trishna

it’s easy to picture a stereotypical plate of “fine dining” food - diddily dimensioned and precisely plated to within a millimetre of its life. one of the reasons why i love indian nosh is because it’s normally the exact opposite. there’s nothing quite like getting stuck into a hearty bowl of curry mopped up with a fistful of naan. trishna, amichelinstarred indian restaurant located in marylebone, finds itself caught between these two camps. at it’s best, their indian food is immense; expertly spiced and skilfully cooked. however, it’s let down by some poncey portions and mildly annoying service. a couple of examples of my gripes with the service: - having a set lunch menu offering between 2-5 dishes per person and then being given the raised eyebrow treatment by the waiter when you try to order more than 3 seems a bit odd. it also does nothing for my insecurities about the size of my appetite… - waiting for your glass to be topped up with water (as the jug is squirreled away somewhe

excellent food and service. treasured small portions were immaculate with themichelinstar quality and unique taste for each dish. highly recommended.

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

i usually domichelinstar restaurants as a one off, but dare i say not only the restaurant was good but 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 indianmichelinstared 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 amichelinstared 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 very good piece of meat here.
the paneer was underwhelming but the samosa chaat was light, well textured and good start. 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 amichelinstar.

the total bill was under £70 which is very good considering it is amichelinstarred 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.

i like trishna, the price is very reasonable even without the offer and both the service and the cooking is a massive step up to your local indian curry joint. the real question for me is... does it live up to amichelinstar, that i am not too sure as it is hard to compare asian to european cuisine.

trishna is amichelinstar 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 and good service – great atmosphere, and just the right amount of formal-feel. we liked it a lot.

very good and balanced menu, good cocktails and an affordable lunch deal - this is amichelinstar restaurant that doesn't rip you off. the service is good too - attentive but not overbearing.

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 amichelinstar 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 particularly good value 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 sensationally good food in a great environment, the restaurant clearly deserves its onemichelinstar.

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.

it was sunday night, and what's the best thing to do on a sunday? go for a curry! but this was a curry with a difference.

in marylebone, one of london's foodie hubs, lies trishna, a gorgeousmichelinstar restaurant offering south west indian cuisine. the restaurant has recently been refurbished and features an informal dining room with blue brick walls, antique mirror walls and slouchy banquettes.

there were three different flavours of the crispy nibbles which were served with a spicy dip and a mango chutney.

for amichelinstar restaurant, trishna is incredibly reasonably priced. as mr silver loves indian he looked greedily at the menu and proceeded to order too much food!

starters were...

tandoori lamb chops with chilli and ginger. these were perfectly cooked and deliciously spicy.

shrimps, ginger and smoked chilli chutney. these were beautifully crispy and totally delicious. trishna specialises in seafood so these were bound to be good!

hariyali bream with green chilli, coriander and smoked tomato kachumber. a beautiful emerald green piece of fish, perfectly cooked and flakey. the side dish of tomato was the perfect woody-tasting accompaniment.

salmon tikka with a dill raita.

'to die for' i proclaimed!! the best dish of the evening. lightly cooked salmon with a beautiful tikka marinade.

if all this wasn't enough for stater i insisted on order the selection of naan bread. i can't help myself when it comes to a good piece of naan!!

i liked two out three. the middle one was slightly sweet which i'm not keen on in a bread.

main courses.

seafood biryani containing seabass, shellfish and coriander. lightly oiled, with perfectly cooked rice and a generous amount of seafood.

lamb masala. my least favourite dish. mr silver loves lamb and really, really wanted to try this. i found it heavy and the stewed lamb just tasted chewy and over cooked. he happily finished it though.

we had a lot of food. but i would highly recommend trishna. fantastic indian fine dining at a reasonable price! the neighbourhood of marylebone is gorgeous too and there are plenty of foodie finds along the streets. check it out!

on the whole, themichelinguide is a safe place to consult when looking for somewhere to eat out. for a consistently good meal, forget twos and threes, and stick with the cheaper, humbler one star. undoubtedly, the ‘little red book’ gives preference to european food, so when south west indian seafood specialist trishna gained a star (and subsequent blog appeal) in october 2012 for its foodie fireworks, i felt i ought to give it a try.

