49 Frith St, Soho, London W1D 4SG
It took me a long time to get to try Hoppers, one of the hottest places in Soho right now, which made Londoners fall in love with Sri Lankan and Tamil cuisine.
I really dislike waiting in queues in front of the restaurants so I always choose places which can be booked in advance (Hoppers can’t be booked for dinners – you simply have to wait!). But last time my dinner was not planned* – I was outside with a friend and we decided to have a bite, so it happened that Hoppers came to my mind.
Hoppers got its name from the British term for “appam”, a sort of soft bowl shaped pancake, made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk. The menu is composed of a series of super delicious small starters (you absolutely have to try the fabulous mutton rolls!), followed by beautifully intense curries (“kari” in Tamil) and chutneys which can be enjoyed either with a dosa (the South Indian crisp pancake made of rice flour and lentils) or with a hopper/appam. Menu this month includes also a delicious short rib buriani and a few versions of rotis.
Every single dish at Hoppers is with its amazingly deep flavours terribly seductive. Dishes are spicy, but the spiciness never covers the flavours of the main ingredients – it only enhances them. It adds the intensity without ever compromising the balance. All this makes you want to indulge into more dishes than you could actually eat. But you can do it easily! Hoppers is offering a really delicious and fun experience in a very relaxed ambient for an excellent value so it would be a real shame to not return. I am already looking forward to the dishes to try at my next visit!
*This dinner was not planned so I didn’t take pictures during my visit. The pictures published in this article are all courtesy of Hoppers.