From Hertfordshire to Soho

Saturday, May 21st , 2022

Madhu’s At The Grove (pictured) is the latest outpost of the expanding Madhu’s restaurant group that started in Southall and now has six branches, in addition to the largest Indian wedding catering business in the UK. The Grove is a luxury hotel in the Hertfordshire countryside, but other than one or two touches the menu is familiar from other Madhu’s restaurants: Punjabi food with one or two Kenyan elements (the family that set up Madhu’s left Kenya for the UK in the 1970s). The cooking was reliable and enjoyable, and this is a pretty spot if you are in the area.

Sola in Soho now has a Michelin star and continues to produce ambitious dishes based on very high-quality ingredients. Highlights at this meal included their signature langoustine with dashi broth, and there was even Matsusaka wagyu, the priciest beef in Japan. The dishes here are appealing and the price is not excessive given the unusually high ingredient quality used here.