Five of the best Indian restaurants for wine lovers in London

In the UK, curry is a national obsession, with the Tikka Masala often voted the nation’s favourite dish. Yet the aromatic spices of Indian cooking can make it a difficult cuisine to pair with wine.

Indian Accent’s soy keema dish

Generally speaking, spice increases your perception of bitterness, acidity and alcohol burn of a wine, and decreases the perception of body, richness, sweetness and fruitiness.

Consequently, full-bodied, fruity wines, or sweet wines, tend to pair best with medium to hot dishes, such as a Merlot or Shiraz. A fresh and fruity wine can work well with milder dishes, such as a Sauvignon Blanc, while rich, yoghurt or cream-based dishes can work well with the a rich white wines such as an oaked Chardonnay or Semillon.

Every palate, of course, if different, and one person’s perfect pairing can be another’s nightmare.

The following restaurants have pairing spice with wines off to a fine art, as proven by the clutch of Michelin stars they hold between them, and high scores received by our Wine List Confidential team of expert reviewers.

They represent just a handful of Indian restaurants in the capital which not only offer stunning Indian cuisine, but an equally impressive wine list, with thought and attention paid to both aspects of the dining experience.

Wine List Confidential is a wine list ratings website and mobile app designed to be a transparent, straightforward way to connect wine lovers with the best wine-focused restaurants.

Using a numeric rating system, Wine List Confidential allows wine lovers to quickly compare the wine offer in restaurants, whatever the food or format. Using a simple 100-point scale, Wine List Confidential scores restaurants on the most important aspects of their wine offering – from pricing and service, to the range, size and originality of the selection. These individual ratings are then used to create an overall Wine List Confidential Score for every restaurant reviewed.

The free-to-use resource will initially focus on London’s top restaurant and wine venues, but is set to expand to cover other major cities around the world.

Click through for our pick of Wine List Confidential-rated Indian restaurants, and what our experts had to say about their wine lists….

Trishna

WLC Rank : 134

VALUE: 89
SIZE: 89
RANGE: 90
ORIGINALITY: 89
SERVICE: 90

Overall score: 89.4

BEST FOR

• Michelin starred Indian Cusine
• Strolling the Marylabone Village location
• Wine pairing suggestions

The smaller sister to Michelin-starred Indian mecca Gymkhana, Trishna, based in Marylebone Village, was awarded a Michelin star in 2012, which it retains today, in recognition of its contemporary coastal cuisine of southwest India. It’s five-course tasting menu is just £60, with wine pairings available for an additional £60. Its extensive wine list if overseen by Sunaina Sethi, and focuses on everything from fine wines from niche producers to wines from emerging regions and boutique wineries from all over the world.

Here’s what our Wine List Confidential team had to say about its offer: “Particular emphasis is given to wines abrim with aromatics and acidity, with Istria Malvazija (Santa Lucia, Kozlovic) and Grand Cru Gewürtztraminer (Steingrubler, Barmes Buecher, Alsace) poured by the glass on a list that also promotes the virtues of Greek Assyrtiko, dry Tokaji from Hungary and Luxembourgeoise Rivaner. Every dish on the menu is offered with a corresponding wine, from Kori Gassi (chicken drumsticks, Mangalorean spices and coconut) with Bierzo, to guinea fowl biryani with Barbera d’Asti. The combination is a gastro-oenophile’s dream.”

Trishna, 15-17 Blandford Street, Marylebone Village, London, W1U 3DG; Tel: +44 (0)20 7935 5624

Gymkhana

WLC Rank : 111

VALUE: 88
SIZE: 89
RANGE: 91
ORIGINALITY: 90
SERVICE: 90

Overall score: 89.6

A stalwart of Indian fine dining in London, Gymkhana is owned by the Sethi family, of JKS Restaurants, which is also behind fellow Michelin-starred Indian restaurant Trishna, Taiwanese steamed bun specialist Bao, Sri Lankan pancake house Hoppers and Champagne and hotdog joint Bubbledogs. The jewel in their crown is Gymkhana, an Indian restaurant in Mayfair inspired by the high society sports clubs that flourished in India during the days of the Raj. The restaurant won a Michelin star in 2014 for its boldly spiced dishes cooked in tandoor ovens and on charcoal grills.

Reviewing the restaurants in 2017, our Wine List Confidential team said of its wine list: “Sharp picks gleam throughout, and it’s a list with zero ‘flab’. A tightly honed, sleek racehorse. Alsatian, Burgundian and German whites abound – if the Bonneau du Martra Corton-Charlemagne 2006 (£365) is too rich for your blood, the Bernard Defaix ‘Vaillons’ Chablis 2013 (£65) would not disappoint. Nice to see a couple of Rhône whites here too – Gangloff Condrieu and Domaine de la Solitude CNDP, while white picks from lesser known regions are bang on the money – Gaia’s Santorini WIld Ferment Assyrtiko and Croatian Krauthaker’s ‘Rosenberg’ Chardonnay 2008, for example.”

