Vatavaran

Vatavaran (“atmosphere”), located on the busy Beauchamp Place near Harrods, opened in November 2024. It is spread over four floors including a top floor bar and is run by Rohit Ghai, who was the original opening chef at Jamavar. The co-founder is Abhi Sangwam, who also established Manthan and Kutir. As well as the a la carte menu, there was a tasing menu at £75 (£70 vegetarian) and a £30 three course lunch available. The décor is smartly decorated and the restaurant can seat up to 120 diners at capacity. 

The wine list had 257 labels and ranged in price from £39 to £1,250, with a median price of £127 and an average markup to retail price of 3.3 times. Sample references were Touraine Sauvignon Guy Allion Haut Perron 2022 at £44 for a bottle that you can find in the high street for £17, Müller Thurgau Cantina Andrian 2022 at £60 compared to its retail price of £10, and La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva 2015 at £89 for a wine that will set you back £41 in the high street. For those with the means there was Château Léoville Las Cases Saint Julien 2017 at £584 compared to its retail price of £214, and Barolo Riserva Gran Bussia Poderi Aldo Conterno 1996 at £860 for a wine whose current market value is £320. I drank Kingfisher beer at my visit.

We began with a basket of popadoms (£7), supplemented by potato crisps and think, crisp flatbread, served with mango chutney, tomato chutney and pineapple chutney. Aloo tikki (£12) had a potato patty with chutneys of tamarind, mint and pomegranate with a few radishes and some rather superfluous pea shoots as a garnish (maybe coriander would have worked better?). The chutneys had good flavour and the pomegranate provided freshness, the potato retaining some texture (13/20). Tandoori lamb chops (£24) were a pair of large lamb chops that had been flavoured with cumin and a little chilli before being cooked. The chops were pink in the centre and had plenty of flavour, the meat nicely enhanced by the spices and accompanied by a good mint chutney (easily 14/20).

Chicken tikka biryani (£22) was served in a cast iron pot sealed with puff pastry, which is how it should be dine in my view. The pastry seal means that all the cooking aromas are kept until the pastry is cut open at the table. The rice was aromatic and the grains of rice well defined, and the generous pieces of chicken avoided the dryness that can afflict biryanis made in less skilled hands than these (15/20). Managlorean stone bass (£24) was nicely cooked and had a particularly well-balanced sauce featuring coconut and tamarind, the latter providing some sweet and sour flavour that went very well with the fish (14/20). 

Dahi aloo (£8) had potato pieces cooked with carom seeds and yoghurt, the potatoes keeping their texture well, their flavour nicely enlivened by the spices they were cooked with (14/20). Black dhal (£10) was an esxcellent rendition of this classic dish, with black lentil, spices and butter cooked slowly overnight until the dhal has the correct consistency. The result was suitably dark with a hint of smoky flavour, the spices coming through well (14/20). Garlic naan (£5) had soft texture and plenty of garlic flavour, while lacha paratha was very good. This bread can easily be either too dry or too greasy, but this one successfully navigated the tightrope between these issues and was just right (14/20).

For dessert, halwa (£9) was attractively presented, with heaps of heritage carrot halwa separated by orange flavoured blobs, miniature madeleines and cashews. The acidity of the orange nicely contrasted with the sweet richness of the carrot. There was also a brittle for texture contrast. Perhaps the madeleines could have added more in the way of texture but they were few and far between, so perhaps they were unnecessary (13/20).

A trio of sorbets (£8) featured one with mango and passion fruit, another with coconut, and a final one with mixed berries. There was plenty of fruit flavour in the sorbets, but they were served too cold, initially being hard to cut into. This is something that should be easily fixed, and once they had warmed up a bit the sorbets tasted good (13/20). Coffee was just industrial Lavazza rather than a speciality coffee, so I skipped this. There were petit fours in the form of mango parfait and white chocolate truffle.

Service was very good, the waiters being attentive and helpful. As a general observation, the spicing was bold and distinct, with clearly distinguishable flavours and sufficient spicy heat to liven things up without overpowering the dishes. If you ate three courses and shared a modest bottle of wine then a typical cost per person might come to around £110, so this is not going to be a cheap evening, but you are in the heart of Knightsbridge in lavish surroundings. As it happens, I was entirely unable to get a bill tonight, so we just left a good tip in cash for the staff. Vataran offers high quality food with good service in a smart environment, so it was unsurprising that, on this cold Sunday night in February, they were turning tables.