quilon

quilon is a suave and sophisticated indian restaurant that has held a michelin star since 2008. it specialises in a modern interpretation of traditionalcuisinefrom the south-west coast of india. foods from this region are usually lighter and have more delicate flavours than the richer and denser foods of northern indian. i myself am an ardent fan of north indiancuisine- moghul court, punjabi and lucknow cuisines in particular. however, i really do believe that the south-west coastal food offered by quilon to be excellent.
the restaurant itself is very contemporary and features artwork by the indian artist paresh maity.
asianhawk recommends: the black cod with tempered asparagus and french beans and the seafood in mustard and coconut cream.

over the years, i’ve collected some rather tasty memories at quilon – the michelin-starred restaurant specialising in the coastalcuisineof south west india. it’s where my family and i celebrated my momentous milestones back in my school days. quilon also catered my best friend’s wedding breakfast a couple of years ago – and as i recall, there was a slight lapse in my bridesmaid duties as i snuck off to snaffle a few of the idi-cupcakes making  their rounds.

this post contains mostly photos of our visit to quilon. a michelin  rated restaurant, in- london, england. there they serve south-west coastal indiancuisineusing perfect ingredients and technique which blend old traditions and modern tastes. their menu is a unique blend of ethnic and progressive dishes with seafood at its heart. most dishes are for sharing from the offerings of meat, poultry and vegetarian. the restaurant sounds the division bell for lords, ladies, ministers and members of parliament when a division is imminent. for the general public there is free wi-fi. we drank tea and ate poppadoms which came with a nice selection of 5 sauces and chutneys; cauliflower chilli fry (gobi kempu bezule) - crispy fried cauliflower tossed, yogurt, green chilli, curry leaves; seafood broth, mixed seafood in coriander flavoured broth; quilon salad comprised of pink grapefruit, roasted beetroots, patty pan, mixed salad leaves, goji berry, honey dressing; *pepper shrimps - batter fried shrimps cooked in a fiery masala; hot intermezzo palate cleanser; malabar paratha - soft refined flour dough thin sheets folded to form layered bread, skillet cooked pure ghee; crispy fried squid with spice pounded shrimps; fluffy steamed rice; mangalorean chicken (kori gassi) succulent pieces of chicken cooked in finely ground fresh coconut spices; quilon fish curry - cubes of halibut simmered in coconut, chilli, and raw mango sauce; *malabar lamb biryani - lamb cooked with traditional malabar spices in a sealed pot, with basmati rice; plain yoghurt. we each had dessert but i was distracted by nine month old granddaughter and forgot to take images of them.

....quilon is a swanky south indian restaurant in westminster’s buckingham gate. it makes the elaborate claim that it is “the home of traditional home-style south-west coastal indian cuisine,” which despite being incredibly specific isn’t strictly true because the home of that food is actually the south-west coast of india. despite their website’s outlandish lies i decided to head to quilon for their recent relaunch, and give michelin star south-indiancuisinea try. the evening was held in celebration of a reopening after extensive refurbishment. quilon got all dressed up for the occassion. it’s now all very neutral, very relaxing and contemporary. i expect this was all done in honour of the young folk, who can’t bear that god awful wallpaper most indian restaurants seem to be cloaked in. (i know this because i am a relatively young folk and that wallpaper makes my toes curl.) the kitchen is headed up by distinguished head chef sriram vishwanathan aylur, who gained the restaurant its first michelin star in 2008 and has retained it to this day. it comes as no surprise, therefore, that the menu isn’t what you’d usually expect from a standard indian restaurant. it’s all a bit experimental, a bit different, a bit… michelin. the evening’s culinary offerings came in the form of canapés and nibbles which were served over drinks as we were invited to cast our eyes over the quilon transformation. i have perfected the art of the canapé party, so took premium position early on in the evening. when at such a party one must first access where the canapés are coming from, and then intercept them before they reach the crowd. this is how to feast at a canapé party. this is what i did, and this is why i can tell you what everything tasted like. on offer were a range of south-indian nibbles. we started with lamb balls which packed a punch but weren’t overly impressive. things started to look up, though, when i saw these cauliflower cones. undeniably cute and deliciou

michelin-starred south indian coastalcuisineconjured with a deft hand.

quilon isn't your usual option for indian cuisine, it doesn't feature any of the usual indian options like chicken tikka masala, korma and naan. some may be familiar with the traditional south-indian favourites like dosas and idli, but for the majority (including myself), that's where my knowledge ends. quilon, with it's one michelin star, goes even further to extending our indiancuisineknowledge base and is dedicated to the coastal cuisines of south india. don't know what that means or where that is? neither do i, but i was in for a treat!

