Sri Lankan flavours return to London’s Soho with the reopening of Paradise Restaurant. Guests will be in for a mouthwatering treat as the kitchen will be drawing extensively on family recipes influenced by Portuguese, Malay, South Indian, and Dutch cuisines.
Paradise restaurant has reopened in Soho with a new menu inspired by the nostalgia of coming home. The homecoming menu packs a punch with native Sri Lankan ingredients at its heart. For those fans of exquisite flavours, Paradise will be challenging their guests’ palates by experimenting with a cornucopia of punchy flavours.
What’s on the Paradise Restaurant menu?
Owner Dominic Fernando and Head Chef, Charith Priyadarshana will be serving short eats of stir-fried Kadala Thel-dal chickpeas, toasted coconut and pappadum, and crab patty empanadas with Lunumiris mayo.
Also, dishes from land and sea of green mango curry, cardamom, cinnamon and roasted spices; blackened beef brisket, tamarind, cinnamon and coconut floss; and banana leaf roasted mackerel, coriander, fennel and green chilli. Round off with hoppers of turmeric and fennel seed, and coconut and chilli pol Sambol, alongside house tropical tonics and infusions.
The Sri Lankan Influence
The vision for Paradise Restaurant comes from owner Dominic Fernando. He was inspired by his grandmother’s cooking and the enchanting beauty of his native Sri Lanka.
The restaurant’s interior comes from the mind of the designer Dan Preston who was also responsible for the likes of KILN, Smoking Goat, and BRAT. Dan created a space inspired by the modern bistros of Colombo and Galle and included touches such as unpolished cement and raw black metal detailing.
Around the restaurant, guests will some nice touches such as clay plates and ceramics each individually illustrated with Sinhala script. The terracotta tiles used in the snug dining area are hand-carved from North London studio, Reiko Kaneko. Even the water glasses are out of the ordinary being hand-polished and made with recycled Lion Lager beer bottles.
The safety procedures at Paradise Restaurant
With all that’s going on at the moment, we’re sure you’d like to know what procedures are in place to ensure all are kept safe and healthy. Fortunately, and unlike some other establishments seen in the news recently, Paradise Restaurant takes this aspect extremely seriously and as such, have introduced the following:
- They have reduced the capacity of the restaurant in line with government guidelines and added outdoor street seating for the summer months as part of the Soho Summer Street Festival initiative.
- Hand sanitiser and wipes will be readily available around the restaurant.
- They will ask guests to sanitise their hands on entry.
- Increased cleaning, sanitising and handwashing procedures for all the team.
- COVID-19 safety training and daily temperature checks for all FOH staff. They are certified ‘Safe to Serve’ business that has been checked by a qualified hygiene and safety expert.
- They’ve adjusted service procedures to reduce contact time while retaining as much of the Paradise experience as possible.
- Single-use menus.
- Table laid on guests arrival.
- Bartenders working will not be positioned in front of guests.
- One server only per table.
- Slightly shorter menu to account for less kitchen staff in BoH space.
Reservations are now being taken for two guests or more via www.paradisesoho.com. Address: 61 Rupert St, Soho, London, W1D 7PW.
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