Manthan Indian Restaurant, Mayfair

Andy Mossack samples Mayfair Indian fine dining as he reviews Manthan Indian restaurant.

With Kutir being a successful Chelsea restaurant already under their collective belts since 2018, Manthan Indian Restaurant is the next venture for Michelin-acclaimed chef Rohit Ghai and his business partner Abhishake Sangwan. And frankly, if you’re looking for the next step up, you probably can’t do much better than a Mayfair address. And Maddox Street, a main London artery running from Regent Street to Hanover Square is a pretty pleasant perch. It’s in good company as far as I am concerned. Memories came flooding back as I walked past number 52, once the famous Chappell recording studios where The Beatles recorded some sessions, and just three doors from Manthan, at number 46, were the offices of the Rolling Stones.

Pop music apart, it’s what I would call the quieter corner of Mayfair, far from the glitzy lights of Dover and Berkley Streets. But here we find Manthan tucked away in a narrow but deep townhouse swathed in gold and dark wood with plenty of soft banquette seating and wall art.

Even more impressive, it was busy, busy, busy on a cold and rainy weeknight.

There’s a tidy a la carte menu on offer, but for a rounded selection of Ghai’s culinary artistry, Manthan has two five-course tasting menus – a standard signature menu (£55 plus wine pairing £55) or a vegetarian menu (£50 plus wine pairing £50). As there were two of us, it seemed right and proper to try both tasting menus – so we did.

Despite his experience of World cuisines, Ghai’s culinary roots lie firmly in his family recipes as well as celebrating the hustle and bustle of India’s street food scene. It seemed a tempting marriage and I was keen to discover more about it.

The first signature course was ghati masala prawns with sesame, peanut, coconut and chilli. Essentially crunchy popcorn shrimp with delicious hot bits of coconut. A very tasty starter which got a big thumbs up from my dining partner. My vegetarian starter was a very impressive ram laddoo – a Delhi street food staple small puri-like balls filled with yellow lentils and dressed with onion, radish and a date relish. I also have to admit to an extra starter, after being seduced by the idea of vegetable rolls, a spicy Indian version of Chinese spring rolls. Trust me, they did not disappoint.

Hot on those heels came our second round. Cafreal machhi, sea bass with Goan spices and a burnt tomato was the signature course, an absolute banger of a dish. The sea bass beautifully cooked, the skin soft and crispy. My veggie dish was artichoke but not as we know it, combined with white turmeric and a strawberry jus. Another stellar display it must be said.

Almost bashfully, our third course materialised and this one was a masterclass of meat and vegetarian cooking. A finely spiced and succulently barbecued lamb chop shared a dainty plate with a demure dollop of Indian onion, royal cumin and mint sauce. While my tandoori phool was an equally well barbecued broccoli surrounded on all sides by slices of tangy beetroot and small mounds of beetroot yoghurt.

So far, so fantastic. All going to plan, and, despite the small plates, we were getting satisfyingly fuller.

The penultimate courses were predominantly sauced based, and perhaps an example of Ghai’s family recipes. The juicy chicken tikka masala was bathed in a very moreish sauce of fenugreek, tomato and Kashmiri chilli, while my paneer makhani had a similar sauce to wallow in. Of course, the kali dal, rice and parathas we both had as sides, ensured we could mop up the lot.

The sweet finales couldn’t have been more different. A deeply satisfying Narangi chocolate bomb was paired with halved kumquat, while my veggie classic trio consisted of three classic Indian sweets merged as one; besan barfi (gram flour and cardamon), gulab jamon (fried dumpling and saffron syrup) and srikhand (flavoured yoghurt).

I rated Manthan very highly for not only Ghai’s authentic culinary wizardry but also for showing how you can very eat well in Mayfair without slapping on a stellar price point. I suspect Maddox Street with a lot less quiet as a result.

Food images (C) Andy Mossack exterior and interior images (C) Manthan Indian Restaurant.