Our Review Of ADOH! Covent Garden: Spicy Doughnuts And Sri Lankan Street Food At London’s New Restaurant

If you're (extremely) eagle-eyed and have the memory of an elephant, you may remember me visiting Kolamba East earlier this year. To my delight, the masterminds behind that gorgeous Spitalfields gem opened a brand new restaurant in September, promising more flavourful Sri Lankan plates but with more of a casual, street food feel. Meet ADOH! Covent Garden, and prepare to have your socks well and truly knocked off.

I couldn't get enough of the gorgeous vadai starter (pictured bottom left) at Covent Garden's new vivid paradise.

DesignMyNight's Review Of ADOH! Covent Garden

Being a typically drizzly autumnal Monday evening, ADOH! appeared in the distance like a glowing mirage. Once inside, you’re treated to a colourful, quirky space that has bags of personality. Think industrial grey beams, corrugated steel walls with railway station-like lighting and even the front of the iconic TATA tracks common on the island. But the big talking point? Impressive, sprawling works of art by Ruwangi “Roo” Amarasinghe, depicting animals, symbols and Sinhala lettering in red, teal, yellow and green.

The word ADOH! itself is used in a few ways in Sri Lanka, usually to attract attention or as a greeting. This restaurant cleverly encapsulates both; we received such a warm welcome here and service was very friendly, plus the surrounds definitely turned heads in all the right ways.

As we were patiently walked through the ADOH! London menu, our drinks arrived. Following a recommendation, I opted for the Arrack Spritz (£10) and it’ll come as no surprise that this was a fab twist on the summery staple. Prepare for a strong, nutty South East Asian spirit mixed with Aperol and cava, served in a playful milkshake glass. My date was laying off the booze that night, so picked a refreshing (and we hear, mood-boosting) Collider lager (£6.50).

The vibrant decor at ADOH! London really does stop you in your tracks.

Perhaps being a bit greedy, we then continued to order three ‘snacks’ to start. My favourite dish of the night were the plain vadais (£6); our host remarked about devouring ten at a time, they’re that well liked. Just imagine a duo of spicy, savoury ring doughnuts, yeah you heard us right. Wanna know how they're made? After mixing in lentils, the pulp is grinded down with ginger then deep-fried. You’re given three delicious sambols to dip them in: coconut, green chilli and tomato.

My date’s fave were the mutton rolls (£7), two sausage-shaped mouthfuls packed with meat and potato, then wrapped in a pancake and fried. Served alongside a chilli ketchup, I can see why they’ve been called the G.O.A.T on social media (it’s halal too). Make sure to order the masala curry dosa (£7) too, as we loved the smatterings of onion and coriander on the renowned crepe base.

ADOH! Covent Garden’s signature dish is kothu, and being a vegetarian I opted for jackfruit (£15) but we were told the crab (£17) has also proved to be popular. Coming from the Tamil word meaning ‘chopped,’ this revelation brought together juicy chunks of jackfruit, sharp onion, red chilli and slices of roti, smashed then cooked on a griddle. I particularly warmed to the latter; it was slightly chewy which added a new textural dimension. But be warned, this was a particularly fiery number, but was the right amount of heat for me, especially when covered in the coconut milk sauce that also included tomato cubes. It was basically drinkable. 

ADOH!'s food (pictured right) had so many layers of flavour, including the sambols.  

Next up on the ADOH! menu was something I didn’t expect to see here, fried chicken with curry leaf waffle (£12). We understand it was inspired by one the founder’s cherished childhood treat, and we could easily see why. The moist meat, covered in breadcrumbs, was golden and crispy and contrasted beautifully with my date’s sweet waffle. When smothered in a rich sauce? Heavenly.

By this point, we had a proper sweat on, but the sides cooled us down, from the refreshing tomato sambol (£4) to our zesty green mango and papaya salad (£9). I couldn’t detect much mango here, but we still adored the bursts of juice with every bite, plus the crushed peanuts were a nice touch.

We closed the evening with soft serve ice cream (£6) to share. Our host explained that this is mixed with Milo powder (similar to Horlicks) and chocolate, whipped up to make a swirly, homely, comforting dessert. Served in a vintage metal cup, we lapped up every last bit.

ADOH! Covent Garden Review: Overall

Eroshan and Aushi Meewella are on to a winner with ADOH!; bringing punchy authentic street food from Colombo to Covent Garden – all without a hefty price tag (even more impressive considering its location). We couldn’t help but smile at the colourful, artistic interiors, so, take our advice and next time you’re catching a show or gone shopping, pay this fun pitstop a visit.   

In the West End? These pre-theatre dinners are well worth a shout.