Dining is back! Well, sort of. It might be freezing cold, windy and wet – but I’m not letting that stop me and whilst the evenings can be a struggle, I’ve found one place shaded from that chilly wind in the back streets of Chelsea. Kutir, which is housed inside a glorious former townhouse was beautifully renovated when it opened back in 2018 and now they have a shiny new garden terrace. Located upstairs at the back of the property and looking down onto the other townhouses of Chelsea, this terrace is shielded from the wind, but sadly also the sun – but it’s well heated and on a 14 degree day in the shade – It’s the warmest place I’ve eaten a meal outside this year so far.
When we last visited Kutir I had the ‘Madhosh’ cocktail and this time around it was just as good as I remembered it. A blend of peated scotch, brandy, calvados, honey and vermouth rosso. Another stunner was the “Nut-Khat”. I can’t quite recall what was in the latter, but it was essentially a delicious take on the Negroni and I’d highly recommend ordering.
Mango chutney, tamarind sauce, coriander chutney – all of my favourite Indian dips and the selection of poppadoms to accompany them are heavenly. The best part? If you run out, they’ll happily top you back up like they did us and so if you’re hungry – go crazy.
The aloo tikki chaat (crispy potato cake) smelt just as good as it looked and is another must order from the menu. Two crisp potato cakes on a bed of spiced chickpeas and smothered with coriander chutney, tamarind chutney and pomegranate seeds. It’s zesty, spicy and packed with different textures. This for me a real comfort food which is perfect whilst the weather is still a little chilly.
Two of my absolute favourite dishes were these two pictured above and below. The sea bass mappas was an absolutely stunning plate of food and I’d go as far to say it was one of the best I’ve enjoyed in a very long time. The seabass, perfectly cooked had the most flavoursome coconut and curry leaf sauce. It reminded me of the curries I would eat on my time in the Maldives. Rich, summery and packed with flavour – much like all of the dishes here. If I had to pick my own personal signature of Kutir – it has to be this.
The other favourite of ours was the paneer with a cashew and korma sauce. The paneer which arrived covered in a golden crunchy crumb, was unexpected – but very welcomed. It added a really lovely extra layer of texture to the dish which married up so well with the extra thick sauce. You could if you wanted simply pick up one of those panner chunks and mop up all of that sauce with them, but that’s where the bread basket on the menu comes in handy.
The real signature dish of Kutir probably has to be this lamb roganjosh. Made with Kashmiri chillies, onions and black cardamom, it’s as rich, silky and delicious as you would hope it to be. Instead of traditional lamb cubes, they’ve added a touch of decadence to the dish by using slow cooked lamb shanks which added yet another depth to it all.
As for sides, we ordered a steamed rice, gobhi adraki (North Indian cauliflower dish) and one of their legendary bread baskets which contains one of the best garlic naan breads you’re every likely to eat. The other breads I thought were excellent, but the naan is the winner for me.
To finish, some coconut truffles which come complimentary. We didn’t quite have room sadly for dessert, but I can assure you the Kutir experience continues to delight in this department as we enjoyed many on our last visit and so save room. It also meant it at least gives us a good enough excuse to return sooner rather than later to this fantastic Indian restaurant. Would we come back – of course we would!
