The Princess Royal in Notting Hill has always done things a little differently. It might be the walled garden and terrace by Jinny Blom contrasting with the traditional horseshoe bar, or the fusion of contemporary art set against the Victorian backdrop, or a menu that eschews the pub classics you might expect in favour of a Mediterranean marriage with British fare.
But then if you knew this was part of the Cubitt House canon, with names that trip off the tongue in response to that perennial question, ‘Where shall we go for…?’ – names like The Grazing Goat, The Builders Arms, or The Barley Mow – you’d know you’re in for something a little bit different, a bit special, particularly when it comes to the food.
Under the culinary direction of Chef Director Ben Tish, it’s not just about the core menu that people come back for, it’s when they step out of their staples and get creative with other chefs that make these venues so appealing. These culinary experiences have manifested themselves in their ‘Eat With’ series, bringing in cookbook luminaries such as Ed Smith, author of Crave, and Sami Tamimi, co-author of Jerusalem and Falastin – and then there are the restaurant takeovers, the latest of which is a week-long residency from Bombay Bustle in Mayfair, inviting Executive Chef Surender Mohan and his team into the Princess Royal’s kitchen for just one week.
Let’s face it, if you’re going to join up with an Indian restaurant, you’d be spoilt for choice in London, but there’s something about Bombay Bustle that echoes the Cubitt House sentiments. For one, it’s inspired by Mumbai’s famed dabbawalas — the men who deliver home-cooked meals across the metropolis using the local railway system – so the menu’s not your standard curry fare. Then there’s the setting; evoking the city’s Art Deco architecture in first-class railway carriages, with booths and a pewter dining bar, and a dining room adorned with pink clay plaster walls and vibrant upholstery.
Mixing up the menu? Décor a bit different? Makes sense, eh? And it puts a whole new spin on a delivery service.
And so, as you clutch your frothy ale – or, indeed, your gin, Campari and ginger beer, the apero they’ve conjured up – tuck into battered prawn koliwada and injipulli chicken ‘lollipops’, or crispy aloo tuk baby potatoes with pesto mayo, among sharing starters. Then dive into a Bombay Bowl and mop up butter chicken and cottage cheese and spinach palak paneer with your Tawa paratha, and round it off with a sweet, sticky gulab jamun. Now, tell me that hasn’t got your tastebuds tingling.
More’s the point, when was there ever a better combination that made Brits’ hearts sing than a curry and a pint. These could well be the nation’s two favourites coming together in a symphony of culinary pleasure. It’s just a shame it’s only there for a week, so you’d better hurry!
Bombay Royal, the Bombay Bustle pop-up at The Princess Royal in Notting Hill runs until 7th June. For more information, please visit www.cubitthouse.co.uk.
