Nouvelle Indian in London?

[Lesley C]

I'm planning a trip to London soon and I’m interested in an upscale (nouvelle-style, perhaps) Indian restaurant. I was thinking Bombay Brasserie but I now have people in the know recommending places like Zaika, Quilon, The Cinnamon Club, Chutney Mary and The Parsee. I can probably only make it to one or two places. I'm not a big stickler for authenticity; what I'm after is something different and very good.

Any suggestions?

[Andy Lynes]

I am sure Simon will have something to say about this, but in the meantime I can only tell you that a friend tried Zaika in it's new location in Kensington and was very disappointed to see how close the food was to a standard British Indian restaurant.

Another restaurant to consider would be The Red Fort in Soho, which now has the ex head chef of Bukhara in Delhi, with Robert Reid ex- Oak Room consulting : website at http://www.redfort.co.uk/.

[magnolia]

Vama on King's Road in Chelsea might be called 'nouvelle Indian', lots of variety and items you don't normally see on traditional menus. It's a white-tablecloth and reservation kind of place. I really enjoyed it.

[Thomas Secor]

I would skip the Red Fort (subject to the caveat below).  I found that the food was not that different from Mela (which is quite good), and about twice the cost.  In my view the decor doesnt match the creative stylishness of a place like Hakkasan, but rather had a dressed up Hilton feel to it.  

However, although the bar downstairs has a similarly synthetic/sterile feel lurking underneath its cool lighting and catacomb design, the drinks are relatively unusual (cocktail menu designed by whats his name from Lab and Hakkasan), the guys behind the bar are pretty friendly and pour pretty stiff drinks, is open until one and, best of all, you can generally get in on a weekend night even after the pubs close without waiting in a line or paying a cover.  The latter is a damned rare thing in Soho.

My rec?  go eat at Zaika and then hit Red Fort if you are still thirsty at midnight.  I would also skip Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy.  Not because they are bad, I just have not found them up to the same standards and generally not worth what they charge.

A real sleeper is Malabar Junction, which again is not up to the same standards as Zaika, but is very good and goes oft unnoticed.

[Simon Majumdar]

I would avoid Zaika.  I found it a dishonest place both in the style and cooking.

Cinnamon Club likewise. The whole idea of fusion alarms me and this is the worst example in London

I would agree with Mela - an excellent example of Indian food prepared by someone who really cares about the ingredients and cooking.  Any place that cares enough to make Rabri fresh every day wins in my book.

Red Fort is good but innordinately expensive.

Bombay Brasserie is much beter at their lunchtime buffet than in the evening ( and I normally hate buffets )

Hope this helps

S

[Tonyfinch]

I would avoid Zaika.  I found it a dishonest place both in the style and cooking.

Simon,could you expand on what you mean by "dishonest" in this context?

[Simon Majumdar]

Tony

I don't want to revisit the Michelin thread but my real problem with Zaika was that they had gone full pelt to achieve their star and to some extent thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

I felt ( and I may be being unfair ) that they had shoehorned both the menu and their ways of cooking into a format that did not suit either the ingredients or the dishes to satisfy criteria that neither was ever meant to satisfy.

An example of this was a Korma.  First of all, and I struggle to remember the exact name they gave the dish, they seemed afraid to call it what it was, I am guessing for fear that it was too redolent of a curry house meal.  What was served was inexact having neither the richness nor the subtlety of this most kasmiri/moghul of dishes. This showed a lack of precision in the kitchen.   How it was presented also gave me problems. Big white plate, small white portion but that is more my problem than theirs.  I knew that would be the case before I went in.

So they have made hay from being an "Indian" restaurant with a star when what they are is a Michelin restaurant drawing on Indian influences.  They seem to take from India but not give back.

"dishonest" is an emotive word and may be out of place here.  But, what I wanted from Zaika was something more revelatory in the cooking rather than amuse and starched linen.

The Bombay Brasserie is not hugely better but it is up front in what it does. The Cinnamon Club sufffered from the same problems. Of all of them, Mela was the most satisfying in that it has exceptionally able cooking and is presented in a way which would be recognisable to most Indians.

I forgot to mention The Parsee in my original post.  I found it very good in some ways ( the closest to a "real" Dhansak I have had in London) a pleasing environment and efficient service.  It is worth a try, if a trip to Highgate is not too much of a trudge

S

[Thomas Secor]

It's curious, Simon, that you use the word dishonest to characterize the restaurant and as a premise not to go.  Because of course when you look back at Lesley Cs original question, she specifies that she doesnt care about authenticity.  So I guess the question, the answer to which you have already implied, is whether Zaika succeeds at the Michelin restaurant with indian influences bit.  If it does, it sounds like the kind of place that Leslie is looking for.  I must admit, its not a bit that I care for, and I would quite honestly prefer to hit the Lahore Kebab House, New Tayyeb or Ragam anyday, over any of the restaurants mentioned in the thread above.  

