On the plus side, menu choices here are vast.  They range from good vegetarian and vegan options, lunch menus of 2 courses for £27.50, 3 courses for £32.50, other menus of 4 courses for £40, 5 courses for £45, the premier 6-course tasting menu at £90, a bar snack menu with snacks ranging from £5-13 and an a la carte giving curry choices anywhere between £18 for standard curry to more specific main choices of £38 for the expensive lamb masala main dish for example.  Therefore, if you are cautious and unfussy, you can leave here very full for approx £30 all in or, easily spend well over this for just one dish depending on your mood and preferences.  It’s all, in the wrist…!

Mixed popadoms were first naturally and came with a shrimp sorpotel, house pickle and lime pickles with the sorpotel being my favourite and least acidic among the three.  Next was a mix of flour and potato-based pav (small bread bun) which goat kheema (minced goat with spices and dried onion on top) is used to fill.  This was pleasing to see such an authentic and everyday classic from Mumbai which is now a staple of Indian street food, using one’s fingers in this Mayfair restaurant.

Chicken tikka was extremely good and in hindsight the best part of the whole lunch.  The large and succulent pieces of chicken were seasoned with dried fenugreek and for a decent finishing spiced flavour and the chicken itself a delight, cooked in a charcoal tandoor as opposed to a gas-operated one.  This was very interesting to hear from the head chef as charcoal tandoors are very difficult to cook bread in owing to the these traditionally being made out of clay or brick and very difficult to lower and raise the temperature (in comparison to gas-operated metal tandoors) giving less control for making bread and easily burnt on the outside without being cooked on the inside etc.  On the side was a refreshing blend of beans, cucumber and tomato salad.

Chettinad duck was served under a dosa (a cone made out of lentil and wheat flours).  Personally, this was actually not my favourite dish mainly for the flavour of the turmeric and mixed spices involved that were just altogether too earthy and the duck itself felt like it had fine strands of gristle throughout in texture, so not my favourite here. Butter chicken however, was beautifully done and the mixed naans, a pleasure to dip in this main.  Frankly, you could be pretty much full with just this dish and a naan and that is £27.50 well spent for the day.

Biryani was served underneath a pastry lid which was a good effort to see and although this used the more delicate muntjac venison (as opposed to the more common lamb) and was pleasant with crispy onions, melon and cumin seeds on top, but overall a little wet and sludge-ish within as is seemingly the point of Biryani to not be.  Black dahl was pleasantly luxurious and rich with its layer of butter on top and the okra fries were extremely crispy with the amount of batter.

What was nice to see was a specific beer crafted at the time of the Raj and called 4th RIFLES (as in the 4th Battalion of the Rifle Regiment) as the head chef’s grandfather served in the Colonial army of the British Empire.  Pretty hefty at £6 per small bottle, but fruity and decent as an option to accompany the savouries.

There was only room enough in the stomachs for one dessert and the one chosen was the signature apple Shahi Tukra which was a layered condensed milk dessert with Bramley apple, chocolate and sweetened milk which was enjoyable and was as sweet as it sounds, but just manageable. Fennel and sesame seed sprinkled chocolates comprised the petit fours.

Service from the whole team was mixed, ranging from concerned managers/owners dedicating their time to the potentially more influential diners and basically ignoring guests opposite key individuals, to the very eloquent and switched on head chef who kindly afforded a few minutes from service to explain cooking approach and general thoughts, to an extremely adept and caring waiter who looked after our table throughout and smiling front of house members providing the hellos and goodbyes.

I think the bottom line with Gymkhana is that it is good for ducking in for any personal favourites.  They have now decided to be a more grand affair by design to blend in more with its Mayfair competitors, have sourced a very competent chef (Jitin Joshi originally worked for the Taj Hotel Group and was pastry chef at Maze when under Jason Atherton and then moved to Dubai prior to being recruited by Gymkhana).  As a place it is pleasant enough with some good Indian food, but I am not enthralled enough to want to spend a fortune here which you could easily do and would sooner recommend coming in for one or two dishes at the bar.

The set menu today started with the signature blue cheese naan and shot of pumpkin-spiced soup which was a great start as always.  My choices for today started with chilli pork ribs which had a delightfully crispy masala crackling (deep-fried coating) and chilli sauce.  This was very good and the heaviness of the sauce was compensated by the sharp of pickled julienne vegetables.

Tawa chicken was the main selected.  This was boneless chicken served with a house curry which was served essentially as a spicy curry over the girdle cooked chicken and was carefully presented.  All main courses came with a collection of sides for everyone representing further excellent value.  These included tadka khadai vegetables, new potatoes with charred coriander, basmati rice that was light, fluffy and lengthy as well (a usual tale-tale sign of higher quality), roast sunchoke and boondi raita, naan breads and a sensational dal.  This black dairy dal had been prepared for 48 hours and this produced an ultra-creamy and luxuriously smooth dal – I have not had a finer dal to date.

There were numerous desserts to choose from but I could not resist going for the superb makhan malai which is essentially a large, aerated mousse made with saffron which is delicately judged on all levels and the brittle pieces of rose petal jaggery (a form candy) and almonds giving a superb textural crunch and sweetness to the saffron.  This is an excellent dessert and is also a signature dish which is great to see on the lunch menu.  The coconut cheese cake with very good chocolate sauce and the treacle tart were also very good to taste.

This was a quality meal and considering that it is essentially 4 courses (with amuse bouche) for £27, this is the staple example of why I enjoy/prefer going to establishments such as these in a heartbeat compared to restaurants of poor quality that charge virtually the same.  If you enjoy Indian food and want quality, I cannot stress how much this restaurant is for you.

