Romy Gill at The Pem

If the Addams Family ever developed a taste for Indian fine dining, The Pem would make a suitable dining room. Tucked inside the 19th century Conrad London St James hotel, the restaurant is a sprawl of deep reds and low lighting, with enough velvet-adjacent moodiness to make dinner feel extremely gothic.  

It’s here that Romy Gill has made her grand return to the pass, taking over from Sally Abé with a menu roaming through India’s regional cooking. Since closing the acclaimed Romy’s Kitchen in Gloucestershire, the chef, author and MBE has written three cookbooks, but this is her first permanent restaurant kitchen in six years. Against The Pem’s brooding backdrop, Gill’s cooking feels positively exuberant. 

The aloo bonda is an explosive opening act: a crisp potato parcel buzzing with curry leaf and pepper, which transports us several thousand miles away. If you’ve ever eaten a good South Indian lentil vada and thought, ‘Yes, but what if potato?’, you’re in the right place. Other small plates are equally joyous. Octopus is remarkably tender, with sweet potato and cumin bringing seasonal warmth. Tandoori king prawns are even better: fat, juicy things with just enough char around the edges.

Not everything lands so neatly. Hand-dived scallops are beautifully cooked, delicate and buttery, and the assertive Bengali kasundi chutney they come with is excellent by itself. Together, though, the scallops’ subtleties are lost amid all that mustardy swagger.

Milk and cardamom cake with pistachio-rose brittle has the nostalgic sweetness of an Indian wedding

The tandoori lamb chop is another almost-hit, elegantly spiced, with celeriac and avocado purée lending a mellow richness. Delicious, certainly, but at £21 for one solitary chop, we can’t help wondering where its mate has got to. And while Gill’s samosa chaat nods to the street food of her childhood, ours lacks the crunch that makes the dish such a riot of textures. With so much else to order, this is one you can safely skip.

Don’t miss the gucchi nihari. A Flintstones-worthy hunk of slow-cooked lamb, easily enough for three people once you’ve ordered anything else, arrives falling-apart, with Kashmiri morels bringing a deep, woodland savouriness. Alongside it is a thick, comforting dal flecked with crisp onions and coriander. Equally good is the sukoon paneer, smoky from the grill and tempered with yoghurt and green chutney. Add a blistered garlic and chilli naan and you’ve got yourself a proper feast. 

Dessert is inevitable. A milk and cardamom cake with pistachio-rose brittle has the nostalgic sweetness of an Indian wedding but without the tooth-ache and sugar rush. Overall, Gill’s return to restaurant kitchens has been worth the wait. 

The vibe Gothic glamour in Westminster.

The food A party of regional Indian flavours and seasonal produce with plenty of smoke and spice, with starters around £15-20 and mains £25-30. The tasting menu is £90 a head.  

The drink Classic cocktails given an Indian twist. The Raaz, a coffee-rich riff on an espresso martini, is particularly good.

Time Out tip Bring friends. Portions get increasingly heroic as you work your way down the menu; the gucchi nihari could feed a small committee.