Restaurants

Former head chef at highly rated Zaika , Vineet Bhatia runs his namesake restaurant at a discreet Chelsea townhouse furnished with antiques, wall-mounted ornaments and silk hangings. Attentive waiters usher guests from a chocolate-hued hallway into two intimate and elegant dining areas. The menu has fusion leanings, containing the likes of cocoa-dusted lobster and goats cheese samosas. A more traditional first course of assorted kebabs got our meal off to a shaky start, the main culprits being tough lamb seekh kebabs and overcooked tandoori prawns. However, we relished the contrasting flavours of creamy, savoury semolina, topped with succulent scallops, surrounded by a lagoon of tabasco-spiked tomato juice. Unfortunately, our main courses failed to deliver. Two overcooked tandoori chops missed tangy, lemony notes and made a disappointing match with buttery black lentils. Even fish biriani, although studded with juicy prawns and scallops, didnt live up to expectations, exhibiting a lacklustre blend of aromatic spicing. Prices are astronomical, so theres no excuse for these basic shortfalls. Bhatia needs new recipes its time to move on from revamping his dated Zaika dishes.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008