Cinnamon Club was such an amusing experience for us. First off, itās such a gorgeous space. Second, itās in the middle of Westminster, which is an absolute ghost town after work. Third, the service/decor/everything is so damn pompous, though not really in an off-putting way. Iām not sure about the ethical questions about trying to imitate the golden era of colonialism, but it is an interesting little trip.
We had some more service issues; in this case, we were seated about 35 minutes after our reservation time. I donāt mind a wait, and their little bar is one of the better places to wait in the world, but they shouldnāt have told us it was only gonna be an extra five-ten minutesā¦
The food though was extraordinary. I rarely eat Indian, mainly because itās so mediocre in LA, and though itās a bit better in NYC where Iāve been the last couple years, Iām still not sure itās worth the jaunt into Murray Hillā¦ Cinnamon Club was destination worthy though. The nuance and the lightness in the cuisine was remarkable. Is there anything in the US that comes close to this?
We played it safer than I woulda liked to because we were with a less adventurous guest, but hereās what we got.
Tandoori octopus with chutney aloo: Iāve no idea if octopus is commonly used in Indian cuisine (and Iām sure some regions and sub-cuisines use it much more than others) but this was wonderful. Reminded me almost of Cosmeās or Taco Mariaās al pastor fish-dishes. Or even like a Guerrila Taco type dish.
Then we did the king prawns with mango coriander sauce and rice vermicelli. These were perfect and relatively simpleā¦
Finally, we did the butter chicken for the table. The waiter said that although this dish seems pretty standard, it was actually one that the chef had spent the most time researching and perfecting. Sensational. Itās hard to recommend butter chicken at a place like this, but Iāve very rarely had better chicken in my life. The black lentils and naan were perfect accompaniments.
Thanks so much for the recs. Where are you going for your last meals in the city?