The spice of life

20th October 2009, 11:12am

After a £150,000 revamp, The Gaylord, one of London's oldest Indian restaurants, has opened its doors with a striking new look and menu. Maria Bracken pays the fine dining establishment a visit.

The Gaylord in Mortimer Street, part of the Kwality Group, was first established in 1966 and closed its doors back in August for its makeover. But what was the team hoping to achieve?

"We thought it was time this place needed a lift," says general manager Sameer Berry, who has over 12 years experience in the food industry. "We have made it a lot more colourful. Before we used darker tones, darker chairs and had curtains. Now we have introduced an all-ivory interior and glass frontage to make the restaurant fresher and more spacious."

"The Gaylord stands for having a good time with Northern Authentic Indian food where you can relax like kings and Arabs," says Berry. There are pictures dotted all around the venture which symbolise the golden era of the Indian period. But what's the idea of these images, I asked him. "We want to transport you back to what restaurants in Delhi are like and the kind of food reflects this.

"I am also keen to incorporate ideas from our expert chefs and create a collective, memorable dining experience for all our guests. I believe that there is no substitute for authentic Delhi food, cooked and served traditionally, but with an ambience and hint of western elegance that surprises and overthrows the average assumption of Indian eating," he adds.

Head chef Bacchan Singh, armed with 25 years experience in the kitchen, served up a range of exotic combinations during our visit which included golgappa shots; puffed savouries half filled with chick peas, potatoes, date and jaggery sauce, served with spicy water (£5.00). Berry said these are as popular as hotdogs in New York and are guaranteed to find them in every street in Delhi.

Next up was the shaami kebab which consists of patties of minced lamb and split chick peas flavoured with aromatic spices, served with light tangy mint sauce (£6.50) followed by murgh gilafi seekh, which is a delicately spiced minced chicken dish smoked and grilled on skewers on live charcoal (£11.00).

Sameer Berry

Other melt-in-your-mouth treats on the menu include a quail dish marinated in Gaylord's secret signature spice blend (£8.20) and a new selection of sigri charcoal barbeques (£17.50) including tilapia fish and Galouti kebab (£12.00).

Meanwhile non-meat eaters can tuck into the new tandoori broccoli, gobhi aur ananas (£9.50) and baingan ka bhaarta (£7.50) which comprises of freshly baked aubergine mashed and simmered with fresh green chillies and tomato. Desserts have also been a talking point, offering fresh in-house homemade options such as soft rasmalai to hot gulab jamum and kulfi – an Indian ice cream.

The team at Gaylord are always looking at ways to satisfy customer demands, says Berry. "We do keep finding ways of keeping our menu fresh. For instance we do chef special menus comparing with wines and we are also looking to do a special Christmas menu this year."

It is also important that each dish is paired with a good wine, explains Berry. "Some of our wines are sweeter, fruiter and others are drier. Popular wines on the menu include the Sancerre 'Les Boffants', Charles Dupuy 2007 (£32.00) per bottle and the Malbec, Finca Perdriel Norton 2006/6 (£25.00) which goes very well with any lamb dish. We also have a good selection of Chilean wines to complement certain foods."

Other wines on offer include Le Bouquet de Georges Duboeuf Blanc (£14.95), Chassagne Montrachet 'Les Embrazees', Bernard Morey 2006 (£65.00), Le Bouquet de Georges Duboeuf Rouge (£14.95), and Vosne -Romanee 'Hautes Maizieres', Robert Arnoux 2003/4 (£59.00).

Looking ahead, Berry hopes to add to the group's 45 restaurants that operate in India. "This is the only London restaurant at the moment but we are looking to expand, which is why we are putting so much time and energy into this establishment. But the first step has to be to revamp this place."

Berry believes that good value food and drink will survive in any economic downturn. "The recession affects everybody but I think since we have decided to revamp this restaurant in a period of recession shows we have confidence. I think good food and good drink will go along way and that is what we are all about."

Both Berry and Singh hope that this 96-cover venture will attract experienced cuisine lovers who can appreciate "superior regional cooking that's presented in a refreshingly modern way".