Behind The Business

The Cinnamon Club has become an iconic London institution. What do you think has been the key to its long-term success and reputation?

If I had to put it down to one thing, it would be The Cinnamon Club’s complete refusal to stand still. It has constantly evolved, remaining creative and innovative over the years. From the very beginning, the restaurant was pitched at a much higher level than most people expected from Indian restaurants at the time. The surroundings helped, but more importantly, it was about taking a much-loved cuisine and pushing it forward by marrying it with top-quality, seasonal British produce. Menus changed not just seasonally, but often monthly, and sometimes even daily, which was very brave, challenging, and quite revolutionary at the time.

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How competitive was the Indian restaurant market when you opened?

Even 25 years ago, the market was already very competitive. There were around 8,000 Indian restaurants across the UK, and Indian food was widely loved and supported. There may not have been many high-end Indian restaurants then, but there was an Indian restaurant on almost every high street. It was challenging then, just as it is now, but innovation has always created space. When new ideas are strong enough, they eventually succeed by making more people happy than unhappy.

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What inspired your vision for modern Indian fine dining in the UK?

The idea for the restaurant was formed much earlier when I was working in five-star hotels in India. We had access to fantastic-quality produce, but it was never considered appropriate or necessary for Indian food. I had a problem with that way of thinking. Every cuisine benefits from better ingredients and new influences. That belief shaped everything we did here, from using higher-quality produce to rethinking how Indian food could be presented and experienced.

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How has The Cinnamon Club evolved since opening?

We deliberately went against convention. Traditional Indian restaurant menus were very long and didn’t allow space to talk about provenance, seasonality, or suppliers. We made menus smaller, celebrated ingredients, and changed dishes frequently. We also chose to cook food fresh after the order was placed, even for large numbers at lunch, which was considered unrealistic at the time. These decisions were counterintuitive, but they created a clear point of difference and a completely different dining experience.

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How have diners’ expectations changed over the years?

The dining scene has changed dramatically, especially with the rise of social media. In the early days, phones were never visible in restaurants, etiquette and discretion were a key part of hospitality. Now, phones are an essential part of the dining experience, and guests expect to photograph and share their meals. Dining has also become more democratic, our guests are younger, more diverse, and more balanced in terms of gender than they were 25 years ago.

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How important is local business to The Cinnamon Club?

Local business is very important to us. Around 22–25% of our guests are repeat diners, which is incredibly strong loyalty for a restaurant of this size. At the same time, three out of four guests are still first-time visitors. That balance reminds us that no matter how established or well-known you are, you always need to keep reaching new audiences while looking after your existing guests.

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How do you maintain a strong team culture in such a demanding industry?

Manpower has always been one of the biggest challenges in hospitality, with very high staff turnover across the industry. We’ve focused on building loyalty by treating people well and investing in their development. We employ 150 people across our 5 restaurants. Many of our team members have been with us for over 10, 15, and even 20 years. We promote from within wherever possible and create clear pathways for people to grow within the business. Cooking well and being able to teach others are very different skills. Over the years, we’ve created opportunities to develop both. We run cookery masterclasses for guests, led by our head chefs, which allows us to see who can communicate, lead, and teach. This approach helps us build stronger leaders and maintain consistency across the business.

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What future plans or collaborations can you share?

Collaboration has always been part of our philosophy. We were early in participating in festivals such as Taste of London and working outside the traditional restaurant setting. We have an upcoming chef collaboration where several chefs will come together to cook a course each for one night only. These experiences keep things fresh and allow us to continue learning and evolving. People used to come to a restaurant to order anything that they can’t cook at home, a different ingredient, a different process. Now the world has done a full circle, the customers want to eat what we would eat at home.

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Are there plans for another cookbook?

Yes, we are currently working on another book, but with a different approach. Rather than producing a large collection of recipes, we’re aiming for a more focused selection that reflects how often our menus change and how we actually cook across the group. The challenge is deciding what to leave out rather than what to include.

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Finally, what advice would you give to entrepreneurs and small business owners across Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster who are striving to grow and innovate?

My advice would be to focus on doing something you genuinely love. Too many people think about exits and valuations before they’ve even started, I see this a lot. This industry is about real interaction, creating something people enjoy enough to remember, return to, and talk about. If you truly enjoy what you do and focus on doing it well, the rest will follow.