I must have a very strange expression on my face, thinks James Lawrence as he sits in the Kahani restaurant. Our waiter appears at the optimum moment (post-cocktails, pre-ordering) and inquires why I look so devastated; am I concerned, perhaps, that the kitchen has run out of all its ingredients, save quinoa?
I explain that I’m lost in my thoughts about all manner of things that have nothing to do with butter chicken and garlic naan.
Covid-19 will do that to you. An excess of lockdown contemplation and deliberation is a hard habit to break. But I do share my amazement that after such punishing hardship for the hospitality industry, our waiter seems almost cock-a-hoop. “It’s simple,” he replies. “I love my job and providing service. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it.”
For some restaurants, selling the idea of hospitality is a useful appendage to the marketing pitch. However, Kahani
is not in the business of making promises it can’t keep. In the midst of a labour shortage crisis, owner Peter Joseph has managed to retain some exceptional staff. Every single person employed by Joseph, from the waiters to the manager and sommelier, is ‘on it’. They made our visit an absolute joy, so much so that one might hypothetically forgive indifferent food, due to the team’s abundance of warmth.
But here’s the great news: Peter Joseph can really cook. Originally from Chennai, Joseph has been exciting diners looking for superlative Indian cuisine in London for over 15 years. Kahani, which means ‘Story’ in Urdu, opened in September 2018, however, Joseph worked at another famous Indian stalwart, Tamarind, for 14 years. To put it mildly, he knows his stuff.
Nevertheless, he admits that the last 16 months have not been easy. Some of his former colleagues and friends have lost their businesses or jobs, so it’s encouraging to see Kahani reasonably full on a Tuesday evening in September – a mixture of couples, small groups and first dates.
The basement dining room has scarcely changed since my last visit; Kahani can seat up to 90 guests and there is a private dining room above the main space. You dine opposite a glass-fronted wine cellar designed to tempt you away from abstinence, while enticing smells waft across from the semi-open kitchen.
Ultimately, though, this is a temple of gastronomy with an unabashed emphasis on fine dining and first-class cooking. Joseph delivers faultless classics and innovative takes on traditional dishes, kicked up a couple of levels of creativity and refined for special-occasion dining.
My favourite parts of the evening actually came within the first hour: smoked Malabar prawns had an exquisite flavour and nicely absorbed the spices. Lamb seekh kebab was a show-stopping dish of sublime, deep, umami flavours nicely rounded off with a softening hint of raita. The trio of samosas offered an irresistible tour across the Indian sub-continent – I defy anyone not to love minced venison, encased in a delicious crispy/crunchy pastry case.
It’s the reason why the British love Indian flavours. There are no variations or hybrid interpretations of western dishes at Kahani – you’re munching on a whole other world. The fire and brimstone of Indian cooking leave few gastronomes indifferent or apathetic to its seductive charms.
However, Joseph is clearly on a mission to balance subtlety with power. The flock wallpaper cliché of spices and chilli smothering the essence of the central ingredient(s) has no place here. Halibut fish curry was a case in point; the fillets were perfectly cooked and moist, while the sauce was impeccably balanced and rich in flavour.
Meanwhile, prawn biryani had lovely fragrant rice, the grains well separated, in addition to having carefully cooked prawns. Their signature dish, ‘Kahani ‘ butter chicken, wrote the book on gastronomic pleasure. I tried it once in 2019 and to this day, I’ve never discovered a better version. The butter-soft chicken breasts were served in a rich, moderately spiced and utterly moreish sauce. I would have ordered a second helping, were it not for the delicious accompaniments – fluffy pilau rice and garlic naan breads – and a modicum of guilt.
Of course, Kahani does not exist in a vacuum and there are many contestants for the title of London’s best Indian restaurant. Yet in my opinion, Joseph’s inaugural standalone venture has a real edge. It plays a very strong hand of excellent service, delicious food and an overarching emphasis on ‘no expense spared’ hospitality.
The Maharajas could have taken lessons in good manners from this outfit.
What: Kahani
Where: 1 Wilbraham Pl, Belgravia, London SW1X 9AE
Web: KahaniLondon.com
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