The Vibe
There are some chefs whose names have become so entwined with the story of modern Indian food in Britain that it is easy to forget quite how groundbreaking they once were. Atul Kochhar is one of them. In 2001, while at Tamarind, he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star; a second followed at Benares in 2007. Kanishka, which opened on Mayfair's Maddox Street in 2019, is his showcase for the breadth of Indian cooking, drawing on dishes and techniques from across the country and giving them Kochhar's characteristically polished contemporary treatment.
The restaurant itself feels suitably Mayfair – reassuringly luxurious but without a whiff of stiffness: elegant and smart but not so reverential that you worry about bringing a ten-year-old through the door. That balance turns out to be important. For all the intricacy of the food, Kanishka is an unusually convivial sort of fine-dining restaurant – somewhere that wants you to enjoy yourself rather than sit solemnly marvelling at what is on the plate. The welcome is all warmth and the service slick yet characterful.
The Food
The menu is gloriously distracting. Kochhar and executive chef Ashok Kumar roam widely across India, moving between regional dishes, tandoor cooking and more playful inventions, while British ingredients – Lake District lamb, Orkney scallops and Scottish seafood among them – crop up throughout.
My husband starts with the Chicken Tikka Pie, one of Kochhar's signatures: beautifully spiced chicken encased in crisp pastry and served with berry chutney. There is something of the spirit of a very grand Cornish pasty about it – hearty, comforting, familiar – but with its flavour dial turned considerably upwards.
I choose the Nadru Ki Chaat and am rewarded with a small riot of a dish: crisp lotus-stem kebab layered with raisins, amaranth seed and plum and stem-ginger chutney. Sweetness, heat, crunch and acidity jostle for attention; it is one of those dishes in which every mouthful seems to reveal something you missed in the last.
For his main, my husband plumps for the Rara Gosht: slow-braised Lake District lamb mince curry accompanied by a succulent lamb chop and crisp potato and leek bhaji. It is rich, heartily carnivorous yet elegant, inviting frequent incursions from my fork to try in the name of thorough research.
For my part, despite all the more unusual temptations, I cleave to a classic. Seventeen years ago, in Delhi, I ate the best butter chicken of my life. It cost around £1 and was served in a restaurant tucked into a warren of beautiful streets I would never now be able to find again. I have eulogised it ever since and so, presented with Purani Dilli Ka Butter Chicken – chargrilled chicken tikka in a rich, buttery tomato sauce – there is really only one thing to do. Reader: it lives up to the memory.
It is all there: the smokiness of the chicken, the sweetness and acidity of tomato, the richness of butter and, underneath it all, layer after layer of spice. Food has an uncanny ability to collapse time and distance and, for a few mouthfuls, I am back in Delhi, in that little restaurant whose name and location have long since slipped from memory. It is a heady bit of culinary time travel – and a reminder that sometimes the greatest pleasure on an ambitious menu lies in finding an old favourite done exceptionally well.
The Young Guest Menu
This deserves a section of its own. Children's menus, even in very good restaurants, can be dispiriting affairs, as though anyone under 12 must subsist entirely on chips, breaded chicken and pasta stripped of all discernible flavour. Kanishka takes a rather more enlightened view.
Its Young Guest Menu, designed for under-tens and available at selected lunch and early dinner times, costs £19 for two courses or £25 for three. Our ten-year-old is more than delighted to put it through its paces, beginning with paneer tikka before moving on to Old Delhi butter chicken, served with a choice of cheese naan or rice, and finishing with chocolate brownie.
It is a small thing, perhaps, but an important one. Children can be conservative eaters and understandably wary of unfamiliar flavours. Here, rather than patronising them with an entirely separate beige-food universe, Kanishka gives younger diners a gentle route into the restaurant's cooking: recognisable dishes, beautifully presented, with enough complexity to broaden their horizons without overwhelming them. It makes eating out together considerably more interesting for everyone – and at £25 for three courses in Mayfair, feels remarkably good value too.
The Drink
The drinks have been given as much thought as the food. Kanishka offers wine and whisky pairings, as well as an extensive cocktail list, and we begin with a Pineapple Rum Punch and a Wild Pear – the latter a fragrant combination of Jaisalmer gin, pear liqueur, lavender and chamomile syrup and lemon juice.
With dinner, a carafe of mango Chenin Blanc proves a natural partner for the more aromatic dishes before we move on to a Tinpot Pinot Noir from New Zealand, which stands up beautifully to the lamb without trampling over the spices. We could, sensibly, have stopped there. We do not. An espresso martini and a Flat White Martini round things off in considerably more spirited fashion.
The Verdict
Dessert is where a meal this flavour-packed needs to know when to pull back. My husband's Chocolate & Nariyal Rocher – Valrhona milk chocolate, coconut crémeux, mud sponge and cardamom ice cream – is decidedly on the indulgent side, while my Cassata is its lighter counterpoint: layers of coffee, pistachio and fig ice cream on panjiri with compressed fruit. Cool, delicate and gently aromatic, it is exactly what is required after a dinner built around so many sophisticated layers of spice.
Kanishka manages a difficult trick. This is undoubtedly serious cooking, overseen by a chef who has spent three decades helping to change perceptions of Indian fine dining in Britain. Yet there is nothing chilly or self-important about eating here. Kochhar's skill lies not simply in embellishing Indian food for a Mayfair audience, but in understanding when to innovate and when to leave the soul of a much-loved dish well alone.
Perhaps that is why the butter chicken stays with me. Seventeen years, several thousand miles and rather more than £1 separate it from the plate I first fell in love with in Delhi. Somehow, for the duration of dinner on Maddox Street, the distance between the two feels very small indeed.
FAQs: Kanishka By Atul Kochhar
Where is Kanishka?
Kanishka is at 17–19 Maddox Street in Mayfair, a few minutes' walk from Regent Street, Oxford Circus and Bond Street.
Who is Atul Kochhar?
Atul Kochhar is one of the pioneers of modern Indian fine dining in Britain. He became the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star in 2001 while at Tamarind and won a second at Benares in 2007. He is also a familiar face from television and the author of several cookbooks.
What kind of food does Kanishka serve?
Kanishka serves contemporary pan-Indian food, taking inspiration from regional cuisines across India and combining traditional flavours and techniques with high-quality British produce.
Is Kanishka good for children?
Yes – unusually so for a Mayfair fine-dining restaurant. Its Young Guest Menu offers children a proper introduction to Indian flavours rather than a conventional chips-and-nuggets children's menu. At the time of writing, it costs £19 for two courses or £25 for three and is designed for under-tens.
What are the standout dishes at Kanishka?
The Chicken Tikka Pie is a long-standing Atul Kochhar signature, while the Nadru Ki Chaat, Rara Gosht and Purani Dilli Ka Butter Chicken are all excellent choices from the current à la carte menu.
Is Kanishka suitable for a special occasion?
Very much so. It has the polish and ambitious cooking expected of a Mayfair destination restaurant, but the atmosphere is warm enough for a family dinner as well as birthdays, anniversaries and celebratory meals.
Is Kanishka worth visiting?
Yes. Come for Kochhar's inventive take on pan-Indian cooking, but don't feel compelled to order only the most elaborate dishes. One of Kanishka's great strengths is its ability to make a classic such as butter chicken feel every bit as exciting as the more adventurous creations on the menu.
