Benares

The only thing not average about Benares is the price, which is extortionate. I appreciate you will seldom get value for money at Michelin starred establishments, but tiny portions, muted spicing and insane prices leave a very unpleasant taste.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, May 12, 2008

Went for a very early dinner on a saturday, but the restaurant was still fairly busy with a good atmosphere. The set menu provided excellent value at under £30 for 3 courses with a glass of bubbly, poppadums, breads plus coffee and petits fours all included. Service was relaxed, friendly and knowledgable. Everything we ate was exceptional (or 'ridiculously tasty' in my boyfriend's words) and all choices on the short menu sounded delicious. My new favourite restaurant - hope to be back very soon!
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Louise
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 21, 2008

Visited with a work colleague and a client and have to say we found the entire experience to be quite simply excellent. The waiters, the food and the wine were all of an exceptional standard and we will certainly be returning. Highly recommend going for the grazing menu, with the top end wine to accompany it - simply brilliant. Without question it scored 10/10.
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Phillip, London
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Friday, April 18, 2008

Had a great dinner for 8 at Benares. Service was attentive, food great and wine list extensive. No fault at all. We will be back.
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DR
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, April 02, 2008

We started the evening with cocktails in the bar, which were superb. The restaurant was buzzing. Staff were friendly, efficient and helpful. We had the soft shell crab and potato cakes to start and the monkfish and paneer filled ravioli for main with sides of aubergine and the basket of breads. For dessert we had the fennel bread and butter pudding, food was sublime. It was my husband's birthday which I mentioned at booking and they really made a fuss of him, plus they bought out the petit fors on a decorated plate with a candle, which was a nice touch.
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Angie B
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Thursday, March 27, 2008

We visited this restaurant with a friend of ours who was over from America. The food was excellent and I ended up ordering a starter and a side dish as I could not decide between all the main meals. However all the alcohol was very, very expensive and the bill was quite a shock. If I came again it would be with friends who are tee total!
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Janice Hall
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Monday, March 17, 2008

A group of us went to Benares on a Friday evening and like most IN restaurants, it was very busy but we were shown to our table very quickly. There were a lot of interesting items on the menu and I could have eaten them all. The food was excellent and the service was also very good. However the wine was extremely expensive and we decided to stay will the beers which did not dampen the evening. I am glad that I tried it but I found it to be too expensive!
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Ian Low
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Thursday, February 28, 2008

I just want to say that we really enjoyed the food at Benares , the lobster was really nice and the lamb was good. The only negative was that the decor was ""run of the mill" minimalistic, nothing to remind you of authentic India

( expected more from Atul on this front) and the tables were too close to each other.

Will come again.
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M John
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

I took my fiance to Benares for a special birthday treat. The whole experience was flawless. A fantastic menu with impeccable service. Not stuffy at all, very relaxed.

We will definitely be making a return visit. An extra touch was that I booked online and simply mentioned in that email that it was a birthday treat. Without any other word on the subject, at the end of our meal our waitor brought a special birthday plate with extra petit fours and a lit candle! very personal service and a delight all round.
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Becky, West London
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Before we first went to Benares, nearly a year ago, I did some research, looking at user review sites, to see what other people thought. Mostly they seemed to be impressed, but I did notice a few bad reviews. Obviously I paid special attention to these, but I soon realised that they weren’t applicable to me. I’ll explain why.

The bad reviews came into two categories. The first category, was “people who were comparing Benares to other top class Michelin star restaurants in London or otherwise”, and thought that Benares was not as good as Tamarind, or Claridges, or The Ivy. This gave me my first reference point. The opinions of people who are able to compare between such venues are of no interest to me, as their expectations will be so much higher than my own, and their desire to put down what others deem to be of a quality, too great. I read them with interest, but didn’t let them sway my judgement.

The second category was “people who are so up themselves, they are not my sort of people”. It’s not so much a category, as a single review, where their entire enjoyment of a meal appeared to be dependant on the fact that when they asked for finger bowls, they were given hot towels! The opinion of people, who would complain about such a thing (in person at the time, and on the review site afterwards,) is of little interest to me, other than to satisfy my own sense of being a normal and rational member of society, who although appreciative of the ability to clean one’s hands is not going to get upset over the manner in which they are cleaned.

I fall into a third category, and I think you should know about this prior to reading my review, so you know if my judgement is of any interest to you. If you would insist on finger bowls, then enjoy my prose, but possibly don’t blame me if I recommend you give Benares your patronage, and they don’t meet your expectations.

