trishna

trishna is no curry house. i loved the slight scandinavian feel of the simple dining room – wooden floors, nordic furniture, exposed brick walls – and as i waited for some friends, i felt as all foodies do when they’ve chosen agoodrestaurant. just a little bit smug. but smug came and went. the early evening menu (four courses for £20) is only available between 6 and 6.15pm. allowing for traffic, late friends, and slow service, this gives you seconds to order from this menu – a rather mean timeframe, albeit partly our fault. equally mean, two small-ish

it’s a tiny place withgoodand courteous staff. the wall murals and the candles on table give a hint of cozyness in the ambience. food was good. not great though as i had thought it to be. we had lemon rice, paneer and a starter(sorry forgot the name). for drinks we had a mango smoothie.

went to this indian restaurant in the middle of london closer to oxford street. must say the food isgoodand service staff is also good. loved there allu tokri chat.
nice clean presentation ,goodserving size and quality food.

one of thegoodindian restaurant in the heart of london. the ambience wasgoodwith old photos about india hanging on the walls. the staff were warm and courteous. for starters ordered the veg sheek kebab which was very soft as expected. the mint chutney added to the taste. they had served some aplams, papad and sabudana chips which weregoodwith the tamarind chutney. for the drinks ordered the litchi with mint and mix of some more fruits. it tasted tangy but the glass had more of ice cubes and less of juice. main course was simple with paneer chettinad and hyderabadi yellow dal with garlic naan. the paneer chettinad was one of the best i have had in recent memory. the dal was just about okay. the naan were crisp the way i wanted. overall a verygoodexperience.

[update]: went again and this time the food was okay.

i usually do michelin star restaurants as a one off, but dare i say not only the restaurant wasgoodbut even worth the money. you could spend anywhere between 20-100 pounds with the different menu options. they gave a detail account of what exactly we were eating. the portion size are very generous.

trishna is one of few halal indian michelin stared restaurants in london and has been on my list for a long time. they offer a decent lunch bites menu, where 2 dishes £19 per person, 3 for £24, 4 for £29 and 5 for £34. i ordered a total of 6 dishes which are the following, plus lamb chops from the la carte menu for £18.

starters
paneer tikka anardana [fried onion, mint, corn & pomegranate chat] punjabi vegetable samosa chat [chickpea masala, tamarind, sweet yoghurt]

mains
andhra lamb masala [curry leaf, coastal spices] moplah seafood biryani [seabass, shellfish, coriander, pink peppercorn raita] sides
bread basket, basmati rice, hyderabadi dal and wild mustard potatoes
desserts
gajar halwa [heritage carrot pudding, masala chai kulfi, cake] cardamom kheer [fig, raisin, pistachio, cardamom]

first of all, there was a lot of food and the portions where great, i was very pleased with the amount of food that arrived, i was very well fed and stuffed after lunch. i have to say i was expecting more for a michelin stared restaurant, apart from the lamb chops nothing stood out or really made an impression. the lamb chops where very thick and very good, cooked well and burnt on the outside not dry, and very juicy and moist inside infused with a tandoori flavour a verygoodpiece of meat here.
the paneer was underwhelming but the samosa chaat was light, well textured andgoodstart. the lamb curry was bland and uninspiring, the seafood biryani was cooked well but nothing outstanding.

for dessert, i rounded a nice meal off with a well made kheer with kufi, served cold just how i like it.

venue wise, the space is small and similar to a cafe in shoreditch, i was expecting better from the decor and the service was rather average for a one star michelin. booking was required and we were shown to out table at 1.45pm straight away. i just felt the staff where slight unattentive. each meal was introduced when brought to the table as standard by a restaurant with a michelin star.

the total bill was under £70 which is verygoodconsidering it is a michelin starred restaurant. however, after leaving i noticed that they charged me for 2 dishes per person and not 3, so result! all in all, i think the lunch bites menu was great value and food was filling.

