Benares
Last year I started a new Christmas tradition, in between xmas and new year I would be reckless and spend at least half of my xmas bonus on eating myself silly in a couple of great restaurants, the ones I can`t afford normally but once a year is do-able. London is a little quieter than normal at this time so getting a good table is easier.
Last year I did Maze (stupendous) Gary Rhodes at the Cumberland (also awesome) and tried to do Brian Turner Mayfair (decided to close due to not enough bookings, without telling me, therefore never going again on principle)
This year it was a total blow out feast at Benares, a trip tp Brighton to eat in a soul food place and malaysian last night on new years eve.
Benares is modern Indian. Basically all the flavours and spices we are familiar with in indian food but served up with a contemporary feel, using not just indian but also traditional french and european cooking technique. Its a beautiful place and deserves its michelin star. The chef is a man named Atul Kochar, known throughout the chef world as a spice master. They do say that his skill with the huge palette of indian spice flavours is second to none and having experienced it now I have to agree.
The place is very stylish, lots of dark wood and laquer, trendy indian style furnishings and warm lighting.
We arrived, handed over our coats, climbed the stairs and into the bar area. cosy seating with lots and lots of cushions.
We decided to have a drink in the bar before going to our table, I had a manhatten, R had a mai tai. My manhatten was perfect for the very cold winter evening, whats not to enjoy about whisky on a frosty night?
They also brought over a small bowl of peanuts slightly warm as they had been toasted with a spice blend, very nice, something a little like graram massala, i could def taste cinnamon and cumin.
People watching is as much a part of the whole experience as the food is to me so when the two 40 something business men sitting by us in the bar began to get some very special wine service I had to lean in and hear as much as I could. A trolly was wheeled to their side holding a bottle of red wine in a holder, the kind that keeps the wine on its side. There was also a carafe and two very nice crystal glasses.
The young sommelier really made a sterling job of opening what was clearly very very old and expensive wine. Delicately he removed a wax seal using a candle and a pen knife. Then it seemed very difficult to extract the cork , it was crumbly and he had to do it in 3 stages as it broke in the middle. He did it though, and without getting any in the wine, i felt like clapping him.
Throughout he was discusssing the wine and the cork with the man who had ordered, the cork looked amazing, deep dark red where the wine had had years to stain it. I heard them say that it was 1945, one year younger than the man who ordered its father and a whole 10 years older than the sommeliers father.
When we got to our table I scanned the extensive wine list and found it. 1945 bordeaux, at the bargain price of £1215. No wonder the sommelier was grinning from ear to ear all night and appeared to bounce round the place on shoes made of air, if they can afford wine that much I bet they could afford a fat tip too.
We were sitting at the side of the restaurant, perfect for me to see the whole place and observe everyone else, a nosy parkers dream! Actually i'm not that nosy at all anywhere except restaurants really. The only time i ever try to hear peoples conversations or assess them and my imagined lives for them is when they might be talking about the food in front of them!
the two tables to the right of us were also tables of 2, the one the furthest away contained a very smart and obviously well off 30 something gay couple, they seemed to treat the whole experience as if thats what they usually do on a sunday night, so clearly they were loaded. Spent most of the evening sniffing and comparing their wines so must have been enthusiasts.
Table to the right of us had a middle aged married couple, ordered same as us and kept worrying about the baby sitter. They weren't food geeks as they didn't seem to know much about alot of what they were eating so I think they were chef groupies, seen Atul on TV and treated themselves for christmas, they enjoyed it, i felt pleased for them.
One table to the left of us, a 50 something bald business man, very very rich and what was clearly his 30 something pretty bit on the side, (probably tells folks she's his neice........well they do where i work.......lol) They didn`t chat much, she picked at her food like a bird and giggled when he said anything at all. When he went to the bathroom she stared vacuously ahead like she didn't have a thought in her head.
Prior to even reaching the restaurant we had decided that we would almost certainly have the grazing menu which is £65 per person. Basically its a chefs show off thing, you have no choices, you just get a list of about 12-15 dishes and are served each one, in a small portion. To someone like me who always wants to try each and everything on the menu everywhere they go its a dream because you get to try so many different dishes.
For £30 per person (or £74 if you want the premier) you can have the sommeliers choice of a glass of wine to go with each course. This is always the way to go, they do it now in lots of expensive restaurants. Its the way to go because if you are having that many dishes and you choose one bottle of wine you will inevitably get a major clash somewhere, something that goes so badly together both wine and the food taste awful. Also they always include one or two of the more expensive wines in their choices so you also get the chance to taste what you wouldn't buy and you always get a dessert wine included and these are always so expensive i never have them but I bloody love a good dessert wine.