I have been to Indian Accent twice and each time, the amuse bouche of coconut and pumpkin mini soup at the start has been utterly superb and with a surprisingly good blue cheese naan bite as well.  It is unusual for me to think so much of an amuse bouche, but this really did succeed.  The vegetable naan with supporting pau dip was pleasing whereas the smoked bacon and butter chicken kulfas were utterly beautiful.  Each kulfa has their superb filling and the sheer kick of flavour from the excellent bacon filling in particular is frankly marvellous.

The dahl was reassuringly smooth and creamy and the shredded and spiced lamb with mini pancakes is another quality dish.  As the lamb is spiced so well, I didn’t think it actually needed the overly powerful supporting chutneys, however the lamb was gorgeously tender with the fun of packing and wrapping your own pancake to taste.  Chicken kofta with its vegetable fritters and and sour yoghurt sauce was nicely done but the other main star of the show was soy keema dish with quail’s egg. The indulgent egg gives the already wonderful keema dish another level of decadence and to eat it, you would not have any idea that a soy dish could taste this good – it is a reason to come to Indian Accent on its own.

The lentil cereal was light and crispy as another play on the conventional use of lentils and its side of cauliflower transformed in to wafer-thin crisps producing a pleasing but on the dryer side of a dish.  Already approaching full, the thought of a dessert was not at the uppermost on the mind, however we were assured that the Makhan Malai would not be heavy.  Thankfully this turned out to be 100% correct as was essentially a very airy mousse made from saffron and milk with just a few almonds for texture and rose petals for presentation.  Saffron can be quite pungent, but this was done to a remarkably good balance and skilful level in a dessert not seen very often and which was another success of the meal.

All in, the bill came to just under £50 per head for additional snacks, three courses, tea, beers and service which, for this standard of cooking was entirely fair and I was more than ok with this price as a result.  In my view it actually out-classes the 5 Michelin starred Indian restaurants in the UK (all of which happen to be in London).  Although these are good, I would sooner return to Indian Accent in a heartbeat before hand.

Naan breads were wonderfully fluffy but not too thick and served with a very good gooseberry chutney which was a pleasant change from mango.  Pink prawns, coconut, sesame and Roscoff onion were meaty and sweet. The lamb I have had before and is extremely good with real depth of lamb flavour, gently balanced with black cumin, sprouts, onion and yoghurt.  I’m actually struggling to think where in London I have actually had better lamb chops.

Morels with berries, wild mushroom, white turmeric and crisps was very good as I recall it so I was pleased that my dining companions who had not been there enjoyed this.  The panfried sea bass, curry leaf and coconut was a very delicate dish as is the fish, and both were treated exactly as they should be, the curry being a gentle accompaniment to the lovely sea bass cooked to perfection (much more difficult than most realise).   

Chicken tikka masala with fenugreek, tomato and Kashmiri chilli was a masterstroke.  I was curious to see how Kutir would handle this and the result was a bowl of sweetness and depth of tomato curry with succulent chicken contained within and at this point, I only wished I had a bowl of that and nothing else to fill me up as is usually the case when dining on Indian cuisine (very filling).  The Kutir kaali dal had good depth and was a luxurious dip for the naan.  Sadly none of my dessert photos made it successfully, but the two tried were well spiced and light at the same time.

Another very good experience here, which I would definitely put on your list of to do’s if you are in any way fond of curry, for this upgrade experience.  If this establishment received a Michelin star, I would say this is entirely appropriate.

The menu at Kutir is mainly North Indian cuisine but also showcases signature dishes from around the country.  Menu prices are not vast considering the location, but it is easy to get caught up with several attractive options from under £10 which will obviously add up.  For this visit, we tried the stone bass squid, scallops aubergine, truffle mushroom khichadi and I could not resist one on my favourite curries of all time, the duck korma.

Nibbles of breads, crackers and popadoms were the obvious nibbles, but crucially, were done well (not too oily at all) and served with very good chutneys especially the mango and pineapple spiced chutney.   The tandoori cooked stone bass came with squid ink and crisps and was marinated in yoghurt, cream cheese and spices making it nice and moist.  It included two little squid rings which, separately were very nice as well.  The scallops were hand-dived and served with aubergine frittas and puree which was pleasing, but the actual sweetness of the scallops was one of the gems of the whole meal.

Quail naan (naan bread with diced quail inside) with scrambled egg and truffle on the top was never going to fail as a combination, but it was a little tricky to eat with hands and actually qualified as a dish in itself when I was mainly after a naan to help mop up the korma.  This was duly provided in the form of a plain paratha, kulcha and naan and were all fine in texture (great to have the different kinds of breads on one side plate).

The lamb was another highlight in that it almost didn’t need its supporting cumin (but was delicately handled all the same) as the quality of this lamb was super providing excellent flavour.  Truffle khichadi (a form of kedgeree using lentils with rice) was rich and satisfying.  The duck korma was very good to have albeit with a korma sauce that I was expecting just a little more kick or excitement from.  Certainly not a negative though.

Dessert comprised of chilli chocolate banana mousse.  This was heavy but pleasant, along with ginger biscuit & dehydrated banana with creme brûlée using a hard & soya chocolate to accompany along with banana fritas on toffee.  This was a superb dessert and would rival a mass of desserts in any Michelin starred restaurant you care to mention and was a lovely finish to show that this ex-Jamavar head chef is still very much operating at a consistently high level and I look forward to returning when I can.