went here just once. i totally loved the ambiance. the service was impeccable. the food was quitegoodtoo. i'd definitely recommend a visit to trishna.

a revitalized and re-energized new avatar for gymkhana's older sister. the food has discovered its personality, new found courage and conviction in solid cooking and spice - i say this, having visited a few years ago and finding the food dull beyond belief. highlights from what we ate - telicherry pepper squid, kohlapuri jheenga, tandoori lamb chops, guinea fowl biriyani, cardamom kheer. everything else was absolutely fine as well but these were significantly fantastic. wine list verygoodvalue and variety to be found. chilli vodka cocktail - fantastic. 1/2 a point off for service - while staff was friendly and knowledgeable, i spent a fair amount of time struggling to just catch their eye. the room is long and perhaps narrow for the seating, perhaps that's why? anyhow, trishna has rediscovered itself this year, and we are all the luckier for that. and for all other aspiring indian chefs and restaurateurs out there - cook it, with conviction, and they will come...

trishna is a michelin star restaurant serving delicious indian food. they do a variety of set menus – you can choose from tasting menu, express lunch, five course veg, five course non-veg, seven course veg, seven course non-veg, and so many more you end up spending forever studying the menus. we got a bit overwhelmed and decided to order from the a la carte menu instead.

we finished ordering from the a la carte menu. the waiter paused for a few seconds, and picked out one of the menus from the table and pointed at it. as it turned out, our orders were very similar to the express lunch menu, so it made sense to go with that instead. we also ordered an extra eggplant dish that we really wanted to try, and a bread basket (because the express lunch menu comes with rice, not bread)

the express lunch menu was just under £20 per person (£17 + service charge) – you get starter, main, dal, and basmati rice. it also comes with a glass of wine, which we swapped for coca cola.

trishna is not a fine dining restaurant, but it’s not a cheap and cheerful curry house either. they do delicious food andgoodservice – great atmosphere, and just the right amount of formal-feel. we liked it a lot.

verygoodand balanced menu,goodcocktails and an affordable lunch deal - this is a michelin star restaurant that doesn't rip you off. the service isgoodtoo - attentive but not overbearing.

west indian restaurant at the heart of marylebone. very nice atmosphere! food is really really good. just be careful if you are not into spicy food, since some of the dishes can be very spicy such as the mushroom basmati rice, that comes with a reallygoodyogurt sauce to sooth it, or the broccoli samosas. the tandoori lamb chops are delicious as well as the tandoori baby chicken with lemon.

the food was really very good, it wasn't conventional indian, but they had taken the flavours from the indian cuisine and fused them with european tastes. it's that which sets them apart.

the service was great, ambience average, and staff friendly. all in all a decentgoodexperience with verygoodfood.

eveything average but the food was good.
ambience is average , nothing great or exciting!
food though tastesgoodbut miss that wow factor and a bit pricey for that level.
service wasgoodbut staff seemed to be busy , had to wait for their attention.
not for everyday affair but one can take it for special occasion.

the halal: the chicken and lamb are halal. the restaurant specialises in seafood so there are lots of options. please note that pork and alcohol are served.

the place: situated in quaint marylebone village, trishna is not your average curry house! it was awarded a michelin star in 2012 and once you’ve tasted the food it is evident why. the restaurant has a peaceful ambience with whitewashed walls and bronze poles hang vintage indian prints. the furniture is decadent rosewood and the service is fit for a maharaja.

the food: trishna has a variety of menus to choose from. we were there for lunch and ordered from the ‘lunch bites’ menu on this occasion.

we began our meal with yummy mocktails (virgin mojito, tropical punch and mango lassi) and poppadoms and chutney.

next we embarked on starters. we ordered the trishna seafood salad with haldi chipirones, scallops, tiger prawns and samphire. each bite was refined and delectable and the amount of seafood on the plate was very generous!

the paneer tikka looked like a piece of art but could have done with a tad more seasoning- the taste did not really match the appearance.