Gymkhana, 42 Albemarle St, Mayfair, London W1S 4JH; Tel: +44 (0)20 3011 5900

Indian Accent

WLC Rank : 99

VALUE: 89.5
SIZE: 90
RANGE: 90
ORIGINALITY: 90
SERVICE: 90.5

Overall score: 90

BEST FOR

• International Indian plates
• A balanced approach to food matching
• Whisky from around the globe

Indian Accent, owned by Old world Hospitality, was first established in New Delhi before transplanting its high-end contemporary Indian concept to New York and late last year, London’s Mayfair. Established in 2009 by Rohit Khattar in March 2017, the group’s New Delhi restaurant was named 78th best restaurant in the world at the World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards in 2017 – the only restaurant in India to be featured. Last year, the group brought its high-end Indian offer to London, with chef Manish Mehrotra bringing his contemporary twist to classic Indian cuisine to Mayfair. 

In his 2018 review of Indian Accent, Wine List Confidential’s Douglas Blyde, said: “Choice picks of a list whose heart feels inclined towards white wines, include rested Viura (R.Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Reserva), Au Bon Climat Sanford and Benedict Chardonnay, and Savage White.”

Indian Accent, 16 Albemarle Street, Mayfair, London W1S 4HW; Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 9802

Benares

WLC Rank : 72

VALUE: 90
SIZE: 91
RANGE: 92
ORIGINALITY: 92
SERVICE: 94

Overall score: 91.8

BEST FOR

• Luxurious Venue
• Nuanced modern Indian plates by Atul Kochar
• Wines chosen for spice laden dishes

Another Michelin-starred haunt, Benares is located in flashy Mayfair, and named after the north Indian city sacred to Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. Its former head chef, Atul Kochhar, who parted company with the restaurant earlier this year, was the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star in 2007, and his legacy still runs deep throughout its menu. Dishes may include an appetiser of tandoori tatan (chargrilled sea bass, chicken tikka, Ajwaini king prawn and lamb Seekh kebab), followed by Hiran Ke Pasande (New Forest venison, kale and chestnut mushrooms, biryani, butternut squash purée chocolate curry), finishing with cheesecake-like, rose bhapa do with spiced chocolate lava cake.

Group wine buyer, Jeepson Lopes, previously of Quilon, chooses wines based on how they compliment the kitchen’s ever evolving Indian cuisine. “The traditional spices of our dishes work well with fruity, off-dry, creamy, buttery, well-rounded whites such as Ktima Gerovassiliou Viognier from Epanomi, Greece,” said Lopes. “With reds, we’re looking for something light – think softer styles, such as Muddy Water, Waipara New Zealand Pinot Noir. And Syrah works extremely well with anything coming out of the Tandoor. Especially if it is older – wines with age tend to pair better with spices, which are at the core of Indian dishes.”

Here is what Wine List Confidential’s Blyde had to say about its wine list: “Highlights on the list include, via Coravin, biodynamic, Batàr (Querciabella), produced by industrial designer, Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni, and bin ends such as Antinori’s Il Pino di Biserno, as well as, for those guests with an adventorous disposition and an extremely robust credit card, Yannick Alléno’s realisation of Le Secret des Grands Chefs (SGC), a blend endorsed by Gerard Basset MW and MS, amongst a good smattering of top-tier Bordeaux estates.”

Benares, 12a Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London, W1J 6BS; Tel: +44 (0)20 7629 8886

The Cinnamon Club

WLC Rank : 26

VALUE: 94
SIZE: 97
RANGE: 96
ORIGINALITY: 96
SERVICE: 97

Overall score: 96

BEST FOR

• Wines by the glass
• A historic dining room
• Ready to drink vintages

The Cinnamon Club is the flagship restaurant of the Bengali-born Oberoi luxury hotels, houses in a Grade II-listed former Westminster Library, with chef Vivek Singh helming the kitchen. Dishes include the likes of tandoori octopus with chutney aloo, fennel salad and tomato lemongrass dressing, then tandoori loin of Oisin red deer with black stone flower reduction and fenugreek potatoes, or, to share, Old Delhi style butter chicken on the bone, black lentils, pilau rice and garlic naan.

On its wine selection, curated by consultant, Laurent Chaniac, WLC’s Douglas Blyde said: “This is largely accessibly priced, too, and notably for a restaurant of this stature, does not automatically feature an added service charge. In Chaniac’s words, ‘we focus on wines produced from strong ecosystems meaning minimum use of chemicals. Careful viticulture helps keep soils alive and the resulting wines tend to have a sense of place, being more mineral and complex.”

“Chaniac’s list is dominated by Western Europe ‘with a good accent on Australia,’ such as Pinot Noir from Victoria’s Dixon Vineyard, identified under the ‘matured red’ selection. Also expect ‘some really interesting wines from the USA’ including historical vintages of Opus One. Many wines are ‘interesting variations of the local norm, e.g. wines from hotter climates tending to be fresher than usual while retaining the rich character of the warmer sites, while wines from cooler climates tend to be riper and richer than the norm.”

The Cinnamon Club, The Old Westminster Library, 30-32 Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BU; Tel: +44 (0) 20 7222 2555