Consigned to the style of a fast vanishing world - at least around Britain’s most self-conscious cities - lager and flock wallpaper curry houses have given way to a new wave. Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, in the heart of London’s Chelsea area, is literally a step into that new era.

Rasoi meaning ‘kitchen’ and Vineet Bhatia meaning ‘fabulous, award-winning, bravura cook’. Vineet Bhatia is the chef who won Zaika the first Michelin star ever for an Indian restaurant, and now he’s opened this intimate, charming, upmarket restaurant off London’s uber-cool King’s Road.

In last year’s Egon Ronay Guide, Rasoi Vineet Bhatia was ranked as one of the seven best restaurants in London; and just sitting down and taking in the splendor of the ultra-exclusive restaurant gives you a sense why. The restaurant’s interior design is striking, with walls resembling a cross between an old African castle and a 1920’s Indian rickshaw: mysterious African masks, and splashes of colorful Indian saris and artwork (which we are told are all hand made by Mr. Bhatia’s extremely creative wife).

Once seated, I ordered the Chicken Platter, which was as rich and as thick as one of our beloved landed gentry, and faintly Indian in its saffron and coriander coating.

My guest’s first course was equally intriguing: an assorted spice-crusted sea platter, of chili and onion seed Salmon, gigantic deep fried prawns served on a classic bed of Kiche (an authentic rice dish of extraordinary intensity) and a crab bhajia - which rocketed the dish to give the entire fish market at Nice a run for its money.

My main course was a complex masterpiece of tastes, a glazed sea bass with a creamy sauce and a sticky semolina styled rice (called upama) that wasn’t actually sticky at all, but was wondrously infused with saffron - a truly sublime construction.

The ‘evolved Indian’ menu also included dishes like grilled spice marinated duck escalopes with hot tamarind chutney, sautéed garlic shiitake mushrooms and onion fritters, and pudding of poached pear, ginger, and yogurt cheesecake with blueberries and fennel sorbet.

OK, so this is Chelsea it’s not cheap, but the meal was worth every penny.

In fact, the entire restaurant is magnificent. Vineet Bhatia and his team run it in the traditional way, giving a personal service that’s now depressingly hard to find. To show you what I mean, our waiter - an awfully friendly chap from South India - introduced every inch of our meal with enough intensity and enthusiasm as Ainsley Harriot on speed.

That is service above and beyond the call of duty, and illustrates why Vineet Bhatia, his staff and his decadent little dining room are most definitely the genuine Indian article.

Rasoi Vineet Bhatia
10 Lincoln St.
Sloane Square
London, UK
Tel: 020 7225 1881
www.vineetbhatia.com

-Reviewed by Neha Gadhvi (nehagadhvi@hotmail.com)

Neha Gadhvi is a lifestyle journalist with over four years experience writing for magazines, websites, and newspapers.