Chutney Mary

I had resisted going to this restaurant because I had gone years ago and remember it being a bit touristy and over-priced. (as well as inconvenient to our South Kensigton hotel). I am so glad that I gave in to my husband's choice. The food was first-rate, and the service was warm and polished .We arrived a bit early, and the staff was in a meeting. The hostess could not have been more welcoming — she showed us to a comfortable seat in the lounge and gave us menus to browse through. Once we were seated, the waiters were lovely. We ordered the curry tasting platter, which included a wonderful range of dishes — there was a lot of variation in flavor and spiciness, and the meat was tender. I also ordered one of the specialty martinis. Now I have to say, New York martinis are always much larger and stronger than what we find in London, but this one was interesting and reasonably well-sized. London has much better Indian restaurants than New York does these days, and I'm sure that there are many small, out of the way places that we don't know about. But we were happy to have gone to Chutny Mary on this evening — the staff was gracious and the food was terrific.

Exceptionally good quality curry – but can be a little pricey may be because of the area it is situated in.

The quality and presentation of the food is spot-on. The serving staff are attentive without being intrusive. The restaurant has tasteful décor and decent air-conditioning.

Vegetarians are well catered for; the veggie Thali was absolutely delicious, but not a huge portion and you'll probably need to top it up with some side veg. Even the nan – usually included with a thali, had to be paid for extra. My friend declared the lamb to be amongst the best they had ever had.

A great place to get deliciously memorable curry at Chutney Mary. I wish I could afford to eat there every week!

The food here is exceptional – especially the tasting menu, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Chutney Mary must be my local curry house. Well, it’s not so much across the street, but it’s within a convenient walk along the King’s Road, where it has remained since its opening twenty-years ago. Happy birthday to you.

Arriving early I asked for a cocktail and was recommended the mango and lime Martini, being told that it’s their most popular cocktail. It arrived in standard cone-shaped glass with a lime on the side that I squeezed into the neon-glow of thick mango and white rum. It was good; a sharp beginning turns into a sweet rum veneer.

My friend opted for a Lychee Martini, which was not served with lychee on a cocktail stick as I’d expected (visit Christopher’s Martini Bar in Covent Garden for their Lychee Martini). Reports were that it was smooth and sweet, ‘the lychee softening the Martini’. All cocktails are priced £7.50.

We sat in the new conservatory area of the restaurant where a ficus tree spouts from the middle of the room and through the glass out towards the stars. The restaurant has an unassuming entrance but once inside is vast, if a little disjointed with stairs and seating areas split into platforms and around new corners. It’s beautifully decorated after a recent refurbishment, adding four murals with 40,000 glittering Swarovski crystals.

We opted for the Tasting Menu (£70.00) where dishes are matched with a suitable wine. First up was a scallop malabar (not poppadoms) with a coconut and ginger sauce. The single, plump scallop was a little underdone and I found the ginger over-powered the coconut, but nevertheless the dish was light and zippy and consumed briskly. This was paired with an Iona Sauvignon Blanc that fell somewhat flat for my tastes and felt a little over-tropical and complicated alongside some already perplexed flavours.

Duck Galouti followed and was a small pâté of duck meat mixed with caramelized onion, cinnamon and saffron. It had been seared on both sides and served alongside sweet blueberry chutney. The cinnamon hit the taste buds with a sudden kick, like a pinprick on the senses. The taste of warm, seared duck with onion was pleasant but perhaps there was too much cinnamon as it was the lasting flavour from the dish and took precedence over the duck.

Chicken Malai Tikka had the same blueberry chutney. I can only assume the kitchen over-ordered on the chutney and tins upon tins of blueberry chutney lined the walls, eager to be employed. The chicken appeared dry in texture, perhaps from sweltering kitchen lights or left on the counter too long? The tikka seasoning was therefore not as fresh and pungent as it needed to be. The blueberry chutney was good although I can’t decide if it suited duck or chicken better. The accompanying Flat Rosé from the Barossa Valley self reviews itself and I thought did not suit the dish, its airy tones of strawberry were too delicate against the deep, sweet chutney.

