I try to avoid becoming too chummy with chefs and restaurateurs whenever I review restaurants.
It makes it a bit awkward if you criticise their food when you’ve already found out the name of their pet tortoise and they’ve regaled you with their culinary origin story, including that time they did a one-week stage at the world’s 137th best restaurant.
I like to get in, get out, and write about my dinner.
So, it could have potentially been a bit awkward writing about London’s Rambutan, which is owned by Cynthia Shanmugalingam, an old university friend and former flatmate.
Fortunately, having a fantastic meal was as much of a nailed-on certainty as me never passing the financial threshold for a Coutts bank account.
Rambutan is already one of London’s hottest openings this year, with multiple glowing reviews from national critics. And Cynthia’s accompanying book of Sri Lankan diaspora cooking is Fortnum and Mason’s debut recipe book of the year and features on numerous best of 2022 lists.
So, there was never any risk of our friendship being in jeopardy.
Located on the edge of Borough Market, Rambutan is a modern high-ceilinged space with earthy toned décor and a big counter seating area that looks onto an open kitchen where chefs cook over charcoal.
The menu comprises of small plates, but they’re well-proportioned meaning you get a good feed for your buck.
Ceylon and lime iced tea (£4) was a refreshing balance of fragrance, sweetness and drying tannins.
From the snack section, little gundu dosa balls (£5.30), with a light, cakey texture, were delicious dredged through a ferociously spicy and vivid coloured coriander and green chilli sambol. It was a sign of things to come as Rambutan doesn't hold back when it comes to packing its Sri Lankan food with chilli and spice.
Beguilingly smoky pieces of meaty aubergine moju (£8.70) were dressed with a thick sauce dotted with lightly pickled onions.
Boulders of meltingly tender black curried pork (£15.50) were coated in a meaty, toasty and earthy sauce. It must have been the result of hours of slow-cooking for all those flavours and textures to meld together.
A light charring had lent pieces of red pineapple (£11.60) a compelling complexity and they sat in a sauce rammed with curry leaf and mustard seed.
Sticky pongal rice (£14.90) was a cross between a biryani, rice pudding and a risotto - the short grained rice coated in a thick comfortingly spiced coconut sauce, flecked with tender chicken pieces and topped with crispy onions. It was so good that I’d have been happy with just a bowl of the stuff and spoon.
Crisp and flaky roti (£4) were a lovely mop for all the punchy sauces but I don’t think I could have eaten three like one particular restaurant critic.
An ever-changing line-up of soft serve ice cream is the sole dessert on offer. On our visit, a cardamom twanged wattalapam soft serve (£7.50) was drizzled with sweet and smoky kithul palm syrup.
We had a killer lunch at Rambutan and there’s no doubt it’s my favourite new place I’ve visited in the capital this year.
The Details,
Address - Rambutan, 10 Stoney St, London SE1 9AD
Web - https://rambutanlondon.com/
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