Amaya

Amaya (“without boundaries”) opened in 2004, tucked away in The Halkin Arcade in Belgravia. Until 2025 it was part of the MW Eat restaurant group, which also includes Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy and Masala Zone. The original head chef at Amaya was Karunesh Kanna, who worked in luxury hotels in India and before moving to Amaya and gaining the restaurant a Michelin star in 2006. He left in 2018, handing over the kitchen reins to Sanchit Kapoor, who has retained the star ever since. The MW Eat group, including Amaya, was sold to Canadian Fairfax Financial Holdings in November 2025; this company also owns Bangalore Airport and Thomas Cook.

The dining room has an open kitchen and has well-spaced tables. A tasting menu was a quite reasonable £75 (£70 for vegetarian) given that a raan biryani from the a la carte was priced at £39 and a sweet potato chaat was £22. At lunch there was a menu at £32 and a tasting menu at £64.

The wine list was not in a format where I could analyse it in depth, but example labels were Grover Art Collection Sauvignon Blanc 2025 at £38 (the cheapest wine on the list) compared to its retail price of £19, Rieslingfreak No 33 from Clare Valley 2025 at £58 for a wine that you can find in the high street for 17, and Vina Leyda Pinot Noir Lot 21 (2023 vintage) at £76 for a wine that will set you back £27 in the high street. There were posher offerings to, such as Francois Carillon Puligny Montrachet Les Folatieres 2023 at £420 compared to its retail price of £139, and Sassacaia Tenuta San Guido 2022 at £575 for a bottle whose current market value is £252. 

A crispy cabbage and noodle salad was nicely presented and was entirely pleasant, but had little obvious connection to Indian food that I could see, though doubtless there was one. Pomegranate seeds provided freshness, and there was a sesame, almond and lemon dressing (13/20). Better was a chaat, here given a twist by serving it in a pastry case. The chaat included pieces of potato, good tamarind chutney and pomegranate seeds, and the pastry base added an interesting texture (14/20).

King scallop served in its shell was hand-dived and griddled, accompanied by a light herb and spice sauce. The scallop itself had good natural sweetness, was nicely cooked, and the sauce had plenty of vibrant flavour (15/20). Black pepper chicken tikka was excellent, the chicken very tender and having nicely absorbed the delicate spices of its marinade, the pepper nicely lifting the flavour of the chicken without dominating it (easily 15/20).

Raan is a slow cooked leg of lamb, and a dish that I rarely see on menus in the UK. My benchmark for this dish was a terrific version at the Lake Palace Hotel in Udaipur. The one here was not in that league but it was still very good, the meat tender and lightly spiced (15/20). Chicken biryani was fragrant and aromatic, with nicely separated rice grains and chicken that avoided drying out which is often the fate of chicken in a biryani (15/20). Wok-tossed spinach and mustard was a very enjoyable accompaniment, the spinach having deep flavour, with the gentle bite from the mustard working nicely with the spinach (15/20). Both garlic and plain naans were both very good, being served piping hot and having supple texture (15/20). A mango was a simple but enjoyable way to finish the meal.

I was being taken here by an old friend and didn’t see a bill. If you ordered a sensible amount of food and shared a modest bottle of wine then a typical cost per person here might be around £90. I haven’t been to Amaya for a long time, but it deserves to retain its Michelin star. Chef Sanchit Kapoor has excellent cooking technique, and the tandoori dishes in particular today showed real skill.

Further reviews: 01st Aug 2012 | 01st Dec 2004