Category: Haute Cuisine (££££)
I have so far been a bit disappointed with Asian restaurants in London that have been awarded a Michelin star,as I really did not particularly like Nahm,thought Umu was overrated and Nobu did not impress me very much either. Benares was the first Michelin starred Indian I tried and I was not sure what to expect as this restaurant seems to divide food critics,food bloggers and the public likewise.
The chef Atul Kochhar,who was the first Indian chef ever to receive this honor,got his first Michelin star in 2001 while cooking at Tamarind,won a star for the second time in 2007 with Benares. His restaurant is located on the posh Berkeley Square in the middle of Mayfair.
I am not an expert on Indian food at all as,even though I enjoy the variety spices and richness of flavour very much,I usually tend to find Indian food too heavy so I don’t eat it very often. For this reason I might no be the right person to judge to which extent the food at Benares is authentic and to what degree it is Europeanised. But in the end it does not matter because for me the food –Indian or not –was delicious. It was delicate and subtly spiced with clean flavours,superb ingredients,spot-on preparation and appealing presentation.
It is horrendously expensive (if you don’t go for any of their good value lunch and pre-theatre deals) and I have allowed myself to take pictures of the menu as you can’t find the prices online on their website. One should know what to expect I thought. As you can see everything sounds delectable and I had trouble choosing. Fortunately we decided to share and I had 6 dishes to taste from,that’s my kind of dinner!
The best starter for me was the the Chicken Tikka Pie (Khasta Murgh) (13). It was the only dish of the ones we had ordered that had some spiciness to it (I’m a spice addict) but without overwhelming the other flavours. The chicken was beautifully seasoned,the pie batter was perfectly light and crunchy and the dish was taken to a higher level by the sweet and sour wild berry chutney. I was actually quite sad that I only got a third of it.
I was less impressed by the spicy goat cheese toasties (Buhna Paneer,12). Even though they were nice they were unremarkable and it definitely lacked some Indian spices. In fact they tasted very French. (which of course is not a bad thing per se IF I am in a French restaurant…)
The Jal Tarang (15) –scallops crusted in different spices (chili,sesame and I forgot the third one) –were amongst the most lusicious and tender scallops I have ever tasted. The tangy ginger grape sauce went well with the slightly sweet flavour of the scallop. I would not have needed the grape halves however,they were rather pointless I thought.
For the mains I was least convinced by the slow cooked mallard duck supreme (29). The whole dish seemed too sweet and would have needed something to counterbalance the sweetness of the duck,the onion sauce and the fruit compote it was served with. Nevertheless the duck was beautifully cooked and I did not exactly suffer eating it.
I experienced on of those rare divine culinary moments savouring the beetroot marinated tandoori tiger prawns (27). The prawns were cooked to absolute perfection and I utterly loved the subtle smokey flavour coming from the tandoor oven. A heavenly dish indeed. The runner beans were not terribly exciting and did not add very much to this dish actually but did not destroy it either.
We had some wonderful roti,superb rice and lovely dal which was every so slightly spicy to accompany our main dishes.
Just like the food also the service was appropriate for a Michelin star place. They were prompt and polite without being intrusive and annoying (often a very thin line…) and every dish was explained to us upon serving. I am actually already planning to go back actually,for one of their amazing lunch and early dinner set menu deals (until 6:30) where you pay 19 pounds for 2 courses.
- Food:8/10
- Service:7/10
- Ambiance: 6/10
- Value for money:6.5/10
- Chances of returning: 80% (set menu!)
- Verdict:Indian fine dining - highly recommended
As I LOVE Indian Food,will definetely go to Benares (for their set menu
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Thanks for this inspiring review!
Hey,I am glad you like it
you will surely enjoy the food there!
Many of the dishes look intriguing,not least due to the European presentation. Some of it looks good but some of it weird like what looks like onion rings with the duck.
I agree with you,the duck was a bit weird (not only looked strange but was the weakest dish of them all…). But overall I thought the food was very well executed.