New Sri Lankan restaurant arrives on Rupert Street
This autumn a bold new dining concept will reinvent Sri Lankan cuisine on the streets of Soho. Paradise will put a progressive twist on authentic street food, embracing all the flavours, spices and warmth of the Teardrop island in a stripped back, brutalist setting.
Located on the legendary Rupert Street strip, Paradise will be the first solo project from Dom Fernando, a young dynamic restaurateur on a mission to bring the food of his family’s homeland to London. Dom was inspired by his annual childhood trips to Sri Lanka, observing everything from his relatives’ home-grown cooking techniques and treasured recipes to their warm, inclusive eating culture.
Chef Charith Priyadarshana revamped classics will draw their eclectic flavour combinations from the nation’s many diverse regions, taking cues from Portuguese, Malay, South Indian and Dutch cuisines. With an emphasis on seasonality and sustainability, the menu will merge British and Sri Lankan ingredients prepared with modern panache. Seafood will be procured directly from British day boats, along with free-range chicken from Woodman’s Farm in Pilmoor, York, and pork from Barbara Davis at Longridge Farm.
Signature dishes will include street food staples such as hoppers and kothu roti, mutton rolls with curry powder and fermented chilli sauce and richly spiced curries such as slow roasted pork cheek curry, aubergine moju, jackfruit biriyani, and cabbage mallum. A distinctive take on a largely undiscovered cuisine in London, the menu will be remarkably different, and reflecting the country itself, will be curated to offer a true culinary exploration of one of South Asia’s most vibrant states.
The ingredient-focused ethos underpinning Paradise will spill over in to their house batched cocktail menu which will feature drinks such as the Arrack-O-Lada, conjuring the flavour and textures of coconut cream and arrack, served with a burnt jackfruit and pineapple syrup, as well as new interpretations of the classics, such as a Tamarind Chilli Martini. The carefully selected wine list will focus on small biodynamic and organic growers, regional styles and modern vintage wines.
Dom has teamed up with leading East London interior specialists Dan Preston (whose previous credits include KILN and Smoking Goat) to create an intimate, warm yet raw space. Inspired by the chic bistros in Colombo and Galle, Dom wanted a space that celebrates music, art and design. Paradise will have a truly non-conformist look and feel, with artisanal furniture, foliage and crafts blended seamlessly with industrial elements such as unpolished cement and aged metal detailing, to create an informal, minimalist yet inviting space.
With a modern, uncluttered blend of Eastern and Western design coupled with a daring, forward-thinking re-interpretation of Sri Lankan fare, Paradise will be a welcome island to escape to from the busy streets of Soho.
Address: 61 Rupert St, Soho, London W1D 7PW
Instagram: @paradisesoho
