When planning our London trip end of July / beginning of August 2017 my fiancé and I wanted to try another Indian Michelin stared restaurant. Since we had tried Benares one year ago we thought Tamarind of Mayfair would be another good choice, so we reserved a table for dinner on the day of our arrival in London.
We were glad we had reserved for 19.30 hours. Due to our flight arriving late in London [LGW] we probably wouldn’t have arrived in time, if booked at 19.00 hours as we originally wanted to do.
Tamarind is located near Green Park, The Ritz Hotel, the Flemings Mayfair (Hotel) and Berkeley Square.
It was the first Indian restaurant to earn a Michelin star in the world at the time under the guidance of Atul Kochhar, who is now the chef patron of Benares.
Tamarind is specialized in Moghul cuisine of North-West India. The chef is Peter Joseph.
Unfortunately the restaurant isn’t suitable for people with walking disabilities. It is located in the basement and the only access is via a staircase.
The hostesses greeted us warmly and took our jackets and umbrella.
We were then accompanied downstairs and brought to our table.
The room was round/oval and the center piece was a beautiful flower arrangement, which reminded us of Four Seasons Hotels.
My fiancé had views over the bar, while I could look into a window to the kitchen.
The color scheme of the space was elegant in cream, white and gold with mirrors very attractively designed like a sun.
It felt lavish and we liked it.
Each table was covered with a white table cloth and decorated with an exotic flower in an intricate vase.
Our table had been set with a large gold plate and on top was another smaller porcelain plate.
Fellow diners were international and diverse in age from teenagers to matured patrons. Some celebrated a special occasion. There were families and couples also.
The maître d’ took our food allergies very serious and went with us step by step through the menu telling us exactly what we could and couldn’t eat.
We ordered a bottle of still Blenheim Palace mineral still water (the label was as lavish as the restaurant), 2 Tamarind Passion Mocktails made with mango puree, passion fruit juice and fresh mint and a mango lassi.
As a greeting from the kitchen we received pompadums with a berry dip, tomato and a date and fig chutney. His favorite was the date and fig chutney, mine was the tomato.
Our starters were Hara Gobi Tikki, broccoli cakes with potatoes, spring onions and gooseberry chutney and Gilafi Reshmi, chicken kabab with cheese, spices and mixed peppers.
Both dishes were tasty – a bit spicy, but not overbearing. I expected the kabab to be served on a skewer, but it had been removed beforehand.
The next courses were Adrakki Tikka Kabab (supreme of chicken with ginger, turmeric and yellow chilli powder) and Shai Dum Macchi (Halibut fillet with parsnips, spinach, tomato and kasundi mustard sauce).
We ordered two raitas, one with avocado, the other one with cucumber, and as side dish tandoori roti.
All dishes were delicious and the presentation was pleasing to the eyes. The parsnips looked like parpadelle and the whole combination was umami. The chicken was spicy and the raitas functioned as coolers. The roti was wonderfully fluffy and warm.
Our desserts were Shrikhand (hung yogurt, passion fruit gel and mango cheese) and chocolate delice (chocolate and coconut ganache, chocolate silk and blackberry sorbet).
The Shrikhand wasn’t sweet at all. It was utterly satisfying and silky.
The chocolate delice was very sweet in comparison to the yogurt dessert. The textures and warm/cold components worked well together.
The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They were also incredible busy, which caused one member of staff to forget our second Tamarind Passion, which we wanted to enjoy with our dessert. We received a sincere apology and the drink was on the house. Memorable service standards. We felt in good hands.
Our bill/check came in at 121.61 GBP (ca. 137.35 Euro / ca. 156.70 USD) including service charge.
With our bill/check came a selection of gourmandizes. In our case mint leaves covered in white chocolate and dark chocolate orange pralines. Moreish and tasty at the same time.
We would return again, because we loved the lavish interior, the friendliness and warmth of the staff and the excellent cuisine, plus good/relaxing atmosphere.
©2017
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