I still have fond memories of watching my mum cooking traditional Indian food as a child. I would grab my step stool and stand next to her, near the stove. She would roll out her chapati’s so fast, but each of them would be this perfectly round shape. The identical size throughout the whole stack too, all carefully buttered. The whole kitchen used to smell of fresh bread and it was divine. I used to wait until she was onto the last one, before asking her if I could have one with sugar on top to eat at that moment. It was one of my favourite treats, especially as a boy with a major sweet tooth.
These chapati’s would be paired with the freshest, aromatic and spicy curries. The smell would be enough to make anyone want to join our dining table that evening. Often enough, guests would pop around just to have my mum’s Indian food. She definitely dishes up the best haleem, biryani and curries. Many people joked she should open her own restaurant, because she is a truly talented cook.
When you have grown up being spoilt by your mothers’ Indian cooking, you often find it to eat at Indian restaurants without comparing to your mum’s. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really great Indian restaurants in London that can put together a lovely Indian meal but none that truly impressed me, until now….
Yes. I found the place that not only could potentially match my mum’s cooking, but a place I think she would actually enjoy too!
Jamavar adds a true sense of luxury to Indian food. There are the likes of Gymkhana with the Michelin star behind it, but I think there could one coming up for Jamavar too. Possibly because Gymkhana’s chef Rohit is now the resident chef at Jamavar.
This little Mayfair restaurant has more to offer than just food and service, it’s the whole package. The ambience, the decor, the extensive menu and creativity with food too.
I had the pleasure of trying out Jamavar with Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi, who is also a huge fan of Indian food. We were both certainly in for a treat.
We started off with some delicious concoctions, Emma ordered the Sam Fire which consisted of Belvedere vodka infused with pink pepper corn, chai tea syrup, lychee purée & burlesque bitter. I ordered the Madari, which was made up of Monkey 47 gin, pink grapefruit zest, raspberry & Bolivar bitter topped with tonic water, which was delicious and refreshing.
Sipping away, having a good catch up whilst scouring the a la carte menu. I always have the best time with Emma, maybe it’s because we have the same sense of humour and mindset. Feel so lucky that blogging has brought like minded-people together.
For our starters, we ordered an array of of small plates. Our waiter recommended the Malai Stone Bass Tikka which was served with mace, green cardamom and avocado chutney. As you all know, i’m not normally a seafood fan but the stone bass was just amazing. It was extremely fleshy and cooked to perfection. The chargrilled outer gave it a lovely smoked flavour and a bit of a crisp texture. Definitely a dish to order!
Emma on the other hand is a real seafood lover and was salivating at the sound of the scallops bhel. Bhel to me is more a street food kind of dish, but I liked that they contrasted it and paired it with something more luxurious like scallops. I couldn’t bring myself to try the scallops, but the bhel itself was delicious. Full of spice but also a sweet and tangy tamarind & date chutney.
Our penultimate starter was Bharwan Mirchi, which is paneer stuffed with sweet peppers and chopped purple potato. The dish was a vegetarian’s dream. Packed with so many flavours and a soft core, it just melted in your mouth. So delicious!
Lastly, we ordered the Kid Goat Shami Kebab with black cardamom, served up with a spot of mint chutney, classic Indian style gravy and a helping of chur chur paratha. This dish was another of the melt in your mouth dishes here at Jamavar. Excellent indian food with high standards, that’s what I would say.
After quite a heavy start to our meal, we went for the classic butter chicken curry. Not only is it one of my favourite dishes, i’ve never been able to make it very well at home. Therefore, I make the most of it at Indian restaurants. Saying that, i’ve not had butter chicken like they serve at Jamavar. It’s on another level! I think it may be to do with the fact the chicken is cornfed, then pulled and chargrilled to perfection. This literally could be the best butter chicken in the city! You heard it here first.
Keeping things simple, Emma and I ordered some peshwari and garlic naan, with some lightly spiced bharta (aubergine) to accompany our divine main course.
Now remember how I said me and Emma get on really well? I mean, I can’t help being so loquacious. We had actually overstayed our booking (which baring in mind is usually 2 hours), which meant we were shipped off to another table downstairs.
However, there was dessert and maybe a little extra tipple on the cards so all was well again… or so I thought!
I mean, it’s really hard to get desserts wrong, but I think the desserts at Jamavar were a bit of a let down. I’ve grown up eating/drinking (you kind of do both!) falooda but the one served lacked so much flavour and indulgence. Falooda is usually rose syrup, vermicelli, sweet basil seeds, and pieces of jelly with milk then off with a scoop of ice cream. Doesn’t that just sound so extravagant? Probably because they usually are! This one was Rhubarb flavoured, which is a rookie mistake in itself – some things should not deviate from the classics. The falooda itself just tasted like one massive thick fruit puree, with a small helping of vermicelli and a tiny scoop of ice-cream. Not a fan.
When I saw Emma’s ‘Gulab Jamun’ as it is often called, I was a bit gobsmacked. Especially as I was just telling her and showing her the photo of how my mum makes them, soft and full of delicious syrup. Except, Emma’s dessert resembled a cheesecake with tiny gulab jamun’s inside. I literally had to double check that she ordered the right dessert. It’s a real shame as the meal and service was so great up until we got to the dessert. Just hope we have a better dessert experience next time we go.
Other than that, it was the perfect evening. I would definitely recommend visiting Jamavar if you love Indian food.
Star rating for Jamavar:
Until next time…
