From 7th to 10th July, Mayfair’s Benares will trade its usual quiet confidence for something far livelier, as two of Indian cuisine’s most creative minds reunite. Chef Sameer Taneja, of the Michelin-starred kitchen at Benares, welcomes Chef Shantanu Mehrotra from Indian Accent, whose New Delhi and Mumbai restaurants have earned a spot among Asia’s most talked-about dining rooms. This London chapter also signals the return of Indian Accent to the city – five years after its Mayfair outpost closed its doors.
Each evening, from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm, guests will explore a £135 tasting menu that’s less about ticking boxes and more about having some fun with flavour. Expect small bites that flirt with nostalgia and invention: bird seekh kebab, oyster chaat, and a cheeky bread pakora. Dishes like scallop Malabar baked in coconut curry, or fallow deer fillet spiced with moringa and green chilli, suggest that neither chef is playing it safe.
A slow-braised lamb shank in prune and mulberry korma rounds out the savouries, while desserts – banana halwa tart with Kentish cherries and a frothy daulat ki chaat – offer a sweet finish that stays on your mind long after the last bite.
London, take note: this is a fleeting moment worth catching.
