Kanishka, the famend Indian restaurant in London’s Mayfair, has launched thrilling new menus curated by Chef Atul Kochhar, showcasing the varied flavours of India’s totally different areas. The menu options progressive dishes like South Indian crab fritters, Orkney scallops with Tamil masala, Bihari lamb curry, tandoor-grilled prawns, and a particular lobster curry with Goa xec xec gravy. Alongside the up to date à la carte menu, Kanishka additionally affords a six-course tasting menu, a three-course set lunch menu, and a lighter lunchtime tasting menu. Learn on to find extra.
A few minutes’ stroll to the West of Regent Road, Kanishka’s entrance on Maddox Road appears each anachronistic and geographically misplaced. Chunky and wood however intricately carved, it’s conventional Indian door conveys safety and power however affords intrigue, makes the passer-by inquisitive about what’s inside. Far more up to date than the doorway suggests, with a little bit of artwork deco thrown in for good measure, the restaurant inside is eclectic however elegant.
Eschewing extra conventional Indian restaurant decor, it mixes daring blue and white stripes with subdued, tasteful lighting and a wall of mirrors. The non-existent ceiling by which the venue’s mechanics bustle, turns industrial brutalism into ingenious stylish with white rope intricately twirled round a steel lattice.
Led by TV persona, Atul Kochhar, one of many first two Indian cooks to obtain a Michelin star again in 2001, the restaurant affords a brand new menu, one which represents the varied and distinct flavours of India’s varied areas, from Punjab to Kerala, from Kolkatta to Delhi. We take the straightforward manner out, order cocktails and watch for the chef to shock us.
The seductively titled Kanishka Kiss is the one drink which makes use of the restaurant’s moniker so looks like a no brainer. It’s a heady combination of vodka, champagne, thyme-infused Chambord and lime; a type of double shot of alcoholic love. It’s candy, refreshing, robust and eminently quaffable.
It additionally works completely with poppadoms however then once more, what doesn’t? As a rule, it’s the relishes which make or break the Indian model of our crisp and, right here, each surpasses itself. Essentially the most conventional is the pickled lime which is usually too robust, too thick, too one thing or different however right here it’s an ideal mixture of spice and tang with a consistency extra like jam, simply spreadable, due to this fact. The gooseberry relish is piquant and recent and virtually works as a palate cleanser whereas the cranberry relish is infused with cardamom seeds, suggestive of an unique Christmas.
Three totally different starters are served concurrently. The Mini Vegetable Samosas with potato curry and smoked yellow peas are consolation meals at its most luxurious and complicated. The peas style and look not dissimilar to chickpeas while the cauliflower purée is enlivened with the zing of an occasional pomegranate pip. The Orkney Scallop Masala comes with parsnip crisps and small whirls of pickled cauliflower which have an analogous tang to the lime chutney to offset the creaminess of the agency scallops.
Maybe essentially the most playful serving is the Hen Tikka Pie, a speciality of the home. Just about because it sounds, the normal Indian curry is served in a conventional English pie and serves as a genial fusion of gastronomic cultures. The pastry is delicate and flaky and a delicate aniseed flavour permeates the beneficiant chunks of rooster, all of which could be flavoured by beneficiant dollops of fruity berry chutney.
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Over 500 spices, we’re instructed, are utilized in Indian delicacies, as a rule, a combination of many collectively so though turmeric, cumin, and cardamom are essentially the most identified, it’s virtually not possible to pinpoint what actually contributes to most of the sauces and that is particularly true of one in every of Kanishka’s signature dishes, the Black Dal. Cooked actually in a single day at an extremely low temperature, it’s creamy however not mushy and has a heat style with a delicate trace of cinnamon. In addition to fluffy pilau rice and light-weight naan bread, we’re additionally offered with a Kashmiri Roganjosh and an old-style Delhi recipe for Butter Hen. The Kashmiri lamb comes from the Lake District and is infused with tomatoes and onion. The rooster errs away from the extra apparent ‘butter solely’ dishes and is infused with a posh tomato sauce. Each dishes are wealthy and filling however remarkably the meats’ flavours nonetheless shine by.
It’s uncommon if not distinctive to put in writing about hand wipes in a restaurant evaluation however after the mains, our pleasant waiter presents us with what appears like industrial-strength Alka-Seltzers. We’re each confused. He smiles as if we’re not the primary to share such an emotion. He additionally carries a dainty white jug and deposits that subsequent to the Alka-Seltzer. He instructs us to pour the jug. We do. What appears like white capsules virtually explode into heat, hand-sized wipes. It’s a neat contact, an excellent trick, refreshes us, cleans our fingers, prepares us for dessert.
Each are offered in a extra up to date, haute delicacies vogue and appear to be they may work as avant-garde hat decorations. The Darkish Chocolate Mouse will get the primary billing for the primary dessert however it’s the pistachio kulfi which is the true spectacle right here. A raspberry visually enlivens the piece and sits in a fragile pile of desiccated coconut. Caramel sauce underpins all of it to a rapturous impact. Riffing on the French traditional, the Chai Crème Brûlée is equally scrumptious and served with an elaborate tuile – a hexagon inside that are a number of mini hexagons. All in all, it’s a incredible end to a incredible night, one which amply bears out Kanishka’s high status.
