Chutney Mary

Angella

Fabulous Food. Romantic. 'Indian' but not curry. 24th March 2009

2 found this helpful

For his birthday, son wanted to eat Indian, but a local everyday place would not be exciting enough, which set us a challenge. We wanted somewhere special. On line we found the famous Chutney Mary's and booked it. The food, decor and prices all exceeded my expectations.

Wonderful food full of flavours such as rose. Spinach which tasted fresh, not like it was cooked five times. Splendid refreshing fruit sorbets.

Menu constantly changing. Not what I'd planned after reading on line. (Which was duck and apricots, followed by a date and walnut kulfi.)

Cocktails and Drinks
Interesting cocktails. My drink, cardamon cooler, vodka, strawberries and cardamon, was entrancingly pink. With a sophisticated black bent straw.

It was only 100 ml. In a champagne glass. That didn't last long. And it was half filled with ice. So I added water to get the benefit of the drink's dregs and make it last the whole meal. Servers kept trying to sneak it away but I stayed alert and kept demanding it back.

Vodka and strawberry with three thin slices of fresh strawberry.

It's years since I've had a cocktail with fresh strawberry in the drink as opposed to sitting on the rim so you are afraid to touch it in case you look too desperate and greedy.

It's easy for a restaurant to afford a slice of strawberry when strawberries are plentiful in UK summer, or as now, in spring, almost in season - somewhere in the world giving a greenhouse forced hard, tasteless strawberry.

In Singapore you get fresh fruit cocktails all year, whether at a cheap roadside stall or a grand hotel.

I remember having strawberries in a strawberry daiquiri at a Quality Inn South of Washington DC in the 1980s. I passed it on the motorway coming in from Virginia years later and yearned to stop. Here at Chutney Mary's the joy of the cocktail was not strawberry but the totally new experience of the crunchy cardamon.

I think I'll remember the Chutney Mary cocktail years later as well.

The food is everything you could want. Delightful to read the menu, dishes wonderful to look at, tastes divine, different from every other meal you’ve had, inventive, colourful, memorable, fresh and healthy. The duck was great and the accompanying sweet potato. Lamb with mash was more-ish.

Desserts
I had the 'degustation' combination dessert, of three items, mango panacotta, choclate fondant and rose sorbet. Prettily presented. The chocolate was full of flavour with a hot melting centre. What looked like creme brulee was not as good but melting. The sorbet was wonderful. I loved the rhubarb sorbet, and the mango.

The Baked Alaska was a small tall castle. Not large. Granny ate the lot, so I never got to try it. She refuses to eat Indian and doesn't like curry or spices but she was quite happy. She liked the sliced duck and baked alaska though she'd have preferred a sweet wine.

I filled in their form and gave them ten out of ten for food.

Service
Service nearly there. Only nine out of ten for service. Knowledgeable. Polite unobtrusive warmth from the men. Quiet women servers. Not the jollity of Italian waiters at an Italian restaurant.

But probably suitable for those on expensive accounts who don't want distractions. Also ideal for jealous wives and girlfriends who don't want their menfolk chatting up anybody else.

My complaints were: They put a candle on my son’s dessert but brought it up when I was away from the table. They should have waited until I came back because I didn't see it nor get a photo of him looking astonished and happy at his birthday candle.

The server took a photo and stepped back to get us all in. A really smart photography-wise person will take two photos in case somebody shuts their eyes. Besides people tend to look awkwardly anxious with fixed grins in the first photo but relaxed and happy in the second.

Romantic
Candles provide romantic dim light. No distractions from others. You don't hear a word from other tables. Total privacy.

The circular conservatory where we sat was lovely at night. Gleaming wood. Thirty pot plants around the edge. A tree in the middle sheltering you overhead so you are not overlooked by the block of flats at the back.

Candles provide a romantic atmosphere. Admittedly we nearly burned our hands, our sleeves and our menus three times as we passed the birthday cards and menus across. But the candle design with oil inside a cube looks as though it's meant to be safe and can't spill.

Prices
High. We were paying about £150 for four for a birthday. I could have had a mango lassi for under £4 or one of several wines by the glass, none sweet, but opted for an unusual cocktail.

The restaurant offers set menus about £20 or £22 but little choice. About three options in each section and if you are allergic to shellfish and don't want vegetarian you have only one choice. However, if you want to go for the atmosphere, or eat there regularly, that's a good option.

I could not see the price of coffee. The coffees were listed in a line. I might have opted for a cheaper coffee, or known they were all the same price. I was distracted from my conversation by puzzling over this.

