Tamarind Restaurant - Gorgeous Revamp and Michelin-Starred Indian Tasting Menu

Name: Tamarind Restaurant (Former Tamarind of Mayfair)

Where: 20 Queen Street, London W1J 5PR, https://www.tamarindrestaurant.com/.

Cost: The tasting menu is priced at £69 with an optional wine pairing of £45. The restaurant also offers great value 2 and 3-course lunch and pre-theatre set menus at £25 and £30 respectively  from 12pm to 14:30 and from 17:30 to 18:30 everyday of the week (Monday to Sunday).

About: Tamarind (formerly Tamarind of Mayfair), the first Indian restaurant in the UK to be awarded a Michelin Star, re-opened in December 2018 after an eight-month long re-build.

Designed by David D’ Almada, Tamarind is set over two floors. The lower ground floor restaurant revolves around a striking open-plan kitchen and tandoor ovens, while the first floor dining room has doubled the restaurant’s capacity to a total of 152 covers. 

Following this multi-million pound refit, the interior is stunning, with a subtle colour scheme of distressed gold, pale grey, pink and cream. The soft off-white leather seating, and marble and wood flooring all make for a very elegant setting.

Executive Group Head Chef, Karunesh Khanna and Tamarind Mayfair Head Chef, Manav Tuli lead the kitchen, and their menu is a contemporary take on authentic Indian cooking with dishes, many of which are prepared on a charcoal grill or in the tandoor. 

With its sister restaurants Tamarind Kitchen in Soho’s Wardour Street, and Zaika in High Street Kensington, Tamarind Mayfair is the flagship of the Tamarind Group. 

What We Ate: There is a well thought-out à la carte menu, and two tasting menus. We opted for the signature tasting menu (£69 per person), although there is also a vegetarian tasting menu (£59 per person). 

The curly kale salad was as delicious as it looked, combining a number of ingredients including kale, mangetout, yellow cherry tomatoes, dates, almonds, cabbage and broad beans, the whole tasting far greater than the sum of its parts thanks to the delectable dressing made with kokum - a southern Indian sour fruit.

Equally good were the griddled Scottish scallops, served with a delicately spiced red lentil, coconut, curry leaf and fennel sauce, topped with a refreshing green apple salsa.

The yoghurt and corn kebab, encrusted in panko and almond, had a deliciously creamy mouth-feel and nutty flavour.

The Konkan prawns were wonderful – huge, succulent wild prawns, tender, deftly spiced and aromatic from the tandoor.

Chicken Tikka Hasnu came perfectly grilled and flavoured with complex spice mix including a whack of cardamom.

The char-grilled lamb chops were outstanding, served French-trimmed, pink and tender, with a pistachio crust and spicy marinade, accompanied by baby peppers with lentil and herb cheese stuffing.

Chettinad chicken biryani came flavoured with curry leaf, and a refreshing beetroot raita.

Marwari bhindi (okra) was served with onion and tomato, topped with black and white sesame. 

The Hyderabad goat chop curry (£24) was not on the tasting menu, but it sounded so good I had to give it a try.  Slow-cooked goat chops with whole garam masala and coconut were beautifully presented in a tin-lined copper pan. Naturally more intense and fibrous than the lamb, this really packed a flavour punch, served with a steaming naan, freshly baked in the tandoor oven.

Again venturing off the tasting menu, for dessert we were tempted by the coconut rice (£10), baked with cinnamon and lime, black rice, candy cashew, roast coconut, coconut rolls and guava sorbet.  The combination of creamy cardamom rice pudding with fresh coconut rolls was irresistible, and the guava sorbet was silky smooth.

The Gajar Halwa  (carrot and cardamom) soufflé (£12) was served with a fresh carrot jam centre, with bayleaf ice cream.  This was absurdly good, with a marmalade quality to the carrot jam, and the soufflé had an unexpected lightness of texture and finesse.

What We Drank: We kicked off with a couple of cocktails. The Zaffran Gin Fizz (£15) combined saffron, pistachio orgeat syrup, cardamom, orange flower, lassi and lemon soda.