The Tandoori Prawns arrived with a Tandoori Sea Bass, which we had ordered separately and away from the Tasting Menu. I caught it on the Starters and just had to have it. The sea bass is marinated in lime and placed deep into a clay tandoori oven where it is part-baked (with temperatures that can approach up to 480°C). The heat from the oven is generated from the charcoal and thus exposes the fish to extremely hot air and a radiant heat. The result is a thermogenic explosion of flavours. The meaty flesh fell softly and the skin tasted plumb and peppery. The prawns were large (perhaps genetically modified?) and dressed with a plum and red currant sauce that kept the standards up.

Finally, we reach the main course before we’re prematurely full, and dishes that resemble what we’ve come to describe in this country as ‘traditional Indian grub’. Of course, this is not the case, Chicken Tikka Masla was is in fact an invention by the Brits, order this in India and you’ll receive a quizzical look before being taken outback and beaten with sticks and wet cloth. Absurd as this sounds, Glasgow MP Mohammed Sarwar (not distinguishably Glaswegian) suggested it should be given EU Protected Geographical Status as a Scottish food. Jeez, it doesn’t taste of deep-fried haggis or pulverized tatties, so how on earth can we call it Scottish?

We’re presented with some recognisable dishes such as Lamb Korma and Green Chicken Curry, and there’s a Bhindi Dopyaza next to a coastal prawn dish too. Each are given there own ‘Chutney Mary’ branded silver serving bowl and line up in a half-crest at the peak of your plate. It’s first-rate presentation. Surprisingly, I didn’t enjoy the cardboard Lamb Tikka, its sterile almost aniseed taste left a lurking bitterness in the mouth as if licking a spoon. Green Chicken Curry was by far the hottest and had a thick and fiery kick that made my eyes roll back into my head. Each of the chicken chunks was meaty, fiery and delicious.

We gluttonously moved on to the fuchsia prawn dish – fishy and satisfying, but it was the crunchy okra in the Bhindi Dopyaza that dazzled. All were boosted by the wine choice of Yalumba Bush Grenache which is rather similar to the popular Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It’s a heavier wine than our previous with stronger hints of blackberry and cranberry to give it an overall heavier and richer finish that joins nicely with the meats.

There’s certainly nothing drab or ordinary about these Chutney Mary dishes. Each is constructed with precision to fully elevate each ingredient. Emphasis is on the distinct spices and flavourings, as one might expect, and the Gourmet Tasting Menu is a carefully selected list to give you a small sampling of the restaurant’s best dishes.

What’s interesting is that Indian cuisine contains such variety, with elements from the furthest of regions, yet in this country we tend to stick with only a very small choice. Chutney Mary expands on what we think we know, adding twists to some recognisable dishes (desserts for instance offer Baked Alaska with a citrus centre and meringue with a touch of pepper, and crème brulee spiced gently with garam massala).

A brief word with head chef Siddharth Krishna and I begin to understand the direction of the menu. Krishna comes from Goa but has travelled the country, from Delhi to Mumbai and moved to England fifteen years ago. He enjoys a play on flavours, fusing gourmet Indian cuisine with some street food traditions. There’s a heavy emphasis on fish and the menu changes with the seasons.

Reaching the culmination of the meal, my peach tart with butterscotch ice-cream was like a little sun on the plate. A wheel of warm peach with a jagged pastry wreath. The gingerbread and butter pudding was finished with an orange chilli sorbet and on recommendation we ordered our third dessert plate, a fresh fig kulfi that was indeed, the best dessert on the menu. Our final wine pairing was a glass of Muscat Beaumes de Venise from Rhône. It has a golden colouring and floral fragrance and is a delicate dessert wine, too sweet and stinging for me but it went down a treat on the other side of the table.

Booked for our parents 50 Wedding anniversary . 12 people o n arrival was told that the children should be quite , we were put into a pokey corner table , hardly enough space to sit properly , every time the waiter passed to get into the small space in-between the table and wall the picture on the wall moved , as we went to take pictures we were told we could not as it would disturb the other guests . We had told the restaurant that it was a 50th Wedding anniversary and there were vegetarians , we were assured they would be well catered for , unfortunately the options were limited and I can say my parents left without a proper meal .
The waiters in general were professional in service but with poor English , certainly giving the impression of minimum wage . The food was average , and being Indian can say you are paying high prices for mediocre food ,the glitz of the restaurant and location may compensate .

