Benares
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Precise matching of food and wine is a rare thing in Indian restaurants. But Atul Kochhar’s Benares has made it a specialty.
Berkeley Square was once just Annabel’s and the famous balls, but this modish space raises the curtain on a more rewarding twosome, cuisine from the subcontinent in concert with wine. It would have been a delight to the nightingales singing outside, had there ever been any.
The approach off the square, just past Jack Barclay’s iconic Roller and Bentley showroom, is certainly elegant enough, with polite staff taking your coat on entry, a smart bar upstairs (the Passion Fruit Martinis are good) and confident attendance at the table, no matter how busy. The menu is designed to entice even the most delicate palate, with overpowering spices absent. Even those who “don’t like curry” will enjoy everything put before them.
It’s difficult to describe the star of the evening without seeming to undermine the brilliance of Atul, one of London’s most celebrated Michelin starred chefs, but without doubt the sommelier Costanzo Scala has dedicated his palate to your enjoyment.
The ‘grazing’ menu has two wine pairing options, premier and prestige, both field surveys in rich, dark red undertones, flowery, soaring whites, and sweet climactic surprises.
After some slightly amusing bouches (Ha - they make me laugh anyway – they’re free) the starters stay delicate: lightly pickled prawns in Indian Five Spice, lobster rillet with curry leaf that’s afloat it’s so filled with air, and a small, dark powerful terrine of Confit Duck Leg, a morsel of squared off solid meat, intensified by a fennel crispbread. The wine is a fume blanc, from Wickhams, English by God and none the worse for it, sharply undercutting the succulence of all three portions but binding perfectly with the lobster. Quite a striking combo.
The mains are not what they seem on the menu. John Dory in a crisp gram flour batter tastes deliciously of….fish. Roasted rump of Lamb on Rosemary Chickpeas is as juicy a cut of lamb as you’ll get anywhere; and as for the exotic sounding Khorma Chicken on Masala Basmati, it’s, well chicken. This is not an insult, the flavours of the food dominate here, not the spices, but before you’ve got time to ask where the curry is Costanzo’s arrived with a glass of Muddy Water Pinot Noir from New Zealand, a silkily textured, charming red which manages to be smooth and creamy as well as fruity with a herbal smokiness to the finish. It’s an absolute delight and seems to react almost chemically with all three mains before you, as if there’s some sorcery at work.
The puds arrive. Star Anise Poached Rhubard with “yoghurt foam” and salted nuts ignites little sparklers in the mouth, tingling and tickling, making you laugh. It looks fab too. And the wine? A first for me, a South African Stellenbosh by the name of deTrafford Straw Wine, a pale yellow sweetly concentrated affair, all honey and marzipan, apricots and citrus which I never knew South Africa produced.
There’s a rich, decadent chocolate pud, Five Spiced with Tarragon and Blood Orange which is meltingly succulent, coating the tongue with darkest chocolate and spices. Wonderful. It gets served with the star of the night, a glass of Cabidos Petit Manseng, Cuvee Saint Clement from Bearn near the Pyrenees which explodes with concentrated tropical fruits and spice, ripe citrus with a long, long honey finish that never quite ends, like some unheard of great Sauternes. A quite stunning finale.
It’s at that point, looking up and around, you realize that the restaurant is actually full, table after table of diners concentrating on the food, adoring the wines, with a quiet, sophisticated buzz rather than the usual London roar.
You could almost hear a nightingale sing above it.
Berkeley Square House, 12 Berkeley Sq , London, UK
Contact tel: +44 20 7629 8886
Cost 3 course set menu: £25 - £35 per person
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