It’s a hard time to be a new restaurant – particularly one with fairly steep prices when compared with your local curry house. But with Amit Bagyal (previously of the Michelin-starred Indian restaurants Benares and Kanishka) at its helm, Yaatra has enough going for it to help it stand out from the crowd.
Yaatra is located in the Old Westminster Fire Station – an iconic Grade II Edwardian building in the heart of tourist London. It’s a conversion fitting for a restaurant of this calibre; the original white wall tiles of the fire station have been preserved, but softened by the introduction of warm, deep red seats and booths – all of which were full when I visited. The restaurant was in its soft opening stage, but the staff were friendly and attentive, despite still having to find their feet.
What to eat
I started with the Tara Masai sea bass that was served with an apple raisin murabba (a fragrant preserve popular in India), alongside a mint chutney. The spices enhanced the flavour of the fish without overwhelming it and it was beautifully cooked and moist. The Achari – chicken tikka with pickled onions and berry chutney – was a superior version of the grilled marinated chicken beloved by all in Britain.
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For mains, I ate the grilled spiced salmon with a coconut and clam sauce which was accompanied by slices of turbot. The sauce was subtle, the pandan leaf providing extra depth and the clams adding salty sweetness, but it still managed to overwhelm the delicate flavour of the turbot, which felt like a bit of a waste.
The rack of smoked Herdwick lamb with a coriander, cinnamon and mint sauce
(Image credit: Yaatra)
I also sampled the smoked Herdwick lamb rack with a coriander, cinnamon and mint sauce, which was served with potatoes and honey-glazed carrots. Cooked pink as requested, the fine quality of the lamb was enhanced by the smokey spices. The coriander and cinnamon was a lovely twist on a more traditional mint sauce.
Alongside the mains, I tried dal makhani, a 36-hour slow-cooked black lentil and kidney bean dal that was rich, creamy and warming alongside cucumber and mint raita, pillowy naan and plain rice. The only disappointment was the tawa kaleji masala: chicken livers cooked with ginger, chilli and onion. They were overcooked to the point of graininess and took on a level of bitterness that wasn’t entirely pleasant, devoid of the sweetness that you usually associate with the dish.
Dessert and drinks
A £35 bottle of Harmonie de Gascogne Blanc accompanied the food, but I found that the aromatic flavours and zestiness fought with the spices, making the wine too tart to be a perfect accompaniment.
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Redemption came with the Moscato d’Asti Fratelli, an elegant dessert wine. Its floral, honeyed notes paired beautifully with the flavours of my carrot halwa tart with cardamom ice cream, and a chocolate and orange mousse which came with chocolate soil and raspberry sorbet.
The carrot halwa tart with cardamom ice cream was the star of the show
(Image credit: Yaatra)
Although the mousse was smooth and creamy, with the rich chocolate lightened by the refreshingly delicious sorbet, the tart was the star of the show. Set in a super-thin pastry case, the carrot flavour was enhanced by the spices, with the cardamom ice cream offering a soothing accompaniment, its subtle flavours just sweet enough. It was an excellent end to a gently spiced tour of Indian flavours.
The homemade Darjeeling momos
(Image credit: Yaatra)
Verdict
Yaatra’s à la carte menu offers a range of interesting choices not usually found in an Indian restaurant, such as spiced roe deer and Darjeeling momos – homemade dumplings from the north east of the country. But the set menu – a reasonable three courses for £34.50 – was a great way to taste the best of this new restaurant’s offering without straining the purse strings. The warmth from both the food and the staff will no doubt help visitors get through this cold winter.
Yaatra Restaurant & Bar, Old Westminster Fire Station, 4 Greycoat Place, London, SW1P 1SB; yaatrarestaurant.com
After reading politics at Sussex University, Natasha Langan spent a decade in social care before completing a University of Brighton postgraduate course in health promotion, which led to freelance work as a health researcher and sexual health trainer for both the local council and Terrence Higgins Trust. In 2000, she began working as a freelance journalist for the Daily Express, Daily Mail and MoneyWeek, where she then became picture editor. She continues to write the property pages and travel pages for MoneyWeek and for The Week online. She has a particular interest in nature and food, with a love of seasonal and regional produce around the world, especially the cuisine of Vietnam and Thailand.
