Rohit Ghai, who previously worked at Gymkhana and won a Michelin star at Jamavar, has gone out on his own to open Kutir in Chelsea. It’s taken over the townhouse building that was previously home to Vineet Bhatia, the restaurant that famously won a Michelin star only to close a week later. We weren’t exactly fans of the place so we were surprised that it got a star and not really that surprised when it closed.
As Kutir, the place has been given a spruce up and is immediately more comfortable and welcoming. The restaurant takes inspiration from the royal hunting traditions of the Indian countryside, so it’s big on seasonal ingredients like game and seafood. There’s an a la carte menu and a few good value set menus too so there’s plenty of ways to play it depending on time and budget. We went the a la carte route so as to try and avoid leaving too stuffed but we utterly failed and nearly rolled out the door at the end – in a good way. We went for four small plates and one main to share, plus a dessert. wWe’d say go for three small plates and a main and that’s a solid order right there.
The two standout highlights from the small plates were the lamb tandoori chops and the nargisi kofta – an egg in an amazing spicy sauce served with paratha bread and bone marrow. The deep fried prawns with coconut, sesame, and roscoff onion are also definitely worth ordering but the one dish we could have done without was probably the quail naan with truffle and scrambled egg. It sounded good on paper but wasn’t so great in reality and we couldn’t really taste the quail at all.
[easy-image-collage id=126144]Things were well back on track with the guinea fowl biryani, served with homemade raita and pickles. And the chocolate mousse with the little banana fritters for dessert was a winner in our book. The cocktail list, created by co-founder Abhi Sangwan, matches the menu well by using wild and natural Indian ingredients, like the basil, ginger lavender bitters, activated charcoal and bathtub gin Sariska and the Lodgic, made with jalapeno, watermelon, mango, sugarcane juice and vodka.
We’re big fans of Kutir. The food is excellent and not too expensive for the quality, especially when you consider it’s in Chelsea. Defo one to check out if you like Indian food.
Speaking of, here’s where else to go if that’s got you in the mood.
10 Lincoln St, London, SW3 2TS
kutir.co.uk