Amaya

Undeniably tasty (exquisite!) food.
Be prepared, however, to pay the price for it.
For a Michelin experience I’d say it was worth it.

I had the vegetarian tasting menu. My only negative is I ate WAY too much, but everything was pretty much irresistible. A very nice mix of offerings with varied flavors and heat levels. The staff was attentive and friendly. And a good IPA to balance the whole experience.

I had another great meal at Amaya last month. The only downside to being a party of one is that you cannot get the tasting menu which is fantastic. So I try to mix in an old favorite and try some new things with a few ala carte dishes instead.
This time I went with a single scallop to start, the spiced chicken chops, chaat and monkfish tikka. This was about the right amount of food for one which can be hard to sort. Everything tasted amazing as it always does. The only thing I wish they would do is space the dishes a little better timewise. But literally I am nitpicking at that. If you like Indian food, you need to go to Amaya.

Amaya is my favorite Indian restaurant, to the extent you can call it that, in the world perhaps. I don’t live in London yet I’ve come here about every 6 – 9 months for the last 5 years. Certain dishes, I have never found anywhere else. The black pepper chicken and the prawns make my mouth water any time I think of them. I’d give it a 4.5 stars this time, they really do have everything you want in a restaurant, very tastefully and creatively done. This time, I found a couple of dishes could been executed better. I’ll be back again later this year to try!

Hip restaurant that presents Indian food like you’ve never seen it and in some cases never tasted but overall it didn’t live up to expectations.
The most annoying part of the dining experience was that they wouldn’t let you get the tasting menu unless you had 2 or more people. I understand why you can’t do it if the whole table doesn’t do it but if you’re a lone diner, it feels unfair you can’t get the tasting menu — maybe doubly unfair because normally you rely on the tasting menu to get a little taste of everything. Because of this, maybe I just couldn’t sample enough to really find the hidden gems.
The best dishes were the sea bass and the chicken with peanut sauce starters. The seabass had an incredible sauce and the chicken was super tender and juicy yet nicely charred. Those did blow my mind.
It went downhill from there.
The eggplant (aubergine) was a disappointment. It was half a thin eggplant that wasn’t particularly transformed into anything that marvelous or at least delicious.
The venison ended up being much more tubular than I had imagined with an interesting sauce shoved inside. It was okay.
The naan was perfectly cooked so I’ll give them that.
The lamb curry though was good but not great — but had been built up a lot by the waiter to be the best thing to finish with.
I felt a bit nickel and dimed by having to pay for rice and the chutney sauces.
The service was great — fast, attentive, and friendly. I just think it could have indeed been the best (or among the best at least) Indian food I’ve ever had (in London, NYC or SF which are my comparison set), but it didn’t overall transform my impression of good Indian food the way I expected it – plus the price was way higher, which I understand as a michelin restaurant it can justify on prestige alone, but I just didn’t think it was good value.
Maybe I’m just bitter I couldn’t get it all on the tasting menu for less! But, please don’t think me a complainer just cause of costs as I’ve had Noma, Joel Robuchon, etc. and I found those worth the price.
I just think this was okay for a Michelin experience and good Indian food, but not something I’d look to repeat again.

Food was really excellent — a friend made a reservation for us to go and try the tasting menu. The dishes were really flavorful — not necessarily spicy — but really vivid spices. The black pepper chicken was spectacularly tender, the lamb was phenomenal. The noodle dish to start was OK, and the wine pairings were a bit average. Setting is hip, but not overly stuffy.

Overhyped and food quality does not match the price. Staff is frantic and doesn’t seem to have their act together. Warned the waiter that I had a dairy intolerance only to get suggested yogurt and got parmesan cheese grated on my salad. You can do better Indian in London. Look elsewhere.
Edit: down to one star. Just had to ask for water again. Seriously, service here sucks.

I am so glad i was able to score reservations to this place when i visited in Sept. Holy cow was this place amazing
I wouldn’t classify it as indian food, it’s more like an ecletic fusion. So know that going in.
The tasting menu was plenty of food and really a great way to try a great selection of wines and foods.
this place by no means is cheap… easily cost us about 200 dollars for two people for dinner. (yes I said dollars, I’m American)…but i will say… splurge a little and go… its worth it
the ambiance of this place is trendy and sexy all at once.
really loved the area it was located in
and the owner coming by to each table and chatting with diners… just a great touch.
ps. the jamun cheesecake… just yes… all around.

I’ve heard quite a bit about Amaya and have struggled to get a reso but finally went last week. Disappointingly I found it very average. We all got the tasting menu which in theory is the best of all dishes and nothing stood out as spectacular. Some of the chicken dishes were very dry and other courses were simply forgettable. I wouldn’t recommend especially with all the incredible Indian places in town.

A Saturday lunch for 4. They offer a special weekend menu, an
A carte option, tasting menu and platters. We opted for two veggie platters, a non-​veg platter and one of our party ordered the chicken biryani.
One watermelon and citrus salad with tamarind dressing starter which was star of the show. Biryani with good use of cashew paste was superb, I dislike biryanis but this was great. Super moist chicken and fragrant rice served in a clay pot with lid sealed with pastry.
No veg plater I ate had a superb sea bass, possibly cooked in coconut milk and a fantastic
Rating 4 star was for food. We all felt service was poor. Although reasonably timely it was arrogant and no connection with diners.

