Sunday, November 23, 2014

Benares

Benares is the Michelin starred restaurant of  Indian Chef Atul Kochhar. It was to celebrate my birthday that we went along to taste the delicious food of this remarkable chef - the first ever Indian chef to receive the accolade of a Michelin star. We were welcomed and taken upstairs to the restaurant and bar, being shown straight to our table. A glass of fizz and a peruse of the menu, and we soon decided to go with the tasting menu with matching wines. and so the fun began. Seven courses and five different wines - all superb, of course, and impeccably served. 

First here are two views of the restaurant:




Our nibbles with a glass of champagne.
Spinach and Apricot Tikka


Crispy Soft Shell Crab, Apple Relish,
Scottish White Crab Meat and Coronation Slaw
Baked Organic Salmon, Spiced Vermicelli,
Hand-picked Scottish Crab Croquette,
Coconut and Curry Leaf Sauce


 

Chutney Grilled Fillet,
Tandoori Spring Onion and Saffron Supreme,
Crispy Wing from Free Range Chicken


Nimbu Pani Sorbet
Roasted Rump of English Lamb,
Baby Spinach and Chickpea Masala,
Minced Shoulder Samosa
Mint tea with Petit Fours
 
Rose and Raspberry Bhapa Doi, Pistachio Burfi














The five matching wines were:
2012 Viognier, Clay Station, Lodi, California, USA
2012 Sequillo Eben Sadie, Malmesbury, South Africa
2009 Gewürztraminer Atul’s Signature, Jean Claude Gueth, Alsace, France
2012 Pinot Noir Muddy Water, Waipara, New Zealand
2009 Chenin Blanc Les 4 Villages, Domaine FL Coteaux du Layon, Loire, France