LDNReview
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Rambutan
Included In
Rambutan is a scene. It’s somewhere we get happily schmoozed into doubling up on the Sri Lankan buttermilk fried chicken. There’s a serene ruckus as the staff dash around the store cupboard-sized kitchen, and a warmth that radiates from all corners of the plant-filled Borough Market restaurant to make an effortlessly cool dining room. It’s the spot. The spot to bring a date, the spot to split a prawn curry with friends, and the spot for some of London’s best Sri Lankan food.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
You’re hit with the organised chaos of the open-fire kitchen as soon as you walk through the narrow doorway, glimpsing gundu dosas being flipped in a paniyaram pan. A seat at the sought-after counter gives a clear view of the crackling fire from the aduppu and the hypnotising sight of roti being methodically scrunched. Downstairs, with no live-action cooking, the mood is set to romance. Dates cosy up in low-lit corners and cocktails are prepared within eyeshot at the bar. It’s pleasant but you’ll feel like you’re missing out on that scene upstairs. The closer you are to the vibrant kitchen that feels like a little piece of Sri Lanka in London, the better.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
We simultaneously love and hate a changing menu when the food is as good as it is here. Hate it because they might not have that bright yellow chickpea curry you saw on their Instagram page by the time you visit in two weeks. Love it because in place of the meaty mutton roll we were excited to order again, we found spicy fried chicken served with a tangy coconut relish and fluffy toasted paan that was even better. Ordering everything from the menu is the move here. And it’s enough reason for us to give up on the counter seat for one of their six-person tables that encourage a “we’ll have one of everything” mentality.
Food Rundown
Apple & Kohlrabi Acharu
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Gundu Dosas
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Buttermilk Fried Chicken & Pol Sambol Paan
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Tempered Turmeric Potatoes With Pandan
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Red Northern Prawn Curry With Tamarind
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
Soft Serve