{"id":1100264,"date":"2026-07-20T09:08:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1100264\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T09:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:08:25","slug":"indian-fusion-kanishka-by-atul-kochhar-restaurant-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1100264\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian Fusion, Kanishka by Atul Kochhar Restaurant Review –"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cara explores Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, where North East Indian flavours meet contemporary cuisine in the heart of Mayfair.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Britain is no stranger to Indian food, neither am I but as my friends know I normally pass on the invitation.<\/p>\n

But Kanishka by Atul Kochhar<\/a> got my attention, I received an email about their special evening, 3rd of July was Taste of Goa evening, curated by Chef Atul Kochhar and Executive Chef Ashok Kumar.<\/p>\n

Inspired by centuries of Portuguese and Indian influences the evening was offering guests an opportunity to explore the distinctive regional cuisines through a contemporary lens.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m told they hold such evenings regularly and each is inspired by a different region so do keep an eye out. Next one is in autumn.<\/p>\n

Kanishka is a high end establishment, it\u2019s clear from its sleek design, bright but tasteful art contrasting against rich brown and teal walls.<\/p>\n

It feels like a tasteful home of a sophisticated owner who studied art and took time to acuminate such brilliant collection.<\/p>\n

To sparkling clean menus and well articulated staff, who know the book inside out. \u00a0Their knowledge of the menu is exceptional, I asked all my regular questions from halibut origin to what glass a cocktail is served in and our waiter didn\u2019t even blink.<\/p>\n

Service is polished from start to finish here. Every course arrives at the right moment, plates vanish effortlessly and our glasses never sit empty.<\/p>\n

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Having completed many mystery dines, I\u2019d award the service full marks without hesitation. Such consistency is remarkably rare.<\/p>\n

Now the dishes, Kanishka is best understood not simply as another high-end Indian restaurant but as a restaurant that explores the cuisines of India\u2019s lesser-known northeastern frontier while also embracing contemporary British fine dining techniques.<\/p>\n

And it certainly feels that way from the menu, with the chicken tikka pie and lotus kebab leading the way.<\/p>\n

The pie is one of Atul\u2019s signatures, puff perfectly dome shaped pastry, cumin and black sesame seeds and a tangy berry chutney.<\/p>\n

The filling is a harmony of tender, delicately spiced chicken and a rich, creamy masala sauce, with just enough smokiness from the tandoor for depth.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the lotus kebabs arrive generously sized, round-shaped bites of chopped lotus root, potato and spices, paired with a tangy pomegranate yoghurt that adds a refreshing contrast.<\/p>\n

A much needed contrast I must add because the kebabs are level 4 spice, which is about a maximum I can handle, they\u2019re rather nicely warming.<\/p>\n

They have a delicate earthy flavour and feel quite meaty especially for a vegetarian dish.<\/p>\n

For mains we do a bit of fusion my guest orders a Purani Dilli Ka chicken, a timeless classic of Old Delhi.<\/p>\n

Presented in a gleaming oval stainless-steel dish with brass handles, the buttery tomato sauce releases an intoxicating aroma of layered spices. Even before the first taste, you sense the hours of careful preparation behind it.<\/p>\n

Alongside fluffy saffron rice comes a Peshawari naan that ranks among the best we\u2019ve tried\u2014 moist, pillowy and buttery with a gentle hint of coconut, it strikes a perfect balance.<\/p>\n

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Portions here are sizable, yet the curry disappears in no time, with my guest happily mopping up every last drop with the remaining naan.<\/p>\n

My main comes from the British forests, it\u2019s a fallow venison, served along side wild pulao and asparagus. Perfectly tender and medium rare inside it\u2019s a dark rich meat, gently dipped in juniper garam masala.<\/p>\n

I doubt I could have chosen a dish that better captures the meeting of Britain and India.<\/p>\n

But the story doesn\u2019t end there, seasonal asparagus and morels accompany the venison, adding another layer of elegance. The morels are a particular highlight for me, they\u2019re not something you often encounter on the UK menus.<\/p>\n

With their peculiar wrinkled caps, I just love them and such a delight to eat, yet I never go mushroom picking for them. The season has just finished though, it was March to May.<\/p>\n

There is a lot to take in\u2014both on the plate and on the page. But don\u2019t simply take my word for it, there are plenty of reasons to visit Kanishka. <\/p>\n

Led by Atul Kochhar, the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star, the restaurant has been bringing its distinctive approach since opening in 2019.<\/p>\n

The British \u2013 Indian fusion touched everything from Atul\u2019s Passion Fruit Martini with tamarind chutney or as I describe it caramelised lemonade to chilli infused baked Alaska.<\/p>\n

Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, 17-19 Maddox St, London W1S 2QH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cara explores Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, where North East Indian flavours meet contemporary cuisine in the heart of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1100265,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,42398,32331,257,16,15],"class_list":["post-1100264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-indian","tag-indian-food","tag-london","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1100264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1100264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1100264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1100265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1100264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1100264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1100264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}