Evening out at Benares...

Sheila and I were lucky enough to be treated to a night out at Benares in London last night.  Walking past an Audi shop, then a Landrover shop, then a Jaguar shop and finally spotting a Rolls Royce and a Bentley shop next to the restaurant doorway definitely spoke volumes about the area we were in.  Thank goodness I put my clean shoes on!

Benares Restaurant is the brainchild of Atul Kochhar and serves Traditional Indian cuisine in a very English way.  The restaurant was opened in May 2003 and earned its Michelin Star in 2007.  The main reasons behind the star are the high quality, impeccable Indian food, the exceptional service and general dining experience.
  
I approached the front doors to be greeted by two burly doormen.  It almost felt like I was going into a trendy night club in the West End, except these guys smiled at me and opened the door.  The young lady at the front desk took my jacket, handed over the ticket and then walked me up the dark wooden stairs to the bar area.  On my left at the top is a tranquil under lit pool with water lily's floating in it.  Everything is dark wood and cream and quite peaceful.  No shouting managers or clanking crockery anywhere.

We enjoyed a beer in the bar whilst perusing the a la carte menu.  From visiting the restaurant's website, I knew that they had a grazing menu and I asked for this which was immediately presented.  We all decided to go for the grazing menu with the Premium wine selection.  At £124 per person, this worked out at about £5.60 per meal item and £9 per glass of wine.  I personally didn't think this to be bad value at all when considering the quality of the food, wine and service we received plus the effort involved in creating the wondering morsels on our plates.

And what I loved about the wine list is that two of the chosen wines are South African.  Brilliant!

First to arrive at the table was the Amuse Bouche along with the Sauvignon Blanc.  The Amuse Bouche was interesting to say the least.  The exterior 'balloon' was very thin and very crisp.  I have no idea what it was made from or how it was made.  Inside the balloon was a bit easier to decipher. Micro Coriander, Lemon Zest, Chutney and Dal (a lentil thick soup or stew).  Pop it into the mouth and let everything combine.  The crispy balloon was a surprise as it had loads of crunch and then the flavour of the dal and chutney came through.  An interesting blend of spices lingered on the tongue... don't ask me to guess, we all know of Indian food's love of spice and a vast number of each being used in most recipes.

The first glass of wine was delivered with the amuse bouche and I found it slightly fruitier than I expected a Sauvignon Blanc to be. Still, it was lovely and refreshing and went really well with the spicing the amuse bouche.

Next to arrive was the starter, ladies first and always set down from the right.  Every course came with three service staff.  The waiter to place the dishes on the table, the porter carrying the tray with the dishes on it and the somelier with the wine.  Every course was explained by the waiter and we were also told the best way to eat the plate in terms of flavour balance.  Then the somelier jumped in and told us all about the wine and what to expect from it.

On the plate in front of us was, from the left as we were advised to eat it, was the Curry Leaf and Tarragon Infused Lobster Rillet, Prawn Pickled with Indian Five Spice and Confit Duck Terrine with Orange Jelly.

Eating from the left was to allow our palate to benefit from the flavour combinations in each of the little morsels.  The lobster rillet was beautifully fresh and very light and I loved the taste of the tarragon and the lobster but I struggled to find the curry leaf flavour.  The prawn with its five spice was tasty and succulent.  Indian Five Spice traditionally consists of fenugreek, Nigella Seed, cumin seed, radhuni or celery seed and fennel seed but I think this pickled prawn used different spices as I'm sure I tasted a curry powder of some sort in the pickle. The confit duck was yummy as all confit duck usually is.  I think the orange jelly could have packed a bit more punch though and the pickled onion and line of cumin spice complimented the duck nicely.

A honeyed naan bread was served with the starter and caused many sticky fingers which just had to be licked clean.  We were provided with hot cleaning cloths presented in a unique way.  The waiter placed a little platter in the middle of the table with four white discs on it.  He then poured hot water onto the discs and they expanded up into hot towels for wiping.  Very theatrical! 

