A prawn delicacy. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Cinnamon, at 22 Park Street, has undergone a serious makeover. This large restaurant, which was offering the cuisine of the Mediterranean countries of Europe, north Africa and West Asia, has been split into two 60-seater restaurants — Riviera, is the coastal cuisine of India’s west coast, a Continental selection leaning mainly towards fish and seafood and the food of the regions represented before, and a handful of north Indian kebabs and main courses; and Angaar, for 100 per cent vegetarian north Indian food.

For both Riviera and Angaar, this is a rebirth. They were first born in August 1999 in a three-restaurant complex on Loudon Street called Jewel of the East. In that avatar, Riviera was total coastal cuisine — Calcutta’s one and only — Angaar was more or less the same and the third restaurant in the complex was Xian, for Chinese food. Unfortunately a legal dispute regarding the property ended that chapter.

Cinnamon’s new-look outlets opened last week, and having always had a strong weakness for our west-coast cuisine — especially from the coasts of Malabar, Mangalore and Goa — I was there without hesitation. It is a proper rebirth, not only in name, because the same team of people, with the same savvy are involved, complete with their signature dishes — Prawn Koliwada, Crab Coondapuri, Chicken Chettinad and Kerala Mutton Stew, among others. This time, though, the setting and ambience are more inviting — daylight streaming in over neat tables, large glass windows directly overlooking my favourite street, and by night, the lights and the bustle clear, but not loud.

They have wisely trimmed the menu down to a compact number of dishes and added an equally compact Continental selection with items like Shrimp Couscous Salad, King Prawn Portuguesa, Kingfish Steak and Turkish Chicken giving it a Mediterranean feel from the establishment’s earlier days.

During last week’s visit, it was decided that instead of having a regular meal, we would try bite-sized portions of various items and share things around so that a wide selection could be sampled without overeating. But speaking for myself, I overate anyway.

First up was Bombil Fry. Bombay duck, deboned, flattened and divested of as much water as possible, then marinated in ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, white pepper, chilli and coconut (all powdered) and salt for 30 minutes, then smeared with semolina and deep fried. Fiery and robust.

The Shrimp Couscous salad. Soak the couscous in warm water and it is ready to eat. Combine with poached shrimps, sauteed bell peppers and red chillies, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, crushed black pepper and cumin and salt. Place on lettuce leaves, garnish with feta cheese and fried garlic, chill and serve.

The classic Kerala Dry Mutton, served as a starter, but a great main course as well, with Neer Dosa. Hot oil is tempered with mustard seeds and curry leaves and then ginger, garlic and onions are stir-fried in this. Next comes tomatoes and yoghurt followed by boneless mutton cubes and coconut milk. This is covered and cooked on a slow flame, and finally tamarind, pulp and seasoning are added and the gravy is reduced.

Devilled Crab, a Park Street Continental special and Riviera does an excellent version with small crabs of which they serve two.

Among the main course items sampled, there were coastal Indian and one was Continental. There was the celebrated Gassi curry with Surmai fish, Goan curry with prawns, Coorg Crab Roast (a Riviera special) and King Prawn Portuguesa, which is served with creamy spaghetti and boiled vegetables.

Lamb shanks cooked osso bucco style is one of the items retained from Cinnamon’s original menu.

The Angaar menu, which is cooked up in an exclusively vegetarian kitchen, also has many temptations, with an unusual selection of breads.