New Year's lunch at Kanishka

It turns out that most people have had enough of eating and drinking by the New Year (pah…lightweights!), so Kanishka wasn’t its usual busy self when mum and I visited on 2nd January. The Indian fine dining restaurant opened its Mayfair doors in March 2019 - the latest venture from Michelin Star Chef Atul Kochhar. The interior is smart - a lot of monochrome with walls of bright blue - and the toilets are like a jungle paradise. The food is equally as smart, with each plate of food looking like a work of art.

We chose from the lunch set menu. Because we had heard about the legend that is the fried chicken momos, they were a must for starters, plus the beetroot kebab with beetroot ketchup. For main, I had the sea bass with kumbhi pulao and coconut sauce and mum chose the mix grill of chicken tikka, lamb seekh and sea bass. We shared a basket of the thinnest, most buttery naan breads. How we found room for desserts I have no idea, but we managed a masala melting chocolate with clementine and vanilla ice cream and mum had sticky toffee pudding with a cinnamon mince pie and chilli caramel.

The set menu, which they offer Mon-Sun 12.00-14.30 and again 17.30-18.30, was good value. We used a 30% off voucher, so paid £80 for three courses each, plus a side dish and a 500ml carafe of (very good) house wine. I’d definitely return to Kanishka, perhaps when it’s back to its buzzing best once everyone is bored of their New Year abstinence. Until then, I shall dream about those fried chicken momos.