JKS Restaurants – AKA the Sethi siblings (Gymkhana, Trishna and a driving financial force behind Bao) – will open a second outpost of their hugely popular Sri Lankan street food shack, Hoppers, in Marylebone on 12 September. The original Hoppers was one of the biggest hits of 2015 when it stormed into Soho with its “incredible” and “punchy flavours”, “curries, plus crisp dosas and hoppers (rice pancakes) for dipping”.
The one caveat our reporters had about the Sethi’s venture inspired by the roadside shacks of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka? “Annoyingly this is another restaurant that doesn’t take bookings”, even if most were “happy to wait”. So fans will rejoice to hear the new Hoppers will take reservations for lunch and dinner! Phone and email details have not been released yet – but we are assured that reservation lines will be announced soon.
The second Hoppers on Wigmore Street, St. Christopher’s Place in Marylebone, arrives on 12 September. The site will be considerably larger than the original, accommodating 85 guests across two floors with an additional 16 seats available on an outside terrace.
The menu will feature a number of dishes created exclusively for the opening with a focus on traditional Sri Lankan spicing and flavour to include Short Eats of ‘Jaffna Beef Rib Fry‘ and ‘Tuna & Tapioca Cutlets with Avocado Sambol‘, as well as new larger sharing dishes of ‘Claypot Baby Chicken Kukul Maas‘, ‘String Hopper Seafood Kothu‘, ‘Kalupol Black Pork Ribs with Fennel and Turmeric Sambol‘, and a daily changing lunchtime Rice and Kari plate. The signature dishes that led Hoppers Soho to receive critical acclaim in its first year of opening will also remain.
A new drinks list includes cocktails inspired by the exotic flora, vegetation and fruits of Sri Lanka focusing on Genever and the Sri Lankan spirit, Arrack. Late Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa and his early works on “tropical monochromatic modernism” will inspire the interior.
Karam, Sunaina, and Jyotin Sethi opened Hoppers in Soho to much critical acclaim in October 2015 with accolades from many quarters, including winning Top Cheap Eat at the Harden’s London Restaurant Awards 2016.
