Inito (Restaurant)

Top 10 things you need to know about Inito restaurant:

1) I've never been present at a childbirth, but a visit to Inito certainly felt like I was witnessing the arrival of something splendid into the culinary world.

2) Think Indian restaurants and you might think dark places with rich Burgundy velvet curtains. At this newborn concept, it's the opposite: it's airy, it's bright, it's all homely wooden panels and open kitchen. 

3) Location-wise, it's not in the busiest part of Liverpool Street compared to Bishopsgate or Spitafields Market, but it is conveniently next to a Nido student accommodation complex. I doubt many restaurants in the vicinity will still have guests strolling in at 9:45pm on a rainy Thursday.

4) You would have expected a much more embryonic menu for a restaurant in it's infancy, but not at Inito where you have a head chef like Saurav Nath who has worked at Benares and Colony. You are basically getting Michelin star quality food at Petticoat Lane prices.

5) I was almost turned vegetarian by their Pani Puri and Bhel Puri. The little touches they added made all the difference, like cumin-flavoured tangy mint water and nylon sev. They even managed to make me put ‘chickpeas’ and ‘appetising’ in the same sentence.

6) My foray into vegetarianism wasn't going to last long, given I was born a carnivore. Their lollipop wings made sure of that. They were crunchy, then tender and then a spice explosion. They accomplished the impossible by out-spicing the Great Colonel Sanders.

7) Not wanting the seafood lovers to feel left out, they have tandoori scallops with cauliflower chutney. If this is Indian street food, I need to go and find the address on Rightmove.

8) I had first hand experience of their 0% wastage policy. Saurav, having cooked almost half their menu, subsequently provided takeaway boxes for us to go home with. I managed to walk home with more food than I ate at the restaurant.

9) If there is an area for growth for this little brainchild, it might be their beverage offerings. They have their mango lassi, Cobra and Masala chai, but maybe a stronger wine list or Indian-inspired cocktails would turn them into class A students.

10) At the risk of being accused of blasphemy, this feels almost like the immaculate conception. It's a concept no doubt we will be seeing spread throughout London....read more