A Fast-Paced Journey Through India at Yaatra
Britain’s love affair with Indian food goes back centuries, long before the boom in the Seventies saw Taj Mahal and Tandoori Dream restaurants popping up in every town centre, when the classic chicken tikka masala mopped up with naan bread and washed down with gallons of Kingfisher became a Friday night staple.
And nobody can argue that’s a bad thing. But times they are a-changin’ my foodie friends, and a very accomplished chef called Amit Bagyal is doing things in the kitchen that are quite frankly unrecognisable from what’s on the menu in your local curry house.
For a start, the setting is pretty special. Yaatra is located in the Old Westminster Fire Station – an iconic Grade II Edwardian building tucked behind Westminster Abbey where to my deep disappointment there is no sign left of any firemen, nor their poles or helmets (I’ll stop there).
While the refurb did preserve the original white wall tiles, the huge room is now home to deep red seats and booths which were all full when I visited on a very hot and sticky June night. There is also an enormous basement, plus two private dining rooms, meaning the restaurant can accommodate 180 guests at one time, which might explain the many many efficient waiting staff.
The chef has worked in not one, but two Michelin-starred restaurants and this place featured in the Michelin Guide within months of opening, so our expectations were sky high to say the least.
Journey Through India
The menu, we were told, has been designed to take diners on a journey through India, following the highways that weave from the Himalayan mountains through West Bengal and down to the coast of Goa, giving guests the opportunity to explore new territories, flavours, and traditions.
Feeling suitably adventurous, we dived straight into the cocktail list and could not resist the Fire Station Martini, which was essentially a classic pornstar with all the sweet, vanilla fizziness you would expect. The super yummy Coconut Cloud was a rich blend of Indian spiced white rum, toasted coconut and curry leaf shrub, lime and coconut cream which made for a very indulgent start. But all in the name of research, eh?
Perhaps we should have paced ourselves a little because compared to some other fine dining destinations though, portions here are generous.
We shared a basket of three types of poppadoms – most striking of which was a fantastic sago, almost popcorn like and dusted with curry powder – with fantastic tamarind and mint dips.
The service is brisk at best and head spinning at worst which meant are starters were with us moments later.
The Kolkani scallops (Kolkan is a region on the west coast of India) – served with an excellent pea puree and tamarind glaze – trumped the calamari with squid ink which was good but nothing out of the ordinary.
Speedy service
Our super speedy server recommended the Himalayan-spiced Garhwal goat osso buco in a rich dark ginger and turmeric gravy, and he was bang on the money. The meat fell away from the bone at the touch of a fork and the warming, rich quality of each mouthful was a big hit at our table.
But I think I won the main courses (don’t be ridiculous, of course it’s a competition) with the Sea Bass, which was an enormous, whole fish cooked to perfection *chef’s kiss*
We had been encouraged to also order a truffle naan, rice and baby aubergine as accompaniments which we really did not need, but no regrets – they were all top notch.
We failed to save any space for dessert, even the usual trick of claiming to have a separate stomach for puddings did not seem to be working, and actually that was okay because they were, well, okay. The chef’s favourite desert was basically sponge balls soaked in honey and the chocolate and orange mousse with chocolate soil and raspberry sorbet was good but not that good, if you know what I mean?
The wine list ranged in price from £35 to £1,800, with an average price of over a hundred quid a bottle, which is simply outrageous even by London standards, but the overall the food was unique and who would not enjoy the chance to journey through the Himalayas, then get the tube home?
