Benares offers everything you could ask for in a Michelin-starred restaurant – innovative, delicious food, professional staff and an upmarket clientele.

The Venue
Rising from the ashes – pretty much literally – after a £2.5 million refurbishment following a fire, Benares has kept the same modern, minimalist decor that it’s known for. Although nearly everything is brand new, you could be forgiven for thinking that nothing much has changed, aside from looking like it’s had a lick of paint. Thick brown leather banquettes, boxy chairs and white-clothed tables fill up the restaurant area, whilst low seating and a pretty pond with floating pink flowers makes up the bar. The majority of Benares is located on the first floor so it’s hard to imagine what it looks like as you make your way up the steps from the cloakroom – but given that its next-door neighbour is a luxury car dealership, it’s pretty easy to guess that it’ll be impressive.

The Atmosphere
Service is nearly faultless and staff are genuinely friendly, greeting you with a pleasant ‘Namaste’ as you walk to your table. They’re not above a joke or two but they know their stuff when it comes to both the food and the wine. The other diners seem like an upmarket, accomplished lot, and by about 8.30pm the place is heaving and echoing with the sounds of people enjoying their meal and their company.

The Food
Like many other restaurants in this category – or this area – Benares isn’t exactly budget-friendly. Should you want to sample what the restaurant has to offer, however, there’s a set menu of two courses for £19.95 and three for £24.95, plus a series of platters that you can order at the bar. Their grazing menu costs £69 per person for five courses and will leave you feeling satisfied but not too full, and confident in the fact that you’ve sampled the restaurant’s signature dishes.

First up is an amuse bouche of a small, perfectly round fried ball filled with peas and paneer cheese, with a little smudge of red cabbage puree. The next course arrives in a long plate with three compartments, a pattern that’s followed throughout the meal and a good idea, as it means you get to sample small amounts of a large variety of dishes – counting the amuse bouche and the dessert, 13 in total. On the left is a square of rich duck terrine topped with a dollop of citrus jelly, in the centre is a shot glassed filled with a creamy lobster rillet, complete with its own mini spoon, and on the right is a crisp pastry puff filled with Cornish crab.

Enough time passes between each course so that as soon as you start looking forward to the next one, it appears. After the crab, lobster and duck trio comes a deliciously tender lamb skewer topped with a squiggle of tamarind sauce and accompanied by a tiny salad of rocket, olives and sun-dried tomatoes. The lamb is centred between a square of nicely cooked monkfish and a likewise well cooked tandoori rabbit that’s been marinated in yoghurt so that the meat is soft and almost creamy. The final plate before dessert features a large, plump king prawn marinated in mint, pink slices of lamb on top of a slightly spicy bed of chickpeas, and a delicate piece of chicken covered in a sweet, almondy korma sauce on a bed of masala rice.

Desserts continue the triple selections with a shot glass of tangy raspberry sorbet, a rich mini chocolate and banana flavoured brownie topped with hot chocolate sauce and a smooth, indulgent lemongrass-infused cheesecake, topped with a light, creamy foam made from yoghurt. The miniature portions work doubly well in terms of dessert, as full-sized options of either the brownie or the cheesecake would be too rich to finish.

The Drink
Like their food, Benares takes their wine seriously, with a dedicated wine team – their (needless to say, massive) wine list even has pictures of the bottles. Both old and new world are well represented, with more unusual choices including Greece, Hungary and India – which is always nice to see in an Indian restaurant. Although expensive bottles of wine are par for the course in Michelin starred restaurants, at Benares you can find plenty of bottles under £40, and even some under £20.

In fact, they take their wine so seriously that the grazing menu has two different wine pairing options, a list of five premiere wines (£99 per person) and a list of prestige wines (£150) per person. Whilst highlights from the premier menu include a Soave La Rocca Pieropan 2007 from Italy and a light, delicate Muddy Water Pinot Noir from New Zealand, a standout from the prestige menu is the Qupe Roussanne 2006 from California, which is rich and full of character, with a smooth, oaky taste.

The Last Word
With its interesting, modern cuisine and wines to match, Benares more than deserves its Michelin star. Perfect for a celebration or a posh night out.

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