Last Updated on November 11, 2026
Chef Desh combines Sri Lankan flavours with British pub classics at Kamu London
4.0 out of 5.0 starsKamu London has opened its latest residency at the Sun and 13 Cantons in Soho, where Chef Deshan Warnasooriya is combining British pub classics with traditional Sri Lankan flavours to create something totally unique on the London dining scene.
The Sun and 13 Cantons may be a familiar name to some; it’s where Asma Khan ran her supper clubs before she launched the hugely successful Darjeeling Express.
I got the chance to try the food at Kamu London’s media launch. We were treated to a Sri Lankan-style dinner party, which made me smile. We Sri Lankans love to entertain. I was brought up on dinner parties where family and friends piled in for good food and plenty of chat, catching up on all the family gossip.
Our dinner party started with a whisky and ginger cocktail and a selection of podi plates, a.k.a. small plates. These included a platter of mutton rolls (a must if you’re Sri Lankan), Kamu’s chicken satay, and a dhal and seeni sambol dip.
The mutton rolls were still warm, straight out of the fryer, which is always a great sign. They came pre-sliced, so all I had to do was slather on the tomato sauce and eat. There was a high mutton-to-potato ratio, another good sign.
Some of the people at our table questioned the presence of the chicken satay. The relationship between Sri Lankan and Malay cuisine dates back to Dutch colonial rule in the 17th century, so it did make total sense to have something on the menu as a nod to Sri Lanka’s Malay cuisine. In fact, Sri Lanka has a similar peanut sauce, sathe, which is used on grilled meat skewers. Our chicken was succulent, tender and well cooked, and the piquant peanut sauce was on point.
The final starter was the dhal and seeni sambol dip, which I couldn’t quite picture until it arrived. Dhal is our trusted side dish, served alongside a selection of curries. It’s pure comfort food. Seeni sambol is a spicy caramelised onion relish which we also eat with our curries; a spoonful is usually enough to add a little fire to the meal. We scooped up the dip with soft, buttery parathas.
The main event was a Sri Lankan-style spread of curries served with coconut-spiced rice and poppadoms.
The curries were reminiscent of homestyle cooking, just like when I went home at weekends and was greeted by a tablescape of curries. Both the chicken curry and the Jaffna lamb curry were richly spiced and cooked until the meat fell away from the bone. The aubergine moju, a hot, sweet and sour pickle, was a hit and something I always delight in eating.
The potato hodi, potatoes cooked in a mild, creamy coconut gravy, caused a little controversy on our table. Surely Sri Lankan food is hot and spicy? The hodi shows that Sri Lankan cuisine can be mild too.
The beetroot thel dala and kale mallung are classic Sri Lankan dishes, both dry stir-fried curries. The kale is laced with a little spice, a lot of coconut and a dash of lime. The beetroot is sautéed with onions, garlic, ginger, a selection of spices and chilli. Beetroot and kale might seem unusual on a Sri Lankan menu, but these vegetables thrive in Sri Lanka’s hill country, where the temperature is cooler.
Then came dessert: bread and butter pudding. Why is a British classic appearing on a Sri Lankan menu? Growing up, my mother made bread and butter pudding, and I loved it, so I was thrilled to see it here. And this is exactly the kind of food Chef Desh is known for.
I spoke to Chef Desh and the founder of Kamu London during the meal, and he explained that he wasn’t aiming for a purely authentic menu. He wants to take Sri Lankan food to a wider audience, and combining traditional Sri Lankan dishes with British pub classics helps him do that. This is why the food errs on the mild side, yet the flavour punch is still there. It’s just not scorchingly hot. Kamu London will satisfy people who don’t do spicy food but still want a taste of Sri Lanka.
Kamu London
Sun and 13 Cantons
21 Great Pulteney Street
London W1F 9NG
0204 559 0197
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