Turns out that even Paradise can do with a makeover. Five years after opening, founder and creative director Dom Fernando’s rather special Soho spot has not just been remodelled and refurbished, but now offers a confident six-course tasting menu that sees Fernando’s souped-up Sri Lankan classics given a loving kick up the backside.
Where it once resembled former small plates Italian occupant Spuntino – complete with bar stools around a high island table – Paradise 2:0 is a cosier affair, exuding warmth despite the fact that the walls resemble poured concrete rather than a tactile sheepskin rug. Who knew Paradise was grey? Instead, vibrancy and colour comes from the multifaceted dishes that arrive over the two hours dedicated to each seating.
The sturdy kimbula banis is a hunk of croissant-ish pastry inspired by Fernando’s dad’s love of cheese toasties
Because sometimes it’s nice to take a break from chowing down on endless flesh, tonight I plonk for the vegetarian tasting menu (diners can pick from veggie ‘veg + plant’, fishy ‘sea + veg’ or the meaty ‘land + sea’), which begins with an artsy ceramic pot of lacto-fermented Kentish strawberry rasam, dotted with potent splodges of lime leaf oil. Though a thin broth, it packs an almighty punch, humming with extremely butch-tasting strawbs.
Next, a snack of a crispy nelum ala roll with raw lotus root tartare. It’s pleasant enough, but the sturdy kimbula banis – a hunk of croissant-ish pastry inspired by Fernando’s dad’s love of cheese toasties – is a beefier prospect entirely. Laced with dense green chilli custard and a perky date and lime chutney, it’s basically a wedge of semi-savoury cake.
Then comes Fernando’s take on kiri hodi – a coconut milk curry, and one of Sri Lanka’s most popular dishes – which is laced with Riesling and poured over pan-seared king oyster mushroom (this is replaced by pollock and langoustine for the fish and meat-eaters). It’s outrageously creamy but with a hearty amount of heat, and the adorably petite quail’s egg hopper that’s served alongside it is as moreish as it is cute.
If you were concerned about Paradise replacing a la carte options with a no-choice tasting menu, all fears should be allayed by the time the kohl-kohl sunflower seed curry arrives. A blaze of various traditional Sri Lankan ingredients – including punchy local Lion stout in the form of a glaze – it’s accompanied by a silky, flaky buttermilk paratha and, our absolute favourite dish of the evening, an all-too small pot of fried long aubergine and jaggery moju, which puckers the mouth with a wincingly sour twang before rewarding it with a soothingly sweet aftertaste. If five times the amount had been delivered to the table, I would have wordlessly consumed it all.
Still one of Soho’s most engaging restaurants, nothing’s been lost when it comes to Paradise’s recent shake-up.
The vibe A low-lit, seriously stylish room for Soho’s chicest diners.
The food Sri Lankan classics with an experimental edge.
The drinks Cocktails – such as a creamy, coconut-y rambutan daiquiri – have been devised in league with Three Sheets. They’re also about to launch their very own Riesling, which makes up part of a deft, four glass wine pairing.
Time Out tip Usually a carnivore? Take a gamble on the vegetarian tasting menu and we can promise you won’t miss your daily dose of meat.