After releasing her cookbook Rambutan, celebrating the food of Sri Lanka and her Tamil roots Cynthia Shanmugalingam is also opening a restaurant of the same name
Following a summer pop-up doing soft serve ice cream, the Rambutan restaurant is finally ready to open this spring. The two-floor, 60-cover spot in Borough Market will make use of both suppliers within the market and produce from Sri Lanka to serve village-style Sri Lankan food with a focus on regional dishes from the north of the island.
That means the likes of chicken sambol buns, fried mutton rolls, slow-braised black pork, turbot heads with sodhi broth, and chicken pongal with saffron & coconut milk on the food menu. The downstairs bar will be shaking up cocktails making use of mezcal, cachaca and arrack, and ingredients like pandan leaf, Ceylon tea and lemongrass, with local beers and natural wines also on the drinks list.
Rambutan is also going to look the part too, with interiors inspired by the post-colonial style of Sri Lankan architect Minnette de Silva, so you can expect lots of natural clay and concrete alongside hand-painted ceramic tiles, teak chairs and geometric textiles from independent Sri Lankan designers.
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Put the kettle on!
Opens Fri 17th March 2023
10 Stoney Street, London, SE1 9AD
@rambutan_ldn