Restaurant reviewers by their very nature tend to be a sceptical bunch, with high expectations and hard to please. Just as goalkeepers are often remembered for the bloopers they concede rather than the saves they make, truly bad service always trumps cooking of whatever standard. Even with such a jaundiced world view, Gourmand Gunno can confidently state that his curry at Manthan was one of the best he has enjoyed recently.
Located in a lovely townhouse in Mayfair (on the former site of another Indian, Lucknow 49), the venue provides an opportunity for chef Rohit Ghai (ex-Benares, Trishna, Jamavar and more) to pay homage to the country of his birth. In interviews, he states that he has never had the opportunity to cook quite like this before, with an emphasis on authenticity and an acknowledgment of the country’s multifarious regional styles. Manthan, translated, means “to churn and reflect.” While the prominence of such a statement on the venue’s website could perhaps be considered unfortunately misleading – I do not want to imagine my meal churning in my stomach – the sentiment and intention behind it is spot on.
Both my comrade (as well as chief photographer for this lunch) and I left Manthan with only positive reflections, both stating independently that we could not book our next visit soon enough. Maybe it’s because diners are made to feel welcome from the get-go. The staff were enthusiastic and well-informed. Nothing seemed too much trouble, whether it was moving us to a different table, offering to compile a meal for us should we not wish to choose a la carte and being given the chance to sample from an open bottle of wine before ordering our drinks. The decor (a combination of teal blue, mirrors, gilt and drapes) helps make Manthan the sort of place one wants to relax into; an expression of opulence rather than ostentation.
Foodwise, Manthan is about as different from your average curry house as you could imagine. Neither my comrade nor I had ever seen the likes of bone marrow or a chef’s local interpretation of Osso Buco on an Indian restaurant’s menu before. Both these dishes (a starter and main respectively) made it into our selection. Diners are encouraged to share all dishes. For a pair of guests, three starters, two mains and some sides constitute an ideal quantity. First up was a dish of masala prawns. These started our meal with a bang and were indicative of the standard to come. Accompanied with sesame, peanut, coconut and chilli, we both felt that we had probably not had a better Indian prawn dish elsewhere previously. There was a harmony of flavour and a subtle mouth-tingling spice intensity. That such a dish could be light and delicate but pack a punch simultaneously speaks to the chef’s culinary accomplishment. Other offerings continued in the same vein. Plaudits too to Manthan for their presentation. Many Indians, I feel, are let down by the broadly homogenous colour and display of the dishes. Here, they were a riot of colour and expression. We left pleasantly full and very happy.