Harden's says
The Sethi siblings' (Gymkhana, Trishna) Sri Lankan street food shack, which stormed into Soho with the “incredible” and “punchy flavours” in 2015, adds a sister restaurant in Marylebone. Good news for fans who don't want to wait outside the no bookings Soho original, the press release says there will be a reservation line for the new site!
Harden's survey result
Summary
“A fantastic menu of unusual Sri Lankan street food” with “lots of interesting ingredients (breadfruit, squid, dal, etc) in a mix-and-match format” has won a huge fan club for JKS Restaurants three-strong chain (with a fourth branch planned to open late in 2023 in Shoreditch). Ratings slipped across the board, though, this year – incidents of “hit ’n’ miss service” and “packed and noisy” conditions can make them appear “a bit pricey”.
Summary
“Authentic flavours of Sri Lanka with superb, well-balanced spicing” won strong acclaim this year for JKS Restaurants’ well-known, three-strong chain in Soho, Marylebone and King’s Cross, where the eponymous ‘hoppers’ are coconut and rice flour pancakes with various fillings; highly rated for a “superior tasting and reasonably priced” bite. A fourth branch is on the cards for late 2022. Top Tip – “it has a good range of options for vegans and vegetarians”.
Summary
“Eating here is like being back in Sri Lanka”, say fans of this superbly “authentic” South Asian concept from JKS Restaurants, which now has branches in Soho, Marylebone and King’s Cross. But is the shine beginning to wear off a bit? – most reporters do still talk of “amazing spicing”, “Sri Lankan street food at its best” and “probably the tastiest food in London”, but, for a minority this year, the cooking “did not live up to the hype”.
Summary
“Authentic Sri Lankan food (just like my friend’s mum used to make)” has won fame for JKS Restaurants’s “buzzy” (“not much elbow room at busy times”) and “fun”, street-food cafés, which – although not quite as “novel” as when they first opened – are still “simply sensational” for most reporters. “Obviously you must have a hopper” (a rice pancake), and also “the curries are delicious, especially the seafood one”, as are the “really tasty dosas”. And “it’s unbelievable that you can have a table filled up with exciting food at less than £30 a head, including drinks!”. “While the original location (Soho) is better, it’s nice that you can book at St Christopher’s Place”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
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