Although it’s not the most obvious of all the restaurants on Brick Lane, Cinnamon might just be the best of the bunch.

The Venue
Cinnamon is set at the northern end of Brick Lane, away from the main thoroughfare of Whitechapel High Street and the tubes. It’s not far, but takes some persistence to pass by the hoard of other Indian restaurants and their loud and grabby spokespeople offering all sorts of deals in return for your custom. On a busy road famed for its Indian restaurants, it’s hard for any one of them to particularly stand out from the crowd, but Cinnamon does retain an air of sophistication with a good deal less neon lighting than its neighbours. They are, of course, risking not being seen at all.

The Atmosphere
Inside, Cinnamon is light and bright – especially for Brick Lane. White walls are adorned by bright red modern art paintings, whilst a reference to the area comes in the form of an arty ‘Brick Lane E1’ street sign propped up at the bar. Staff are enormously friendly and happy to recommend from the extensive menu on offer, and this seems to spread to customers with something of communal, slightly boisterous, jovial atmosphere to be had. There’s a lot of regulars to be seen and quite a community. Perhaps the end of the lane location means Cinnamon is a place for those in the know rather than tourists. Either way, it’s a good omen for the food.

The Food
All the Indian staples are present and correct on Cinnamon’s vast menu, but amongst them there’s some less common dishes hiding away, too. The food spans the cuisines of India fairly evenly, with typically Northern Indian creamy dishes and Keralan coconut dishes sitting happily alongside each other.

On arrival, there are popadums (60p each) and chutneys (60p per person). Whilst the popadums are suitably crisp and grease-free, the chutneys are the first sign that the food here may be something special. Alongside good examples of mint raita and mango chutney is a special chutney made using a traditional recipe for a sauce to accompany kebabs. The recipe is secret, of course, but its bright red-pink hue hints at beetroot, whilst flavours of nigella seeds, coriander and anise come through on the palate. An onion-heavy salad with lemon juice and coriander is another unexpected popadum accompaniment, but a great one at that.

Traditional starters on offer include onion bhaji (£2.95), lamb or vegetable samosa (£3.10), and an assortment of kebabs (chicken and lamb mixed ‘kebab cocktail’, £3.95). All are well executed examples of what they should be with samosas crisp and chicken tender, but the bhaji is particularly rewarding for its complete lack of grease – could it be baked? A less common starter comes in the form of Prawn Puree (£3.95). The name will mislead as this is much more than a pile of pureed prawns. “Puree” actually refers to the bread – a roti style wrap which is filled with an oniony, tomato based mild prawn curry which is low on heat but high on spice. This winning curry-and-bread-in-one combination can also be ordered in chicken or king prawn varieties.

Main course options are split between tandoori dishes, balti dishes and biryani dishes, plus some house specials and traditional favourites. The only comfort available when attempting to choose between the array of dishes is that seemingly they’re all pretty good. Maach tarkari (£9.95) consists of meaty chunks of white fish in an almost smoky garlic sauce, balti chicken (£9.95) is remarkably tender, prawn biryani is spiked with subtle, intermingling flavours of sweet cinnamon, floral kewra (screw pine flower water) and fragrant nigella seeds and tarka daal (lentils with garlic, £3.40) is rich with roasted garlic and pleasingly slightly chunky. From the tandoor, king prawns (£13.95) are impressively sized, meaty, juicy and warmly spiced (and coloured) from their bright-red marinade and duck tikka (£11.95) is similarly coloured, though not quite as juicy, but an excitingly unusual option to have on the menu.

Modhucash chicken (£9.95) is another unusual option. A sauce of cashews, coconut, honey and a little cream makes this rich, sweet, and a little overpowering on its own, but a great foil for a spicy curry or a chunk of meat. The garnish of a glace cherry is perplexing, but an apt indication of the sweetness. This, and most of the other curries, will need mopping up and that’s what the bread’s for. Peshwari naan (£2.50) are sweet, coconut-y and luxurious from a brushing of ghee; whilst saag naan (£2.50) seem slightly more healthy due to their spinach filling. Aside from the temptation to eat far too much, Cinnamon’s dishes are all on the healthy side, made lighter by a distinct lack of oiliness in curries or greasiness on fritters – a good excuse to indulge?

The Drink
The drink of choice is Indian food favourite Cobra beer (£4.10 a pint) but there’s also a limited and low price wine list available starting well under £10 a bottle and around £3 a glass for house white or red. There’s bound to be some special offers available on the door, too. Post meal, there’s a whole range of liquors and spirits for around £2 to £3.

The Last Word
The fresh and vibrant food at Cinnamon, not to mention the extensive menu, makes it well worth the extra walk down to the end of Brick Lane.

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