The top line: Museum dining has just got better thanks to the opening of Café Jikoni by husband-and-wife duo Ravinder Bhogal and Nadeem Lalani Nanjuwany at the V&A East Museum at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Once you’ve immersed yourself in art, design, performance and fashion at the museum you can head to the all day cafe and restaurant for a menu that is just as eclectic and colourful as the exhibition.
On the menu: Bhogal and Nanjuwany are also behind Marylebone restaurant Jikoni and they’ve brought some of their restaurant’s neighbourhood flair to Stratford. As at Jikoni, which serves food inspired by immigrant cuisine across parts of South Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, East Africa and Britain, Café Jikoni’s menu is broad and wide reaching encompassing everything from scones with jam and clotted cream and a yuzu, pandan and strawberry iced bun to buddha bowls made with hummus, zhoug, pickled vegetables, roast sweet potato, seasonal greens and a za’atar rolled jammy egg; a tandoori cauliflower salad; and merquez sausage flatbread with pickled fennel, harissa, pine nuts and tahini. Other standout dishes include macaroni dhal; mushroom and egg congee with chilli oil; a classic Bombay sandwich with green chutney; and a Vietnamese coffee brownie with coffee fudge icing. The café also has a besooke coffee programme, developed in collaboration with Workshop Coffee that includes Jikoni’s own ‘no-borders’ roasted blend and custom coffee machines.
The vibe: The 120-cover space is bright and airy and has that museum cafe feel to it while also retaining some of Jikoni’s personality. The couple have gone down the democratic dining route with long wooden tables that run down the width of the room and create a modern canteen feel but there is also a counter area at which to sit and more private tables. Café Jikoni is accessible, as a museum cafe must be, but also has a strong point of difference that matches the personality and approach of the V&A.
And another thing: The branding of Café Jikoni draws inspiration from the coloured threads of a Buddhist prayer band, symbolising resilience, community and connection.
V&A East Museum, 107 Carpenters Rd, London, E20 2AR