to make sure we try a little bit of everything, we go for the tasting menu, an extensive range of items all meant to be shared and dipped into, in true authentic indian style.

we start off with a selection of poppadums and dips, but as might be expected, these are a cut above the norm. small little discs of poppadum, perfectly sized to allow a bite of a dollop of one of the variety of chutneys, i'm a fan of the mango one which is laced with garlic and manages to not be too spicy or garlicky all in one taste.

the starters are herb crusted tilapia, perfectly cooked with a little crunch to the crust. the grilled prawns are a surprise addition to the fare and meaty and juicy. the lotus chop is more perplexing, it's not a taste i'm familiar with, the closest comparison i can make is a vegetarian burger patty, but a little bland.

i'm pretty glad that i didn't bother finishing up the lotus chop, because all a sudden there's a swarm of activity and waiters line up to adorn our table with jewel coloured dishes, even smelling more amazing than the last. we're served up a dry chicken dish (on banana leaf), sizzling marinated lamb, mango curry and a side of coconut with asparagus as part of my five a day. do you know how you know you're having an amazing meal? when you have a full plate but you can't stop yourself putting even more on your plate from a favoured dish. and no matter what we did, the dishes were seemingly never ending and finally we were forced to admit defeat.

was it the mild but rich mango curry that was my favourite? or the big hitting chicken? or the asparagus and snow peas, so gently cooked and flavoured with coconut? or was it possibly the impossibly flaky and light malabar paratha. and for anyone in the know, it's almost impossible to class parathas as light - they're literally a heart attack waiting to happen, cooked as they are liberally in ghee. but somehow, they manage to make it work here and i can almost believe i've chosen the light option. leave me to my delusions please.

while we're eating, they bring us out jewel coloured glasses of rasam. i'm trying to explain what rasam actually is to fellow guests and i've got as far as the inadequate explanation of 'a kind of indian soup' when i realise that absolutely nobody is listening to me, they're all too busy inhaling the warm tomato spicy aroma and guzzling it down and casting longing looks at mine as i'm busily talking, instead of drinking it. it's divine. i wouldn't have listened to me either.

by this stage, the very thought of dessert is making everyone feel a bit ill, but quilon doesn't have a michelin star for nothing and they've planned their dessert to utter perfection. it's a light as air concoction of coconut foam, fruit jellies and mango sorbet with a mere hint of sweet chilli syrup. it's about 10 times better than i've just described it and my mouth is watering just thinking about it. if that doesn't convince you, then there's not much that will.

chef sriram aylur can be seen busily going around the restaurant and if there's one question i'm desperate to ask him, it's where is this coastal area that's the inspiration for this meal, because i'd quite like to go there. watch out south india, you're about to be over-run.

quilon isn’t your usual option for indian cuisine, it doesn’t feature any of the usual indian options like chicken tikka masala, korma and naan.  some may be familiar with the traditional south-indian favourites like dosas and idli, but for the majority (including myself), that’s where my knowledge ends.  quilon, with it’s one michelin star, goes even further to extending our indiancuisineknowledge base and is dedicated to the coastal cuisines of south india.  don’t know what that means or where that is? neither do i, but i was in for a treat! to make sure we try a little bit of everything, we go for the tasting menu , an extensive range of items all meant to be shared and dipped into, in true authentic indian style. we start off with a selection of poppadums and dips, but as might be expected, these are a cut above the norm.  small little discs of poppadum, perfectly sized to allow a bite of a dollop of one of the variety of chutneys.

visited twice during my london visit last year in november... good indian food and nice ambiance.. as it is owned by indians and most of the waiters are indian so they understand indian taste and people..good hospitality and verity of indiancuisineare available.. they start with spicy rasam for drink and baby papads ...if you are staying near buckingham gate so you should try this.. really good

fine dining indian restaurant in central london why is good, authentic indian food so difficult to find in the uk? a few years ago i was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks in goa and had the most fantastic food there. it was fresh, beautifully spiced and flavoursome. it gave a glimpse of what indiancuisinecould deliver but also made me realise what a pale imitation is so much of the food we get in indian restaurants across london. since that trip to goa, i have never found a restaurant back home that has lived up to the memory of those wonderful meals. it is not for the want of trying, and i have been looking ever since... quilon , on buckingham gate, serves south west coastal indian dishes made by head chef sriram vishwanathan aylur. sriram describes his food as progressive, and having looked at my lunch menu, i could see what he meant judging by the unorthodox ingredients in his cooking (black cod comes to mind!). he gained the restaurant its first michelin star in 2008, which