Lifestyle /
Elevate Your Evening At Benares In Mayfair, London
Now that restaurants have opened up again with social distancing measures in place we can visit the lovely Benares that serves “modern Indian Cuisine with a British contemporary twist”.
Founded in 2002, Benares is under the watchful eye of executive Chef Sameer Taneja.
Located at the posh Berkley Square, Benares boasts a very clean and contemporary look. As you enter you are greeted by the friendly staff at the welcome desk as the dining area is actually situated on the first floor.
As you walk up the stairs you are welcomed by a pool with beautiful flower petals floating in it and on the left-hand side you can see the extraordinary expensive looking bar. The restaurant has a vast dining area as well as a private dining section and a chef’s table.
There are a couple of options menu wise, you can choose from the al a carte menu, the tasting menu or the set menu. Benares also has a Thali which is currently offered as a “Bottomless Thali” from Tuesday to Saturday for lunch at an extra cost and this includes a house wine or beer with your meal.
As you know by now I absolutely love paneer and as soon as I saw Paneer Tikka on the menu I had to order it. It arrived and it looked exquisite. My mouth started watering almost immediately and I couldn’t wait to dive in. It was accompanied with a quince and lime murraba.
The Tandoori Rattan also sounded amazing, so I ordered that as well. Included in this is Chargrilled Sea Bass, Chicken Tikka, King Prawn and Lamb Seekh Kebab. Just the thought of having that set fireworks off in my mind as it had a good mix of different proteins.
For mains I couldn’t decide between their a la carte or their Thali. As I visited the restaurant during the day I was able to order the Thali without pre booking. However, if you are planning on going to Benares for dinner and fancy the Thali, I suggest you pre-book this to avoid disappointment.
As I am not a vegetarian I ordered the non-veg version which came with an extensive amount of food including herb marinated Sea Bass, tossed Edamame, cucumber and cheery tomato salad, coconut chicken curry, slow cooked lamb, potatoes with spinach, yellow daal, saffron spiced rice, naan and cumin raita. The Thaali came with so much food and it all tasted amazing together. It is the perfect mix of veg and non veg dishes which is always great when you are ordering a non-veg one.
For dessert I ordered the Bhapa Doi, Cranberry and Passion Fruit as I wanted to see how a Michelin star restaurant was going to present this dish. Bhapa Doi is a steamed yogurt and I have to say they done a brilliant job of making it look pretty. So much so that I didn’t want to eat it as I would ruin the hard work, however I am glad I did as it tasted phenomenal.
Benares is a restaurant that can get very busy due to it’s location therefore, I suggest booking in advance to secure yourself a table.
Main Image Photo Credit:
Vallisa Chauhan
Author
Vallisa Chauhan (@vallisachauhan) presents the Flagship breakfast show on Lyca Radio 1458. She has scripted and produced a full feature film called "Those 4 Walls" and is currently working on other projects. She loves travel and movies and tries to fit in both as much as she can.
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