I would have pushed Mela more strongly, but I would not characterize it as upscale and so didnt really feel that it fit Leslie's criteria.  But it is awfully tasty.  

Any thoughts on Malabar Junction?

[Lesley C]

Simon, terrific post – made me rethink my outing. I'm sure your take on Zaika's weaknesses would go for many restaurants shooting for a Michelin star yet compromising much of the cuisine's integrity in the process. I’m quite interested this nouvelle Indian bent because we just don’t have any restaurants of that genre here in Montreal. But after reading your post, I realize that I do in fact care about authenticity (just not obsessed like so many food writers) and I’d like to avoid the large white plates, stacked portions, and predictable pappadam tuiles and mango crème brulées. I’m now leaning towards The Bombay Brasserie (I quite like their cookbook) buffet or Mela.

Thank you all for such excellent advice.

[Steve Klc]

Who is Simon Morris, the chef not the artist, and does he have any relevance to "nouvelle Indian" in the UK?  I've cooked from his book "Cardamom & Coriander" and wonder how significant a chef you feel he is?

[Tonyfinch]

Despite Simon's criticisms I went to The Cinammon Club last night.And Simon can say I told you because he was right.This is an Indian restaurant trying to be a French restaurant and failing to be either.It's a very pleasant,comfortable space,but searching around for a word to descibe the food leads me to "tentative".

This is spicy food for people who don't really like spicy food and want to pretend they're eating non-spicy food.The Frenchified presentation and the lack of assertiveness of flavour makes you wonder why you didn't go either to an Indian restaurant or a French restaurant.The place doesn't seem to have any convictions to lack the courage of.

There's nothing wrong with serving Indian food in a sumptuous setting,but deepen and explore the cuisine rather than Frenchify it down.Do we really need pigs cheeks on an Indian restaurant menu?

[circeplum]

has anyone tried tamarind (also michelin starred) or porte des indes?

[John Whiting]

Interesting. In spite of his political bias, I find Simon's take on "integrity" in a restaurant to be instantly and totally comprehensible. Perhaps some people relate more profoundly and accurately to sensations than to abstract ideas. (Simon, I hope you read that as a compliment rather than an insult.)

[Tonyfinch]

The one I like the best of this breed,and I disagree with Simon on this one,is Cafe Spice Namaste in Prescott St. I've eaten there 4 or 5 times and although not every dish works,there's always been at least one dish with a wow factor.

Here there seems a genuine attempt to move the cuisine on to new territory, rather than pretend its a different cuisine altogether as in  The Cinnamon Club.

[Gavin Baxter]

I have to agree with Tony, I'm a big fan of CSN (and not just because it's five minutes walk from my place and they do takeaways).

There's usually something interesting on the weekly specials menu.

[Simon Majumdar]

John - I take that as a huge compliment, you old lefty, you

Gareth/Tony - I remain obdurate in my dislike of CSN.  I have never had a wow factor there ( four visits ) but I have had a number of Ugh! experiences.

in the end, at the risk of sounding "Fascisti" I crave purity from my Indian food.  I have no problem with cooking developing over time and indeed Indian food has developed over the years.  The range and depth of what is on offer both in homes and restaurants is far different to what has gone before.  It is lighter, less ghee based and more judicious in its use of spices.  I, of course, am not counting curry houses in this as they remain atrophied in their 1950's splendour ( and perhaps this is why people like them for the comfortable point of reference they offer, like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes )

What many of these other places listed above do is make a change that is based entirely in artifice.  So ingredients that make no sense in the context of Indian cookery suddenly appear on Menu.  So the Cinammon Club offers a Dhansak "en Daube"  for God's sake.

I have no problem with the Pig cheek actually Tony as it is a staple of Goan cookery.  If it was prepared that way.  It is the original cut of meat in a vindaloo.

Give me honesty or give me death!!

All best

S

[John Whiting]

John - I take that as a huge compliment, you old lefty, you

Good, because I suspect that your palate is more highly developed than mine, certainly where Indian cuisine is concerned. For one thing, you've been able to afford to exercise it more vigorously.

[Suvir Saran]

I have enjoyed each and every post here.  

Lesley I await your own feedback after the trip.

I have so much to learn before my trip to London, maybe you can do the groundwork.

[cappers]

i think im too late but le palais des indes is AMAZING. french and indian. weird and wonderful.

[Charles Smith]

although I hate to wade into a London Indian food debate, I've found that for a non-expert, Bombay Brasserie is terrific.  Food is good to great (we loved the malabar fish), the rooms are  very interesting and the service was good- We had great success with trying the different chutneys at the request of the waiter-  

I've really enjoyed Tamarind as well, but it's significantly pricier.

either are much better than anything here in NYC-

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Charles