High-flying Indian restaurant brand Trèsind opens its first UK branch in Mayfair today (8 May), offering a take on the cuisine that earned chef Himanshu Saini (pictured) three Michelin stars in four years at its Dubai flagship.
The launch follows hot on the heels of Oudh 1722 from Birmingham’s Aktar Islam in Borough and shortly ahead of this month’s relaunch of Madhu’s Mayfair in The Dilly hotel, as competition intensifies among the capital’s high-quality Indian options.
Trèsind, in Hanover Street, marks the UK debut of Dubai-based restaurateur Bhupender Nath’s company Passion F&B, whose Trèsind Studio became the world’s first Indian restaurant to achieve three Michelin stars just four years after opening in 2018. He launched the original Trèsind (from the French très, meaning ‘very’, and Indian) in 2014, and has another branch in Mumbai.
His son Suyash Nath, who runs the UK & US operation, says: “Trèsind began as my father’s passion project – a modern interpretation of Indian cuisine rooted in creativity and hospitality. Over the years it has grown into a global story and bringing it to London feels like a natural next chapter.”
The 7-course tasting menu created for Trèsind in Mayfair takes into account the fact that London has one of the world’s most developed Indian fine-dining scenes: “We want to offer something completely different to what is available at other London restaurants.”
This translates into some unlikely-sounding dishes, such as Tortellini, gorgonzola dolce, smoked chicken makhani and chili jam. Himanshu Saini, who heads the group’s kitchens, points out that Indian cuisine constantly evolves to incorporate ingredients from other cultures: even chilli is a fairly recent arrival from the Americas.
Other dishes may be seem more familiar, such as Lamb chop, rosemary vindaloo, paniyaram and chimichury chutney, while rice comes in the form of khichdi, a combination with lentils that is cooked in every domestic kitchen in India, but at Trèsind includes 20 ingredients from the length and breadth of the subcontinent.
