Cinnamon Kitchen, Leeds: ‘I went to a new Indian restaurant inside a hotel to see if it’s worth the hype’

Rather than choose Bradford, the ‘capital of curry’ for his northern flagship site, Singh made a bold move and launched in Leeds at The Queen’s Hotel.

We sent our reporter to taste the new menu at Cinnamon Kitchen.

Despite the long-lasting, refurbished Art Deco-style interior, this place is constantly changing.

Cinnamon Kitchen, located inside the landmark Queen’s Hotel, was one of the founding members of the British Transport Hotels, with a revolving door of passengers passing through.

The restaurant itself, which has a modern Indian menu using locally-sourced British produce, regularly hosts themed specials to celebrate the likes of National Curry Week and Diwali.

I’d heard a lot of pomp and ceremony about this place, but I was unsure whether it’d be my cup of chai tea after someone described it as ‘fusion’ cuisine.

For me, ‘fusion restaurant’ tends to mean food that’s made bland for a British palette.

As soon as we arrived, I was blown away by the opulence of this grand restaurant and bar.

The high ceilings, the Art Deco chandelier lights, and giant, lush murals representing Indian states felt like we were walking into the golden age of Hollywood films.

The Diwali set menu costs £35 per person for three courses.

The menu includes special dishes such as double-cooked Easingwold pork belly, and lamb rogan josh.

I went for pineapple kasundi chaat for starters, which is caramel puffed rice, and my friend opted for the masala grilled salmon with a green pea chutney.

Both of us felt unsure about our starters but we were determined to stick to the Diwali menu rather than deviate to the expensive main menu.

My bowl of puffed rice arrived with finely diced tropical fruit and pomegranate with coriander. The flavours were dancing in my mouth. The freshness of the fruit with the kick of spice made this starter light, delicious, and an ideal palate cleanser.

My friend also devoured her “surprisingly fabulous” starter.

For mains I had the tandoori mushrooms with spinach and garlic sauce. These are also on the daily menu.

Wow. These were perfectly grilled with an abundance of flavour, and the spice was unapologetic.

These flavours certainly weren’t watered down for a Western palette.

I could see Singh’s talent in fusing the best of Indian flavours while utilising locally sourced ingredients. It was more of a pairing than a ‘fusion’ of flavours, and for me, he’d struck gold.

To complement the meal, we tried an alcohol-free version of the jalebi cocktail (£7 add-on), which is described as ‘a playful nod to the traditional sweet treat shared during Diwali.’

Jalebi is a deep-fried batter soaked in sugary syrup. I’m not a fan of the dessert because it’s too sweet for me, and the cocktail replicated that.

We decided to try both desserts, spiced parkin with banana ice cream, and a saffron and pistachio kulfi.

We were served a decent portion of parkin, which is flavoured with ginger and spices, and a perfect reminder of fireworks popular at this time of year. The banana ice cream tasted like homemade gelato. This was the ultimate comfort food.

Kulfi is a traditional Indian ice cream. It's not churned, so it has a dense texture, usually flavoured with saffron and cardamom. This one also had pistachios inside. It looks stunning, but I’m not a fan of kulfi personally.

It seems that finally this stunning place finally has a restaurant to suit the rich tapestry of its history.