Kricket
Indian Small Plates
12 Denman Street, W1D 7HH
££
Described as “London’s Hottest Indian”, Kricket has been on my list for a long, long time. Nestled in the depths of Soho, this is Kricket’s second site, an upgrade on both size and location from its modest beginnings in Brixton, and now with a third establishment in White City. With small tables upstairs, the bottom floor has space for larger groups and is centred around a large open kitchen (the kitchen here is larger than the whole Brixton restaurant!) Dimmed lighting and tasteful brass industrial interiors, complimented with pink leather seats set the tone, whilst reminding you how many other restaurants follow the exact same décor style as this these days…
We were sat at the back of the room, looking onto the room in a plush leather booth. The wine was slightly on the pricey side (£24 for cheapest bottle), so we opted for beer instead – I ordered the Partizan Pale Ale for £4.5 a bottle. We were advised to order 3 dishes per person, so Tom and I ordered the samphire pakoras (£7), butternut squash curry (£10), Karnatakan mussels (£10), Keralan fried chicken (£8.5) and the slow cooked duck leg (£14). We also got a mix of the kulcha breads for the table (masla, butter, garlic & coriander - £3-£3.5), as well as two black dals (£6).
The pakoras were a promising start: strands of samphire (an interesting choice) were deep fried in a crispy spiced coating which was pretty delicious. The mussels followed, which were tender and swimming in a rich coconutty creamy sauce with subtle spiced flavour – also good, if not a little too rich. Four large pieces of fried chicken came next, which stopped the show in its tracks for all the wrong reasons. Having broken my vegetarian January for this particular moment, I was expecting fireworks. Instead, I got slightly tough and dry chicken coated in a really thin batter which was more powdery than crisp and served with what I can only think was garlic mayo(?!) It was a shame to say the least.
The second meat dish arrived with the hopeful promise of a better show: a slow-cooked confit duck leg, served French style but on a bed of lentils. Weird? Yeah. Confit duck has to be one of my favourite things in the world, but I have never had it in the context of Indian, and now I know why. The richness of the duck paired with the heavy indulgence of the cream-heavy lentils was just a bit too much. Admittedly, this came towards the end of the meal when I was already full, and I may have thought more fondly of it if it was earlier in line. However, it was clear as day that Kricket were trying incredibly hard to be different and original, and this particular dish as a result proved to be a step too far in the wrong direction.
The meal was rescued with the second veggie dish: butternut squash in a makhani sauce, served with paneer, hazelnuts and puffed wild rice. By far the best sauce of the evening: this was still rich but held enough traditional flavours for it to be worth it. The softness of the butternut squash was complemented with the crunchy hazelnuts; however, I couldn't taste any wild rice or see much paneer in our version which left me feeling a little hard done by. By the time the bread and dal finally arrived we were stuffed and could barely fit it in. So, we asked if it would possible to pack up any of the leftovers to take with us, to which the waitress looked quite honestly disgusted, and advised us on what we ‘could’ and ‘couldn’t’ take back with us. Bah.
Overall, I think Kricket is overrated. I had heard such good things about it that the expectation was set pretty high, and unfortunately it didn’t deliver. Yes, the food is incredibly flavoursome and original, but this somehow doesn’t work in its favour. Some of the ingredients just don’t go with their pairings, and the overwhelming sauces are too rich. The advice to get 3 dishes each is excessive, even for me (a gal with a big appetite). This always leaves you wondering if it was just a ploy to get more dosh out of you - never a nice feeling. The service isn’t anything special and was actually at times a little rude, and the bill ended up PRICEY (£186 kinda pricey). Kricket was full from our arrival until our departure, with customers instantly filling the empty seats as soon as they were vacated. Some must love it then, surely? Or maybe everyone was a first time hopeful like me, waddling out with a heavy heart, and an even heavier stomach.
OVERALL RATING: ***
https://kricket.co.uk/
