Remember how everyone used to joke about how awful dining was in Britain? Well, with celebrity chefs like Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey operating restaurants on virtually every London street corner (each has more than a dozen; of the couple I tried, I preferred Oliver’s), things certainly have gotten better.
In fact, London now boasts a rather large portfolio of Michelin starred restaurants (67!) including two three-stars – one Restaurant Gordon Ramsey in Chelsea; the other Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester Hotel.
But I have long viewed London as the best place outside India to enjoy great authentic Indian food, and that very much remains the case today.
On our most recent visit, we tried to visit what currently is the hottest of London’s Indian restaurants, Amaya, but found it fully booked until late October. But thanks to a tip from the Indian driver who brought us to London from Southampton, we succeeded in getting a reservation at Tamarind of Mayfair – the first Indian restaurant in the world ever to win a Michelin star.
Tamarind of Mayfair is situated in a sumptuously elegant, gold-accented dining room set in a basement in London’s most luxurious and glamorous district. Its dishes are derived from traditional Moghul cuisine where fish, meat and game are cooked in the authentic tandoor oven style of North West India.
Arriving for our booking at 8:30 pm, we were ushered to a table in an otherwise full room.
We had hardly been seated when a bowl of papadums accompanied by three types of condiments appeared on the table. Rather than tackle Tamarind’s expansive selection of a la carte offerings, we decided to go with a special four-course prix fixe – found on the back page of the menu – priced at 72 pounds per person (approximately $110) excluding wine.
The appetizer course consisted of three dishes served to the table: spiced chickpeas, sweetened yoghurt and tamarind chutney; supreme of chicken with ginger, garlic, cream-cheese and coriander stem; and lamb cutlets with dried mint, malt vinegar and peppercorns, accompanied by a chili-yoghurt dip.
Two types of seafood to be shared comprised the second course – tiger prawns with ginger, yoghurt, spices and toasted nigella seeds; and monkfish marinated with turmeric, mustard, dill leaves and ajwain.
The third course consisted of chicken tikka in a sauce of tomatoes, red onions, green chilies and fenugreek leaves; and lamb masala finished with mixed peppers, toasted coriander seeds and chili flakes.
Without going into detail about these dishes, let me simply say they were all cooked to perfection and superbly seasoned – full of flavor but not over-spiced.
The main course was served with seasonal vegetables prepared with pepper, cumin and crushed peppercorns; new potato and okra tossed with onion, tomato and chaat masala; slow-cooked black lentils, a specialty of India’s northwest frontier; and braised rice with cumin and saffron.
There were also two kinds of naan – tasty garlic naan, and a date, coconut and poppy seed naan.
The sommelier proposed first a white wine to accompany our meal, and later offered a red, which perfectly paired with the chicken tikka and lamb masala.
I have never been a great fan of dessert in Indian restaurants, but included with the tasting menu was a trinity of carrot fudge, heritage carrot cake, and mango kufli. Suffice it to say that at Tamarind, dessert is a course well worth sampling.
This visit turned out to be a wonderful culinary experience. Pricey, to be sure; but also good value considering the considerable skill involved in creating what were close to faultless dishes. If you love Indian food, and also love refined, thoughtful, and elegant preparation, you will love Tamarind.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
