By Chrissy Iley
The Painted Heron is not just an Indian restaurant. Its food is sublime. I remember once an award-winning Indian chef took me there. It was her restaurant of choice. It first opened in 2002 with chef Yogesh Datta former head chef of Tabla in Canary Wharf and businessman Charles Hill. It’s in Chelsea. Not the place you think of as the home of the curry or even home of the takeaway but its Cheney Walk address is as old school sophisticated as its cuisine, except more innovative. I arrived to meet my curry loving friend who was already tucked up inside explaining to the waiter what a Cosmopolitan is. The waiter doesn’t even drink but to her specifications, he created the perfect cocktail. There was no red tape, just a willingness and desire to please. We had delicious poppadum’s with unbelievable chutneys and a Punjabi samosa, chickpea curry and pomegranates to start. Nothing here is a cliché. Nothing is just a samosa.
The menu is mixed with sea, land and garden and every dish is marked with a spice level so there’s no nasty surprises. In several cases, vegan options are available on request and as there is a such a growing number of vegans it’s lovely that they can be catered for in a high-end restaurant, not subjected to potatoes, no butter and extra salt as the only alternative.
We had a window table but there’s a whole other level of tables like a mezzanine and a cocktail bar at the entrance. For the main course, we had prawns with shallots, coconut, green chilli and curry leaves, chicken with coriander and apricots and mild curry and okra and asparagus fritters. Can I just say those words again. Okra and asparagus fritters. This was like the best tempura ever created. The okra and asparagus were juicy and crisp, and the batter hot, crispy and ever so slightly spiced.
The main courses were simply divine. Unusual flavour combinations struck a pose on the palate. Distinctive and Moorish. We ordered coconut rice. This is probably the best version of coconut rice in London. It comes in a coconut shell with slivers of actual coconut. It’s better than a giant bounty bar. Remember those bounty bar ice creams that were knocking about a few years ago. Most of them in my freezer. Well, this coconut rice is better than those. How does it manage to be so sweet, juicy and savoury all at the same time? And the rice, not too fat, not too thin, not too cooked and not too hard.
We were of course absolutely stuffed but when we saw the puddings we were severely tempted by Kulfi ice cream. Kulfi is the richest, loveliest ice cream. I was very tempted but Kulfi Fun on a Stick Rose Preserve. I was also tempted by the Barfi plate – mixed nuts Barfi and orange Barfi but the rose petal ice cream with pearls won. There’s something so decadent about eating a flower that’s also an ice cream. It’s like bathing the lips in perfume and then the lovely delicate creaminess sends you into foodgasm state.
We drank rose wine with our dinner but there was an extensive wine list and a cocktail list of alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. Proper cocktails but often with Indian inspired fruits and spices such as a guava Bellini.
The Painted Heron has been voted the Best Indian Restaurant in London at the London Restaurant Awards as well as various other accolades. Yogesh Datta has been a source of inspiration for many chefs because this restaurant is not just another curry place. It’s exciting but at the same time, it has all the traditional comforting values of great Indian food.
In the beginning, they never used to deliver but when Deliveroo launched a few years ago The Painted Heron became in huge demand. So now you can have a Painted Heron experience in your own home. It’s very special and I will be there again.
112 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London SW10 0DJ http://www.thepaintedheron.co