Benares Restaurant Review, Mayfair, London

Cuisine: Indian Fine-Dining
Style Points: 5/5
Price: £££
Overall: 5/5

Well it’s got a Michelin star and is associated with celebrity chef Atul Kochhar, need I say any more?

Whilst there are some Michelin star restaurants which don’t actually give off the aura of owning the esteemed star, Benares defiantly does. It’s not over bearing but you can feel its unique glow. This goes to the extent that whenever you mention Benares most people have heard of it and are aware of its high class ratings.

The most impressive part of the restaurant has to be the bar area. Whilst the main restaurant is very minimalist, making use of cooling white shades, the bar is vibrant, vivid and very endearing. The centrepiece is a rather large canoe which is filled with lush exotic flowers, bringing a South East Asian feel to the bar area. Guests are also greeted with a still water pool covered with pink water lilies which ascends calmly up to the dining area. It's the first time I’ve seen a water feature in a restaurant and I hope it's not the last! Altogether, the impressive decor creates a very calming atmosphere about the place.

After having recently undergone a full refurb, the restaurant now also boasts a walk-in wine theatre and a chef’s table overlooking the kitchen area for an even more impressive and intimate dining venue.

Could I Afford Seconds?

The cuisine here couldn’t be classed as simply Indian food. In fact this is not the type of food that Benares aims on creating. Instead there is a distinct English influence leading to a rather Anglo-Indian affair which offers a marrying of Indian tastes served up to English standards. An example of this is the cold saffron soup served in what looks like a shot glass available on the platter menu; something which you would never find being prepared in an Indian household.

In a similar way many of the dishes take a typical Indian dish and serve up in a more refined way. This means that much of the strength of traditional Indian spices is lost but it is instead replaced by very different and quite unique tastes.

The food does taste good, it just doesn’t taste 'Indian.' Instead, Benares is a culinary surprise and most certainly works wonders in this regard.

Would I Want Seconds?

On the standard A la Carte Menu, absolutely not. However, as with most swish and swanky restaurants these days, there are dining offers available designed to make Benares more accessible, and therefore more lucrative.

The restaurant offers a platter menu for £29 including dessert. There is plenty to sample on this menu and enough to fill an empty stomach. It is also a good option if you want to make the most of Michelin star dining and sample a range of the dishes they have to offer. There are vegetarian, sea food and meat platters available which provides even more range to the amount of dishes on offer.

Overall?

The atmosphere, the service and the general feel of the restaurant was spot on and undoubtedly worthy of the Michelin star, to the extent that we stayed well after the restaurant was closed but were not pressured by the staff to leave. However, the food is very adventurous which is nice at times but in some cases it does feel slightly more experimental than polished.

Website: www.benaresrestaurant.com