tamarind

tamarind was one of the first indianrestaurantto receive a michelin star rating. went their for my partner's birthday.

we ordered a veggie kebab with fig chutney filling as starter which was really good. the spicy outer layer with slightly sweet filling was a pretty good combination.

for the main course we had butter nan with methi makana paneer, which i liked. though for gravy it had coconut milk, which my partner didn't enjoyed much. the veggie amount was pretty good, easily sharable between 2 ppl.

at the end, they offered a complimentary strawberry birthday cake which was perfect!

overall a good experience.

minor complaint: the server removed the starter plate while we were still eating from it. he should have asked.

laughing stock! michelin chef is accused of using knorr chicken cubes to flavour his acclaimed dishes… even in vegetarian meals

• karunesh khanna admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour dishes

• the executive chef used knorr cubes in his vegetarian and vegan dishes

• revelations emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by an assistant manager who lost his job after he alerted bosses

by michael powell for the mail on sunday

published: 00:10, 23 june 2019 | updated: 00:39, 23 june 2019

his haute cuisine curries have delighted david beckham and charlize theron, but michelin-starred chef karunesh khanna has admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour his acclaimed dishes.

the executive chef of the upmarket tamarind chain of indian restaurants also allegedly used the knorr cubes in vegetarian and vegan meals but failed to tell customers that they contained meat, according to legal papers.

after six staff members complained, mr khanna – who trained at the dorchester, four seasons, the ritz and claridge's hotels – told one manager: 'guests don't need to know.'

 

his haute cuisine curries have delighted david beckham and charlize theron, but michelin-starred chef karunesh khanna has admitted using shop-bought chicken stock to flavour his acclaimed dishes

the revelations emerged during an employment tribunal case brought by an assistant manager who lost his job after he alerted bosses about the use of the cubes.

the tribunal heard that when the row reached tamarind director fateh dhaliwal, he backed his chef and said: 'those members of staff need to be phased out.'

mr khanna admitted he used knorr stock while working at tamarind kitchen in soho while the flagship tamarind mayfairrestaurantwas undergoing refurbishment last year, according to the documents.

assistant manager mafis ali raised concerns with a sous chef about the use of the stock on june 4 and asked that the correct ingredient information be provided to the waiters.

 

the executive chef of the upmarket tamarind chain of indian restaurants also allegedly used the knorr cubes in vegetarian and vegan meals but failed to tell customers that they contained meat, according to legal papers

but when mr khanna refused, mr ali emailed all the senior chefs saying that guests were being deceived about whether dishes were truly vegan or vegetarian.

he also raised concerns that the secret use of the knorr cubes meant that the dishes would not be suitable for strict muslims because the stock was not halal. the email was ignored, and on june 18 six members of staff confrontedrestaurantmanager shoaib malik and demanded that he speak to mr khanna.

but the top chef 'made it clear that he was not going to disclose the use of knorr chicken powder to guests', prompting mr malik to resign in disgust, the tribunal heard.

 

after six staff members complained, mr khanna – who trained at the dorchester, four seasons, the ritz and claridge's hotels – told one manager: 'guests don't need to know.' pictured: inside tamarind in london

 

mr khanna admitted he used knorr stock while working at tamarind kitchen in soho while the flagship tamarind mayfairrestaurantwas undergoing refurbishment last year, according to the documents

 

the top chef 'made it clear that he was not going to disclose the use of knorr chicken powder to guests', prompting mr malik to resign in disgust, the tribunal heard

mr dhaliwal made mr ali redundant two weeks after the bust-up. an employment judge has now ruled that mr ali was unfairly dismissed.

the judge said mr dhaliwal 'didn't want anyone interfering with kk's [karunesh khanna's] cooking as it was so important to fd [fateh dhaliwal] to have a michelin star chef for the refurbished restaurant'.

mr khanna still works for tamarind at its flagship mayfair restaurant, which reopened in december last year after a multi-million-pound refurbishment. a tasting menu, paired with wine, costs £114 a head.

the location is off the main street. can we a bit difficult to find. have been going to thisrestaurantfor over 6 years. recently they have renovated and changed the menu. the main course and starters are nice but the desserts were awful. it spoilt the entire evening. the waiter did ask us for our comments on the food and after hearing our comments did not do anything except offer an apology. normally in arestaurantin a posh location like this if the customer is not happy the manager would come up and try to understand what went wrong.

fairly uninspiring lookingrestaurantfrom street level, all there is to see is a small reception area. we were warmly greeted here by friendly staff who took our coats and showed us downstairs to therestaurantproper. this was much plusher as would be expected given the area, and the service was very professional. the only minor criticism would be that the seating arrangements were such that it was quite difficult for the waiters to get to certain diners, meaning they had to lean across others. a bit of rearrangement of the furniture would help here. oddly, although we had booked for a table of four, we were shown to a large round table laid up for five or six, with a couple of place settings being then cleared away, but this left a large gap between two of us

ideal rating - 3.5 / 5

i wanted to visit an indianrestaurantwhich has been awarded a michelin-star. so during my trip to london. i happen to shortlist this place. i visited here with my father on a weekday evening with prior table booking.