In an indian restaurant the wine choice is made double difficult so I say let the experts do it for you.
So we ordered the £30 wine choice as well
while reading the menu they brought over some small perfectly crisp poppadums and 4 homemade chutneys to munch. The poppadums were very nice, not oily at all and scented with caraway or maybe it was nigella seeds, not sure
The chutneys were tomato (smooth and tangy) gooseberry (jammy and spicy aftertaste my fave) carrot (sweet and crunchy) and apple and ginger (r's fave very chunky and delicious)
The menu was this
amuse bouche (more on that in a mo)
A taste of Wickham Special release Fume 2007 England
-
salad of prawns pickled with Indian Five Spice
Terrine of Confit Duck Leg with Crisp Fennel Bread
Curry Leaf and Tarragon Infused Lobster Rillet
Glass of Journeys End Chardonnay 2005 South Africa
-
Mustard Flavoured Monkfish Tails with Tamarind Glaze
Tandoor Roasted Quail in a Red Chilli and Yoghurt Marinade
Spiced Minced Lamb Skewer with MInt Chutney
Glass of Soave 'La Rocca' Pieropan 2006 Italy
-
English Corn Fed Chicken Supreme with a Ginger Flavoured Sauce
Goujons of John Dory in a Crisp Gram Flour Batter
Roasted Rump of Lamb on Rosemary Chickpeas
Glass of Muddy Water Pinot Noir 2006 New Zealand
-
Sorbet
Allspice Infused Dark Chocolate Brownie
Lavender Scented Steamed Yoghurt Cake
Glass of Gueth Gewurtztraminer Selection De Grains Nobles 2005 France
Coffee and Petit Fours
first up the amuse bouche was a little tiny meatball sitting on a blob of yoghurt flavoured with a hint of cucumber, topped with a teeny blob of a mint puree and next to it a swish of a tamarind sauce. It really set the tone, the tamaring sauce was far more complex tasting than it sounds and contained far more than tamarind, cumin maybe, some turmeric? not sure. The meatball was so so so light it almost popped like a bubble in your mouth, it must have been passed through a tamis sieve to make a forcemeat. The yoghurt and cucumber didn`t appear to add much to the taste at first but then as you sat thinking about what you just ate you could really get an aftertaste of cucumber and creamy yoghurt acid, very clever flavour layering. The wine that went with was great too, very lemony and grass tasting.
Next came a plate with the prawns, duck and a little shot glass of the lobster on it and a basket with two steaming hot naan type fennel breads which had been glazed with honey. The prawns were chilled, very lightly pickled and glazed in a sweetish spicy dark sticky but not too thick sauce, the duck was great, tasted like it had been confited with the spices or maybe its marinaded before its confited, i'm not sure, perfect texture, very rich and perfect with the hot bread. The lobster rillet was in a little glass, it was chopped very fine and it was really really creamy. I quite liked it, could have benefitted from just a teeny touch more seasoning but when you ate it with the wine it really was good, it was so creamy it was almost cloying but the wine cut it amazingly, showed that this is exactly why you let the experts choose. R really wan`t keen on the lobster, found it way to creamy, but agreed the wine really helped.
Next up a plate with the Monkfish Tails, the Quail and the lamb skewer. The lamb skewer was excellent. It was the kind you often get in indian restaurants, minced and moulded round a skewer, cooked in a tandoor and pushed off the skewer to serve so its a kinda hollow meaty tube. The ones you get in indian restaurants normally can be dry and a bit boring. This one was moist and juicy, a beautiful texture and the mint chutney tasted like pure essence of mint, great!
The Quail was a highlight, spot on cooking, slightly pink, the yoghurt marinade was hot and spicy and nicely crunchy. My only niggle would be that as a portion it was hard to divide between 2 to share, but don`t worry I won and got the best bit as always :) The John Dory tasted very much of its mustard flavouring and the tamarind cut that well with a touch of sweet and sourness, the fish was just and so cooked through which left it melt in the mouth perfection, thats skillful cooking, the only problem was that it was very slightly over salted, just a wee bit and it didn`t spoil it too much. The soave wine that went with these dishes was so very dry it really helped cleanse your palate after the spices, really washed the strong flavours away and refreshed your mouth without ruining the taste of the wine.
Next the 3 dishes that kind of compose the main course of the meal so they come all on seperate dished like a normal entree instead of in minature all on one dish like the previous courses.
