Tucked away on Maddox Street in Mayfair, Kanishka is Atul Kochhar’s take on contemporary Indian dining, elegant, imaginative and full of familiar flavours approached from a slightly different angle. Kochhar is one of the best-known names in Indian cooking in Britain. In 2001, while at Tamarind, he became the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star, later earning another at Benares. He opened Kanishka in 2019, originally drawing inspiration from the lesser-explored cuisines of north-east India, although today the menu travels more widely across the subcontinent.
Inside, it has a distinctly Mayfair polish. Lavish mirrored walls bring a little glamour, softened by warm lighting and intimate tables that make the space feel surprisingly cosy. It is smart without feeling overly formal, somewhere that works rather nicely for a long dinner.
The staff are also genuinely knowledgeable. Plenty is going on in some of these dishes, and having someone explain an unfamiliar spice or the thinking behind a particular combination adds to the experience without making dinner feel like a lesson. The wine and cocktails list is expertly curated, with classic cocktails and some quirky house specials. For our meal, we wanted to keep our palate fresh to fully appreciate the delicate spices and refined textures of the menu to follow, opting for a light chilled glass of Gavi di Gavi.
A few little surprises to begin
Before the starters arrived, we were treated to a selection of amuse-bouches – tiny, delicate flavour bombs that gave us our first hint of the kitchen’s more playful side. Beautifully presented, they were intricate little mouthfuls with unexpected flavours and textures, and a rather lovely way to begin.
To start
We had to try the Chicken Tikka Pie, one of Kanishka’s house specialities and a dish that immediately caught our attention. It is an unlikely-sounding marriage of British comfort food and Indian spice: beautifully seasoned chicken tikka tucked inside crisp pastry and served with a sharp berry chutney. Yet there is nothing gimmicky about it. The pastry, spice and slightly tart fruit work remarkably well together, making this one of those dishes you remember afterwards. Next came the Rosemary Seekh Kebab, with succulent spiced lamb given an aromatic lift from rosemary and accompanied by mint chutney and pickled onions. Rosemary isn't necessarily the first flavour you expect to find in a seekh kebab, but here it adds a subtle freshness rather than competing with the spices.
Onto the mains
The halibut was one of the most interesting dishes of the evening, and no surprise it came highly recommended by our waiter. The dish did not disappoint and arrived with perfectly flaky fish, served with a delicate coconut sauce with a gentle sweetness to it. There was something reminiscent of the creamy, comforting flavours we associate with a korma, but the idea had been pared back and reworked into something altogether lighter and more sophisticated. Sea vegetables and soft tapioca pearls brought contrasting textures, but it was that slightly sweet coconut sauce with the fish that stayed with us. A clever use of a very recognisable Indian flavour profile without simply recreating the original dish.
We then moved into richer territory with the Ahuna Gosht Curry, slow-cooked lamb with chilli, fennel and aromatic stone flower. Deeply flavoured and warming, this was the dish that called for something to scoop up the sauce. The Kanishka Signature Black Dal did very well alongside it. Dark, creamy and comforting, it was perhaps one of the least showy things on the table and one of the dishes we kept quietly going back to.
Sweet finish
Dessert was the Chocolate and Nariyal Rocher – Valrhona milk chocolate, coconut crémeux, mud sponge and cardamom ice cream. Chocolate and coconut make natural companions, but it was the cardamom ice cream that made the dish particularly interesting, cutting through the richness with its cool, fragrant spice. And just when dinner appeared to be over, sweet almond petit fours arrived at the table. These final delicate little bites rather neatly echoed the amuse-bouches that had started the meal.
What we liked about Kanishka is that the cooking doesn't seem intent on reinventing Indian food simply for the sake of it. Instead, familiar flavours appear in slightly unexpected places. Chicken tikka finds its way into a beautifully made pie; the gentle sweetness of coconut is used to bring an almost korma-like quality to delicate halibut; rosemary slips quietly into a seekh kebab. There is creativity here, but also a reassuring sense of familiarity.
There are also the smaller details that make a dinner memorable: those tiny amuse-bouches arriving before you have really begun, the selection of popadom and dips at the start where a cut above, staff who can genuinely talk you through what you're eating, and the unexpected almond petit fours appearing when you think you've finished.
Add the mirrored walls, flattering lighting and intimate tables and Kanishka feels very much at home in Mayfair – polished and glamorous, certainly, but with enough warmth to make you want to settle in rather than simply admire the surroundings. Located just off Regent Street and 5 minutes from Oxford Circus tube, the restaurant is ideally situated for post-work/post-shopping as well as special occasions.
Address: Kanishka by Atul Kochhar 17–19 Maddox Street, Mayfair, London W1S 2QH
For more information click here.
Words and photography by Claire Bloom