The Italian Soave "La Rocca" Peiropan proved a surprise to my nose.  I had just finished the Sauvignon Blanc and compared to that, the La Rocca was more robust and I got spices and melon from the bouquet.  Thoroughly enjoyable with the starter.

The second course arrived with the usual fanfare of three servers and flourish during presentation of the plate in front of you. From left to right again, Tandoori Salmon Trout Spiced with Red Chilli and Garlic, Wood Pigeon Breast with Beetroot Puree and Mustard Marinated Chicken Tikka. 

We received no advice in terms of eating order, so we just tucked in.  The salmon was beautifully light and juicy with wonderful flavour.  The mustard marinated chicken tikka was very tasty and you could definitely taste the grill on the chicken, however with this came the slightly tough flesh you almost expect from kebab cooked meat.  The wood pigeon and beetroot was awesome.  I loved the gamey flavours and soft rare flesh.  Add to this the sweet beetroot puree and I was in heaven.  We were warmed by the waiter that occasionally bird shot is found in the meat of the pigeon but it was rare.  One of our party was 'lucky' to find two pellets!  All part of the experience.

The wine with this course was the South African Journey's End Chardonnay.  I don't usually enjoy Chardonnay because of the strong woody flavours, however this wine was fantastic.  Is that because it was paired brilliantly with the food in front of us?  I must admit by this stage that I was one beer and two glasses of wine into the evening and I wasn't worrying about analysing the food and wine much any more.  I was just having a really good time!

Next to arrive was our main course of Pan Fried Sea Bass with Kerala Curry, Southern Spiced Prawn Biriyani and Roasted Lamb Cannon with Kidney Bean Casserole.

Exquisite, is all I can say.  The sea bass was beautiful with delightfully crispy skin, the biryani was light, fluffy and very tasty with a large perfectly cooked prawn tail hiding behind the ostentatious gold leaf and the lamb was incredible.  Soft, soft, soft without the overly lamb taste found in cheaper cuts.  I asked Sheila if she had ever eaten gold leaf before and I received a skew look. "Of course," she answered, "in tequila!"  Enough said...

Naan bread was served with this course accompanied by a bowl of dal and a bowl of yoghurt and mint raita.  The raita was gorgeous, creamy and smooth and just lovely on the naan bread. The waiter followed after the course with the lovely little hot towels.  Made me smile again!

The wine with main course was the Muddy Water Pinot Noir from New Zealand.  Spice and berries is what I remember from this wine. The mild heat from the biriyani really brought out the flavour of this wine and I really enjoyed following a mouthful of biryani with a sip of wine.

Following main course, our table was cleared and scraped to remove all crumbs.  Bring on dessert!

On our beautifully presented plate was Basil Sorbet, Zested Lime Mousse, Lemon Thyme Jelly and Lemon Curd.

Wow, did the basil sorbet pack a punch! The waiter suggested we eat the sorbet first to cleanse our palette and this it did in bags.  I might suggest it was too overpowering, yet I found myself finishing the whole lot quite quickly.   I then moved onto the lemon curd which just zinged in my mouth following the sweet crunch of the little meringue on top.  Finally I peeled off a spoonful of the lime mousse.  It was smooth, creamy, very morish and was crammed full of lime, sweet and not at all bitter.  The lemon thyme jelly was the contrast on the dish with a very subtle flavour and melt in the mouth texture.

The wine with dessert was a South African Late Harvest Riesling by Paul Cluver.  I got loads of lychee and honey when drinking this.  All the reviews state lime, citrus and honey flavours (where'd I get lychee from?) which suggests why this wine went so well with the dessert.  Our whole table found this wine beautiful!    

Onto coffee and petit fours and after three hours of excellent food, wine and service our evening came to a close.  

I would recommend Benares to anyone, everyday of the week if asked.