I remember those nearly three years ago now when I first started writing about food. Some of my content back then was absolutely shocking *slowly deletes ancient reviews*, but also the site seems to have started its early life reviewing Indian restaurant almost every other week. Three years later and I’m still eating Indian food, but nearly not as much as I did back then. It then got me thinking, why? I suspect these days the issue (lots are closing) for Indian restaurants is that the food scene back then was completely different and Indian cuisine was still the punchy flavour competitor around – but now it’s got the likes of Peruvian flavour combos and aromatic ramen broths to contend with. London isn’t short on flavour right now.
The difference on this occasion however, was that I wasn’t in London – but instead the foodie haven of Marlow. With the likes of two Michelin starred, The Hand and Flowers and local favourite, Vanilla Pod gracing the area, it was only time till others were bound to catch on to this bustling and affluent foodie scene. Michelin starred chef, Atul Kocchar is the latest to open here with his new restaurant Sindhu, with some stunning views over the river. The head chef at this new venture is a gentlemen named, Gopal Krishnan. Gopal has a stellar CV, with rigorous training through the Taj Hotel enterprise and has worked in the kitchens of London’s Mint Leaf and Tamarind. Poppadoms and home-made chutney were on hand to settle us in, along with an oddly textured, but flavoursome amuse bouche. Cocktails however were the main highlight to start as this fruity lime and ginger cocktail, laced with cardamom really got the palate excited.
Service was notable too, it was really rather good. No one person in particular was attending to our table, yet every person either serving or talking us through the wines and menu was excellent – service can make or break an experience. With their help they persuaded us to take the tasting menu (it didn’t take them much persuading to be honest). Aloo chat was the first to grace the table and was made up of roasted sweet potato, King Edward potato, sweet yoghurt and chutney. It had a good flavour but needed more of the wet sauce as it felt a little dry and what was available, gets soaked up quickly. More impressive was the Jal Tarang – a single pan seared scallop with parsnip puree and a subtle, delicate spice to it all.
One dish on the menu here at Sindhu did that rare thing most restaurants can’t – whereby you both take a bite and look at each other, just wondering how they got it so unbelievably spot on. A duo of grilled chicken were marinated in herbs, spices and doused in a saffron cream which gave it all a lovely freshness and lifted us into an ethereal state. It was so good in fact, we’d got to the point of taking only tiny bites as we didn’t want the experience to end. If you make your way here to Sindhu, don’t only order this tasting menu for the chicken, but as a side too. Before we made our way on to the main menu a refreshing granny smith apple sorbet made its way over to us, quickly refreshing our palate for the next course
One thing you may have noticed about our tasting menu here so far is that portion sizes have been a bit , shall we say small. However once you reach the main part of this menu you’ll be very thankful indeed – they jump from small in size, to huge. Our main plate of tandoor grilled rack of lamb was as you could imagine, stunning. Covered and massaged with a thick Chettinad spice mixture which gave you all the flavour you could only hope for – but not overpowering everything. A small polenta cake on the side was tasteless and needs to be lost. Sides of beetroot was pleasant enough but the coconut against the earthy flavoured beetroot was a little too contrasting for me. We were quickly perked up with an astonishingly flavoured lamb curry and some delicate, light and buttery naans.
Dessert course were very much a strong point of the kitchens skills here and one which I’d happily demolish all over again. A neatly put together chocolate sphere contained a dense chocolate mousse and was surrounded by sweet and luscious drippings of passion fruit juice and ripe strawberries. If that wasn’t good enough the hot pouring chocolate which decimated the sphere into liquid form, left me spooning the remainder straight from the jug. Probably wasn’t the best idea after all I just ate, but definitely worth the extra few calories.
With just enough room for a petit four or two, it finally came to that point in the meal when wobbling home became a reality (well a sleep in the taxi anyway). Sindhu in Marlow may have been a creation of Michelin starred chef, Atul Kocchar and he’s done a fine job, but we mustn’t forget that the person we should be thanking for these delightful plates of food is its head chef Gopal Krishnan who’s done a sublime job with the restaurant here. It’s not of course without fault but the areas where the restaurant can improve are very minor issues and I’ve no doubt that in the next twelve months, Sindhu will be one of Marlow’s destination restaurants.
8/10
