Atul Kochhar’s Riwaz Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is one of those commuter towns that you have heard of, driven through but never stopped.
Now there is a very delicious reason to linger a while. Riwaz Beaconsfield is one of Atul Kochhar’s new ventures outside London. Their website states that it “champions the traditions and history of India”. It certainly does this with a menu created with a choice of dishes from across the subcontinent.
Riwaz is not your ordinary high street Indian restaurant. With Atul’s Michelin star background, you can expect this place to be a bit extra and it is.
Not knowing what to expect from this dining experience, we were pleasantly surprised at the menu, the service and the quality of the food.
The beautifully restored pub dining room feels cosy, with elephant wallpaper and exposed beams full of multi-generational families enjoying lunch.
You have a choice of the reasonably priced lunch menu at £19 for 2 courses or £23 for 3 courses or indulge in the 7-course tasting menu for £69. There is a great cocktail menu too.
Our server, Pashok, was very attentive and well-informed. The service at Riwaz is more like what you would find at a fine dining restaurant. He handled all our sourcing questions and the history of the dishes effortlessly and with a smile.
The chefs all did a training stint at one of Atul’s fine dining restaurants in London and you can certainly see the influence of this on the menu and presentation of food. The head chef at Riwaz Beaconsfield is from the Punjab and his signature dishes are done on the Tandoor.
Here is the tasting menu with suggested wine pairing at the time of our visit.
RAMPURI DAAL PALAK KEBAB Potato, Spinach & Lentil Cake, Tomato & Raisin chutney Atul Kochhar Sparkling Wine DOC NV, Veneto JAL PARI Tandoor Seared Scottish Scallop, Lentil Salad, Spiced Broccoli Puree Mango Wine - Rhythm Winery Pune, India HARE MASALE KI MACHHI Roasted John Dory, Spinach Crisps, Kasundi Mustard Korma Gruner Veltriner, Voms Haus, Pfaffi, Austria MALAI CHANDI TIKKA Grilled Cream Marinated Chicken, Silver Leaf, Bull's Blood Leaf De Bortoli Regional Reserves, Yarra Valley, Australia MANDARIN GRANITA CHAMPEN AUR ROGAN BOTI Grilled Lake District Lamb Chop & Rump with Black Pepper and Fennel Bonterra Organic Vineyards, California, USA or KERALA BEEF PEPPER FRY (Supplement £10) Galloway Beef Sirloin Steak, Tellicherry Sauce Bonterra Organic Vineyards, California, USA DAAL | PULAO | NAAN TEXTURES OF CHOCOLATE Chateau Jany Sauternes, Bordeaux (75ml)
From the first bite of potato kebab of the first course, our senses got introduced to a range of flavours and cooking styles.
You might think that spices might overwhelm the seared Scottish scallops but they are added with a light touch and enhances the sweet scallops.
Although we didn’t opt for the wine pairing, we did taste the intriguing Mango Wine (made by Indian winery Rhythm with Alphonso mangos.) It is quite unusual, not sweet but very fragrant.
In the next dish, a John Dory on a Kasundi mustard sauce is a revelation. Kasundi mustard is a Bengali mustard sauce made with fermented mustard seeds and spices. It does not have the strong kick of an English mustard but adds a piquancy to this dish. The crispy spinach leaves are delightful and we wanted a lot more of them on this dish.
Malai Chicken Tikka but now as you know it. The chicken is marinated in a cream and spice mixture for 24 hours in a yoghurt and spice mix, then lightly grilled and served with silver leaf. Looks really deceive in this dish as the chicken is moist and flavourful.
Then there was the refreshing mandarin granita palate cleanser. Loved this.
For the main event, we chose the Lake District Lamb Chop & Rump and a vegan grilled aubergine dish. All of this is served with rice, a daal and naan.
Deliciously grilled tender lamb on a bed of Rogan Josh sauce, sublime. The roasted aubergine with miso butter and spiced dashi was a better choice than the beef. A lovely soft aubergine with so many layers of flavours.
By this point, we could have done without the dessert but we persevered. This beautiful dish is called “texture of chocolate”, with a chocolate mousse, chocolate crumb, berries and mango. It made for a lovely end to a fabulous tasting menu.
Riwaz is a class act. The food and service far exceed that of a restaurant on the high street.
Beaconsfield is only a short train ride from Marylebone and it is well worth a trip. Lucky locals in Beaconsfield no longer ‘t have to trek into London for some fabulous modern Indian cooking.
Riwaz Beaconsfield
41 Aylesbury End,
Beaconsfield HP9 1LU
Tel: 01494 417941
EatCookExplore was a guest at Riwaz Beaconsfield