quilon

quilon - south india's best !!. i have now been to quilon on at least 3 times which normally prompts me to start offering an opinion on places. each time, i have been there i have been consistently impressed by the culinary skills of sriram aylur's team in the kitchen. tucked away next to the st. james hotel, this restaurant despite being given a michelin star has not lost it's charm. the staff are excellent and professional and the cooking show cases the best of south india. most run of the mill "indian restaurants" are in fact bangladeshi run places and the food has been anglicized to the point where everything is drowned in heavy oily sauces with different levels of spiceyness. quilon is the opposite. this is indian cooking at it's very best - be it the chicken mangalore or fish dishes. the uppam ( a flat rice based bread- typical of south india) is light and fluffy and along with the vegetable sidedishes. the wine list is extensive and compliments indian food well, though there are those that feel only companion for indian food is beer. whilst there are more well known indian restaurants in london, it's worth searching this place out if you want to try out outstanding south indian cuisine. price wise this is at top end of indian food prices but then again you cannot expect high quality food and attentive service in pleasant unhurried surroundings for any less in central london. highly recommended.

perhaps it was our choice ofdisheswhich in retrospect was not well considered but quilon was well below expectations. i do not understand how this place has a michelin star. we ordered kothu lamb and cauliflower chili fry for starters and venison chili fry and crispy okra as mains. the crispy okra was batter fried. it was far too heavy-handed for such a delicate vegetable. the venison was dry and over-spiced. i think they used the same batter for the cauliflower as they did for the okra. the kothu lamb was good. however, none of these come to the level of what is expected of a michelin starred restaurant. you can get similar quality at guglee in north london. step up your game, quilon or you will lose the star. really you need to employ some modern cooking techniques, deconstruct and reinterpret indian cuisine.

this post contains mostly photos of our visit to quilon. a michelin  rated restaurant, in- london, england. there they serve south-west coastal indian cuisine using perfect ingredients and technique which blend old traditions and modern tastes. their menu is a unique blend of ethnic and progressivedisheswith seafood at its heart. mostdishesare 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 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 indian cuisine knowledge 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, thedisheswere 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 has to be ranked as one of the finest indian restaurants in london, located in the heart of westminster. not being a big fan of spicy food, i tend to shy away from certain types of cuisines, but my recent visit to quilon with its south-west coastal indiandishescreated with style and elegance by michelin star chef sriram aylur has made me think again about indian cuisine.

this restaurant is amazing. after i went recently to quilon, i read that only 75% of people voted that they 'liked it' i was appalled. seriously. the food is outstanding, the service is tremendous. the delicate textures and subtle flavours are difficult to replicate. quilon's ability to comprehend what the customer wants is outstanding. the people serving you know exactly what dish is appropriate with the otherdishesthat you have chosen. but one should take the percentage (75% 'liked it') with a pinch of salt. people who go to the west-end restaurants expect not to pay super-market prices. this south indian restaurant is absolutely perfect.


-----15 dec, 2012-----

after i went recently to quilon, i read that only 75% of people voted that they 'liked it' i was appalled. seriously. the food is outstanding, the service is tremendous. the delicate textures and subtle flavours are difficult to replicate. quilon's ability to comprehend what the customer wants is outstanding. the people serving you know exactly what dish is appropriate with the otherdishesthat you have chosen. but one should take the percentage (75% 'liked it') with a pinch of salt. people who go to the west-end restaurants expect not to pay super-market prices. this south indian restaurant is absolutely perfect.

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 indian cuisine could 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 indiandishesmade 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