Trishna — Restaurant in London

I visited with my mother to celebrate her birthday booking a week ahead for a 1pm Saturday slot. I noted that it was her birthday in the reservation, requesting a small cake at the end of the meal. We were warmly welcomed by staff, with the menu explained opting for the 3-4 course lunch/early evening set menu with varied options. Unlike a previous non-starred restaurant, this menu included papad with dips, naan, rice, and sides. We both chose 4 courses—vegetarian for her, non-veg for me.

We ordered drinks: mango lassi for my mum, salted lassi for me. Mum liked the mango lassi's texture and notable mango flavor. My salted lassi was well-spiced but too thick and lacked sufficient salt.

The papad arrived promptly, offering a mix of varieties from standard 'poppadoms' to spiced tapioca crackers—an appetizing assortment. The accompanying chutneys enhanced the experience. A spicy mint & coriander sauce paired exceptionally with the sweet mango chutney. The tomato-based sauce was also delightful with the papad. All sauces were a hit, nearly wiped clean!

Just before finishing the papad, our initial courses arrived: Mum's aloo chaat and my soft shell crab. Mum enjoyed the chaat as an ideal opener. The crab boasted a decadently seasoned, crispy batter; the accompanying paste and garnishes elevated it. Some uncooked batter inside the crab was a minor issue, not ruining the dish for me.

Our second course followed swiftly. Mum chose the badami broccoli, while I opted for the trout. Although I can't personally comment on the broccoli, Mum found it delicious and perfectly cooked, striking the perfect balance between 'al-dente' and overly soft. As for the trout, it was remarkable! Marinated and tandoor-finished, it sported a gorgeously browned exterior and tender, juicy interior—truly melt-in-the-mouth. The complementary yoghurt sauce expertly balanced the flavors, rendering the dish perfect in my view.

The third course marked the 'curry' round for us, though the menu doesn't use the term. These dishes transcend local curry houses. I chose lamb, while Mum picked paneer. The sides included spicy baby potatoes, a rich tarka daal style dish, intoxicatingly fragrant basmati rice, stuffed garlic naan, and ajwain spiced naan. Two notable things struck us: the generous portion sizes and the diverse range of flavors.

The food itself was impressive. The lamb was tender, not drowning in oily sauce, and paired well with rice and naans. The potatoes offered a delightful kick with balanced seasoning. Mum enjoyed her paneer but wished for more spice, a sentiment I shared after trying it.

By now, we were practically full, leaving only a bit of rice and naan. Observing others taking home leftovers, we realized it was an option if needed, so no pressure to overindulge.

Desserts arrived: kulfi, kheer, and a discreetly arranged birthday cake with a signed card from the staff—an unprecedented touch. The kheer's citrus twist and orangy ice cream balanced beautifully, textured with pistachios. The double-layered kulfi, plain and rose-flavored, rested on vermicelli, adorned with soaked basil seeds—a colorful and tasty delight.

We finished our meal with masala chai to accompany the birthday cake. The chai was a tad watery and could've been milkier for my tastes. The cake (our favorite, chocolate) caused no issues, and notably, it wasn't on the final bill.

What an unforgettable meal! Worth every penny. The early set menu was £45 per person, drinks were £6 each, totaling £130 with the 12.5% service charge, gladly given. Impeccable care and attention crafted a flawless experience. Service was attentive, the 4-course meal left us delightfully full. Decor balanced dark furniture with soft lighting for an intimate atmosphere. Spacious tables avoided any sense of crowding, despite the busy restaurant.

Trisha is a must for a true Michelin Star dining experience that exceeds expectations. Eager to return for the full tasting menu.

Lastly, if anyone from Trishna reads this, I send my heartfelt thanks for making my mother's birthday...

Great food, spoilt by an abysmally rushed ending to the meal.

I booked Trishna for an early dinner to celebrate my birthday with some family, and had been looking forward to it for a while as a special occasion due to its reputation and Michelin star.

We were offered the 3/4 course early evening menu, which for £50/55 is excellent value for a Michelin-starred restaurant, as I’ve been to several Michelin-starred restaurants in London. I have no complaints about the food or drinks:

I had the lychee martini at the start which was delicious, the strong vodka taste complemented by the sweet lychee The papads and chutneys were great, with special mention to the mint and coriander chutney From the set menu, I chose the guinea fowl pepper fry, paneer tikka, and mushroom and morel biryani. The guinea fowl came with wonderfully flaky paratha, and all of the dishes were superb even if nothing was particularly mind-blowing The portions were surprisingly plentiful and came with dal panchmel, breads (garlic naan, roti and aloo paratha) and rice. I love dal myself so this is biased but the dal was my favourite dish - I ordered another portion! Since we were warned the portions might be quite small, I also opted for the Kashmiri morel dish off the a la carte menu which was served with my paneer. This was very flavourful and came with a range of chutneys.