The Himalayan Sour (£15) had a base of Amrut Indian peated whisky blended with Rittenhouse 100 rye whiskey, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, coriander seed, vetiver (an Indian fragrant grass), lemon, egg white and Ayurveda bitters.
  

These were truly well-made, original and interesting cocktails.  Carole Brown, previously Bar Manager for eight years at Hakkasan and four at Park Chinois, is responsible for the extensive list of innovative cocktails, many featuring Indian ingredients and flavours to complement the cooking, garnished with petals, blossoms and bursts of coloured powders. 

The wine list has some great wines from France, Italy and Spain, as well as the best regions of the USA, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. There are relatively few options below £50 per bottle. 

We moved on from cocktails to the wine pairing option of the tasting menu, priced at £45 per person, starting with a glass of Northern Rhone Saint Joseph, from Domaine Culleron Les Pieres Seches (£16 per glass, £89 per bottle).  This had soft red berry fruit, gentle tannins, and was surprisingly long on the finish.

Next up was the Pago de los Capellanes Crianza 2016 (£14 per glass, £80 per bottle), from Ribeiro del Duero, Spain, made from 100% Tempranillo grapes, matured for one year in oak.  Well structured, with black berry fruit, leather and tannin, this was more than a match for the spicy food. A glass of Sierra Cantabria Rioja Reserva 2012 (£72  per bottle) was softer, with luscious cherry and damson fruit , mint and eucalyptus, with gentle tannins reflecting its long oak ageing.   

Likes: There wasn’t a bad dish on the menu, but the prawns and lamb chops were outstanding.  The desserts were truly exceptional, and if you don’t leave room for them, you will be missing out. The wine pairing option at £45pp was excellent value for money.

Dislikes: None

Verdict: We loved the revamped Tamarind Restaurant for its exquisite Indian cooking, the gorgeous new décor and great service. The tasting menu and wine pairing are also excellent value for money. Highly recommended.

New Sunday Brunch Menu at DUM Biryani House - Big and Bold Flavours Be Warned!

Name: DUM Biriyani House

Where: 187 Wardour Street, London W1F 8ZB, https://dumlondon.com/

Cost: Sunday brunch dishes are priced from £6 to £19. The entry level wines, both priced at £25.50, are an Argentinian Torrontes, and an Australian Shiraz-Cabernet.  There is also draft Cobra beer at £6 per pint, with Empress Ale at £5 per bottle. 

About: Opened in 2016 on Wardour Street, this is the first restaurant of Dhruv Mittal, who was born to Hyderabadi parents and grew up in Manchester. Dhruv trained at Le Cordon Bleu London, as well as at The Fat Duck, Hibiscus and Restaurant Sat Bains.

Dhruv aims to bring classic Hyderabadi cooking to London's diners (but giving his own personal stamp on it), with its blend of southern Indian tropical ingredients like coconut and spices, and the Islamic influences coming from Mughal, Turkish and Arab waves of migration over the centuries.

The restaurant is in the lower ground floor on Soho's Wardour Street, has natural light from a lightwell, and is decked out in bright colours with Indian cartoons adorning the walls.

The restaurant has garnered a reputation for its excellent biryanis, and since July 2018, is serving a Sunday Brunch menu from 12pm to 4pm, and from 6pm to 10pm, so I hurried along to give it a try.

What We Ate: Shredded lamb fry with masala quail eggs (£11.50) is a variation on a typical Hyderabadi breakfast dish, with sourdough bread toasted and topped with fenugreek pachadi, stir-fried lamb and spicy fried quail eggs.

Next up was a whole banana chilli filled with a creamy potato and paneer stuffing,  and served with sweet and sour tamarind chutney, with a refreshing crunch from fried puffed rice, pomegranate seeds, peanuts and coriander chutney (£6).

Whole deep-fried soft shell crab in a garlic and butter sauce (£7) was crisp and delicious.

I loved the Portuguese chorizo stir-fried with garlic, ginger and Hyderabadi whole spices, served in a brioche bun (£10.50), like an upmarket Indian burger.

Andhra chargrilled half baby chicken (£16.50), roasted in a richly flavoursome masala rub, was served with mustard seed and coconut chutney, and pickled onion salad. The chicken was beautifully presented on banana leaves - the meat was succulent, and the flavour heightened by a squeeze from the little chargrilled limes.

