Kanishka

julie P

Our experience at Kanishka was a mixed bag. Firstly the table was in the corner and close to the store room, unfortunately this meant that my husband experienced a cold draft to his back during the evening, and was squeezed against a redundant work station. Secondly we were using a Square Meal gift voucher that was a birthday gift from my son. When it came to paying, the first waiter said that he knew nothing about Square Meal. The manager came across and said that although Kanishka advertised with Square Meal, the restaurant didn't accept vouchers. I produced evidence from the website to prove that they did. He added that if we were to pay in full, then he would call me on Monday. Regrettably the staff are not very knowledgeable on how the scheme works (apparently you have to pay and then get reimbursed!). The whole experience made us feel a little shabby and drew unnecessary attention to the business of payment.

Food was good, when it eventually arrived as we were firstly brought the wrong meals.

All in all not what we had hoped to experience from what is generally regarded to be a prestigious restaurant.

Anon

Had a birthday celebration lunch and whilst the food was lovely the service was below standard and the restaurant lacks ambiance. I emailed in advance informing the restaurant of my dietary requirements and this was not noted on our booking and the waiter was adamant that I could only order from the set menu. Took awhile to get through to him that I do not eat paneer or tofu and they eventually let me order from the main menu. This spoilt our lunch somewhat, having said that the food was nice but not brilliant. 

Anthea C

Anon

TinaS

We took our friends to Kanishka for their 30th wedding anniversary.  The service we received from start to end was 10 out of 10, the maitre d' welcomed us whole heartedly , the waiters were very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable and to top the whole experience Chef Atul Kochhar went out of his way to greet us not once but twice. Even the chefs preparing the meals were very friendly.  The food was was very flavoursome and aromatic the spices used were well balanced- enjoyed every morsel of food - the only downside and this is being very very picky, for us the food was very generous in size ( we all have small appetites!)

Can’t wait to visit again!!

Alex G

Restaurants come and go in London, with around half shutting within a year of opening. I fear Kanishka may well fall into this category. Maybe I was negatively prejudiced towards the venue, having never rated chef Atul Kochhhar’s previous Benares venture, but I have no specific desire to return to Kanishka. Sure, the concept is great. What the restaurant aims to do is take food from a lesser known region of India – the north east, where the country borders China and Nepal and so draws on these influences – and bring it to London. However, the décor in Kanishka felt brash, the vibe wrong, and the food not quite good enough to justify the inflated price tags. Located doors away from Bombay Bustle (which I would rank much more highly on all counts), Kanishka occupies the former site of 28:50. The bar area has been shrunk and the dining space correspondingly enlarged. While upstairs was fairly busy on our recent week night visit, the capacious downstairs (where the toilets are also located) was deserted. Upstairs, diners are forced to confront a garish turquoise décor which looks as if it has literally been tacked to the walls, while having to endure slightly-louder-than-necessary upbeat nightclub style music. Maybe Kanishka has a certain demographic in mind, but it didn’t work for me. Whatever the demographic, they better come with hefty wallets, since starters will set you back around £15, with mains roughly double. At this price, the food ought to be good. Having done my research, I learned that the meat staple in this region of India is yak. Sadly, it is not possible to source yak in London (as far as I know) and so diners have to make do with lamb and venison as substitutes instead. There is no shortage of culinary daring and experimentation on the menu as evidenced by, say, my starter of venison (not yak) tartare served with a quail egg. The dish in question was light yet packed full of intense chilli-dominated flavour. Alternatively, diners could go for the likes of Tibetan guinea fowl or scallops served with smoked chilli. My goat curry main did also impress, showing a wonderful earthy smokiness with the same emphasis on chilli (and, in this case, black pepper) intensity. By contrast, my comrade’s murg makhani (effectively posh chicken tikka) was bland and insipid and seemed somewhat incongruous on a menu which claims to draw on north eastern influences. The wine list is relatively brief but shows some originality, although pricing again is not for the faint-hearted. My bet: Londoners may come and try this venue for novelty, but there won’t likely be much repeat business.