This was my third meal here – see earlier reviews for the background of the restaurant. Today’s lunch began with aloo tikki, which had potato patties, white radish, red onion, honey yoghurt and tamarind mint chutney. This was attractively presented and had good flavour balance, the tamarind bringing its natural sweetness to the dish but not overwhelming the other flavours (15/20). Venison samosas came with crispy cauliflower, chutney and pickle, the sourness of the pickle nicely balancing the richness of the meat, the pastry delicate (15/20).
Stone bass was, if anything, even better than before, the charcoal imparting a lovely smoky flavour note, the fish beautifully tender, alongside boldly flavoured avocado chutney. The texture of the fish was simply superb. Indeed, this was the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I have eaten in an Indian restaurant in the UK (17/20).
Lamb biryani was sealed with a pastry top, and when opened released its aromas. The rice was delicate, fluffy and aromatic, the meat tender, and even the pastry top tasted good (15/20). A cauliflower side dish was just as good as previously (14/20), as was the superb, slightly smoky, densely flavoured black dhal (16/20). New on the menu was a dish of three different textures of aubergine: pakora, stuffed aubergine with Chettinad spices, and with stone fungus. This was a clever and appealing dish, the different textures complementing each other well, the flavour impressive (15/20).
Service was superb, the staff patient and attentive. The bill came to £51 a head with just water and mango lassi to drink. My opinion remains unchanged that this is the best Indian food in London right now.
Further reviews: 18th Jul 2022 | 30th Nov 2021 | 07th Aug 2021 | 06th Aug 2019 | 04th Aug 2018 | 24th Oct 2017 | 09th Dec 2016
alan fowle
Our first visit here on a busy Saturday evening. Attractive room a little exotic and certainly it speaks of large amounts of money having been thrown at it . Very friendly welcome , clutching Andy's last review it helped us enormously in making our selections . So to start the crispy guineafowl, then chandni chowk ki aloo tikki , lobster neruli ,another main the stone bass tikka , with spiced cauliflower on the side. All very good - this is luxurious dining , to go with it I think we had a gavi- not expensive. An elevated experience that left us feeling good about trying a new restaurant and it being a success- - by no means a common occurrence !
Travis Levius
I couldn't agree more about the stone bass tikka and it's position as London's best fine Indian spot. I tried Gymkhana a week after and just didn't see what the fuss was about. If they don't receive a Michelin star, something's wrong.