Cinnamon Kitchen at the Queens Hotel opened in the summer under the stewardship of renowned Chef Vivek Singh.
To celebrate the success of his new venture, the chef held a special Supper Club on Friday, 19th September 2025. I was privileged to be a guest for the six-course menu which Vivek personally introduced. The invitation promised ‘exceptional food and immersive storytelling’.
Our evening began with a glass of Prosecco and deconstructed Bombay mix. Guests were welcomed into the bar by Chef Vivek Singh as they sipped their bubbles and snacked from bowls of spicy crackers, cashew nuts and chickpea flour garanthiya. Canapés arrived on trays as we chatted in the bar: Agra style paneer skewers, Nagpur Bhel Puri Chaat and Warangal Chicken Liver Fry. There was a gentle increase in heat as we went from the silky soft paneer, through the potato and nut chat to the spicy rich liver.
The liver was outstanding: soft, rich, and ‘zingy’, as a fellow diner described it. I know that liver is not everyone’s cup of chai but most people seemed wowed by this dish.
Vivek addressed the assembled diners to introduce the evening. When asked how the canapés had tasted, he was met with shouts of congratulation on the liver. This brought a genuine smile to his face and the response that ‘to love liver is to love life’.
Our starter was Hyderabadi Pathar ka Gosht, tender escalopes of lamb in a rich, spicy coating. After the liver, this was my favourite dish of the day. The Yorkshire lamb and the complex Indian spicing were the perfect illustration of how Vivek combines local produce with great Asian cuisine. The lamb was still pink but the exterior was loaded with flavour. A thick coriander chutney was great for dipping the meat.
A rest course of Kolkota Pineapple Kasundi Chaat cleansed our palates before the main course. The fresh pineapple, smoked and chillies, became the savoury element in this dish when paired with caramel puffed rice. I think we could easily have been served a smaller portion, but it was too delicious to leave any.
Vivek told us that Cinnamon Kitchen is already his favourite dining room. The original Cinnamon Club is in the former Westminster Library, so he is no stranger to style and heritage. What makes the Leeds location special, alongside the opulent decor, is the railway connection. Vivek is clearly excited to be part of this historic railway hotel.
Our menu was selected as a culinary journey through India, with each dish reflecting a stop along the way. Vivek talked about his childhood experiences of train travel, including a thirty hour journey from Calcutta to Chennai. As you travel on Indian railways you are engulfed by the sounds and smells of street-food sellers at every station. Vivek, even as a child, appreciated the changing culinary landscape he was passing through.
Having taken our seats in the dining room, our meal began with an appetiser of Jovai Shrimp Pepper Fry. Described as an appetiser it would have been a large starter in many restaurants. I often avoid prawns as a starter as they are difficult to cook to exactly the correct point. Here, they were cooked perfectly, which is no mean feat when the whole restaurant was being served simultaneously. The curled prawns were served with a curry chutney and a fruity mango puree.
Our starter was Hyderabadi Pathar ka Gosht, tender escalopes of lamb in a rich, spicy coating. After the liver, this was my favourite dish of the day. The Yorkshire lamb and the complex Indian spicing were the perfect illustration of how Vivek combines local produce with great Asian cuisine. The lamb was still pink but the exterior was loaded with flavour. A thick coriander chutney was great for dipping the meat.
A rest course of Kolkota Pineapple Kasundi Chaat cleansed our palates before the main course. The fresh pineapple, smoked and chillies, became the savoury element in this dish when paired with caramel
puffed rice. I think we could easily have been served a smaller portion, but it was too delicious to leave any.
Although this was a tasting menu the main course came as a full meal, complete with rice, garlic naan and dal. The New Delhi-Style Butter Chicken Masala comprised of chicken fillets in a thick, warming sauce, an earthy bitterness provided by added fenugreek leaves. The Jalander Style dal makhani provided a good contrast in texture and flavour.
Then finally dessert, not just one but three. The Kashmiri Trio included saffron pistachio kulfi, mango sorbet and cardamon phirni. The kulfi had a decadent creaminess, enhanced by the soft saffron and contrasted with crunchy pistachios. The sorbet was thick with mango and satisfyingly cold, while the warm phirni rice pudding added a liquid element. My palate was left with fragrant fruit, rose and cardamon flavours long after I finished eating.
It says much about the food that everyone I saw managed to finish every element of this banquet. It reflects well on the cooking that I left feeling replete rather than stuffed. The cost of the tasting menu was £65 per person, with £30 for an additional wine flight. I can think of nowhere else offering a tasting menu with wine of this quality for less than a hundred pounds.
There are currently no further Supper Club events planned, but Vivek reminded diners that next year he will be celebrating 25 years since he opened Cinnamon Lounge. He promised us that there will be celebrations in all his restaurants. In the meantime, there are lunch, high tea and happy hour deals at Cinnamon Kitchen.
Cinnamon Kitchen is simply great cuisine at an affordable price.
