db Eats: Chutney Mary

When Chutney Mary opened on the King’s Road in Chelsea 25 years ago, it put Indian fine dining on London’s culinary map. We’ve come a long way since 1990 and today the standard of Indian cuisine in the capital has never been higher. While Tamarind in Mayfair was the first Indian restaurant in London to win a Michelin star in 2001, Karam Sethi’s Trishna in Marylebone and Gymkhana in Mayfair have recently followed suit, further raising the bar.

Chutney Mary needn’t worry. It more than holds its own among London’s new guard of high-end Indian venues. Having helped introduce the concept of contemporary Indian cuisine to well-heeled Sloanes, the restaurant recently relocated to a swanky new address in St James’s. Owned by sisters Camellia  and Namita Panjabi and her husband Ranjit Mathrani, who also run the Michelin-starred Amaya in Belgravia and London’s oldest Indian, Veeraswamy in Piccadilly, the lavish new space serves as the perfect setting for Chutney Mary’s courtly cooking.

On entry I’m greeted by an exquisitely turned out man in a turquoise turban who ushers me in from the autumn chill into the inviting bar, buzzing with banter as sharp-suited workers clink cocktails and shake off their midweek woes. Saturated with bright reds and deep blues, the large lounge area feels like an event in itself and is worth drinking in before settling down to dinner.

The curt cocktail list tips its hat to India via the inclusion of exotic ingredients like mango, star anise and cumin. My Shah Jeera Sour, featuring star anise-infused vodka, lemon curd, vanilla and egg white, offered an intriguing twist on a classic.

The Pukka bar

The dining room is a spectacular space dripping with candles, Art Deco mirrors, fine art and silver wallpaper patterned with lotus leaves. Romantically lit, while grand in stature it retains a cosy feel, making it ideal for dinner à deux complete with service as polished as the wooden tables.

Entering the dining room with my curry mad companion, a sensational smell of sweet spices filled my lungs, making my mouth water like Pavlov’s dog.

Many of the Chelsea-era’s signature dishes, including the green curry, have remained on the St James’s menu, but new delights like sautéed Cornish crab in chilli butter and lobster biryani are welcome additions. Unable to choose between the starters, we ordered four and hoped our appetites would do them justice.

Proving that fun and fine dining needn’t be mutually exclusive, the chicken wings arrived as four squares of lightly fried, deboned meat with a roof of crispy skin resting beneath a pink pool of tangy, tamarind-like kokum that tasted like the sweet, fruity innards of a jam donut but paired surprisingly well with the rich, juicy chicken.

Also head turning were the finely spun crispy prawns in a lightly spiced sauce served jutting out of shot glasses like the lithe legs of a synchornised swimmer. The flesh inside their golden suits of armour was sweet and meaty, making me mourn the fact that there were only four. The wine list is both well thought out and fun, with a broad selection available by the glass.

Chicken wings

Working with Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, each drop has been specifically chosen due to its friendliness towards Indian cuisine, which is notoriously tricky to pair wine with. A glass of 2014 Loimer Kamptal Riesling, with its off-dry notes of mouth-puckering lemon and lime, was a fantastic supporting act to the starters.

Both of our main courses – butter chicken and a Calcutta wild prawn coconut curry – offered astutely judged aromatic spices. The butter chicken’s sauce was so complex and downright delightful, the meat almost felt like an afterthought.

The prawn dish meanwhile, had more fire in its belly but was no less elegant in execution, the prawns swimming in a devil red, spice-laden lava.

To pair with them both, a glass of The Crossings Pinot Noir 2014 from New Zealand’s Awatere Valley was bright and alive with juicy cherries and crushed strawberries, its soft, silky texture tempering the wild heat.

It’s hard to get excited about Indian desserts, which conjure memories of hallowed out coconuts filled with creamy sorbet, but a salted caramel kulfi aimed to please, its curved top filled with a tempting orange toffee sauce that ended the evening on a sugar high.

Dinner at Chutney Mary isn’t cheap, but the cooking is exemplary. Stalwarts like basmati rice and garlic naan are all on point, making the entire evening almost impossible to find fault in. Serving fabulously flavoured, refined Indian cuisine in cosy surroundings, Chutney Mary seems to be thriving in its new home. Time hasn’t tarnished this treasure, if anything, it’s made it shine brighter.

Chutney Mary, 73 St James’s Street, London SW1A 1PH; Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 6688