Benares

ProfMagellan

22nd May 2009

0 found this helpful

I enjoyed my lunch at Benares. I was taken here by a top headhunter who works around the corner and says he is a regular (a good sign). The food was delicious, the vegetarian lasagna in particular. I had the set luncheon which came with a splendid non-alcoholic fruit cocktail. It was very comfortable; but its lack of windows perhaps makes it a better winter eating place than summer. Very comfortable with well spaced tables. Service prompt and very courteous. Super location next to the Rolls-Royce dealer: so next time you are checking out a new set of wheels on Berkeley Square...

Foodlovers

Awesome, faultless food 6th November 2008

2 found this helpful

Had a great experience from start to finish. We opted for the set menu which was £30 and not disappointed. I had the tandoori rabbit which was gorgeous followed by the slow cooked lamb shoulder with a masala mash then a pistachio kulfi. What was so good about the set menu was not only did you get your 3 courses you each got a glass of wine, poppadoms and pickles, a pre appetiser which was a spicy artichoke soup with beetroot foam which warmed you up on a cold day and a palette freshening melon sorbet before your desert plus tea and coffee and petit four. It felt as if you were no less important than the people opting for the a la carte menu.
It was our friends birthday and they decorated a plate with extra petit fours and candle with a Happy Birthday on in chocolate.
The attention to every detail was great and the food was mouthwatering and perfect that I have nothing negative to say!!
We even met the owner Atul Kocher whom was very pleasant and appreciative of our good comments.
With a bottle of wine as well the bill was £186 and worth every penny.
Only comment is it is a large restaurant great to go with friends and family but if you are after the quiet romantic spot probably wouldn't meet that criteria but the food definately makes up for it!!

hollowlegs

A rather good lunch 13th October 2008

2 found this helpful

We came to Benares as a table of four. From when the staff took our coats to when they gave them back, we were treated very well indeed. Aside from a couple of mix-ups over handing out menus, the staff were faultless.

Upon being seated, we were given mini poppadums with 4 excellent home made chutneys. The poppadums were a touch chewy, but the chutneys more than made up for it, especially an addictive gooseberry one.

We decided we'd all have a taste of each others dishes so that we'd get a full idea of what the food was like. Highlights of the starters were the scallops with grape and mint dressing, while the mixed meat platter was generous and included the biggest prawn any of us had seen.

For the mains, I had fennel infused lamb chops. I couldn't detect any fennel flavour, but the meat was very tender. It was teetering on the side of mushy, almost as if they had been languishing in a citrus marinade for a touch too long.

It wasn't all doom and gloom, as the Lobster Tail in Tamarind and Coconut was absolutely delicious, and a very generous portion (as it should be with it's £35 price tag). Accompaniments were excellent, in particular the aubergine curry.

Desserts were good and perhaps a touch excessive after the mains but we battled on. Alphonso mango jelly with coconut cream was well balanced and beautifully presented.

All in all, it was a lovely meal. From the cocktails to the bread basket, everything was well presented. It wasn't cheap; a three course meal for 4 with cocktails, wine, a couple of beers, coffees and dessert wines came to around £100 a head, but they did have a set lunch with a glass of wine for around £30, so it could be done for a lot cheaper. I also saw Atul Kochhar emerging from the kitchens, so it was good to know he was there.

Definitely recommended.

Niamheen at 13/10/08

Shame about the lamb! I think I may have to check it out for lunch sometime soon. Sounds like it's worth a try.

chrisp at 13/10/08

Hmm, I don't think you're going to change my opinion of this place. That food sounded average at best - why 4 stars?

hollowlegs at 13/10/08

Perhaps it was my writing, Chris! It was only the fennel infused lamb chops that didn't get my vote, the rest was delicious.

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Sukhy

Allisan 5th September 2008

0 found this helpful

This is a funky, modern and vibrant place with a good view of Wembley Stadium. There is a large variety of food, and during the week, Allisan offer a very good, value for money Bento box.

The only major problem here is the long waiting times to get the food. It is particuarly bad during the lunchtime rush.

chrisp at 05/09/08

This review is also in the wrong place!

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Sukhy

Benares Lunch 4th September 2008

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I found an offer on Topstable to eat at Benares. I had seen the chef Atol Koutcher of a number of TV programmes, and his food looked interesting (ie chilli chocolate pudding).

The restuarant was brilliant from the moment we stepped into it. Excellent service and a very good atmosphere.

The food surpassed all expectations. There were in total 4 courses that were served to us, and each one was better than the next. I would highly recommend the restaurant

alexthepink

23rd August 2008

4 found this helpful

Benares is expensive but well worth it in my experience. We ate the grazing menu, every single bit of which was beautifully presented and absolutely delicious. The terrine of confit duck leg with honey naan was a particular highlight. Top marks to the sommelier for the extra info on the English wine, and to our waiter who saw me writing some of the dishes down in my notebook and offered me my own copy of the menu. I also liked that the tables had a decent amount of space between them, so the ambience remained lively without being loud or claustrophobic as 1 star places sometimes are. Very highly recommended indeed.

