If there was ever a restaurant in London that has kept up with the times more than any other of its age, it’s Amaya. I’ve visited this restaurant twice over the past few years and on both counts I’ve absolutely adored it. Before London was flooded like it is now with fine-dining Indian restaurants, Amaya ten years ago was still serving authentic, progressive Indian food before the rest and it still is to this day.
The reason for our return to this Amaya was to celebrate its 15th birthday party at a rather fabulous soiree its owners put on one for one very special evening. For those of you don’t know anything about the restaurant, I want to introduce it – because it really is special. Opened in 2004, Amaya was the idea of its creators Ranjit Mathrani, Namita Panjabi and Camellia Panjabi, who are also the owners of two other exquisite London Indian restaurants – Chutney Mary and Veeraswamy.
During the evening we got to discover things that I personally didn’t know about the restaurant and I doubt most people visiting would find out. Amaya’s impressive open kitchen with its tandoor clay oven’s, sigri grill and tawa griddle is where all of the cooking happens. What really impressed is that there is no hidden kitchen upstairs or downstairs so around 90% of the produce is delivered to the restaurant every day meaning everything is as fresh as it could possibly be and not stored elsewhere. The same goes for the spices, meats are sourced according to what is in season and absolutely nothing is cooked in oil. It’s a very impressive operation.
As we settled in and sipped on far too much wine (well I did anyway) we tucked into a chunk of tandoori foie gras. I’ve had a lot of foie gras over the years, but never cooked in a tandoor and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to eat it any other way again. The middle was soft and melted in the mouth, but structured and crunchy on the outside. This was foie gras on steroids.
One dish I absolutely adored here is the Punjabi chana chaat which comes served in a crispy tart. Chaat is one of my all time favourite Indian dishes and this version took it to new heights. Visually it looked spectacular and in the mouth if was packed with so many flavours and textures. Sweet, salivating tamarind chutney, spicy coriander chutney, cooling yoghurt and just about everything crispy. I believe this dish was part of the new menu and so if you see it – order it!
Next up was a gargantuan selection of some incredible seafood. Rock oysters had been flash grilled with a light crumb coating and coconut & ginger sauce was impeccable and coming from a non-oyster lover (I think this is the first time I’ve admitted this on the blog!) I was in love with them. Griddled king scallops in herb sauce were a divine mouthful and the huge plump tandoori ocean wild prawn smothered in a tomato & ginger paste was as always, stunning.
One of my favourite dishes is what would probably be considered the most simplest to anyone reading. I’m not sure how or what the process is when cooking chicken in Indian restaurants, but they manage to execute with such perfection and it’s always so succulent. Here it was covered in a black pepper tikka coating and the peppery dipping sauce on the side made for a rather salivating experience.
The lamb chops here are SENSATIONAL. I’m really not exaggerating. Each is (once again) perfectly cooked and smothered in smoked chilli sauce which had so much depth to it without been overly hot, but instead focusing on the richness of the chilli flavour. There was barely anything left on the bone by the time we finished and if ever I would want to re-create an Amaya dish at home – it would be this.
To accompany the dishes, there was also some lovely vegetarian plates which I enjoyed immensely, especially the tandoori cauliflower, spinach tikki with spiced fig and Amaya’s famous truffle naan which is probably one of the best you’ll find in London. The smell when it arrives to the table is so inviting.
I know I keep saying every single dish was excellent, but actually looking back this chicken biryani was hands down the best biryani I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. The pastry cover sealing everything in was tight and puffy which is exactly what you want. The rice inside was fluffy, moist and so fragranced I could almost taste the spices in the air and if memory serves well, it had a nice streak of saffron running through it and the chicken was so juicy and succulent. Served with boondi and pomegranate raita, this is biryani made for the gods.
For dessert, a Diwali mithai platter and by this point I quite honestly didn’t have much room left, but what I did have a few small bites of was lovely. I particularly enjoyed washing them all down with the boozy test tubes, one filled with Chateau Rieussec 1997 (a sweet wine from Sauternes) and Espresso Martini cocktail. It was the perfect way to end this stunning Michelin starred dinner at Amaya and one which really left a lasting impression with me. Would we come back? Absolutely and we won’t be leaving it so long to return this time around!