The Rump of Lamb was very very tender and just the right side of pink, it had a nice intense lamb flavour which might sound an odd thing to say but so much lamb is rather insipid these days its worth commenting on. It sat nestled on a large bed of chickpeas not unlike the chana massala I make at home, although containing more tomato and less tamarind. They were very tasty and cooked until very tender which is how I like my chickepeas, I hate it when they are left with a touch of bite which so many places do, i think they taste better when you can crush them with your tounge and Atul obviously agrees. We liked the Chickpeas but R thinks mine are better because i add more spice, modestly I kind of agree actually. The chicken was very moist and the ginger sauce hot and tangy, that was served with some very nice tomatoey rice that when mixed with the sauce was really great. The highllight of the 3 dishes was truly the John Dory, coated in the lightest crispiest batter and served on top of some crushed mined peas, a very chunky mix. Alongside was a tomato chutney which was sweet and sour and a touch hot. This was the best dish and we nearly went to war over it. It was just an indian version of the british classic fish and chips with mushy peas and tomato sauce. This was better, the spices in the gram flour batter were clever, you could taste them without them overpowering the delicate fish. I think the kitchen must use some very precise scales or measurements to get each dish spiced this accurately each time.
The Pinot Noir was good but not awesome, just a pleasing warm red that did the job of matching each food on the plates well, which must be bloody difficult, I sure wouldn`t have known what to put with john dory, lamb, ginger, and peas!
Finally a plate of desserts. A small cube of the most moist sponge, delicious, it was topped with a kind of yoghurt foam. I'm guessing its sprayed on the top with a soda syphon. It was so refreshing to taste and creamy without being heavy.
The sorbet was lime, but there was some other flavour too, not sure what. It was in a little shot glass and was creamy and not too sweet. I loved it. On first look the brownie seemed very small but in fact it was so rich it was just the right size. Crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle and you could really smell and taste the allspice. mmmmmmmmmmm I want more. The Gewurtztraminer was sweet without being too thick and rich, it rounded off the meal well.
Oh I was full now, and very very happy. They brought us each a french press of very nice coffee which you could have got 3 cups from but I stopped at 2. The petit fours were a absolutely stunning fruit jelly cube which i think contained gooseberry. a teeny shortbread bisscuit and some very nice chocolate fudge. There was a fourth one but I totally forgot it.
Out into the cold night, full, happy and sleepy. £250 lighter in the pocket which somehow feels wrong when theres so many people need the food and the money, but it was just too special an experience for me to feel more than one nano second of guilt. Worth every hard earned penny
Last year I did Maze (stupendous) Gary Rhodes at the Cumberland (also awesome) and tried to do Brian Turner Mayfair (decided to close due to not enough bookings, without telling me, therefore never going again on principle)
This year it was a total blow out feast at Benares, a trip tp Brighton to eat in a soul food place and malaysian last night on new years eve.
Benares is modern Indian. Basically all the flavours and spices we are familiar with in indian food but served up with a contemporary feel, using not just indian but also traditional french and european cooking technique. Its a beautiful place and deserves its michelin star. The chef is a man named Atul Kochar, known throughout the chef world as a spice master. They do say that his skill with the huge palette of indian spice flavours is second to none and having experienced it now I have to agree.
The place is very stylish, lots of dark wood and laquer, trendy indian style furnishings and warm lighting.
We arrived, handed over our coats, climbed the stairs and into the bar area. cosy seating with lots and lots of cushions.
We decided to have a drink in the bar before going to our table, I had a manhatten, R had a mai tai. My manhatten was perfect for the very cold winter evening, whats not to enjoy about whisky on a frosty night?
They also brought over a small bowl of peanuts slightly warm as they had been toasted with a spice blend, very nice, something a little like graram massala, i could def taste cinnamon and cumin.
People watching is as much a part of the whole experience as the food is to me so when the two 40 something business men sitting by us in the bar began to get some very special wine service I had to lean in and hear as much as I could. A trolly was wheeled to their side holding a bottle of red wine in a holder, the kind that keeps the wine on its side. There was also a carafe and two very nice crystal glasses.
The young sommelier really made a sterling job of opening what was clearly very very old and expensive wine. Delicately he removed a wax seal using a candle and a pen knife. Then it seemed very difficult to extract the cork , it was crumbly and he had to do it in 3 stages as it broke in the middle. He did it though, and without getting any in the wine, i felt like clapping him.
Throughout he was discusssing the wine and the cork with the man who had ordered, the cork looked amazing, deep dark red where the wine had had years to stain it. I heard them say that it was 1945, one year younger than the man who ordered its father and a whole 10 years older than the sommeliers father.