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 a good restaurant. 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 poppadums, although crisp, fresh and warm, were rather stingily divided between the three of us. chutneys, however, especially the sharp and spicy tomato and prawn, were fantastic.

as individual dishes go, the spicing in the fish pepper fry [keralan spices, black pepper, curry leaf] (£7.25) was more challenge than comfort, black pepper completely overwhelming the somewhat overcooked white fish. guinea fowl tikka [fennel seed, star anise, masoor lentils] (£15.00), presented on a bed of lentils on a wooden board, fared slightly better – succulent and accurately spiced, but could have done with a little more acidity or even a dollop of cooling yoghurt. naans (£5) – sesame, plain, and garlic – however, were some of the best i’ve had. whilst there were satisfied noises coming from around the table, i’m not sure any of us entirely understood michelin’s patronage. the slight saving grace was the sommelier’s recommendation of the off-dry, lightly perfumed riesling, dr. bürklin‐wolf, 2011 (£29.00). it’s a nice touch also having recommendations by the glass under each dish, which avoids the problem of finding suitable pairings for difficult-to-match indian cuisine.

i really wanted to enjoy trishna, but the entirely unwelcoming front of house team and their patchy service made that very difficult. there were moments of foodie delight, but generally i think we felt underwhelmed. it’s hard to see how, in michelin’s starry-eyes, trishna delivers anything on a par with that served in dabbous, viajante, or even its next-door neighbour, roganic. should we really still rely on this glorified tyre company to guide us around food? sorry michelin, but i think you’ve got a flat. if only the aa gave out stars…

£134 for three (with service)

after a quick search on google i find that trishna is an indian restaurant that sits in the heart of london’s marylebone village (england) and earned amichelinstar for it’s food! intrigue sets in as i haven’t been to anymichelinstarred indian restaurants and indian food happens to be one of my favorite cuisines.  it is supposed to be full of flavor with spices such as cardamom, clove, cinnamon, mustard seed, turmeric, and more.  one thing you cannot call indian food is one-note.  one-note food by the way means food that is one-dimensional in flavor.  given the variety of flavors present in indian food, this just isn’t possible unless the chef doesn’t know what they are doing.  i accept the notice and make a mental note to leave enough calories in my daily budget to eat well tonight!

it was cold and raining and i’ve just finished sipping on cocktails and gambling away in the hippodrome casino waiting for my table at their restaurant heliot. come 5:30pm i suddenly get a call from the hostess telling me that unfortunately the restaurant will not be opening this evening. very frustrated i go on an aimless walk around soho looking for an alternative. thirty minutes later and i’m on marylebone high street still no better off. then i stumble upon the recentmichelinstar awarded trishna, somewhere i have been meaning to try, so why not now?

finally out of the rain we take a seat in this calm restaurant with pale grey walls and exposed brick work, the suitably authentic music was also very relaxing, i felt a bit like i was in a spa, it was all very serene. trishna london is the sister restaurant to trishna in mumbai which has fantastic reviews, especially its seafood and it’s the same story here. while the food in mumbai may be more traditional looking at its menu, trishna london has definitely conformed to a more western influenced menu and very refined. still, i quite like it this way, it’s unusual.

we decided on the set-menu with matching wine flight, this was £35.50 for four courses including 4 x 100ml glasses. two neatly folded poppadoms shortly arrived at the table with some mango sauce and tomato chutney, both of which were delicately spiced and rich in flavour.

the first courses that were to come out far exceeded my expectations. on paper, potato chat sounds pretty simple, but how wrong could i be. deep fried cubes of crispy potato with chickpeas, tamarind, sweet yoghurt, shallots and chilli, i was salivating on my first mouthful. lots of acidity rushes through your mouth until you get a dose of tamarind/yoghurt sweetness. it was lovely, and just the right amount.

hungry? read more - http://www.londonfoodaholic.co.uk/2013/02/review-trishna-blandford-street.html

trishna is located in marylebone, and i have walked past this place quite a few times as i live quite close, and i had always wanted to go to trishna, and after i found out it was awarded its firstmichelinstar in september i was even more keen, and when my friend steven suggested he wants to go for dinner and have some indian food, i was quick to suggest trishna. i have read a lot about trishna when they won theirmichelinstar and also because they apparently have a great sommelier there, a wonderful lady, and she was there when i went for dinner on a tuesday and i did compliment her and tell her i had read about how amazing she was at combining wine with indian food, as it is not the most straightforward thing and has not been the most typical thing historically. but here in trishna every item on the menu also has under it written a type of wine that w

on a whole, the amiable and attentive service made the whole evening very enjoyable. the meal too exceeded my expectations. the food were well executed and all spices in each dishes were pronounced which showed the masterful restraint of the chef. this is a fine indian establishment and is well worthy of itsmichelinstar. will i return? a resounding yes!