My normal eating out is certainly of a higher class than many. I can’t remember the last time McDonalds, KFC, or Burger King (or their poor imitations) passed my lips, but the wife and I will often go to Wagamama, Pizza Express, or if we are in the vicinity, the excellent Mangosteen off Carnaby St is a veritable favourite. The curry houses of Brick Lane and our local Italian restaurants in Tooting have also never so far let us down. If we spend £40 between us on dinner for two, it was because we were really hungry, or shared a bottle of wine, or occasionally both. It is not unknown for our bill to be under £15 if we just want a main and a glass of water.

The occasion for our first visit to Benares was our first wedding anniversary. In April last year, Atul Kutcher had received his Michelin Star, his recipes in the Great British Menu and on Saturday Kitchen had got us excited, and his ability and willingness to make vegetarian food and put it on the menu sealed the deal. What helped too was a superb looking set menu, available lunchtimes and early dinner (until 18.30 I believe) which comprised of 3 courses, various extras, and a glass of wine for £29.99 each. The addition of two glasses of champagne, and the ubiquitous service charge left our final bill just short of 3 figures, but worth every penny.

We returned to celebrate my 31st birthday, although that was just an excuse to go back once they (finally) changed the set menu. I’m guessing it is an attempt to lure people back in following the new year lull, but the changes to the menu meant the price had dropped to £24.99 for the 3 courses, and the only thing apparently missing was that mineral water wasn’t included, where it was before.

I’ll take you through the food, translating the menu from its original menuspeak (I’m not a professional at this…) into Davespeak.

We arrived at about 5 to 12, and the restaurant was still being prepared. We were sat down in the bar, given a bowl of complementary spicy nuts, and asked if we wanted drinks (we declined, knowing the wine with the meal would suffice).

Soon enough we were seated in the corner of the restaurant, and provided with menus, wine list and mini poppadoms and chutneys (tomato, gooseberry, chilli, and lime). I won’t repeat myself too much, but I’ll tell you now – everything we ate was the finest example of such a thing we’d ever had. My starter was Lemon Thyme Infused Pollack Cakes with Cucumber Pachadi. Lisa’s Grilled Artichoke Salad with Chat Masala Vinaigrette was amazing too. A generous glass of white wine arrived at this point too (red and sparkling were options).

Main courses of Tandoor Cooked Chicken Supreme with Chestnut Kedegree (rice) for me, and Pickled Pumpkin Risotto with Grilled Portobello Mushroom for Lisa, with a tikka type sauce on both, was accompanied by the lightest, tastiest naan bread.

The most spectacular hot towels we had ever seen arrived once we’d finished our mains, looking like two breath mints on a double tea light holder, the waiter poured boiling water over them, and they expanded upwards to about 3 times their original height into perfect hot damp towels. (Seeing our delight the maitre d’ slipped us a couple as we left!)

Our desserts were worthy of photography, however my telephone’s photography was not worthy of our desserts – see below for the pictures I took. Lisa’s Assortment of Kulfis – mango, pistachio and lychee, complete with flower petals, and my Star Anise Scented Orange Jelly with French Meringue, were almost too beautiful to demolish with spoons, but we did anyway.

Coffee and petit fours followed, (tea would have been allowed) and the meal was complete. Total bill, £60 (we forgot that mineral water wasn’t included) including service charge, which was a delight to pay, as the staff were perfect – attentive without being oppressive, there when you needed them, and invisible when you didn’t, and able to answer important questions (is there gelatine in Dave’s dessert, or will Lisa expect him to share it?) when required.

Obviously, it was all of an extremely high standard, but we were only eating off the set menu, we didn’t explore the £32 Lobster tails, or the £400 bottles of Krystal and Krug, but we left perfectly full (dinner in the evening was cheese on toast!) and certainly satisfied. The nature of the meal got me thinking about value for money, as I often do, so I’ve done some research into what the equivalent courses would have cost at Pizza Express – size of stomach not being a factor – I doubt I’d be able to eat all the below at one sitting.

    Pizza Express    Price    Benares

Intro    Noci        1.95    poppadoms/chutneys

Starter    Bruschetta        3.65    Fish Cakes

Main    American Pizza    7.70     Chicken Curry

Side    Garlic Bread    2.10    Nan

Dessert    Toffee fudge glory    4.35    Orange Jelly

Coffee    Filter coffee        1.75    Coffee

Wine    175ml Chardonnay    3.80    Glass Sauvignon Blanc

Total             25.30

It kind of makes eating at the best restaurant I’ve ever eaten at seem a totally sensible and reasonably priced thing to do. Next time you are in Mayfair (Maybe browsing the Rolls Royce dealership next door) and you want a £25quid lunch – see if Benares has a table available…
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evergrowingbrain
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 22, 2008