If you find yourself in Covent Garden and can get a table, try the original Cinnamon Bazaar. We went there a couple of years ago and had their justifiably famous Lamb Rogan Josh Shepherd’s Pie. It was a mind-blowing culinary experience. So great, in fact, I took a photo (there, at the back)…

Fast forward a few years, and Cinnamon Bazaar has branched out along the District Line to Richmond, housing themselves in the old Carluccio’s. We tried it out when it first opened, and had a pretty good meal: Clearly we weren’t so wowed that we ran back, but on the hunt for a casual reasonably priced meal after the pictures, we noticed it was “Bring your own wine” Friday in January.

Regular readers will know I am a sucker for a decent offer, and so I headed off to Waitrose for a decent bottle of Chablis. Restaurant wine is not at all cheap these days, and anything vaguely affordable is generally marginally drinkable, so this was a rare opportunity to have decent wine in a restaurant setting. (I’d be delighted to pay a fair whack on corkage almost anywhere to bring my own wine, but it really is a rarity).

Anyhow, even though it is a vast and cavernous space, it was absolutely jammed to the rafters. It is by no means the cheapest Indian food in Richmond, nor the highest rated (That honour goes to the rather excellent Chatora tucked over the roundabout on Kew Road), so it was a bit of a surprise. We had booked (more out of habit than anything), but it was lucky we had. It was not even a Rugby weekend, but seemed to be full of groups of men lining up pints as if the next one was their last…

Service was really excellent. The biggest surprise was that the waitress didn’t bat an eyelid at us bringing in our own wine, and promptly opened the bottle, brought glasses, and an ice bucket: Class move.

We started with the Samosa Smash and the Dahi Puri Chaat. The Samosa was, indeed, smashed, but very tasty with a spicy kick. But OMG, the Dahi Puri Chaat were amazing. Our waitress said they were her favourite item and had to be eaten whole, but you would have needed a hell of a big mouth to pull that off. But bitten in half, the yoghurt was just spiced enough, didn’t drip all over your chin, and was a complete taste sensation.

Could easily have had another round (or two).

So, I had to have the Shepherd’s Pie to follow. I mean, after my transcendental Central London experience, how could I not? Mrs Nigel, on the other hand, went for the Laal Maas, which is a lamb curry, basically.

I have to say, either I was in an immensely good mood before, or the dish has not travelled well: My Shepherd’s Pie was a bit meh. Not terrible, but not overly exciting.

The lamb curry was misdescribed. It was curry sauce with a “Where’s Wally?” hunt for lamb meat. Tasty, but as you can see from the photo, a large bowl of liquid for 20 quid, and not a lot of meat. Could almost have been a Veganuary version…

Anyhow, apart from a slightly unsatisfactory main course, and an unbelievably loud neighbouring table, all was going well. We had really enjoyed the atmosphere in this vibrant restaurant and the really excellent service, which was super cheerful, and efficient, which is rare in a really busy restaurant.

But there was a slightly sour note when the bill arrived. The manager was walking towards our table, making eye contact, looked at the bill, then looked at the wine cooler and stopped dead. He then turned around, found our waitress, had a longish conversation with her, then finally turned back and headed for the table.

For crying out loud, if you have offers to attract people to your establishment, don’t whinge when they take you up on them! We would not have gone if it wasn’t BYOB that night, and the manager should have realised that was the most likely explanation for the lack of a bottle of wine on the bill…

We did not hold it against the waitress, and given the pretty low overall cost of the meal, tipped more generously than usual to make up for the loss of 12% on the cost of the wine. It was well worth it.

Conclusion

Overall rating: 4/5

• Food: 4/5
• Service: 5/5
• Value for money: 5/5
• Atmosphere: 4.5/5
• Would we go back?: 4/5

Cinnamon Bazaar, Richmond: Modern Indian Restaurant in Richmond | Cinnamon Bazaar