Nawab's review of Banyan On The Thames at the Hotel Rafayel

As culinary expert I come across and visit these new places for signs of any renaissance of original recipes, on that count Thames is a great restaurant and has a first-rate set of choices.

East meeting west in superior gastronomic kitchens is traditionally known as so-called fusion which is neither here nor there, in my opinion Banyan on Thames combines a tradition of authentic national dishes in one menu, it needed a big chef to put seared Tuna a very Japanese cuisine, sea bass that I would rate as good a Mediterranean recipe as one can get, and a warrior lamb a grand authentic north sub-continental dish.

I asked the maître d’hôtel how did they evolved such an original idea that include variety of tastes, his answer was that our owner had talked to Harrods food store and selected the top ten best sellers in the food hall as the back bone of the menu, this is what the popular taste of modern Londoner a sophisticated, cosmopolitan and a global man.

I think this has a very good potential though maître d’ here is young man from Estonia no one near maître d's, such as Oscar Tschirky of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, New York, who prepared food, boning fish tableside and mixing salads, but the staff has good pedigree.

It is great value for money.