Best of all was the restaurant's signature dish, a whole lamb shank biryani (£21), served thali-style with a beetroot raita, poppadoms, a salan made from sesame seeds and chilli, and lime pickle.

Served in a metal serving dish topped with puff pastry, waves of saffron-infused steam burst out when we cut into it.  The lamb was tender, succulent and fragrant, and I would happily return just to enjoy this biryani again.

To finish, we had a glass of refreshing watermelon chaat (£6) - the fruit had been spiked with a host of different Hyderabadi spices.

What We Drank: We shared the bottomless Hyderabadi Rum Punch (£15 for 2 hours), with Old Monk rum, mango juice, pineapple juice and Grenadine, which had refreshing tropical fruit but appeared light on rum. There is free of charge still filtered water and sparkling at £1 for the first bottle, but with free top-ups which is commendable.

Likes: The food overall was really well seasoned, fresh and zingy.  Dishes were well priced. Highlights for me were the lamb shank biryani, the baby chicken and the banana chilli. It is great to see Dhruv bringing his own ideas and Cordon Bleu training to Hyderabadi dishes.

Dislikes: For me, the punch was a tad sweet and lacking in rum, and I would not want to drink it for 2 hours. 

Verdict: Zingy, fresh and well-seasoned Indian food, the whole lamb shank Hyderabadi biryani is superlative. DUM is now my go-to place for biryani and well-priced modern Indian cooking in London. Highly recommended.   

Cinnamon Kitchen – Vivek Singh Spicing Things Up at Battersea Power Station

Name: Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea

Where: Battersea Power Station, 4 Arches Lane, SW11 8AB, http://www.cinnamon-kitchen.com/battersea/

Cost: A 3-course meal here will cost on average £45pp excluding drinks or service. Starters cost from £6.50 to £17.50, mains are priced from £14 to £29 while desserts from £2 to £8.

About: Readers of The London Foodie will know that we are fans of Vivek Singh’s vibrant Indian cooking – I have written about his restaurants on a number of occasions – his small-eats, casual Cinnamon Bazaar (reviewed here), or the flagship, more upmarket Cinnamon Club (reviewed here), and more recently at Taste of London when I had a most fantastic Chaat at the Cinnamon Kitchen stand (see here).

For the best Indian cooking at @tasteoflondon head to @chefviveksingh of @cinnamonrestaurants - I had a number of Indian dishes that got me scraping my plates: . My top recommendation is his Chamiya’s Chaat, this was heavenly - a mix of sweet, spicy, salt and sour flavours - with cured watermelon, pomegranate seeds, spicy coriander chutney, yoghurt, chickpeas and herbs, among other things - it was fresh and so good, a personal favourite. . Coorgi Double Cooked Pork Belly - was very tender and served with Kokum berries and curried yoghurt. . Kolkata Open Blue Cobia - grilled white Black King fish fillets, was buttery and dense, with a super zingy mustard and coconut curry sauce. . Lamb Galouti Kebab - lamb patty over a fried roti served with pomegranate seeds, yoghurt and spicy coriander chutney. . @chefviveksingh’s cooking was vibrant, fresh and full of flavour - his signature dishes at Taste are some of the best of the festival, but hurry it all ends tomorrow! 😩 . 🇮🇳 🍛🇮🇳🍛🇮🇳🍛🇮🇳🍛🇮🇳🍛🇮🇳🍛🇮🇳🍛

A post shared by Luiz Hara (@thelondonfoodie) on Jun 16, 2018 at 10:14am PDT

Following his 10th anniversary at Cinnamon Kitchen Devonshire Square, I was intrigued to hear of Vivek Singh’s new venture South of the River. Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea is part of the multi-million regeneration project of the Grade-II listed Battersea Power Station (so long overdue).

Situated in Circus Village West, Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea has a minimalist industrial décor with railway arch façade, exposed brick walls and an expansive open-plan kitchen.

It is a large restaurant, modern and sleek, serving Vivek’s contemporary Indian dishes paired with cocktails by mixologist Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrooke Row, one of my favourite cocktail bars in London, also reviewed here. And so we headed south to check it out.