After reaching the end of the third course, I was greatly impressed by Trishna and it felt like money well spent, and was already planning to come back. This was immediately then soured once a waiter came up to us and asked something to the effect of “Are you finished? Because we have another table coming at 7:45 so we’ll need you to leave by then.” At this point it was 7:37 and one of our party was still waiting for dessert!

This was the first anyone had told us that we would need to rush out. Our booking did give 7:45 as the end time for a meal, but this is typical for bookings made on SevenRooms and we hadn’t been looking carefully at the time - the waiters were happy to take orders for more food in the meantime and didn’t warn us upon ordering dessert that this would be an issue. We asked if the dessert could be cancelled in that case but we were told that it was already ready, and it was brought over with five minutes to spare. To their credit, they gave me a scoop of fruit sorbet for my birthday which was a really nice touch - but I didn’t even find out what flavour it was in the panic of wolfing it down in five minutes, as the bill was being served. The plates from our third course hadn’t even been taken away at this point.

This wasn’t a massive problem in the grand scheme of things but is unacceptable for a Michelin-starred restaurant of that calibre and really soured our meal. After forking out over £80 a head in the end and eagerly looking forward to the experience, we didn’t even get to properly finish it. We weren’t particularly slow at eating, and this leads me to wonder - had we ordered the £110/head 5 course tasting menu instead, with wine pairings, how can it be possible to have the full meal within the 2 hour time period? In any case, despite the hefty price tag, it didn’t really feel like a special occasion.

Would I return to Trishna? Possibly, if I was dining solo and having the early evening set menu. Would I ever consider getting the tasting menu? Absolutely not - I’m sure it tastes amazing, but based on my experience, there’s no guarantee that we’d even get to the end...

Tonight’s meal at the Indian 1* restaurant, Trishna was one of the key reasons why we made a special detour to visit London from Paris. Though all three of us are lovers of good Indian cuisine. However, to date, during our course of traveling and eating world wide, none of us has yet had the opportunity to savor a good Michelin star caliber Indian dining experience. The moment we step into Trishna, we immediately sense an air of sophistication and class normally exuded by a Michelin star establishment. From the friendly reception to the classy ambience, to the table setting with stemware, the attentive service etc and wine pairing offering, this is undoubtedly a dapper dining set up. We ordered a la carte from a varied, interesting and diverse menu containing dishes with quite a few unfamiliar terms and alien sounding and exotic ingredients. With the help of our well mannered and knowledgeable server we ordered the following dishes and then……’ kept our fingers crossed ‘!! Papadum and Chutney trio Nandu Varuval ( Masala fried Soft Shell Crabs, white crab, Tomato Chutney ) Hariyali Sea Bream ( Green chili, Coriander, Smoked Tomato Kachumber ) Hiran Kiboti ( Tandoori Venison, Tadka Dahi, Bonda, Pickled Venison ) Gongura Lamb ( Welsh Lamb, Sorel Leaf, Guntar, Teja Chilli ) Dorset Brown Crab ( Coconut Oil, Pepper, Garlic, Curry Leaf ) Pepper Chicken Biryani ( Basmati, Saffron, Cashew, Pink Peppercorn Raita ) Duck Keema Naan ( Shredded duck, Ginger, Green Chilli, Peppercorn Raita ) Tandoori Pineapple and Coconut dessert ( Coconut Bavarois, Bebinca, Basil Lemon Curd, Coconut Jaggery Sorbet ) Petit Fours Well, to answer your $64K question…..How was the food?! I have to honestly say, ‘ I don’t Know?! ‘....plenty of hits but with a miss here and there. Yes, there were indeed some spectacular tasting creations.The stand outs being the Creamy and complex Dorset Brown Crab curry, loaded with crab meat in a fantastic sauce that was perfect with rice. Another winner was the Hariyali Sea Bream. Smothered in a delicious coating, the perfectly cooked fish was flavourful, juicy and moist. This Hariyali dish was definitely a level or two up than any Toronto Hariyali dish offering. The Gungura Lamb curry was how a fine Lamb curry should be cooked…captivating taste profile coupled with attractive texture brought about by some tender and manageable chewy tendons. The complexly conceived dessert was unexpectedly inviting and delectable. A total surprise from an Indian Kitchen! My only disappointments of the evening were the pieces of slightly overcooked Tandoori Venison. If only instructions were given for them to be cooked medium rare, that would have been perfect! The fried Soft Shell Crab sounded attractive and appealing on paper. But in reality, the overcooked crab plus the heavily battered and firm coating, sadly diminishes the overall taste and mouthfeel. BTW, the star of the evening was NOT a food related dish but the Cocktail drink my daughter ordered! - A lip smacking good “ Toddy Shop Sour “ ( Tanqueray 10 Gin, Green Tea, Coconut Blossom Milk, Lemon Egg White, Peach )!....incredible how someone can come up with such a tasty concoction using some weird combination of ingredients? All in all, an enjoyable, wonderful and eye-opening...