Wheely at 08/11/08

This review by site member alexthepink describes a fine dining restaurant at its very best. Have passed (copied) it to some old friends who live nearby to this place.

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chrisp

Unexciting and expensive 13th August 2008

1 found this helpful

I know many people (myself included) had only learned about Atul Kochhar through his involvement in the BBC programme 'Great British Menu', where he wowed the judges with a sucession of exciting Indian-fusion dishes, spiced to perfection, then completely failed to win anything. I was surprised at this because I was under the impression that the Chicken Tikka Masala was our nation's favourite food, and being the only Indian chef in a competition largely consisting of French-trained chefs I thought he'd stand out, but no - when it came to the public vote he was beaten time and time again by people like Richard Corrigan and his great big boring slabs of boring salmon.

So in sympathy I vowed to visit Benares, his restaurant in Mayfair, and try first-hand the kind of things that had Matthew Fort et. al. in raptures. A mere 4 months later, and courtesy of an attractive looking Toptable deal (£29.95 for 3 courses and a drink), I sat down in the plush basement restaurant and made my choice of Chikken Tikka (starter), and a lamb curry for main. Now apologies for not getting the exact details of the dishes, but for some reason my picture of the menu didn't turn out and this is all largely from memory. Anyway, we started with mini poppadums as nibbles, which were nice enough and served with a set of four sauces and pickles including my favourite lime pickle.

The starter proper was an absolutely delicious couple of chunks of chicken tikka, maybe a tad on the dry side but - yes - spiced to perfection. No complaints here, so far so good.

The problem with what followed is that I suppose for a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant in Mayfair I was expecting something out of the ordinary - perhaps dishes that took the flavours and ingredients of Indian cooking and matched them with European presentation and techniques. But plonked down on our table was something dangerously close to a bog-standard local curry. My lamb thingy was nice enough, nothing special, and a few tastes around the table didn't reveal any other huge surprises. True, naans were properly cooked and a couple of the side dishes were very impressive (black lentil sauce is worth a mention - we all liked that) but this really wasn't starry food. In fact I'm going to go out on a limb and say that our local takeaway, Spice Fusion, has consistently produced food just as good as this and for about a third of the price.

The set dessert of Kulfi (some sort of Indian ice-cream) was tasty enough but failed to divert from the overriding sense of mediocrity from the mains.

I know we were on the Toptable offer, and perhaps didn't get to sample the very best the kitchen could produce, but I just can't understand what all the fuss was about. Our deal made sure that we did OK in terms of value for money but I would have been fairly annoyed had we paid any more for this. Service by the way was pretty good, and the lily ponds and black marble created a very luxurious environment, but I have long had a sneaking suspicion that many restaurants in this part of town seem to go for style over substance and was disappointed to find that Benares was one of them.

Later on that night we popped into Nobu Berkeley Square for a couple of cocktails before bedtime, and though the cocktails were superb it was the food menu that caught my eye - Nobu is justly famous for its food, and you can of course expect to pay a fortune for the very best ingredients (Wagyu beef, Black Cod, etc.). But if we'd known in advance what we were going to be served in Benares, we probably would have done. You get what you pay for, in Mayfair and elsewhere.

dextermoscow

Amazing Indian French Fusion Cuisine 5th December 2007

2 found this helpful

To celebrate my wife's 60th Birthday my twin sons, Mother in Law (92) and close friends visited this chic, stylish and superbly managed impressive restaurant.

The room itself was buzzing and the inventive, delicately spiced amazingly presented food was suburb. My Mother in Law who had never eaten Indian food before was bowled over at the delicacies laid before her. The Maître D was attentive and the waiters were friendly and always close by to attend to our needs.

The meal was expensive and the wines are costly but the whole experience was wonderful

ajagibson

Dissapointing! 12th October 2007

3 found this helpful

I know I may be going against the grain somewhat here, but I have to say we were both really dissapointed. We have been to the Cinnamon Club a few times and I was expecting Benares to be the next stage on from that - Atul Kocher was/is instrumental in both.
However, we found the food bland; the menu rather confused and ultimately not a patch on what we were expecting. When you pay over £180 for 2 to dine it should be amazing.
Granted the decor is fab and the drinks area really very nice. But restaurants are judged on their food it for us it was a real dissapointment.
AG

srahman

Benares 10th October 2007

3 found this helpful

classy location just around the corner from green park. we had a seperate dining room so maybe amplified experienced but service was exquisite! the starters weren't just bog standard starters either. the lime sorbet so wonderful sour it left your tongue tingling. 6 courses in all with tropical non-alcoholic cocktails to boot. yes, it is expensive but a grand location for anniversaries, romantic dinners etc.