Great news for the residents of Maida Vale and St John’s Wood who crave top-notch Indian food but don’t want the hassle of going into Central London. Ritu, open since May, solves this problem handily. The restaurant is the first London venture from the entrepreneur and restaurateur Anubhav Sriavasta who has two well-regarded outlets in Chennai. With Ritu, he’s making a clear statement about his London intent. The restaurant is located on a prime corner site just off the Abbey Road and the collective CVs of the team impress, with Ritu’s culinary director having done stints at Benares and Zaika.
The concept behind Ritu lies in its name, meaning ‘seasons’ in Sanskrit. The chef and his team therefore emphasise the use of seasonal ingredients from across the Indian continent. When my dining comrade and I visited on a recent weekday night, we were delighted to step into the warmth of the restaurant, a pleasing contrast to the exterior autumn temperature. No expense has been spared on décor, with swanky lights and many mirrors. Even the choice of cutlery – beautifully finished – speaks to the venue’s eye for detail. So far, so impressive, even if we both felt that Ritu was somewhat too brightly lit. We also got the sense that the team (or the restaurant manager in particular) was perhaps a little over-eager in seeking to please. With almost six months of operating under its belt, teething problems ought to have been ironed out by now, so I only imagine it must have been a function of the restaurant being very quiet on the evening when we visited. After our orders had been taken with somewhat indecent haste, there was then the anticipation of the food.
What stands out at Ritu is that diners will find many options on the menu that are not readily available elsewhere: a lotus stem chaat starter, or a mustard and dill marinated salmon with masala sauerkraut from the tandoor stand out as notable examples. Of course, for the traditionalists, there’s still chicken tikka or rogan josh. Being of a more enterprising bent, your reviewer began with a pair of gunpowder prawns. The dish comprised jumbo prawns that had been split and peeled off their shells before being served alongside an innovative masala Caesar sauce. There was the perfect balance of rich juiciness from the meat and a spicy tingle from the sauce. Presentation was superlative, as we found across all our dishes. Onto the main and my Konkan goat curry was a wonderful expression of both taste and colour. The dish had depth but never felt heavy despite the inclusion of potatoes. A spinach and corn side served as a perfect foil. Drinks-wise it was pleasing to see a Mosel Riesling on the menu – my preferred wine pair for curry – even if the bottle was relatively pedestrian. At least the wine’s mark-up was pleasingly non-egregious. Our bill did come out in three figures, but it felt mostly fully justified. It was also pleasing to learn that Ritu will soon be offering take-away/home delivery too.