Indian Accent has three branches only – one in New Dehli, one in New York and now (2017) in London. Having been steered to come to its London branch, I was bowled over by the quality of Indian cooking here from going in and was even more surprised to see that some of these superb dishes are available on the lunch menu at the same time. The skill is obvious to see from afar and certain moments like the smoked bacon kulcha bread and keema with quail egg are – no joke – absolute stunners and strong enough to make a booking on these alone and with other things being a possible bonus. There are multiple menu options (something that the best Indian restaurants, particularly in London seem to excel in) including set lunch, pre-theatre, brunch on weekends and tasting menus. By way of a summary I thought this was actually stronger than any of the Michelin starred restaurants in London and think if ever there was an Indian restaurant that deserves the same accolade, it is here.
I have been to Indian Accent twice and each time, the amuse bouche of coconut and pumpkin mini soup at the start has been utterly superb and with a surprisingly good blue cheese naan bite as well. It is unusual for me to think so much of an amuse bouche, but this really did succeed. The vegetable naan with supporting pau dip was pleasing whereas the smoked bacon and butter chicken kulfas were utterly beautiful. Each kulfa has their superb filling and the sheer kick of flavour from the excellent bacon filling in particular is frankly marvellous.
I have been to Indian Accent twice and each time, the amuse bouche of coconut and pumpkin mini soup at the start has been utterly superb and with a surprisingly good blue cheese naan bite as well. It is unusual for me to think so much of an amuse bouche, but this really did succeed. The vegetable naan with supporting pau dip was pleasing whereas the smoked bacon and butter chicken kulfas were utterly beautiful. Each kulfa has their superb filling and the sheer kick of flavour from the excellent bacon filling in particular is frankly marvellous.
The dahl was reassuringly smooth and creamy and the shredded and spiced lamb with mini pancakes is another quality dish. As the lamb is spiced so well, I didn’t think it actually needed the overly powerful supporting chutneys, however the lamb was gorgeously tender with the fun of packing and wrapping your own pancake to taste. Chicken kofta with its vegetable fritters and and sour yoghurt sauce was nicely done but the other main star of the show was soy keema dish with quail’s egg. The indulgent egg gives the already wonderful keema dish another level of decadence and to eat it, you would not have any idea that a soy dish could taste this good – it is a reason to come to Indian Accent on its own.
The lentil cereal was light and crispy as another play on the conventional use of lentils and its side of cauliflower transformed in to wafer thin crisps producing a pleasing but on the dryer side of a dish. Already approaching full, the thought of a dessert was not at the uppermost on the mind, however we were assured that the Makhan Malai would not be heavy. Thankfully this turned out to be 100% correct as was essentially a very airy mousse made from saffron and milk with just a few almonds for texture and rose petals for presentation. Saffron can be quite pungent, but this was done to a remarkably good balance and skilful level in a dessert not seen very often and which was another success of the meal.
All in, the bill came to just under £50 per head for additional snacks, three courses, tea, beers and service which, for this standard of cooking was entirely fair and I was more than ok with this price as a result. In my view it actually out-classes the 5 Michelin starred Indian restaurants in the UK (all of which happen to be in London). Although these are good, I would sooner return to Indian Accent in a heartbeat before hand.
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