Chakra Kensington - Restaurant Review

Cuisine: Indian
Style Points: 4/5
Location: Kensington
Price: ££
Overall: 4/5

Covid-19 Safety Measures:

Temperature checks on arrival
All staff wear masks at all times
Hand sanitiser available
Out-door seating available

Located just a five-minute walk away from Kensington High Street Station on a picturesque residential street, Chakra is a little Indian restaurant that packs a big punch. Serving authentic North Indian and Punjabi cuisine with modern refinements, the creative team of chefs use high quality ingredients that you probably won’t see at your local Indian, including the likes Texel lamb and Suffolk chicken.

The restaurant itself has a lovely terrace that would be perfect for summer al-fresco dining and inside there are a handful of tables, all spread out to comply with social distancing protocols. The servers even take your temperature on arrival and take down your details for track and trace. All vital measures to keep us all safe.

The menu is surprisingly extensive and is categorised into sections including Street Food, Small Plates, Grill, Curries, and Vegetarian Mains. The Street Food has some of my favourite Indian dishes including Kathi Roll (chargrilled chicken or paneer, mixed leaves and mint chutney in a paratha bread) Pani Puri (potato, onion, chickpea spiced mix, in a semolina cup atop a shot glass with tamarind, mint and spiced water) and Bhel Puri (puﬀed rice tossed with onions, tomatoes, pomegranate, topped with tamarind and crispy vermicelli.)

From this section of the menu we tried the Lucknowi Samosa Chaat (samosa and spiced chickpeas, topped with mint, tamarind and crispy vermicelli.) One of my favourite Indian snacks, it is essentially vegetarian samosas smothered with a chickpea curry and a variety of sauces and this one was very flavoursome if slightly too spicy. To help cool you down, the freshly fried poppadums with mango, tomato and tamarind yoghurt chutneys do the job nicely and certainly are a class above the equivalent you find at most Indian restaurants.

The Food?

The Small Plates and Grill sections have some very intriguing and unique dishes including Amritsari Fish and Chips (crispy telapia goujons with an Amritsari batter served with masala wedges and mint chutney) Avocado ke Gole (avocado dumplings served with pickled beetroot puree and kewpie mustard) and Shahi Salmon (dill and green pepper corn marinated Norwegian salmon, grilled in the clay oven).

On our waiter’s recommendation we tried the Desi Chilli Chicken (morsels of chicken and sweet peppers coated with garlic, soy and chilli sauce) Paneer Tikka (grilled spiced homemade cheese, mixed peppers and onions) and Patiala Lamb Chop (Texel lamb cutlet marinated with sundried ginger and pounded chilli char grilled).

I have to start with the latter first as the Texel lamb cutlet was so incredibly tender and melted in the mouth like butter. The marinade was unusual but worked well with the soft lamb and I was just disappointed there wasn’t more! The paneer was soft and meaty and coated in a lovely marinade. It was delicious and always a winning combination with sweet peppers. The chilli chicken lived up to its namesake and had a real kick to it that wasn’t overpowering thankfully but added depth to the dish. It was very nice and went well with the Roti we ordered on the side.

At this point we were pleasantly full but of course we couldn’t leave without trying the curries. The usual suspects are here so I won’t go through them but we decided on the Old Delhi Butter Chicken (char-grilled Suﬀolk chicken, simmered in creamed tomatoes, dried fenugreek leaf) and Rahra Gosht (diced lamb and minced lamb cooked together with brown onions, tomato, garam masala). We also tried a Peshwari and Garlic Naans.

The butter chicken definitely tasted authentic and was very flavoursome with the complex spices and thick tomato sauce. The chicken itself was delicious and you could certainly tell it was high quality produce. The lamb was moreish with just enough heat to give it a lovely balanced flavour. With both minced and diced lamb, it was like having two curries in one and went really well with the peshwari naan.

Moving onto the final course and I was instantly intrigued upon reading the dessert list. Indian desserts don’t have the best reputation and can be far too sweet and lacklustre compared to European desserts. However, Chakra have two desserts on their menu that we couldn’t resist ordering - Coconut Tart with Coconut Ice Cream (spiced coconut filled tart topped with Madagascar vanilla ice cream) Pistachio Gateau (warm condensed milk dumplings served with vanilla ice cream.)

The coconut tart was filled with shredded coconut and spiced with cardamom and saffron to give it plenty of fragrance and exotic flavour. With the ice cream it was delicious. However, my favourite was definitely the pistachio gateaux which was a mix between had the taste of a chocolate fondant but the texture of a cake. It was stunning and the pistachio crumb sprinkled on top was really tasty. A great way to end a fabulous meal at such a lovely little restaurant.

The Drinks?

Alongside our food we tried a couple of signature cocktails - Calcutta Express (Bourbon Whiskey, Green Chilli, Honey, Lemon juice, Berries, Ginger Ale) and An Evening in "CHAKRA" (Cognac, Apple & lime juice, Syrup infused with Star Anise, Cloves and Tamarind.) The former cocktail was a little intimidating with the green chilli casually floating around the top without a care in the world but it was actually a lovely sweet cocktail with warming notes from the whisky, honey and ginger ale. The former cocktail was probably my favourite as I love the flavour of tamarind and it worked harmoniously with the cognac. I would definitely recommend trying a cocktail as it won’t be everyday that you’ll have green chilli and exotic spices floating in your drink!

Price?

I have eaten at a lot of Indian restaurants, good and bad, and I know the average price of dishes. Chakra is most definitely on the pricey side, with curries being almost double the price of the average Indian restaurant. But this is not an average Indian restaurant and the high-quality ingredients and flavoursome unique dishes reflect the higher prices. Starters are around £8 and curries are roughly £15 with dessert between £6-£7.50.

Overall?

I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience at Chakra and was really impressed with their contemporary twists on classic Indian dishes. If you like Indian cuisine and would like to try something a little different yet still familiar, then I would highly recommend a visit. Safety precautions are in place to make you feel safe and comfortable but they are also on Deliveroo if you aren’t ready to visit restaurants just yet.

Book your table at Chakra, Kensington.
Address: 33C Holland St, Kensington, London W8 4LX
Phone Number: 020 7937 3222
Closest Tube Station: High Street Kensington

My meal was complimentary, all opinions are my own.

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