Modern Sri Lankan restaurant Paradise opened its doors in November last year on Soho’s Rupert Street. The menu takes inspiration from Sri Lankan cities Colombo and Galle, including some of the chef’s own family recipes, curries and much-loved hoppers.
The interiors of Paradise are very minimalist with grey concrete walls and counter tops, and dim lighting. Designer Dan Preston is responsible for the brutalist design, having previously worked on Kiln, Smoking Goat and Brat. Like the menu, he took inspiration from Colombo’s city street scene. As a result, we’d say the ambience provided by the candlelit dining is ideal for date night (especially a first-time Hinge date if you’ve used a picture from ten years ago – hey they are ALL at it on social).
We chose around 4-5 dishes to share, which was plenty. Obviously the hoppers are a must order, but we’d also recommend the date and pistachio hand-stretched godamba roti if you fancy trying something new. Like quite a few of the dishes on the menu, the charred pineapple salad has quite a kick to it, so if you can handle your spice go for it. Other highlights are the creamy yellow cod curry with coconut and fenugreek, and the stir-fried devilled prawns with capsicum and green chillies.
If you manage to save room for dessert, you should try the chilli and chocolate tart with pistachio ice cream, which was the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. All this was washed down with a selection of their cocktails including a very light and well-balanced coconut and nutmeg colada and a glass of their orange wine.
From the dishes and drinks to the design, the whole thing is well executed and shows off the best Sri Lankan food has to offer.
61 Rupert Street, London, W1D 7PW
paradisesoho.com