What We Ate: The menu is divided into Appetisers, which include a section on Grills, then Mains, Sides, Breads and Desserts. The recommendation is of 2 appetisers/grills plus a main dish and a dessert per person.

Vivek Singh - working through the food orders at Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea

With that in mind, we kicked off with banana leaf wrapped sea bass with chilli, tomato and kokum crust (£9) from the Grill section – not much of a looker, what it lacked in presentation, it more than made up in flavour – spicy, well seasoned and fresh. Served with a mildly curried sour cream and a carrot and chilli cream, this was a good start to the meal.

The Keema Litti rustic lamb dough ball with anchovy chutney (£6.75), also from the Grill section, was intensely flavoursome wrapped around freshly-baked pastry and served with a vibrant mint and anchovy sauce.

Bombay street food (Vada Pao) – was a toasted bun (Pão is bread in Portuguese) with a chickpea burger (Vada) and coriander cream, tapioca cake and chilli paneer - this looked like cubes of prime beef, but slicing into it revealed the creamy white, surprisingly firm flesh of the curd cheese (£8.50).

Wild African prawn (£17.50), came with a coriander and garlic crust, it was butterflied but cleverly served in its own shell – it was wonderfully aromatic and succulent from having been grilled in the shell, and easy to eat without any of hassle factor.

For mains, we went for the clove smoked lamb rump (£24), served with fennel and nutmeg sauce and saffron rice. The lamb was tender and medium rare as requested, the spice level was just right - rich, exotic and warming without blowing your head off, and with some delicious cardamom and clove spices.

King prawns in Bengali turmeric curry (£25), came with a deliciously rich ghee rice and spinach poriyal. We enjoyed this but felt it was a weaker option compared to the lamb or the magnificent African grilled prawn.

Despite being on the Sides section, the biryani was a main course in its own right and we could not resist but order it – Lucknow-Style Chicken Biryani (£15) with a Burhani Raita was one of the highlights of our meal - flavoured with lemon and cumin, the rice was perfectly cooked and the chicken meltingly tender.

With our biryani and mains we ordered a delectable Dal Trio (£7) of - yellow, black lentils and chickpeas.

The Peshwari naan (£5.50) was freshly made, it was rich with sweet sultana, burnt coconut and ghee flavours.

For dessert, the Himalayan Queen (£7.50) was a trio of pistachio kulfi, mango and thandai ice cream covered with spiced meringue and flamed with rum.

Finished off at the table, this was Vivek’s Indian reinterpretation of the 70s classic Baked Alaska.

Lassi panna cotta (£6.50) came with a mango mint salad, fresh mango and mango purée, crisp dehydrated raspberries and edible nasturtium flowers, it was fresh and a light dessert to end a fabulous meal.

What We Drank: All cocktails, created by award-winning mixologist Tony Conigliaro specifically for the Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea, are priced between £9 and £12.50.

Coconut Kir was a refreshing cocktail with champagne, toasted coconut, coconut liqueur, and Wyborowa vodka (£12.50). Equally good, if somewhat stronger, was the Assam Manhattan (£8.50) made with black assam infused buffalo gin, vermouth, maraschino, black cardamom - spicy and delicious.

Entry-level wines, both priced at £22.50 from El Muro, Carinena, Spain, were a Macabeo White and a Tempranillo/Garnacha red. We shared a bottle of Sangiovese 2013 from Fico Grande Romagna DOC £30 that worked well with most of the dishes we tried on the evening, particularly the lamb ones.

Likes: the Lucknow-Style Chicken Biryani, the Wild African Prawn and the Peshwari Naan, as well as the cocktails were the highlight of our visit. The food was well seasoned, vibrant and fresh and I could not fault it.

Dislikes: it is nearly impossible to find a suitable/free parking space anywhere near the restaurant.

Verdict: Vivek Singh’s Indian cooking is full of flavour, zingy and fresh. His latest venture, Cinnamon Kitchen Battersea is a very welcome addition to the regeneration of the Power Plant and elevates Battersea’s restaurant scene as a whole. Highly recommended.