Mayfair, Indian Restaurant Guide

“A venerable institution that you have to visit at least once” – London’s oldest Indian (est 1926) is still one of its best, having received a “calm, spacious and classy” contemporary revamp a few years ago (at the hands of its current owners, the Chutney Mary group) and serving “imaginative Indian dishes” with “original flavours”. “There are probably better Indian restaurants in the West End, but for an overall experience, this takes some beating!”

“Having been to Jamavar in Bangalore, I tried their London restaurant and was most impressed” – Leela Palace’s “plush”, colonial-style yearling (“I’m not sure the decor is very PC!”) is “a great addition to Mayfair” and wins ecstatic praise from many reporters for its “super slick service” and “fabulous and spicy” dishes that “strike a balance between the traditional spicing and flavours of Indian cuisine, but with high-end presentation and gastronomic flourishes!” No hiding, however, that it was a blow when they lost founding chef Rohit Ghai in January 2018, with ratings in this year’s survey at laudable levels, but miles away from the giddy heights achieved in year one.

“Modern Indian done with style!” Atul Kochhar’s swish Mayfair destination in very contemporary, first-floor Berkeley Square premises put in a much stronger showing than in last year’s survey. True, “when the dining room is quiet the atmosphere can feel a little strained”, but when it fills up it’s “much more vibrant”, and at its best the cuisine here is “really stunning and beautifully presented”. STOP PRESS – in August 2018, Kochhar left the restaurant which he founded, whose cuisine will now be led by Executive Chef Brinder Narula, who has been with the group controlling Benares for three years.

“Quite simply, stunning – the best sub-continental cuisine you can get anywhere outside the subcontinent!” This “addictive” newcomer (a spin-off from one of India’s top restaurants, in New Delhi, with an NYC sibling) occupies the same site (and is under the same ownership) as its predecessor Chor Bizarre (RIP) and has made an “astonishingly good” debut with “very refined and skilful” fusion cuisine (blue cheese naan, for instance) that’s already achieved nigh on the highest ratings in town – “slick service” and svelte decor: “it’s a real joy to eat here”.

“The spicing is fantastic – very authentic”, at Samyukta Nair and Rohit Ghai’s Mayfair newcomer, on the former site of Hibiscus (RIP), which takes the Mumbai institution of tiffin (and the trains the dabbawalas use to deliver it) as its theme. Many “wonderful” meals are reported in feedback that includes nothing but praise.