Fine dining places are plenty in London, luckily that means there is also a multitude in cuisines to explore. Quilon is a gem here with its focus on South-west coastal Indian cuisine, a food characterised by its lightness and breadth in flavours.

Executive Head Chef Sriram Aylur has been at Quilon since its start in 1999. Before that Sriram Aylur worked around the world, including of course India where he was ranked as one of the top five Indian chefs in 1997. He is joined in the kitchen by a very experienced staff including Head Chef Anupam Som and Sous Chef Sudhir Sethumohan.

Quilon was nicely renovated in 2012. It is situated close to Buckingham Palace and the building was the former guest residence to the Palace and still contains some of that ambience.

You can either go for a tasting menu or the à la carte. There is a wide array of interesting and tasteful dishes and the most pleasant is to get several dishes and share with friends so you get the chance to enjoy all the flavours. There is also a substantial selection of vegetarian dishes. As a start you can get some nice mini papadoms with different dips and chutneys that will get your appetite going. Quilon really puts an emphasis on the traditional in the preparation of the dishes; they do not take shortcuts and for example grind their own coconut. That doesn’t mean they are stuck in traditions, some dishes have contemporary influences especially when it comes to desserts. There is an interesting wine menu not only with classical wines but also some Indian wines that are great matches with the dishes. A great ending of the meal is some masala chai.

Quilon is a wonderful place if you want to expand your fine dining palate and enjoy the breadth and treasure of flavours of the South-west coastal Indian cuisine.

Written by Joakim