Colony Bar & Grill

Story

Colony, or Colony Bar and Grill is a restaurant, bar and grill located at 7-9 Paddington Street, Marylebone, Central London, England. It opened in early April 2010 and was run by restaurateur Carlo Spetale and the Michelin-starred executive chef Atul Kochhar.Atul Kocchar announced he was leaving the business in June 2011 to focus on other interests. The split was described as amicable.The cuisine of the restaurant is inspired by that of the British colonies from colonial Asia, East Africa, the Caribbean etc. but is mainly inspired by Indian street food, specifically "the marinades, aromatic flavours and grilling methods" of the street traders of colonial Asia. The General Manager of the restaurant is John Lacombe, formerly of The Connaught Hotel, 5th Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nichols and Notting Hill Brasserie amongst others. Lacombe is also responsible for the winery of the restaurant. It has a reputable cocktail lounge.ReceptionThe restaurant has received mixed reviews. Zoe Williams of The Daily Telegraph was highly praising and described the restaurant as "I think this is what heaven will look like – complete with a barman making you feel it would be almost rude not to have a martini. " Williams was content with her meal and remarked that the "pancakes were made of chickpea flour (the chickpeas’ main contribution was a lovely, rich density, with only the whiff of their flavour), packed with spinach, in a tomato and cream sauce".