,” Singh adds.
So could that mean more dishes like 'cheesecakes with tamarind glazed English strawberries', 'crisp zucchini flowers with spiced vegetables’ and ‘slow cooked marrow'?
Let's hope so.
Cinnamon Kitchen, 9 Devonshire Square, London, EC2M 4YL.
