Evening Standard
David Ellis visited the latest venture from Rohit Ghai, who made his name as founding chef at Jamavar and his since opened Kutir and Manthan in his own name. David was puzzled to find no trace of the ‘vibrant and diverse ecosystems of the Himalayas’ promised on the restaurant’s website: instead, he encountered a pretty standard if upmarket contemporary Indian operation on three floors, with a dining room that managed to be both “clubby” and “romantic” while at the same time lacking in atmosphere (‘vatavaran’ in Sanskrit) – surely a contradictory trio.
As for the food, David thought much of it was “excellent – Ghai is not only an accomplished chef but an assured one” – with such highlights as “cashmere soft” lamb chops; “addictive” fried prawns; lobster in ginger and fennel-heavy Nilgiri sauce; and buttery black lentil dal which “we ate greedily, as if starved”.
There were disappointments, too, such as an “indifferent” duck dish and scallops in a “grey puddle of who-knows-what, not improved by the black truffle shaved at the table” – the tuber shavings, by some unexplained mishap, ending up on poor David’s lap
David Ellis - 2024-11-24The Guardian
Grace Dent stuck her critic’s knife into a “fancy pants” new venue from prominent Indian chef Rohit Ghai (Jamavar, Kutir) that feeds rich tourists sent by posh local hotels – “though if this clonking behemoth of real estate were in Huddersfield rather than Knightsbridge, it would make a pretty good Wetherspoons”.
The menu claimed to cover the Indian subcontinent, but seemed “far more modern and experimental than wildly authentic” with such dishes as beetroot chops and kidney bean kebabs. The latter turned out to be unseasoned minced beans shaped into a patty and fried: “It was grimly edible, but only if you were very hungry.” Much of what she ate was no better.
Grace was also irritated by the restaurant’s claim to be inspired by the Himalayas, as ‘a dynamic, participatory journey through the flavours of the mountains’. “I’d rather be rescued from the Mera Peak with missing toes than eat there again”. Ouch.
Grace Dent - 2025-02-16
