A Sri Lankan and South Indian inspired restaurant located across London has simply stolen my heart and I just have to share it with you guys!!
This is my second time having Sri Lankan food but my first time experiencing South Indian food and the flavours, spices and comfort I felt sharing this meal with friends made me realise this has to go on the recommendations. 
My first time trying Sri Lankan food I was blown away but the balance of flavours and how they really focus on aromatics to flavour a dish more than spices. Think ginger, garlic, coconut and limes. Admittedly I haven’t experienced much Indian food outside of the general veggie samosa which I love and I was so happy to have an Indian friend with me to guide us on how to order off this menu!
Hoppers had so much to choose from and I could break down their menu into categories of which we pretty much ordered everything from. Hoppers focuses on family style eating so I’d definitely recommending going with friends or family, the vibe just suits it! We visited the King’s Cross venue on this occasion.
I love that they name everything authentically and give you a glossary so you understand what each dish is made of. For my veggies/vegans or people with allergies it’s an amazing spot to try because a lot of the bases are made from rice/lentils.
Hoppers is actually a dish which we ordered, made from fermented rice and coconut milk. There are various kinds so we went for the egg. I adored the gooey middle. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, I can see why this dish would be a great way to start your day. I loved it. You can use this to dip in any sauce, which I used for the prawn kari. The prawns were juicy but I wasn’t crazy about the sauce to be honest!
Next we ordered the mutton rolls which were almost like south East Asian croquettes. Heavy on the spices and packs a punch, the texture was super pleasant but if you can’t handle spice I’d ask for some yogurt to cool this down!
We then got the bone marrow varuval and my word….. this is decadence in a dish. Bone marrow that just melts in your mouth, buttery, fatty in the best way and super indulgent. Enjoyed this with the crisp flaky roti (which you’ll definitely need more of) that was the perfect pairing with the soft melt in your mouth marrow that was drowning in beautifully cooked varuval sauce. A layered tangy masala base, truly an all rounder. I loved this dish!
I just had to try the dosa as I’ve seen this dish in many places and had been yet to try. Dosa is a crisp super thin pancake made using fermented rice and lentils, another GF vegan friendly dish that was not missing out on flavour. This dish came with the prawn Kari but I swapped it for the dahl kari, almost like a lentil stew and I fell in love with this dish. So hearty, light and wholesome. The lentils were cooked to perfection and simply melted in the mouth. Not heavily spiced at all which allowed the lentils to really be the star of the show. I could’ve eaten 5 of these!
We also got the lamb shank biriyani which was my least favourite dish but personally I’m just not a huge fan of rice. The rice was cooked really well and had an array of add ons which I can see why people enjoy but for me, I could’ve done without this dish.
The next dish that blew me away was the BBQ hispi cabbage with a kiri hodi (VG). Wow. That’s all I could say. Smoked, sweet roasted cabbage with an insane coconut milk gravy. Now if you know me then you know just how much I love cabbage so this dish was everything for me! It was truly an all rounder and although served as a side, I would’ve been happy with it as a main dish. I could barely taste the coconut but in a great way as coconut can be overpowering sometimes, whatever they did to this gravy was magical. 10/10 from me.
The service and ambience of this spot made everything better and it truly felt comforting to eat with a group of friends, on copper plates where you could smell the spices in the air.
A solid 4.6/5 from me and I’ve already booked my next visit. I’d HIGHLY recommend this spot and urge you all to give it a try!
Thank you for reading my blog!! More recommendations to come xx
Namaste 💜