I'm a big fan of The Cinnamon Club in London, just near Westminster. It's consistently excellent and it's a pleasure to take people there for the first time, as I did last week.
Alarm bells rang when the restaurant phoned to confirm my booking and reminded me about the two-hour limit for the table. I hate feeling pressured to get off a table, and two hours passes quite quickly when you're talking and eating. We were actually there for almost three hours, though, and service was at a good, leisurely pace.
As for the food ... well, it didn't disappoint us. For my main course I ordered tandoori king prawns with saffron almond cream and rice. You've probably got an image in your head of a king prawn, and the chances are it's a pretty large and succulent one. I can promise you it's nowhere near as large as the ones I ate! Three prawns were enough to constitute a main meal, along with a very small portion of rice. The tandoori sauce was spicy without being overpowering and the almond cream provided some counter-balancing softness.
An honourable mention must also go to the delicious lime and mint sorbet accompanying my bitter orange tart for pudding.
My only gripe is that the special offer menu is never tempting enough to keep us away from the a la carte. It's a clever marketing ploy: offer a deal at a reasonable price to get people through the door, but make sure they'll spend more once they're in. But how about just offering 25% off the bill, so that we can experience the restaurant's signature food without having to remortgage the cat?
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