Atul Kochhar’s Riwaz: Authentic Indian Food in the Heart of Bucks
Since his arrival in the UK in1994, Atul Kochhar has been at the forefront of the British Indian dining scene for more than 25 years.
Having earned his first Michelin star at Tamarind restaurant in 2001, Kochhar then opened his own restaurant, Benares, in London’s Mayfair in 2002. This saw him awarded a second Michelin star in 2007. Since then, he has grown his restaurant portfolio and launched a family of award-winning venues across the Home Counties.
Having heard great things, we decided to head along to one of the more recent openings – Riwaz in Buckinghamshire’s market town of Beaconsfield
With a name that means ‘tradition’, Riwaz serves authentic Indian dishes that we found to be both tasty and incredibly aesthetic.
The restaurant is accessed through a modest door just off the Old Town high street. But while unassuming from outside, it stretches back into a bright and airy dining area towards a cute furnished dining for al fresco appetisers.
A venue for all occasions
Riwaz offers a variety of menus to suit budget and time. There’s a set lunch for a very reasonable £29 but, having a night to ourselves, we decided to indulge in the 7 course taster menu and enjoy the paired wine recommendations with it. The menu is again a very reasonable £65 per person, with the wines it is £120.
Choosing one traditional and one vegetarian meant a little food envy, and a lot of unadulterated gastronomic pleasure.
From a cream cheese marinated broccoli – perfectly al dente – with the most delightful honey pickle chutney, to a softly baked paneer tikka stuffed with figs and mint, the vegetarian options boasted both flavour and substance. The vegetable parcel and kofta mains were bursting with flavour and perfectly complemented with a black lentil dahl and tikka masala sauce. The taste of tamarind runs through the menu, bringing a sense of cohesion to the series of dishes.
Additions on the meat-based menu included a juicy tamarind and curry leaf marinated king prawn, a best-selling basil marinated tandoori monkfish, and a main of lobster makhani, served with asparagus and a tangy caramelised tomato sauce.
We visited on a Thursday night and were greeted as soon as we arrived. The service was a little slow to start with, but by course three we were in the swing of things and it took a perfect three hours to enjoy the entire menu with enough time to rest and relax in between courses.
Riwaz serves traditional Indian dishes which reflect Kochhar’s own history and flavours he grew up with. There’s thought behind every dish and all are so beautifully presented it’s (almost) a shame to snap them up. But snap them up you will – and we feel a return visit is inevitable.