the lady at the reception greeted us with warmth. she took our belongings and kept them in a baggage storage room. later she directed us to our table. the dining room decor is gold and extravagantly flashy. all in all, the service is okay, quite attentive but fell short of passion at the same time.

coming to the food, we ordered a paneer tikka masala, dal tadka and garlic naans. the food was decent, nothing extraordinary about it considering that it was the first indianrestaurantto win a michelin-star. for drinks, we had a virgin mojito and cotes du rhone. both were good. when it was the time for billing, they charged for one dish incorrectly. after some hassle, they corrected it. was it a genuine mistake or their new way of overcharging and making money, who knows?

overall, tamarind gave us no reasons to return but maybe worth visiting once!

i have walked past tamarind many times when popping in to murano. i have always been curious about therestaurant– a michelin starred indianrestaurantwhich caters to the mayfair crowd. michelin are not the most reliable when it comes to the awarding of stars to non-european cuisine. for example, i find michelin’s rating of chinese restaurants both in the uk and in hong kong all over the place. similarly, the michelin starred indian restaurants in london while tasty all share a similar trait – they are all smart establishments and very expensive. perhaps i am not experienced enough with indian cuisine, but the food does not seem any more impressive than the less fancy places like madhu’s or brilliant. in fact, in most cases, i feel the spicing is often toned down in the michelin starred places.

one of my favourite place. this michelin star indianrestauranthas taken food and service to next level. we ordered biryani and prawns which was mouth watering.

will visit again.

delicious indian food and great service. went there for the lunch menu with wine which is exceptionally good value for money - £40 for three courses (and a lot of food) and two glasses of wine. would i have guessed therestauranthas a star without knowing it? i don't know - but anyways great food everyone should try!

this is a beautiful indianrestaurantin the heart of mayfair! we went downstairs and the decor was amazing.

we had a groupon luckily as the food was so expensive! the staff were really lovely and accommodating, always on hand when needed. they brought us a selection of lovely curries to share which tasted great! not michelin star quality but still nice.

i would return but only with a voucher, otherwise it works out too much for a meal out.

therestauranthas an elegant yet relaxing feel to it, which is the perfect atmosphere if you want to get away from london’s busy settings. whether it is to just have a bit of lunch during the day or to dine in the evenings, the tamarind offers a warm dining experience. the spring lunch menu was well thought out, with a selection of french, australian and new zealand wines to compliment the flavours of the dishes (wine served in 125ml measures). the food is well presented and reflects exactly why tamarind is an award winning restaurant. the food was not greasy, nor heavy on the stomach but light and enjoyable (see images below).

this lovelyrestaurantis fully deserving of its michelin star.

the service from the start is excellent with staff happily waiting to greet you upstairs before taking you down to the restaurant.

inside, the subdued lighting and atmosphere were perfect and therestaurantwas full which is to be expected.

the waiter suggested the dawat tasting menu which at £56 each is very reasonable.

the food was outstanding and to quash any misconceptions, it does taste amazing. the main dishes could be found at any indian restaurant, however each one was cooked and presented perfectly and just seemed more 'refined'. what really impressed me was the tenderness of the meat in both the chicken and lamb dishes, yet nothing seemed over cooked.

the service was amazing. the staff were always there if needed, however i didn't feel they were overbearing and we were not rushed in any way.

i would definitely recommend thisrestaurantto friends.

tamarind is a high end indianrestaurantin mayfair - we went there for our anniversary dinner and had a very good time - everything from the starters to desserts were fantastic - they also have a good selection of drinks available from the bar. public parking is also available in plenty on the nearby roads. would recommend for occasions when you don't mind paying a bit more.

no star here. if you are after a michelin starrestaurantdo not try tamarind! we regularly try different restaurants in london & have always wanted to try tamarind so dispite the mixed reviews we thought we'd give it a go. the service was ok (as in other reviews drinks service was very effecient (obviously after good drinks sales!)) but nothing special. the starters were terrible; the shami kabab was very dry & almost inedible however on the whole the food was average again nothing special. there were no special touches & we certainly didn't get the feeling that they wanted our repeat business. all in all nothing special; we wuold have rather gone to our local curry house!

this michelin-starred indianrestaurantwas one of the first in london to combine the virtues of curry house and haute cuisine. its unassuming mayfair frontage disguises an old-school formality

the indianrestaurantscene has really re-invented itself over recent years, with the biggest change being the proliferation of restaurants promising 'nouvelle indian cuisine'. i've seen everything from english breakfast inspired curries to tapas-style in