the haryali bream is a favourite of mine. the fish melts in your mouth with flavours of chilli and coriander that are complemented by the smoked tomato kachumber (salsa).

the starters were excellent and our expectations were high for the main courses. i ordered the tandoori lemon baby chicken which came as a leg piece cooked to perfection next to a bed of crunchy pressed rice. the textures of the dish were wonderful.

the andhra curry was made of succulent lamb but wasn’t extraordinary. what was really special was the kerala jheenga (prawn) curry. the tiger prawns were big and juicy and the sauce was extremely moreish- i just couldn’t get enough!

the mains were accompanied with rice, naan, hyderabadi daal and a dry potato curry. these were all cooked well and pretty tasty.

although we were completely stuffed we could not resist trying the tempting desserts. the aam malai dish was a mango cream slice served with fresh mangoes and a raw mango chutney. the cream was deeply rich and delicious. the chutney served in a shot glass had a bit of a kick- i couldn’t finish the whole thing.

i also tried the strawberry falooda which is a dish of strawberry ice cream on a bed of vermicelli and fresh strawberries. you pour over a masala milk flavoured with cardamoms. this was a great palate cleanser and quite different to the traditional falooda dessert.

a rather nice surprise at the end of the meal were white chocolates flavoured with paan -an indian betel nut tobacco flavouring which is eaten after meals. i would go back just to have this again!

the price: for the quality of food and ambience, i think trishna is priced reasonably. the tasting menus are between £50-70 per person and the lunch bites menu is between £18.50-33.50 per person depending on how many courses you order.

the verdict: the food at trishna was excellent- as far as michelin-starred indian restaurants go, this one is definitely my favourite! it’s a shame that the game is not halal because some of the dishes looked really interesting. the lunch menu is particularlygoodvalue for money and my mum who is always critical about indian restaurant food (because she is an amazing cook herself) loved it so i will definitely be going back! i also can’t wait to try their new sister restaurant gymkhana in mayfair.

having been there three times, i can say with certainty that trishna is one of my favourite restaurants in london. professionally serving sensationallygoodfood in a great environment, the restaurant clearly deserves its one michelin star.

the thing that really sets trishna apart from it's indian rivals is that the meal will never land excessively heavily on your stomach, even if you do end up over-ordering. that's because the meticulous chefs seem to use light, healthy ingredients, rather than piling in the oil, cream and/or(?) butter that characterises so many restaurants themed on food from the indian subcontinent. the lightness of the food is complimented by tapas-esque portion sizes, which allows you to taste and enjoy more of the excellent menu.

in my three visits, i have tasted and can highly recommend the following seafood dishes:

nandu varuval – a delicious, (crispy yet..) soft shell crab served with white crab chutney (pictured).

kasundi jheenga – a large tiger prawn, seemingly sliced in half, grilled and served with cucumber and indian mustard (pictured).

hariely bream – a must try signature dish of trishna (and my favourite) – a breath-taking, fillet of bream cooked in green chilli and coriander, served alongside smoked tomato kachumber (pictured).

i would also recommend trying the quail pepper fry, a fried quail accompanied by a sumptuous, fried assortment of vegetables (pictured).

less ‘unique’ but equally magnificent are the gilafi duck sheekh kebab, lamb tandoori and the tandoori lemon baby chicken. the one and only dish that i wasn’t overwhelmed by was the moplah seafood biriyani, but that is probably because i generally prefer biriyani to be concocted with chicken anyway.

trishna also do some super desserts; try the stone moss bappa doi, a yoghurt based dish with rubarb (pictured), and the strawberry kulfi falooda. finally, if you like lassi, ask the waiter to make you an off-menu rose petal flavoured one to compliment your food; it was fantastic.

perhaps the only real pitfall of trishna is the price – it is rather steep. that said, food of the quality served by this gem of a restaurant simply does not come cheap.