Vivek Singh, of Cinnamon Kitchen, tells us about the new Soho pop up coming to Oxford.

AS THE the weather is warming up, it’s the perfect time to talk all about our new street food pop-up from London called Joho Soho located on our incredible roof terrace at Cinnamon Kitchen Oxford.

Joho Soho is an eco-friendly pop-up, whereby all the street food and drinks are served in recyclable dishes with wooden cutlery.

It’s inspired by colourful festivals and celebrates independent thinking and free spirits. We wanted to emulate the energy of an Indian festival and bring good vibes to Oxford this summer.

Our colourful al fresco space is an idyllic retreat for guests to relax and unwind and take in the views.

We have teamed up with our good friend and award-winning mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, to create a fun range of cocktails that are 100 per cent sustainable.

Mr Lyan and I share the same ethos and values of reducing waste and care deeply about the ingredients we use that will leave less of a carbon footprint on the planet. The drinks are absolutely amazing, and I am excited for guests of Cinnamon Kitchen to try them.

We have incorporated recycled ingredients like watermelon rinds, pistachio shells and chai to create syrups, cordials and liqueurs. The drinks are all served in recyclable milk bottles, so you can take them to go too! We love Mr Lyan’s work – his drinks are a lot of fun without being pretentious.

For food, we have created a special street food menu with modern Indian dishes, perfect for shoppers on the go or for those who want to kick back and while away an afternoon. Guests can feast on the likes of Chicken Tikka Wraps with stir fried chicken tikka with onion and peppers wrapped in roti; Samosa Chaat with chutney potatoes, crisp wheat, yoghurt and coriander chutney; Mumbai Chowpatty Bhelpuri with puffed rice, crisp chickpea vermicelli, peanut, spiced potatoes, tamarind and pomegranate; and Papdi chaat of chutney potatoes, crisp wheat, yoghurt and tamarind drizzle.

Whilst the Joho Soho street food is the star of the summer, guests can also enjoy a heartier lunch or dinner outdoors too.

We have one dish lunches for £12 as well as our two/three course set menus. Dine alfresco with an array of our signature starters like the samosa chaat or spicy Oxford sausage style veal and lamb kebabs; and mains of spiced Pollok or Hyderabadi style chicken. Cool down with an ice-cold mango kulfi, our Indian twist on ice cream.

For those who want something a bit heartier for lunch or dinner and want to enjoy the outdoors, they can enjoy our one dish lunches for £12 or our two/three course set menus.

I am really happy with how the pop-up is going so far. It’s even better when the sun shines! Our life-size baby elephant has been getting lots of love and attention from our guests and shoppers.

We look forward to hanging out at Joho Soho with all of our lovely guests this summer!