Jamavar, Mayfair London
Hey Foodwala’s, I was walking down Mayfair time passing and doing some serious art window shopping, I first went past Larry Gagosian’s gallery which was displaying some stunning ancient Mesopotamian and Persian art and sculptures, I was absolutely fascinated by the craftsmanship, execution, and detail, although it was basically pictures of everyday things like horses and eagles, the amount of detail and craftsmanship was stunning.
Further along Mount Street, I came across the Alan Cristea Gallery, There I came across my favorite contemporary piece of art, the Laila Shawa piece where a Kalashnikoff rifle is bejeweled with precious stones and flowers, signifying the number of souls an average Kalashnikoff must “hold” in its lifetime in places like Somalia or Syria.
This trip down the art spectrum in Mayfair got me thinking, whether it the idea of the artist which is art as in the case of the Bejeweled Gun or if the execution and craftsmanship of the art which is really the point of art.
This deep thinking made me hungry so I popped into the Michelin Stared restaurant, Jamavar.
Jamavar just gained its star this year so I was curious what Jamavar was diferently doing to gain such an accolade.
The dining room was decorated with contemporary Indian art and some traditional paintings also, the room us have looked like Mukesh Ambani’s sitting room in Antilla.
I was greeted at the door by a dour Eastern European hostess, she had the charisma of Rosa Klebb, the mad Russian bond villain from Russia with Love, and shown to my table without a smile cracking her granite features.
I decided to go for the Four-course lunch menu Jamavar is famous for, I started with the Tallicherry pepper and garlic soft shell crab, the crab was dipped in chilled tonic panee and baisin batter and fried alongside a sweet with a hint of chili damson plum chutney.
The crab was subtle and delicious and balanced well with the garlic chips and the chutney.
The Chicken was imaginatively marinated in Sweet Basil and cooked in the tandoor, the chicken was organic and free range so it was fabulously tender and the sweet basil added a whisper of flavour to compliment the chicken and the raita mouse was equally imaginative.
The third act of my lunch was the King Prawn Moilee, this was inspired by the Keralan seafaring heritage, the coconut and mustard seed base of the Moilee was well proportioned and the King Prawns was soft yet firm, as there is nothing worse than rubbery overcooked King Prawns.
The Jheenga Moilee was accompanied by some mustard sagg with a cream tarka and the amazing steamed basmati rice which were like mini vermicelli (savian).
The Channa dhall was the closest to homemade dhall I have had anywhere, very delicious.
The pièce de résistance was the mango rasmalai, the soft cheese rasmalai was on a bed of honeycomb and surrounded by a mango and saffron jus, essentially it was an Indian cheesecake but was a cheesecake by another mother.
That brings me to the debate of concept v execution art, Jamavar is the contemporary art, the chef has the idea which he translates on his plate, whereas the traditional art is like the Shish Mahal where the execution is key where the craftsmanship is king.
The Service was a little vague, The waitress did not write down the order, she forgot the next table’s order, which I could not help overhearing.
Halal – Yes
Food –8 out of 10
Atmosphere – 8 out of 10
service – 7 out of 10
Cleanliness – 9 out of 10
Total score – 32 out of 40