Restaurant Review #4 - The Cinnamon Club
Hi everyone,
I've been eating out a lot lately to the displeasure of my bank account. It seems like a lot of celebratory dates fell on January this year. Nevertheless, it offers a good opportunity to eat at interesting restaurants. The Cinnamon Club has immense popularity as it is situated a short walk from Big Ben. I have heard mixed reviews from this so-called fine dining restaurant. It definitely had hype and I was expecting big things from the start. The location is ideal; walking through the old winding streets of London add to the experience before you have even had a bite. You are greeted with a sign that states: top 100 restaurants in England. It seemed odd having that sign up as the restaurant hasn't got a Michelin Star and is probably rated near the bottom of that list. It also turns out that the plumbing was broken that day and the toilets had no running water. Not the best first impression. Putting my judgement to one side I walked into the dining room. I would say the dining room is the highlight of this restaurant. The Cinnamon Club is spacious and has bookshelves covering the walls; I have been assured they are stacked with real books that you are able to read. On this occasion, I ordered the lunch menu. The waiters were pleasant enough but for a fine dining restaurant you expect more. We were promptly served a complimentary fried potato with mango chutney.
The dessert was presented in a manner which I would expect and offered a nice change. I was not a huge fan of the saffron peach but combined with the other ingredients it elevated the dish. It wasn't sweet but surprisingly refreshing. I did feel it needed something extra to make it a special dish but it was certainly not a bad one. At this point I felt somewhat disappointed with the experience and started wondering why other people find the Cinnamon Club so special; it was Wagamama 2.0. For sure, it has an amazing dining room and is located in a great spot. But I felt the food was below par compared to other fine dining Indian restaurants. Furthermore, some of the waiting staff were not engaging and this was exemplified in the end when the waiter refused to charge us separate amounts. Apparently, it's company policy to split the bill evenly and not pay for what you ordered. So while I lament having had to pay a few extra quid for my meal I would say that the Cinnamon Club is perhaps not the best option if you want to try innovative gourmet Indian food. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood it is worth checking out for its amazing dining room. But overall, I would say its food is average.
Price: Expensive compared to rivals
Food: Decent but disappointing
Service: Inconsistent
Rating: 2.5/5
Fun Fact: Chicken Tikka Masala is thought to originate from Glasgow by a Pakistani chef named Ali Ahmed Aslam
I've been eating out a lot lately to the displeasure of my bank account. It seems like a lot of celebratory dates fell on January this year. Nevertheless, it offers a good opportunity to eat at interesting restaurants. The Cinnamon Club has immense popularity as it is situated a short walk from Big Ben. I have heard mixed reviews from this so-called fine dining restaurant. It definitely had hype and I was expecting big things from the start. The location is ideal; walking through the old winding streets of London add to the experience before you have even had a bite. You are greeted with a sign that states: top 100 restaurants in England. It seemed odd having that sign up as the restaurant hasn't got a Michelin Star and is probably rated near the bottom of that list. It also turns out that the plumbing was broken that day and the toilets had no running water. Not the best first impression. Putting my judgement to one side I walked into the dining room. I would say the dining room is the highlight of this restaurant. The Cinnamon Club is spacious and has bookshelves covering the walls; I have been assured they are stacked with real books that you are able to read. On this occasion, I ordered the lunch menu. The waiters were pleasant enough but for a fine dining restaurant you expect more. We were promptly served a complimentary fried potato with mango chutney.
It was a small bite but it was enjoyable while it lasted. It was a bite to get your tongue prepared for the upcoming Indian food. I was starting to feel optimistic as I saw the dining room beginning to get full of corporate city workers. At a price of £27.50 for two courses, the Cinnamon Club charges more than a lot of its competitors. Even more than its Indian Michelin Star rivals in the same city. Naturally, you raise expectations after paying that price. The very least I would expect is for this establishment to produce food of a high quality and for the servers to be attentive. I found the waiters quite closed and they provided little explanation of the menu and nothing in the way of recommendations. I settled on a Vindaloo curry with Galloway beef, braised potatoes and pilau rice.
The presentation of the dish was disappointing. I expected more from a fine dining restaurant. Having eaten at fancy Indian restaurants in the past, I had a certain expectation. Unfortunately, it wasn't met on this occasion. Another slight disappointment was that the waiter served our table the wrong dishes, this is to say that I received my friend's dish instead of my own. While this was corrected immediately I would expect better from a restaurant that calls itself a fine dining establishment. To add to my disappointment the beef was overcooked. The curry itself was not too bad but it was hard to enjoy with beef that had to be chewed for a considerable amount of time. The beef was tough and had little flavour. The best aspect from my dish were the braised potatoes; the only aspect that is not very Indian. While the atmosphere and aesthetics of the restaurant were pleasing, the food failed to impress me. To finish up I ordered the saffron poached pear, tapioca and lime payasam.
The dessert was presented in a manner which I would expect and offered a nice change. I was not a huge fan of the saffron peach but combined with the other ingredients it elevated the dish. It wasn't sweet but surprisingly refreshing. I did feel it needed something extra to make it a special dish but it was certainly not a bad one. At this point I felt somewhat disappointed with the experience and started wondering why other people find the Cinnamon Club so special; it was Wagamama 2.0. For sure, it has an amazing dining room and is located in a great spot. But I felt the food was below par compared to other fine dining Indian restaurants. Furthermore, some of the waiting staff were not engaging and this was exemplified in the end when the waiter refused to charge us separate amounts. Apparently, it's company policy to split the bill evenly and not pay for what you ordered. So while I lament having had to pay a few extra quid for my meal I would say that the Cinnamon Club is perhaps not the best option if you want to try innovative gourmet Indian food. If you happen to be in the neighbourhood it is worth checking out for its amazing dining room. But overall, I would say its food is average.
Price: Expensive compared to rivals
Food: Decent but disappointing
Service: Inconsistent
Rating: 2.5/5
Fun Fact: Chicken Tikka Masala is thought to originate from Glasgow by a Pakistani chef named Ali Ahmed Aslam
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