For the past 34 years chef-patron JP Singh has been at the helm of Bukhara, one of New Delhi’s most renowned restaurants, and until June 1, Londoners will have the chance to sample his wares at the Sheraton Park Tower in Knightsbridge...
For the past 34 years chef-patron JP Singh has been at the helm of Bukhara, one of New Delhi’s most renowned restaurants, and until June 1, Londoners will have the chance to sample his wares at The Luxury Collections’ Sheraton Park Tower in Knightsbridge.
Set in the hotel’s large, relaxed dining room, the mutely coloured and richly carpeted interior has been draped with light-coloured cloth from floor to ceiling, gently absorbing sounds and creating an atmosphere of cultivated calm. Adjacent to the dining room is a similarly tented rooftop bar replete with aromatic plants and trees, where you can relax on floor cushions and low wooden chairs while enjoying a chai whiskey or fresh raspberry and gin cocktail.
Singh is offering two tasting menus, one meat and seafood, and one vegetarian. Guests are encouraged to eat with their hands and everything is so carefully presented that you can’t imagine attempting otherwise. Dishes are brought out as they are prepared, and can be enjoyed together with side sauces including a refreshing fresh yoghurt raita, and a sharp and smoothly blended mint and coriander chutney.
While Singh sources most of his ingredients from the UK, he did have jumbo prawns brought over from India – and we can see why. Marinated in a mixture of yoghurt, red chillies and turmeric, flavoured with garam masala and roasted over a charcoal fire, they are incomparably meaty and delicate at once. The paneer on the vegetarian menu is similarly a revelation. Large squares of fresh cheese marinated in cream, gram flour, ajwain and yellow chillies and grilled in an earthen oven, Singh’s take on this Indian favourite is fabulously light yet textured, and rolled in a satisfyingly gritty spice mix.
"A visit to Bukhara London seems to have real purpose, which is to give you a good taste of the kind of culinary joys you could expect to find at Singh’s home base in New Delhi"
The Sikandri Raan, a whole leg of spring lamb, is marinated and braised in a mixture of malt vinegar, cinnamon and black cumin, and finished in a tandoor. Gently pulled and agreeably dry, it mixes well with whatever sauces you have accumulated on your plate, especially the raita. As with the other dishes, it is clear that Singh is using only the best ingredients, and while gentle spicing adds levels of complexity, the quality comes through in the lamb’s simple but elegant flavour.
The pastry-like pudina paratha is our favourite of the three light yet robust flatbreads that accompany the meal – tandoori naan and roti are the other two – although most of the dishes are so well-balanced we find ourselves enjoying the breads on their own, rather than using them as bases for other dishes.
Overall Bukhara London is low-key, elegant and endearingly ramshackle – exactly the right mixture of elements needed for a successful temporary restaurant. And while the pop-up trend seems to be wearing out its welcome, a visit here seems to have real purpose, which is to give you a good taste of the kind of culinary joys you could expect to find at Singh’s home base in New Delhi.
Other Bites
Having made a name for themselves for their site-specific, temporary dining experiences, German company Pret a Diner's latest venture in London is Italians Do It Better, a series of dinners spearheaded by 3-star Michelin chef Giorgio Locatelli. Until June 20 he will be creating traditionally-influenced Italian menus, and each week will be joined by one of five other Italian Michelin-starred chefs who will match his offering with their own contemporary interpretations. Located at 50 St James’s Street, around the corner from the Ritz, the dinners are set in a sprawling Grade II listed building with a grand central staircase and high vaulted ceilings. The main dining room has been fitted with a fence around the periphery, defining a kind of grandiloquent basketball court, complete with luminescent hoop. Cocktails have been designed by mixologist Tony Conigliaro from 69 Colebrooke Row.
Bukhara London is at the Sheraton Park Tower until June 1.
Text by Ananda Pellerin
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Ananda Pellerin is a London-based writer and Neil Wissink is a visual artist also based in London. More from The Hunger here, and contact The Hunger here.
