LCB

Introduction

I seem to start every new post with 'its been a while' but this time it really has. A combination of moving house, remote working, and trying more local curries has meant a shortage of new central London entries this year.

As an avid fan of Sri Lankan food, particularly Kolamba, I'd had my eye on it's street food spin-off, Adoh!, for a while. So, I grasped at the only opportunity I had to try somewhere new, a colleague visiting from America (yes, that's what it seems to take these days!). But would a curry lunch with me make the trans-Atlantic trip worth it?

Venue

Adoh! means Hey! or Oi! and is a relaxed new venture serving Sri Lankan street food from the team behind Kolamba. 

Housed on the popular Maiden Lane in Covent Garden, there are no shortage of places for a drink before or after a visit, but equally no shortage of local competitors with Fatt Pundit and Cinnamon Bazaar only a few doors away. But, as the informal exclamation of its name suggests, Adoh! is slightly more casual than the latter, at least.

The inside, particularly at the rear, lacks a little natural light but high ceilings, bright lights and even brighter murals provide a fun relaxed and colourful atmosphere. Along the whole rear wall are bold and beautiful murals of leopards and local buses really capturing the vibrancy and culture of Sri Lanka.

The menu, complete with an illustrated glossary of the unique dishes on offer, also catches the eye as does the drinks menu offering a range of alcoholic beverages soft drinks and milkshakes.

7/10

Starters and sides

Pappudums & Mango Chutney

Plain Vadai

Mutton Roll

Chilli Prawn Toast

Devilled Sausages

The menu here is simple, fun, and not too overwhelming, helped by explanations of Sri Lankan dishes for the uninitiated. In fact, most of the Sri Lankan classics are available here, but with a few extra touches including prawn toast and curry leaf waffle.

For starters we shared five dishes ranging from customary pappudums served with mango chutney to the more unusual devilled sausages. This pork dish consisted of chopped frankfurters within a sweet and sour style stir fry of crunchy onions and peppers. The rather odd choice of sausage certainly gave a street food vibe, but ultimately felt a little cheap, falling short as a result and didn't really deliver on the devillish spice of its name.

Far better was the chilli prawn toast; a definite upgrade on the typical Chinese side dish - far less oily and chunkier, including a wedge of prawn mince in the middle of two toast wedges for a delectable, crispy-chilli bite.

The vadai and mutton rolls were similarly cleanly fried with the plump lentil donut accompanied by three delicious green, red and white chutnies synonymous with South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine. The rolls were crunchier than the usual and ticked all the right boxes, but still failed to excite me greatly. And that was the overall sense - interesting with no complaints, but neither was it anything that special.

7/10

Curry

Crab Kothu

Pork Roti & Curry

Chicken Roti & Curry

When the roti and curry arrived for mains, it hit me instantly (probably a little later than it should) that Adoh! is really aiming to grab a slice of Roti King's pie. The double roti served with the curry here is possibly even a case of trying to out-do the popular Malaysian eatery. Either way, a second of these beautiful flakey flatbreads is always welcome, with one never really enough. However, the extra bread seemed to come at the expense of the rather diminuitive curry, particularly the chicken which comes on a drumstick, leaving you feel a little short changed as the bone dominates the empty bowl at the end. Nothing to complain about the pork though - a Kolamba special not to be missed.

Next to the curries, the crab kothu felt far more generous, but was priced higher accordingly. The crab also elevated this Sri Lankan street food staple of chopped roti, onions, egg and spices to an even higher level. Well worth the extra price for seafood lovers looking to take their kothu game to the next rung.

Other menu items looked promising too - the fried chicken with curry leaf waffle, and the rice and curry, in particular. However, there was a the wow factor missing overall to raise the score for the mains higher than a 7. I recommend sharing a few to get the most out of the dishes on offer if budgets allow.

7/10

Service

The restaurant was very quiet for our early Tuesday lunch but the staff were very chatty, talking us through the menu, the spice levels, and the drinks menu. Our waiter had something to offer on each visit and built good rapport with us. I also had a long chat with him about the food and reltaionship with Kolmaba before the others arrived. Otherwise, food wasn't the fastest to arrive, but neither were we in a hurry. So service was generally good.

8/10

Value for money

£12 for the two roti and curry is pretty good in this day and age, although the curry portion was small. The crab kothu at £18 is pushing it a little, but with all snacks coming in at £7 or under the prices here are generally on par with others around, particularly given the seafood on offer. On the other hand, the frankfurter in the devilled sausages did feel a little underwhelming quality wise, and £4 for pappadums is toppy, so only a 7 overall for value feels fair. Luckily this one was expensed on work anyway!

7/10

Summary

Adoh! represents a welcome addition to the London curry scene with a clear plan to take on the likes of Roti King. However, I fear it's this tier of dining which is taking a hit as prices rise to cover costs while consumers tighten their belts. Time will tell if Kolamba's venture into this space will last (others have failed in the past), but given its promise, it did leave me a little underwhelmed. It's hard to put my finger on what it lacked, and possibly the quiet of an early Tuesday lunchtime didn't help the vibe, but the snacks could've been more exciting and the mains a little more original to not just match but beat Roti King at its game. The score overall is still strong, and I'd recommend sampling a range of the dishes to maximise the experience but was left a little wanting.

36/50