Benares Indian Restaurant and Bar, London

The best part of being foodie in central London, in particular, we never run out of places to go to indulge ourselves. Envy?? Well... Don't be.. We didn't always have a great experience in every visit, so let us do the sorting out and safe you from unpleasant part of it. 

Our most recent visit was Benares - Indian Restaurant and Bar in Mayfair, London. Swanky restaurant by twice Michelin starred Chef Atul Kochhar, offers a new concept of fine Indian Cuisine. Set in bustling Berkeley Square slightly over shadowed by corporate offices and luxurious car showrooms, Benares entrance can easily be missed. Practical tip from us, look for Rolls Royce showroom, move few steps to the right and there it is. 

Namaste! Greeted the receptionist staff with a friendly smile made us immediately feeling so welcomed. She then took us upstairs to the bar and restaurant and handed over us to a charming hostess in beautiful golden saree who then accompanied us to our table. From there there rest of service handled by a team of waiting staff. The attentions given were rather overwhelming to be honest, in a positive way, of course. We certainly impressed by it.. 

As you can see from the images below, the lay out of Benares is neat, simple, tasteful and definitely comfortable. We could easily spend hours indulging ourselves going through mouthwatering dishes carefully chosen by the Chef Atul Kochhar. We couldn't wait to get the taste of it.

As the menu arrived, the mini papadums and three different chutneys served to the table. Sweet, sour with a little heat from the spice. Gentle kick to get our taste buds going. 

Just like the lay out of the restaurant itself, the choices on the menu are simple, to the point, yet fulfilling. Even let's say, we happened to be picky eaters, we would not have any problem finding what we fancy. There are seafood dishes, chicken, lamb, you name it and even vegetarian options. What not to like?

Well... we are definitely not picky eaters (we think you have figured that out), we simply love good and honest food prepared with fresh ingredients. And we sincerely appreciate the effort that have been put into the every dish served. Our reviews definitely described that. 

Starters, we have chosen, Tandoori Ratan - Fennel lamb chop, chicken seekh kebab and basil marinated king prawn and Karara Kekda Aur Salad - Crispy soft shell crab, handpicked crab salad, apple chutney and coconut mayonnaise. The word delicious would be an understatement. The lamb chop was succulent, chicken kebab was flavoursome and the king prawn was tasteful although slightly over cooked to our palate. But the main star was the soft shell crab. It was so beautiful we would have another one had we forgot that we still have main courses to go through. The crab salad, apple chutney and the coconut mayonnaise on the side were really compliment one to another. 

Main courses, our first choice went for the Batak Falliyan - Seared Gressingham duck breast, three beans stew, crispy duck skin. We requested to be cooked medium and it was cooked to perfection, melt in the mouth. Not forgetting the Pulao rice and Indian fried bread that we could not remember the name of it. We will get back to you for that. The bread is perfect to soak up the sauce, though it was good even to have it on its own.. 

Our second main course was Tawa Gosht Aur Sunhari Kahsta - Locally farmed cannon of lamb, umbles samosa, purple crushed potatoes and pickled baby artichoke served with Rogan Josh sauce. Another dish that blown us away. Tender and juice lamb, seasoned thoroughly without overpowering the natural flavour of the meat itself, accompanied with luscious crushed potatoes and artichoke. The samosa was simply an additional treat. A dish to die for! Such celebration of beautiful food really deserves a good bottle of Ruinart Rose Champagne. 

Suggested by the waiting staff, we agreed to have the Trio of Kulfi to share to end our Indian fine dining exploration. Creamy yet refreshing Lychee, Pistachio and Mango flavoured ice cream served with chunks of pickled peaches and coulis. Delightful!

To sum it all up, Benares is a fantastic Indian Restaurant and Bar that will change most people perception of Indian cuisine. Not necessarily head blowing spicy too, so it will suit to anybody's palate.  From the receptionist to the wine sommelier and waiting staff, they are very attentive and accommodating to ensure you have the best dining experience from the start to the end.. 
Highly recommended!


Benares by Atul Kochhar
12, Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square
London W1J 6BS

Phone: +44 20 7629 8886
Website: www.benaresrestaurant.com

The Little Square, London

Fancy delicious French food in central London that would not break the bank? We have the answer to that, The Little Square it is. Located right at the heart of Shepherd Market - Mayfair, little paradise for food lovers as the square is full of local pubs and international restaurants. Italian, Japanese, Indian, you name it... But don't get distracted, visit The Little Square for a casual French dining experience, you won't regret it. 

OK, let us share our experience with you. 

The restaurant is indeed small and often get really busy during lunch time, so we made our reservation prior to our arrival. We got there five minutes before the restaurant is officially opened, but friendly staff let us in and choosing our table. Nice! We chose a round table by the window as it offer us slightly more space for two. Comfy!

Before we go on further about the food, we would like to clarify that The Little Square is not a strictly French specialised restaurant, we recognised the French ambiance from some of the dishes on the menu and the fact the lady who served us is French. And also the way the restaurant was set up, with rustic wooden chairs and table somehow taking our imagination to some rural place in France. So there you go... 

Starters. Brussels Pate with toasted Poilane bread sounded very appealing, so we went for that and Cajun fried baby squid with lemon mayonnaise and rocket leaves. 

