Rambutan
10 Stoney Street
London
UK
SE1 9AD
Rambutan is Stoney Streets' latest jewel, serving up some of the capital's best Sri Lankan curries, sambols and roti.
What's the draw?
Rambutan is a cocktail-shaking, curry-making, roti-flaking powerhouse of a restaurant. After the thumping success of British-Sri Lankan cook Cynia Uma's cookbook and series of pop-ups, the opening of her debut restaurant in a mango yellow building next to Borough Market was highly anticipated. The food here focuses on regional dishes from the island's North and invites a joyous style of eating as your hands become one with the roti, mopping up every morsel of sambol, sauce and sunshine on the plate. Opening on Stoney Street requires some BDE as you're competing with a swarm of relentlessly popular restaurants, and Rambutan has just that.
Rambutan, Borough Market
What to eat?
The only rule when ordering at Rambutan is to give as much attention to the side condiments as the curries. It is the sambols, packed with pulsing heat, herbs, salt and zing that give every bite some Sri Lankan stamina. If you need help figuring out where to start, the pol sambol, parsley sambol with coconut and red onion and lime and lemongrass pickled sambol are all divine. In terms of the main show, the okra white curry, whole Jaffna crab curry, hot buttered cuttlefish and iconic soft serve are all must orders. And, full disclaimer, things are going to get messy. Expect to embrace it as you get stuck in cracking the bones of the Jaffna crab, dunking your hands into salty bowls of devilled cashew nuts and tearing huge swathes of roti to sweep across saucy plates. Just please, make sure you wear a napkin.
What to drink?
The tropical flavours of Sri Lankan cooking lend themselves to delicious cocktails, and those on offer at Rambutan are dangerously good. In particular, the Rambutang is one of the best-looking and tasting cocktails on the market, a pink flamingo fluid topped with a green chilli and packed with enlivening heat. Beyond cocktails, there's a pleasing selection of white, orange, rose and red wines, beers and a refreshing lemongrass and lime soda.
