Vatavaran, a posh new Himalayan-inspired joint in Knightsbridge, is much more than just a premium restaurant celebrating the Indian subcontinent. No, it’s “a journey of the senses”, over tandoori duck seekh kebab, sea bass pollichathu and a few fancy cocktails, to help you transcend your earthly confines. This is “more than just a meal; it’s an ascent to new experiences”, proclaims the website.
Being a huge fan of restaurant hyperbole, I love it when dinner promises to change me metaphysically. The website goes on to refer to Vatavaran’s owners, chef Rohit Ghai and Abhishake Sangwan, as “visionary”, and in doing so strays perilously close to David Icke territory. Elsewhere on the site, Himalayan analogies are stretched like climbing ropes off the side of Nanda Devi: the show kitchen private dining room, we are told, is “a dynamic, participatory journey through the flavours of the mountains”, but I’d rather not – PDRs are the last refuge of the scoundrel, after all.