When we got to our table I scanned the extensive wine list and found it. 1945 bordeaux, at the bargain price of £1215. No wonder the sommelier was grinning from ear to ear all night and appeared to bounce round the place on shoes made of air, if they can afford wine that much I bet they could afford a fat tip too.
We were sitting at the side of the restaurant, perfect for me to see the whole place and observe everyone else, a nosy parkers dream! Actually i'm not that nosy at all anywhere except restaurants really. The only time i ever try to hear peoples conversations or assess them and my imagined lives for them is when they might be talking about the food in front of them!
the two tables to the right of us were also tables of 2, the one the furthest away contained a very smart and obviously well off 30 something gay couple, they seemed to treat the whole experience as if thats what they usually do on a sunday night, so clearly they were loaded. Spent most of the evening sniffing and comparing their wines so must have been enthusiasts.
Table to the right of us had a middle aged married couple, ordered same as us and kept worrying about the baby sitter. They weren't food geeks as they didn't seem to know much about alot of what they were eating so I think they were chef groupies, seen Atul on TV and treated themselves for christmas, they enjoyed it, i felt pleased for them.
One table to the left of us, a 50 something bald business man, very very rich and what was clearly his 30 something pretty bit on the side, (probably tells folks she's his neice........well they do where i work.......lol) They didn`t chat much, she picked at her food like a bird and giggled when he said anything at all. When he went to the bathroom she stared vacuously ahead like she didn't have a thought in her head.
Prior to even reaching the restaurant we had decided that we would almost certainly have the grazing menu which is £65 per person. Basically its a chefs show off thing, you have no choices, you just get a list of about 12-15 dishes and are served each one, in a small portion. To someone like me who always wants to try each and everything on the menu everywhere they go its a dream because you get to try so many different dishes.
For £30 per person (or £74 if you want the premier) you can have the sommeliers choice of a glass of wine to go with each course. This is always the way to go, they do it now in lots of expensive restaurants. Its the way to go because if you are having that many dishes and you choose one bottle of wine you will inevitably get a major clash somewhere, something that goes so badly together both wine and the food taste awful. Also they always include one or two of the more expensive wines in their choices so you also get the chance to taste what you wouldn't buy and you always get a dessert wine included and these are always so expensive i never have them but I bloody love a good dessert wine.
In an indian restaurant the wine choice is made double difficult so I say let the experts do it for you.
So we ordered the £30 wine choice as well
while reading the menu they brought over some small perfectly crisp poppadums and 4 homemade chutneys to munch. The poppadums were very nice, not oily at all and scented with caraway or maybe it was nigella seeds, not sure
The chutneys were tomato (smooth and tangy) gooseberry (jammy and spicy aftertaste my fave) carrot (sweet and crunchy) and apple and ginger (r's fave very chunky and delicious)
The menu was this
amuse bouche (more on that in a mo)
A taste of Wickham Special release Fume 2007 England
-
salad of prawns pickled with Indian Five Spice
Terrine of Confit Duck Leg with Crisp Fennel Bread
Curry Leaf and Tarragon Infused Lobster Rillet
Glass of Journeys End Chardonnay 2005 South Africa
-
Mustard Flavoured Monkfish Tails with Tamarind Glaze
Tandoor Roasted Quail in a Red Chilli and Yoghurt Marinade
Spiced Minced Lamb Skewer with MInt Chutney
Glass of Soave 'La Rocca' Pieropan 2006 Italy
-
English Corn Fed Chicken Supreme with a Ginger Flavoured Sauce
Goujons of John Dory in a Crisp Gram Flour Batter
Roasted Rump of Lamb on Rosemary Chickpeas
Glass of Muddy Water Pinot Noir 2006 New Zealand
-
Sorbet
Allspice Infused Dark Chocolate Brownie
Lavender Scented Steamed Yoghurt Cake
Glass of Gueth Gewurtztraminer Selection De Grains Nobles 2005 France
Coffee and Petit Fours
first up the amuse bouche was a little tiny meatball sitting on a blob of yoghurt flavoured with a hint of cucumber, topped with a teeny blob of a mint puree and next to it a swish of a tamarind sauce. It really set the tone, the tamaring sauce was far more complex tasting than it sounds and contained far more than tamarind, cumin maybe, some turmeric? not sure. The meatball was so so so light it almost popped like a bubble in your mouth, it must have been passed through a tamis sieve to make a forcemeat. The yoghurt and cucumber didn`t appear to add much to the taste at first but then as you sat thinking about what you just ate you could really get an aftertaste of cucumber and creamy yoghurt acid, very clever flavour layering. The wine that went with was great too, very lemony and grass tasting.
