La Porte des Indes Awards

La Porte des Indes Restaurant Review:

This dramatic restaurant, part of the Blue Elephant international chain, is divided into various rooms and built around a staircase. The marble waterfall is just one of the features of this would-be maharaja's palace (which is no place for nouveaux pauvres). The cooking is consistently good, showing best during the festivals which are regularly held and which offer authentic regional cooking. Parsee fish (sole in mint and coriander chutney steamed in banana leaves) and beignets of aubergine and pepper crabs show the Gallic influence on the cuisine of the former French colony of Pondicherry. From the menu's voyage of discovery around India come Hyderabadi biryani, Goanese pork vindaloo and from the country's most western outpost, chicken tikka masala. The chef Mehernosh Mody runs a Master Class on the last Friday of every month (noon-1.30pm followed by lunch). Weekday lunch menu Tasting Platter £14; light lunch (650 calories) £19; Sunday brunch £30. Set menus £34 to £42.