Benares Mayfair, 12 Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6AN www.benares.com
I’ve often clocked Kochhar at press launches and charity events, including Sabrina Ghayour’s Action Against Hunger Haiti fundraiser, for which he cooked a course. With ventures including Colony in Marylebone, Ananda in Dublin, Vatika at Hampshire’s Wickham Vineyard and an imminent eatery aboard superliner Azura, it’s not surprising some critics dub him the ‘Gordon Ramsay of Indian chefs’.
Following a fire which closed the restaurant for three months, I booked into Benares. Despite an absence of windows, the space is light and fragrant. In the bar, a pea-pod shaped boat brims with flowers; more blooms wander a wide, shallow water feature. Two new private dining rooms occupy a glasshouse of wine and a chef’s table, overlooking the tandoors.
Generously treating me, my friend insisted we eschewed the set lunch in favour of the unfortunately titled ‘grazing menu’ (£99pp with wine). This comprises four flights of three dishes, which gently escalate in addictive chilli.
Attended by couth staff, including a particularly erudite and clearly taste aware sommelier, the main dining room is smart and music free. Walls spun with plaster waves undulate in shadow and light. Almost as a third person, an ornate carving of an elephant’s trunk perched between us at the corner table. A sappy, saline, gently seasoned Virgin Mary was an auspicious start.
The only feature which lacked finesse was the tricky hot towel which evoked a tampon in shape, but expanded immediately given a drizzle of lukewarm water.
From what I sampled of the precise spicing and saucing and meticulous, anticipative service, the Phoenix-like Benares has risen to become my finest Indian experience to date…