The Quilon Restaurant

08-01-2009
Andy Hayler  0 

The dining room has a low ceiling but is smartly decorated, with a mural of a tropical scene along one wall. The floor is carpeted, avoiding the excess noise which wooden floors can generate, and the lighting is good. Tables have white linen tablecloths and an attractive vase of lilies. The menu covers the coastal areas of southern India, not just Goa and Kerala but also Mangalore. Prices are chunky for the food: starters £6.50 - £12.50, mostly around £8, while main courses are £18 - £25, and vegetable side dishes a hefty £9. Rice is £3, paratha £3.30. The wine list has plenty of choices under £35, with good growers and is carefully chosen, though mark-ups are still high. Trimbach 2005 Riesling £32 for a wine that retails at £8, Kim Crawford Pinot Gris 2005 £35 for a wine that retails at £8.50.

Popadoms come with an excellent array of home-made chutneys: garlic, lemon, aubergine, tomato and coconut, all tasty and well made (4/10). I began with a nicely made crab cake, the crab meat sautéed with ginger, green chilli and curry leaves, and served with tasty but controlled mustard sauce that lifted but did not overwhelm the crab (4/10). Konkan fish was marinaded (with garlic, ginger, chilli and tamarind) before being cooked on the griddle, the tamarind giving a pleasing hint of sweetness to offset the spices (4/10).

A tiger prawn (prawn Byadgi) was correctly cooked with ground byadgi chillis (a red chilli from Kamataka which gave a pleasant spiciness) and served in its shell (3/10) but a roasted tilapia fillet served in a banana leaf was strangely watery and tasteless, with a vapid tomato based sauce (0/10). Much better was seared sea bass cooked with lime juice, chilli, onion and tomato, the (farmed) fish timed well, the sauce topping working well with the flavour of the bass (4/10). Mangalorean chicken was cooked well but I found the sauce (coconut, peppercorns, red chilli, cumin, coriander) just gave a one-dimensional hotness (2/10). To be fair, I have had this dish in India, and that is what it tastes like there, so this is authentic enough, just not the most interesting chicken curry.

Aloo gobi was good, the potatoes in particular having retained their texture (3/10) while channa had tender chickpeas but a rather bland sauce (2/10). Paratha was well made, moist but not greasy, and appam, the south Indian lace-edged rice pancake, was excellent, freshly made with supple texture (4/10 bread).

Service was terrific, with a particularly observant and helpful waiter (e.g. when he noticed I had barely touched my tilapia, he inquired about it, took it away, took it off the bill and replaced it with a complimentary sea bass dish, all without prompting).

Overall I found the cooking was very authentic, as one would expect from a chef (Sriram Vishwanathan Aylur ) who worked at the Taj hotel group in India since 1989 before coming to London. Spicing could be more vibrant (I suspect a toning down for perceived posh London hotel tastes) but I liked the attention to detail shown e.g. in the home-made chutneys and the good bread. In general technique was very good, though ingredient quality could be improved (farmed bass, prawns that had a hint of chlorine about them). For £22 for a dish of sea bass, surely one could hope for wild bass? (see below)

Postscript. The chef contact me after reading this review and has decided to use wild sea bass from now on; a very positive step in my view and one that demonstrates that he listens to customer feedback.

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14-11-2008
Valentina Sutto MyVillage  0 

One of my most common mistakes is to associate Indian cuisine to the multitude of Indian eateries you would normally find in Brick Lane - tasty yet spicy, oily and heavily served with tons of Poppadams and Naan bread. On the contrary, at Quilon, the approach to Asian cuisine is completely different. They base their attention to fresh ingredients, spices and techniques which are found in their roots, South Indian coastal cuisine.

While nibbling on their chips and lotus stem, dipped in coconut and coriander cream and tomato chutney, we sat back and looked at the plethora of dishes on the menu. The choice varies from traditional South Indian dishes to more modern and progressive choices adapted to European taste buds. Unsure what to order, we opted for their tasting menu to discover some of their famous signature dishes.

A starter of spicy peppered shrimps, char-grilled marinated chicken and Mini Masala Dosa got our taste buds rolling. The thin rice and lentil pancake was filled with potatoes and served with a tasty Sambhar. My favourite was the spicy and tangy chicken, being so tender and more-ish I wished it was served in bigger portions. To separate starters and mains we were served a hot and spicy broth to drink. The broth was made out of 101 spices, included tamarind, coriander and black pepper - a perfect drink to cleanse and prepare the palate.

The assortment of mains arrived shortly after; Seabass wrapped in banana leaf, lamb shank and vegetable curry served with spinach and rice. The lamb shank was a supreme dish; the meat was of fine quality � so tender that it fell off the bone. The fish on the other hand, had a more delicate taste - rich in flavours and enhanced with some mild spices, perfectly matched with the tangy spicy spinach served with freshly grated coconut. The vegetable curry was equally mouth watering and perfectly paired with the basmati rice sprinkled in lime juice and garnished with roasted cashew nut.

With an atmosphere so professional and the service impeccable, we end the evening on a sweet tone ordering a sweet and spicy chai tea to brave the wintry walk home.

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09-03-2006
Helen Money

"This is my favourite Indian restaurant in London. The menu offers a selection of true South Indian dishes cooked to perfection. Decor and service match the restaurants location and price."