As expected both starters were very tasty and generously portioned too. The squid was presented in a bamboo basket on top of a bed of rocket leaves, with few drizzle of squeezed lemon and mayonnaise, we were set to dive in. Nothing beats lightly battered fried fresh squid! Delicious! 

The pate was just as good though. We normally would prefer more coarse pate, but to be honest, the one we had The Little Square, served with gherkin and fresh radish on the side was not bad at all.. 

Starters out of the way, now we're ready for the main courses. We chose Grilled salmon fillet with leek and pancetta potato cakes and lime and tarragon sauce and Crisp duck leg confit resting on Puy lentils to go with a bottle of Baron Philipe de Rothchild Pinot Noir 2010. 

Salmon fillet was cooked in perfection, soft in the middle and crunchy skin on top. Leek and pacetta potato cakes and the sauce really compliment the delicate fish without being too overpowering. Talking about a flavourful meal, we certainly got it!

Crisp duck leg confit was succulent and tender went really well with Puy lentils. Though, next time we would miss out the unnecessary sprinkle of sea salt on the skin as the duck was well seasoned throughout anyways. 

At the end of the main courses we were well and truly full, but as our readers would agree, a nice meal would not be complete without a sweet ending. Well ... We would have gone for sticky toffee pudding or bread and butter pudding but unfortunately all we could manage was mango sorbet!! And it was good though! Maybe you can try those mouthwatering deserts and share the experience with us?!



The Little Square
3 Shepherd Market London W1Y 7HS
Phone: +44 20 7355 2101
Website: http://www.thelittlesquare.co.uk

Zen Oriental Restaurant, Heathrow Airport

Reasonably good Chinese Restaurant, in fact the only decent restaurant at the Hilton Hotel Heathrow Terminal 4. We were only disappointed by the fact we didn't get our favourite whole peking duck as we ordered, instead we got peking duck skin with no meat at all to go with the pancakes. We wondered what happen to the rest of the duck? Because we normally would be asked of how do we want the duck meat to be cooked. But obviously they do it differently there. 

Well.. never mind, we were too hungry to complain and our main course - stir fried pork and bean sprout plus fried rice on the side - were already waiting. They both were very tasty indeed. Pork was moist and tender and the bean sprout added the crunchiness to it, lovely. It went really well with the savoury fried rice. Just lacking of effort in presentation, to our opinion. 

And what would be a better dessert after a chinese meal rather than a chilled mango pudding?! So that's exactly what we had at the end of our lunch. And again it was lovely, it did the job freshen up our taste buds.

Zen Oriental Restaurant is as we have mentioned earlier, the only decent restaurant at Hilton Hotel Heathrow Terminal 4, no comparison to the Hilton Oasis Restaurant that serves recycled food on buffet. We would not recommend our readers to try it. 

Zen Oriental Restaurant serves delicious and freshly cooked chinese dishes, provides a spacious and comfortable dining area, attentive staff, but what we did regret was the fact past lunch service hour 3 pm, although we weren't ask to leave the premises, they started to serve lunch for the staff next to the table where we were sitting down. Not that we mind they serving lunch for the staff, we just thought it should be done when all the customers have left the restaurant. 

Zen Oriental Restaurant
Hilton Heathrow Terminal 4
Phone: +44 20 8564 9609

Tempo Restaurant and Bar, London

Savouring the last sunny day in London we walked around Mayfair area of London, where we found Tempo Restaurant and Bar. At first it came across as a cafe which did not quite appealing to us. But then we looked again and we decided to give it a try.

Quite a small in size to be called a restaurant, but somehow they managed to have a separate area designated for private dining, which is ideal for local offices in the area. 

While enjoying Campari Orange and nibbling fresh baked bread with olive oil and chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano, we browse through the menu. Rather unusual Italian dishes on offer, we noticed. Not quite sure what to have we decided to order some familiar dishes and some new dishes. 

To start with we were going for Calamari Fritti (battered squid) and Crostino di N'duja (Calabrian pork sausage). Followed by Petto di Faraona (Guinea Fowl with spinach and truffle mashed potato) to be accompanied by a good bottle of Barolo Massolino. 

The Barolo was excellent as expected and the calamari was fresh, tender and well seasoned thoroughly. We were only got a little bit confused by the Crostini di N'duja as we thought it would be a pork sausage - according to the translation on the menu, but instead we got two pieces of crunchy toast with chili spread. Interesting.. And they were quite pleasant though. 

We didn't bother to clarify it with the waiting staff as by then we were happily intrigued by what's coming next? Whether or not our main course will be a real guinea fowl like it has been described on the menu...

And it was!! (Pffiiuhh)... In fact the guinea fowl turned out well exceeding our expectation! The meat was juicy, tender and full of of flavor. The truffle mashed potato and spinach and the jus were simply the perfect companions. And the portion was just right. We were truly and utterly pleased by that dish. So pleased, the mysterious Calabrian pork sausage that we were supposed to get as starter was easily forgotten.. :))

Still having some space for sweet ending, we ordered Sicilian Cannoli with fresh mint tea. We had better cannoli somewhere else we must admit, but the one at Tempo was not too bad at all. 

We definitely would not mind to go back there again, as the food were excellent, good value for money and service was satisfying too.. 

Tempo Restaurant and Bar

54 Curzon Street, London W1J 8PG

Phone: +44 20 7629 2742

Website: www.tempomayfair.co.uk