Chutney Mary is a stalwart of the Kensington and Chelsea culinary scene and is most definitely not your average local curry house. With a sleek interior, bejewelled wall-mounted tapestries and a cluster of plush booth underneath a leafy exotic oasis of palm trees, you could easily be forgiven for thinking were in some far off corner of India, instead of Kings Road.

I order the Haleem, Nizami Kebabs and Scallops to begin with. Haleem is a slow cooked lamb dishes made with broken wheat and yoghurt that cooks down to a sticky and delicious consistency that begs to be served with some good naan bread. It is a very special dish indeed and I could quite easily eat a whole plate of it and nothing else. Nizami kebabs are long spicy minced lamb kebabs, moist and piquant with an accompanying chilli sauce. The scallops, taken from their classic menu, come with a saffron-infused coconut sauce and a fiery red chilli sauce giving it the gentle kick it needs.

We go onto have Hyderabadi Lamb Biryani, with Mangalore prawns, Goan green chicken curry and even get to try goose ‘Galwati’ patties. Biryanis are one of my favourite Indian dishes and this one doesn’t disappoint. Huge chunks of tender, spiced lamb amongst buttery and perfectly cooked rice, with a delicate layering of chilli and no doubt a myriad of other spices. The Goan green chicken curry reads much like a Thai green curry, with coriander, chillies and coconut, but it puts the Thai version to shame. Richer in flavour, bolder in depth of spice and a vibrant emerald green in colour with coriander and I also detect a hint of fenugreek too. Giant Mangalore prawns arrive in a spicy tamarind, tomato and coconut sauce, meaty prawns cooked to perfection and every mouthful a real pleasure.

When it comes to dessert, Indian food always falls short of the glory it achieves with it’s savoury offerings, however one particular dish on the menu catches my attention and I just have to have it…. beetroot Halwa Tart. “Beetroot?” You ask? Yes, beetroot. Not the first time I have seen beetroot in a dessert, although it is more commonly paired with chocolate these days. The usual Gajjar Halwa is a sort of carrot fudge that is incredibly sweet but interesting nonetheless but beetroot Halwa is a very different animal indeed. The first bite is unusually subtle and after a few chews a delicious rounded sweetness hits your taste buds, not too much that it feels sickly, but just right. I manage to devour the whole thing in four bites and I couldn’t be happier. It is definitely my kind of dessert, light, not too sweet or heavy, the perfect end to my meal.

Service is just as you would want it to be, attentive but not obtrusive and the restaurant is busy with eager diners awaiting their respective feasts. Overall a great meal in a great restaurant and definitely somewhere I shall be visiting again soon.

A warm welcome and great decor.
Food and drink was fantastic and wonderful service.
The bench and long line of tables of two, did mean that I felt we lost the intimacy we were hoping for.

I absolutely enjoyed Chutney Mary. service was brilliant and incredibly swift although there was 6 of us at the table. We were lucky to sit in the conservatory under the tree, which was very pretty. Waiters are very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Nice atmosphere, lovely decor and warm atmosphere.

Chutney Mary is quite lovely inside. The best place to sit is in the conservatory, where you can sit under a big tree, on lots of pretty cushions, and feel somewhat enlightened as you tuck into your chicken tikka. Our starters ranged from veggie street food to duck kebabs and all were quite delicious, yes, EVEN the veggie ones. For mains, we asked if they did any biriyanis, which themselves weren't on the menu. The waiter kindly said it should be possible to make some so we ordered several of these, plus some sort of chicken dish for one of our group. Actually, this is the second time i've ordered something which was ‘off menu’ (pomegranete raita) and both times, the waiters were happy to oblige. Biriyanis were delicious, with a similar pastry crust as Zaika introduced, but not as nice, but the content was certainly mouthwatering, as you might expect! We had a number of standard sides but all in all, a very comforting good indian meal. Our bill came to £100 approx for 4 people, and that was with the discount. Which does mean that without a discount, you'd be looking at £40 a head without alcoholic drinks, which is quite hefty given the array of indian restaurants in London. But then we are in Chelsea…

The thing with Chutney Mary is, i feel, the food is not quite outstanding, as i'd say Zaika is, but on the flip side, it's been around so long that there has to be something special about it, maybe the out of the way oasis location, or the excellent service, or just the lovely decor. Worth trying after you've tried Zaika and Veeraswamy and the Painted Heron…