Its not often that you’ll get a Michelin-rated restaurant on offer but Benares always seems to have some sort of offer around which actually is good bang for buck, or pound as the case may be. Tonight’s offering was 3-courses and a Pear and Cumin Bellini (or a non-alcoholic cocktail for someone with an “allergy” like mine) for £19, with the third course for an extra £6. This deal also included tea or coffee and petit fours. A great offer for dinner.

Atul Kochhar, owner of Benares, is not without his qualification. As head chef at Tamarind he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star with Benares achieving its star just three and a half years ago. Of course he has been around on the scene for a while but he was brought to my attention thanks to the BBC’s TV series Great British Menu, which really I think has been partly responsible for raising the profile of British chefs in the greater public arena.

Atul is best-known for bringing that modern spin to Indian cooking and I was pleased to find that his high standards of quality really comes across in his food. Because we were dining on an offer our options were fairly limited with basically a choice of three for each of our courses (generally, veg, fish and meat for the first two.) Having said, based on what we actually ate, I suspect that I would have been happy with any of the starters or mains on offer. (Unlike some restaurants where normally there is one standout dish …)

After these accompanied by I think goosebury, pineapple and tomato salsas

we were on to our starters of Lemon Thyme Salmon Cakes with Greek Feta Salad for Jenny and Pan Seared Chicken Fillets with Pickled Red Cabbage

They weren’t the most giant portions in the world however the taste and delicacy and tenderness (of my chicken at least) couldn’t not be faulted. I really wanted more Atul Kochhar!

Next up was the Tandoor Cooked Grey Mullet, South Indian Style Mash Potato and Mango Sauce, the description of which was irresistible to both Jenny and I.

The portion was quite reasonable for the main this time but the taste was equal to the starter. Gorgeously flavoured and a very well-balanced dish. Sauce was exactly right and the fish was cooked to perfection. Atul Kochhar you cook a mean meal!

After a wipe of our hands

it was on to the disappointment of the evening – the dessert! I’ve never really had a truly successful Indian dessert so whilst Jenny enjoyed her (not very Indian) Raspberry Éclair and Ginger Basil Sorbet, I was less impressed by the Mango Fool with Rum and Vanilla Panacotta. There was nothing too exciting about my dessert … maybe it was the size that got to me – it was tiny!

Petit fours included a cardammon ganache, sesame seed crisp and the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted – some sort of yoghurt and pistachio concoction (the balls in the shot glass).

Service was pretty good though sometimes a little off-putting (e.g. when our side plates and our popodoms were taken away without checking if we were finished, and with the petit fours not having enough to have one each, and at the end almost being rushed out the front of the restaurant by the bouncer – though I’m sure that was not intentional.) On the plus service was friendly and courteous to the extent that on the way out one of the waiters saw how we were enthralled with the décor and showed us the table with a view of the kitchen and the private dining table situated in the wine room. Benares is definitely one of the prettier restaurants I’ve been to with lots of interesting different spaces for dining. Good atmosphere and filled with many posh Indians!

Overall the food definitely met my seal of approval and we ended on a high with the petit fours. As an added bonus we had a minor celeb spot with TV’s Bionic Woman’s Michelle Ryan (also formerly of EastEnders) who briefly sat next to us before she was joined by more people than the table could fit and she was moved. Honestly, it wasn’t us who made her move!