I had written the most wonderful review for this restaurant. I also decided to delay posting it to keep...er...I'm not sure why. BIG MISTAKE. The body of the post somehow disappeared! That might be a great thing for the editors as it was one long review. It's a pain for me...as it was one long review!
Without trying to recreate it, let's just try again. Here goes...
I've had my beady eye on The Quilon for a while - South Indian food and a Michelin star - yes please!
However, they closed in January for refurbishment. It felt like a long wait, but they reopened again in March and I can say without hesitation that it was worth the wait. This just may be my favourite restaurant in London.
The decor is simple yet striking: No gaudy decorations to transport you to a far and exotic world. They managed to create the perfect balance where the ambience matched the food.
The staff are perfect...I would tell you all the reasons why but it would mean having to start a new blog titled: 101 Reasons Why I Love The Staff At The Quilon.
Onto the food...oh my...the food. One word: authentic. Two words: authentic and delicious.
You should know that their set menu is £24.00 per person, for 3 courses, including tea and coffee.
Fiancé and I had a sneaky peak at the dinner menu and the choices given on the set lunch menu are at least half of those on the dinner menu - not bad at all!
As a quick rundown of what you get for your money, this is what we ordered:
Pre-starter:
Pappadoms served with two chutneys and three pickles
Starter:
Crispy, spiced cauliflower
Mini Masala Dosa (waheeeee - just to clarify, this is the sound of joy).
Random in-betweener:
Rasam - for those of you that are South Indian or Sri-Lankan...or know someone who is, then you should know that the best way to have rasam is poured over your rice. If you don't know someone from the region or you feel uncomfortable pouring a sherry glass of rasam over your plate in a fancy restaurant then just drink it, it's still good that way. If you do know someone from the region, and you're perfectly comfortable pouring palate cleansers over your mains and you still don't try it...well then, ayo for you.
Main:
Paneer and soya curry
Mango curry (hells yeah!)
Plain rice
Tawa Paratha (bread prepared in ghee)
Dessert:
Baked Yogurt - Fiancé took a liking to this in Chennai and was exceedingly pleased to report that The Quilon delivered on par with the rest.
Bibinca - layered pancake served with the ice cream. It was phenomenal!
Now, I know that you can get wonderful South Indian cuisine for a fraction of the price (*cough* Saravana Bhavan *cough*) but there is something to be said for paying a bit more for the experience...and that something is Bibinca.
The only issue I have with The Quilon is...I'm not there right now.
Price: £66.00 for 1 x beer, 1 x glass of white wine, two set lunches, and service charge
Veggie Friendly: 5/5
Food: 6/5 (I don't care)
Service: 5/5
Atmosphere: 5/5
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