Kricket

Just to set the scene for you (pun entirely intended), I was recently treated to an unexpected evening at the theatre - Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, intense and absorbing with the immediacy that only live theatre can bring, with great performances from an arch, determined Sienna Miller as Maggie and a brooding Jack O'Connell as Brick, radiating torment and despair.

You say theatre, I say pre-theatre supper: something bookable, fabulous but speedy, satisfying, yet light enough not to put you in a food coma before the curtain comes up and no more than a five-minute stroll from the action.

Enter, stage left: Kricket, emerging from the chrysalis of a Brixton shipping container pop-up into a Soho bricks-and-mortar butterfly, newly awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand. It's been a big year for  co-founders and college friends Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them add another Kricket site sometime next year. After my meal here, let's hope so.

Kricket serves Mumbai-inspired modern Indian small plates in a buzzy, industrial-chic setting along with some innovative cocktails (don't miss these when you visit). There are two floors; if you are in a party of four or more, you can book at the communal tables downstairs (useful for pre-theatre when time is tight) or you can grab a seat at the upstairs counter and watch the chefs at work. Apart from being a stellar first date option this is always my preference, as I find it endlessly fascinating — and here, a rare opportunity for Indian cuisine.

We started with smoked aubergine served with sesame raita and papdi gathia, light, crisp Gujarati snacks made from gram flour. I think charring/smoking brings out the flavour of aubergine really well and this moreish dip was a perfect example. My cocktail, Lucky Neem, was a blend of oriental spiced gin, lime, cucumber and curry leaf, welcomingly sharp and elegantly presented.

The tandoori monkfish with coconut chutney was an absolute standout of a dish; firm, beautifully spiced without being eye-wateringly spicy, with the chutney a soothing counterpoint. It's refreshing to see a superb dish simply plated with no unnecessary extras — no tricksy garnishes or endless cast of flavours, no tarting it up to make it 'Instagram-worthy' — just really, really good food.

Kricket's lasooni scallop with Goan sausage, poha (flattened rice) and seaweed was also outstanding. Yielding, sweet and enhanced rather than overpowered by the contrasting flavours and textures, I could have eaten a plateful. We also ordered the cultured butter naan, freshly made, light and generously buttery, and a side of fluffy tomato pilau to go with — both good calls.



Pumpkin with makhani sauce, fresh paneer, hazelnut crumble and puffed wild rice was warming and mellow, with a good depth of flavour; again, a lovely use of textures and perfect with the tomato pilau.

Another dish I will definitely order on my next visit — proper KFC, Keralan fried chicken, served with pickled mooli and a creamy curry leaf mayo. This dish was unexpectedly large in relation to the others and would comfortably serve two, I think — although you may want to have a plan in place if there is one odd-numbered piece left at the end, as that would be totally legitimate grounds for dumping someone.

Yours, in full agreement with 10cc (oh come on, I waited until now!),
London Girl About Town xx