BiBi, Mayfair, London

42 N Audley St,
London
W1K 6ZP
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“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
You must think the above quote is a highly odd thing to write in a restaurant and food blog.
But humour me, all will be revealed.
The above quote was uttered by the physicist Robert Oppenheimer as he witnessed the first detonation of a nuclear weapon on July 16, 1945.
A piece of Hindu scripture ran through the mind of Robert Oppenheimer:
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
It is, perhaps, the most well-known line from the Bhagavad-Gita.
Now what is the point of all this gloom and doom, well I visited BiBi, which is the brainchild of Chef Chet Sharma, he moved from India to Oxford University to train as a Physicist.
however Chef Sharma’s passion was food rather than theoretical Physics, so he made an unbelievably brave decision to leave his profession and go to work in a restaurant kitchen.
That is like saving all your parent’s money and buying a BMW and then trading it in for a Dacia Sandero!
He went on to catch the eye of the visionary owner of the restaurant stable JKS restaurants, Karam Sethi who harnessed Chet’s passion and bankrolled BiBi in Londons Mayfair.

London was experiencing an Indian Summer when visiting the restaurant, the restaurant was a hive of activity.
The staff was very friendly, keeping in mind that the restaurant is bang smack in the middle of Mayfair, or in other words Mumbai upon Thames or Londongrad.
The street outside the restaurant was knee-deep in Rolls Royces and Bentleys.
The restaurant interior was a tastefully modern Rajhistani look with warm mango wood and wood kiln tiles.

£7
I kicked off the proceedings with the Wookey-hole papad, the papad was what deceptively looked like a green mint chutney, which is standard fayre up and down the country, nothing special in that I hear you say. But this was not any old green mint chutney, under the green sauce was a layer of creamy soft cheese and then a layer of sweet mango.
I was absolutely bowled out, it was delicious exciting, and innovative… loved it

£14
Next up was the Chaat course, I opted for the Nashpati Bhel Chaat,
Bhelpuri is a savoury Chaat from the beaches of Mumbai, It is made of puffed rice, vegetables, and a tangy tamarind sauce, and has a crunchy texture. Chef Sharma made the Chaat his own by cooking each element individually and constructing it using the finesse and then adding a watermelon granita on top to give the chaat a contrasting sweet frozen element, simple yet clever.

£14
Up next was the Punjabi Dahi Aubergine, the Aubergine is a fiendishly difficult vegetable to master, cook it too much it becomes a mushy glop, and cook it too early the Aubergine becomes rock hard and earthy.
The Aubergine in question was marinaded and then cooked in the Josper oven, resulting in a delicious smoked, meaty slice and topped with spiced whipped yogurt. tasty.

£22
The Awadi Chicken is An integral part of every Royal Moghul banquet this dish portrays the true nuances of the Lahori Nawabs. Light, silky very fragrant, the sauce was constructed with care and passionate expertise.
In Conclusion
BiBi deserves all the accolades it is receiving and Chef Sharmas, audacious career move is definitely being honored, He was cooking in the restaurant when I visited, and it was fascinating to see the master at work.
The food was a labour of love, you could see the care and attention going into each dish.
This is a real passion, where you sacrifice for your art, as opposed to the woke sanitised muttering of snowflakes.
One small cloud in the sky was the chipped plates, I have always been brought up as chipped plates being a big no-no, maybe I am old-fashioned and chipped plates are the new drive to authenticity.
The Star of the Meal?
The Wookey-hole Cheese Papad was a revelation.
The miss of the Meal?
It would be unfair to say but I could have done without the chipped crockery.
Honorable Mention
So how did BiBi compare with its Mayfair peers?
The Two best Mayfair restaurants in London so far have been Gymkhana from the JKS stable and the sublime jamavar
BiBi is in a shoo-in for a Michelin star and it is deserving of the accolade (just watch the crockery)
Halal Rating
The Chicken is confirmed 100% Halal
Alcohol is served on the Premises
NO Pork is served on the Premises
100% impartial Guarantee
Alfie Foodwala visits all restaurants anonymously and pays for the bill like any other customer, Alfie Foodwala does not accept free meals in return for reviews.
All reviews are the personal opinion of Alfie Foodwala based on his 30-year experience as a restauranteur
BiBi
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8.6/10
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8.7/10
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8.7/10
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8.6/10
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9.1/10