It's a legal requirement to tell customers prices and not make it up at the end and shock them into ordering something they can't afford or consider poor value.

What they should tell you:
Steep stairs, a challenge to those of us in high heels, and no lift. Granny, aged 92, made it down. And up. If she had gone downstairs and then wanted the cloakroom immediately I would have been concerned.

Toilets are at the top of the stairs to the right of the entrance. It may be built on a slope. The main restaurant is basement from the front stairs. But the projecting conservatory seems to be ground floor. Maybe it's basement with a view of the sky.

Toilets were spotlessly clean. One of the few places where you felt that the rolls of toilet paper outside the protective wrapper were not gathering dust on the surface.

Clever divided doors. Such a good idea. Solves a problem which was bothered me for years. Enables you to get into a cubicle without one large door blocking the area diagonally when you open it.

A second dispenser, of moisturizer, would have been welcome. And a flower display. However, the effect was very elegant and clean.

Will I go back? Can't wait. Dad was already saying he wants to go there on his birthday.

For a change of venue they have about four sister restaurants all in central London, Covent Garden and so on. We went to Veeraswamy's years ago and thought the decor was unusual but it was overpriced with indifferent food. However, if it's under new ownership and could be up to the standard of Chutney Mary's, definitely worth a trip and a try.

This branch is near Kensington. We took a wrong turn and arrived late. But the restaurant is large and we had no trouble getting a table on a Monday evening.

Granny was impressed. When she'd been a teenager her mother had always taken her for tea to classy places, so she knew how to behave with the best people, she told us twenty times.

Parking
If you book about 8 pm you arrive after the congestion charge has ended. The sofa inside the entrance enables passengers to wait in comfort while you fetch the car. I think there's a yellow line outside, maybe because you are approaching a bridge. Our driver said he parked in a street nearby.

Wheely at 25/03/09

Quality review, nothing left to doubt or guesswork. More to the point, the kind of review that's safe for a recommendation.

Add Comment

LukeG

Possibly London's best Indian 22nd August 2008

0 found this helpful

We came here for my birthday and we've often thought about going here.
The waiters are helpful, the manager did exactly the right protocol for a manager... kept a discreet distance, just making sure everything ticked along correctly and keeping the ambience and pleasure just right.
To go into fine details regarding the food would not do this place justice. It was awesome and we shall definitely go again. Not a cheap night but not overtly expensive for Chelsea

JulesHolmwood

Outstanding Indian Restaurant; no wonder it wins awards!! 26th July 2007

7 found this helpful

I had an amazing meal at Chutney Mary. The restaurant is beautiful; you can certainly have a posh frock moment if you feel so inclined. The service was discreet but excellent, champagne is an option by the glass and the food was outstanding; it even tasted good the next day when we had our leftovers put in a doggy bag and ate them for breakfast (classy huh!) I love Indian food anyway but this is really really special!

rgkoshie

Fine Indian Dining 13th July 2007

7 found this helpful

If you've never experienced fine Indian dining, this is the place to go. Most Indian places are either take-out or just plain-jane restaurants. But after a visit here, it brings out a new angle to the term, 'Haute-Cuisine'.. ok maybe i'm exaggerating.... but trust me, it's really up there. an awesome selection of wines (though, if you don't know your wines, you're probably gonna find it terribly expensive), their starters, appetisers, main course and dessert are all served with a touch of class. After you're settled in, and as each course is brought out, when you see the presentation, you'll forget the exorbitant(?) prices and just settle down to enjoy your food.
Approx. £45+ per person, so take your credit card along, if you're not carrying cash. Make sure you try out their blueberry chutney... it rocks!!!!
http://www.chutneymary.com

simonB

22nd March 2007

3 found this helpful

Went there for the first time last night after recommendations from friends about it being the best Indian food in London.

The service and decor could definitely not be faulted and my starter was ok. However, my main course was very unappetizing and consisted of just 4 very small pieces of chicken breast submerged in a thin (although quite tasty) orange sauce.

Having said that, the other 3 diners with me all ready enjoyed their meals so I'll probably give the place another go.

NikoTheFinn

Excellent Indian restaurant 21st August 2006

5 found this helpful

Chutney Mary's has been around for quite some time, and is a bit of an institution. But, I would have to say, rightly so. The food is really, really good, very inventive, all freshly prepared and seasoned to perfection. Rather than "dumbing down" Indian food for the British palate, or destroying all flavour with an overdose of spices, Chutney Mary's manages a perfect balance between authentic Indian cooking and modern inventive cuisine. There is also a good, fairly- priced winelist. The decor is very stylish and the service is excellent too.