Next came a plate with the prawns, duck and a little shot glass of the lobster on it and a basket with two steaming hot naan type fennel breads which had been glazed with honey. The prawns were chilled, very lightly pickled and glazed in a sweetish spicy dark sticky but not too thick sauce, the duck was great, tasted like it had been confited with the spices or maybe its marinaded before its confited, i'm not sure, perfect texture, very rich and perfect with the hot bread. The lobster rillet was in a little glass, it was chopped very fine and it was really really creamy. I quite liked it, could have benefitted from just a teeny touch more seasoning but when you ate it with the wine it really was good, it was so creamy it was almost cloying but the wine cut it amazingly, showed that this is exactly why you let the experts choose. R really wan`t keen on the lobster, found it way to creamy, but agreed the wine really helped.
Next up a plate with the Monkfish Tails, the Quail and the lamb skewer. The lamb skewer was excellent. It was the kind you often get in indian restaurants, minced and moulded round a skewer, cooked in a tandoor and pushed off the skewer to serve so its a kinda hollow meaty tube. The ones you get in indian restaurants normally can be dry and a bit boring. This one was moist and juicy, a beautiful texture and the mint chutney tasted like pure essence of mint, great!
The Quail was a highlight, spot on cooking, slightly pink, the yoghurt marinade was hot and spicy and nicely crunchy. My only niggle would be that as a portion it was hard to divide between 2 to share, but don`t worry I won and got the best bit as always :) The John Dory tasted very much of its mustard flavouring and the tamarind cut that well with a touch of sweet and sourness, the fish was just and so cooked through which left it melt in the mouth perfection, thats skillful cooking, the only problem was that it was very slightly over salted, just a wee bit and it didn`t spoil it too much. The soave wine that went with these dishes was so very dry it really helped cleanse your palate after the spices, really washed the strong flavours away and refreshed your mouth without ruining the taste of the wine.
Next the 3 dishes that kind of compose the main course of the meal so they come all on seperate dished like a normal entree instead of in minature all on one dish like the previous courses.
The Rump of Lamb was very very tender and just the right side of pink, it had a nice intense lamb flavour which might sound an odd thing to say but so much lamb is rather insipid these days its worth commenting on. It sat nestled on a large bed of chickpeas not unlike the chana massala I make at home, although containing more tomato and less tamarind. They were very tasty and cooked until very tender which is how I like my chickepeas, I hate it when they are left with a touch of bite which so many places do, i think they taste better when you can crush them with your tounge and Atul obviously agrees. We liked the Chickpeas but R thinks mine are better because i add more spice, modestly I kind of agree actually. The chicken was very moist and the ginger sauce hot and tangy, that was served with some very nice tomatoey rice that when mixed with the sauce was really great. The highllight of the 3 dishes was truly the John Dory, coated in the lightest crispiest batter and served on top of some crushed mined peas, a very chunky mix. Alongside was a tomato chutney which was sweet and sour and a touch hot. This was the best dish and we nearly went to war over it. It was just an indian version of the british classic fish and chips with mushy peas and tomato sauce. This was better, the spices in the gram flour batter were clever, you could taste them without them overpowering the delicate fish. I think the kitchen must use some very precise scales or measurements to get each dish spiced this accurately each time.
The Pinot Noir was good but not awesome, just a pleasing warm red that did the job of matching each food on the plates well, which must be bloody difficult, I sure wouldn`t have known what to put with john dory, lamb, ginger, and peas!
Finally a plate of desserts. A small cube of the most moist sponge, delicious, it was topped with a kind of yoghurt foam. I'm guessing its sprayed on the top with a soda syphon. It was so refreshing to taste and creamy without being heavy.
The sorbet was lime, but there was some other flavour too, not sure what. It was in a little shot glass and was creamy and not too sweet. I loved it. On first look the brownie seemed very small but in fact it was so rich it was just the right size. Crisp on the outside and gooey in the middle and you could really smell and taste the allspice. mmmmmmmmmmm I want more. The Gewurtztraminer was sweet without being too thick and rich, it rounded off the meal well.
Oh I was full now, and very very happy. They brought us each a french press of very nice coffee which you could have got 3 cups from but I stopped at 2. The petit fours were a absolutely stunning fruit jelly cube which i think contained gooseberry. a teeny shortbread bisscuit and some very nice chocolate fudge. There was a fourth one but I totally forgot it.
Out into the cold night, full, happy and sleepy. £250 lighter in the pocket which somehow feels wrong when theres so many people need the food and the money, but it was just too special an experience for me to feel more than one nano second of guilt. Worth every hard earned penny