Harden's survey result
Summary
“A beautiful restaurant interior, plus warm, professional and attentive staff” have helped Samyutka Nair and family’s “posh Indian” near Mayfair’s Berkeley Square acquire a reputation as “one of the best subcontinental restaurants in London”. Its ratings sank this year, though amidst a number of experiences of cooking that was “solid, but not as refined as expected” – “It was very nice… but is it so different to many others that have sprung up to justify the high price here?” Top Tip – “set lunch is a steal!”
Summary
“Real Indian cuisine” – “exquisite flavours from top-quality ingredients and stunning preparation” – have won a major reputation for this “top-class Indian”, founded by Samyukta Nair, whose family own India’s luxurious Leela Palace group. It occupies a “fantastic”, tastefully decorated Mayfair site, near Berkeley Square: “quiet enough for conversation whilst busy enough to create a reassuring hum”.
Summary
“Cracking and very consistent cuisine”, full of “subtle and innovative flavours”, wins nothing but the highest praise for this Mayfair Indian – the highest rated in town this year – which occupies a “beautiful”, colonial-themed dining room. Naturally it’s not cheap, but by general agreement the experience is definitely “worthy of the prices”. Founder Samyukta Nair is the London-educated scion of an Indian dynasty until recently involved with India’s ultra-luxe Leela Palace group.
Summary
“Boldly flavoured” nouvelle Indian cuisine served in a “dark and clubby”, colonial-theme setting puts Leela Palace’s Mayfair three-year-old in London’s premier league, if not perhaps quite at the top of the table: “not as memorable as some top names, but definitely a favourite”. But while it’s “a good attempt at taking Indian cuisine to the next level”, it lacks the stunning verve fans recall from when it first opened: “a fun evening out, but it will need to do better again to match the best of the best”.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Jamavar?
8 Mount Street, London, W1K 3NF
Restaurant details
Jamavar Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Deafening noise level, as in a completely packed restaurant with tables close set they choose to play loud music,. The 2023 reviewer who said its was"quiet enough for conversation" must have been wearing ear defenders and lip reading. The biriyani is nicely done, the other dishes were fine, but the food didn't seem exceptional.,"
"You wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve walked passed this restaurant and taken in the amazing aromas. Well on saturday we finally went in for the first time and I can now promise you we will never ever walk past again. The food created by chef Surender and his team was absolutely stunning and matched by excellent service from one of the friendliest teams I’ve ever met. The restaurant is on Mount Street which is just a ten minute walk from Bond Street station. As we approached we could already smell those wonderful aromas so we couldn’t wait to get inside. We entered to receive a fabulous welcome from Sumala who it was a pleasure to chat to throughout our visit. She escorted us to our table and left us with the drinks menu. My wife started with the Quencher - hapusa gin , rosemary , olive , orange bitter and tonic. For myself I chose the Vintage Negroni - strangers & sons gin , cinnamon infused campari and antica formula. While enjoying our cocktails we were presented with the menu’s. These consisted of a Lunch , A La Carte or our choice of the Six Course Tasting Menu which I can now say at £105 was excellent value for money and believe me you will leave feeling full and satisfied. The menu started with a Tellicherry Pepper and Garlic Soft Shell Crab accompanied by a plum chutney , garlic chips and homemade garlic pickle. I can tell you now this dish was incredible with flavours I never experienced before. This was followed by the Lobster Idli Sambhar a black pepper spiced lobster with rice lentil cakes and a vegetable stew that was quite simply delicious. The dishes just kept getting better and better in the form of the next course a Malai Stone Bass Tikka with mace , green cardamom , avocado and mint chutney. The following three courses you were given a choice. This started with the fourth course. My wife chose the Kuti Mirchi Ka Tikka - chicken morsels , chilli , pickled radish and yoghurt. I opted for the Adraki Lamb Chop with royal cumin , fennel , ginger and carrot salad. My wife absolutely loved her dish and I can honestly say I’ve never tasted a lamb chop like it. As I told our waiter Yogy who was very engaging throughout that the lamb was my dish of the day. Now it was time for the main course. Here we had the Malvani Prawn Curry with king prawns , coconut milk , tamarind and a traditional malvan spice mix. The other main dish was the Old Delhi Butter Chicken with suffolk corn-fed , chargrilled pulled chicken , tomato and fenugreek. These were accompanied by jamavar dal , palak paneer as well as unlimited pulao rice and mixed breads. My wife loved the prawn curry and the butter chicken was amazing. I can easily say that the flavour combinations of each dish were incredible leaving your palette dancing with joy. I enjoyed the main course with a delicious and creamy Mango Lassi. After a nice little break we moved on to desserts. Here we shared the Chocolate Bounty of valrhona milk chocolate , coconut , chocolate crumble and cardamom cream as well as the Kesar Mango Rasmalai with wheat biscuit , alphonso mango cream and berry chutney. We finished with a glass of port and an Imperial Old Fashioned with rampur indian single malt , amaro montenegro , salted honey and mumbai bitters. This brought to an end an absolutely stunning lunch. The food was incredible , the cocktails were a delight and the service was so friendly that made you feel like one of their family. They were always interested in what you thought about each dish and really couldn’t do enough for you. If you love indian food then I would highly recommend a visit here where I can honestly say you will not be disappointed. We as we told the team will definitely be back again sooner rather than later. Thank You to all the team for an amazing dining experience and look forward to seeing you again soon."
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £47.00 |  |
|
 |
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £7.00 | £32.50 | £12.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £34.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.50 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 15.00% |
8 Mount Street, London, W1K 3NF
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 5:30 pm‑10:30 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 5:30 pm‑9:30 pm |
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