Amaya was fabulous. It’s tucked away within a shopping area in upscale Belgravia.
The food was incredibly well prepared and delicious. Service is attentive and helpful. Ambience is hip but not overly trendy. The menu is thoughtful and well organized. You can even order small versions of most dishes in order to try more variety.
I highly recommend the biryanis, anything tandoori, lamb kabobs, black pepper chicken, and eggplant. The salads were refreshing and delicate. I had a fabulous pear ginger cocktail as well.
I would recommend to anyone visiting London looking for high-​end Indian cuisine.

Amazing experience
Being here twice and only got better
The lamb is incredible well cook and scallops are perfect

Firstly, this place was such a hassle to find. Its location is off of a small street in difficult-​to-​navigate Belgravia. Surprising for a Michelin starred restaurant. Without a reservation, the restaurant gets quite crowded and we had to wait a bit for a table. Their waiting area has plush cushions that are nice. The ambiance is dimly lit, very trendy décor inside, and spacious seating areas. Once we were seated, the waiters were attentive and friendly. Their recommendations were on the money. I ordered the chicken biryani; it came in a clay pot and was delicious. The waiter warned me beforehand that the biryani takes a longer time to cook, but I said we were in a hurry and they sped up the preparation for me. Really great service here! I loved the food, but the drinks fell flat. With that being said, this place is quite pricey.
Verdict: Too hard to get to the restaurant and not worth the price. Go get some biryani from a street cart and it’ll probably be equally as satisfying.

One of the most expensive Indian meals I may have ever had but the presentation, the style, the recipes, and the flavors made it worth it :)

Love the spinach patties, the lamb chops, the broccoli, the chicken black pepper and anything else you order is amazing! Must try. My favorite restaurant in London!

Amaya ha sido la primera vez que he comido en un Indio diferente, la comida especiada pero diferente, todo cuidado hasta el mínimo detalle. Hemosntomado el menú de degustación y recomendable 100%.

We were so excited to try our first Michelin starred restaurant in London and it did not disappoint! First off, it is very expensive. A 6 course meal for 2 came out to £140 pounds. They recommend you order 6 dishes because it is family style and meant to be shared. Don’t be alarmed if you are not full with the first few plates. If you ordered rice and curry, you will leave stuffed. Trust me. We ordered:
–Chicken Parcels (lettuce wraps basically)
–Chicken Tikka
–Spicy Prawns
–Broccoli
–Naan
–Chicken Curry
–Chicken Biryani
–Rose Kulfi
–Lime Tart
Everything was so delicious and clean tasting. This was definitely a modern Indian restaurant. We ordered too much food before the rice and curry dishes arrived so that was a mistake. But everything was so delicious it was unbelievable. We recommend doing the same thing by ordering a bunch of different plates but keeping in mind the rice will fill you up so much. But definitely worth the try. Our waitress was a bit monotone and pushy but that could be the atmosphere there. Overall, everything was outstanding. The rose kulfi was the best dessert and the shrimp and chicken parcels were the standouts.
It is rather trendy so dress for a nice dinner out.

By far one of the best meals we have ever eaten.
Book your table far in advance!
Come hungry.
Come with a group.
Things are family style, so share.
Things can be a bit spicy.
Awesome for vegetarians!!!
Dress nicely.

This place was absolutely amazing!
The service was perfect; everyone was very polite and friendly.
The food was delicious; I had the Amaya platter with the coconut curry sea bass which was absolutely to die for.
I also recommend the strawberry granita which comes with the Amaya platter. It is like a classy snow cone and was refreshing to have after a Indian meal.

Amaya is a fun One Michelin Starred restaurant to visit if you are in London and in the mood for solid modern Indian cuisine.
We made a very last minute reservation just minutes before the last seating which turned into us being one of the last patrons of the restaurant.
Once you find this place, you enter a really cool modern vibed restaurant. They sat us at a table near their open tandoor station and in front of their vegetable station. We got to watch our food being made, it added to the great experience.
They give you a menu that is broken up into 3 categories for both Vegetarian and Nonveg eaters — a quick menu that can be brought out first (smaller dishes), a medium menu and a longer to make (curries and bigger portions) menu — the idea being that you can order a few small dishes which come out first, then the medium then longer dishes come out efficiently in order with no time wasted in waiting for food. It takes a fair amount of time reading through the menu to figure out what you want.
The food flavors were great, we loved all tandoor and vegetable dishes.
Their fruit cocktails were terrible. We tried 3 different kinds with each tasting like it was made with chemicals instead of fruits.
Service was slow and even though the menu was made to be time-​efficient, I feel like we still did a lot of waiting. We ended up being in the restaurant for two and a half hours, most of that time spent waiting for the longer to make dishes which we could have done without.
We left the restaurant feeling very full but we were satisfied. I would recommend this place for a great and very different dining experience.

First Impression… WoW this is a very nice, fancy place. I’m excited for my Indian meal in London! (My friend said Indian food in London is great so I looked up on on Unilocal and landed upon this place.)
Strike One: No photographs allowed in the restaurant. WTF. Seriously? I’m going to pay a bajillion pounds for the food and I can’t take pics of the food? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Stuck up snobs.
Strike Two: You can’t order just one tasting menu. Apparently you have to have at least 2… which was a problem for us since 2 of us wanted the vegetarian tasting menu and one of us, who could eat meat, wanted the regular tasting menu. So… the one who could eat meat just order chicken curry… which was a lot less expensive than the tasting menu. Fail on the restaurant part… you could’ve made more money had you allowed the 1 portion tasting menu.
Strike Three: I wanted to get the full experience so I order one of the more expensive drinks. a 14 pounds ($ 22) drink. However the glass it came in made it super difficult to drink since the lip curves in. Um… hello? I want the liquid to go into my mouth, not back into the glass. Idiots.
Oh… and just in case 3 strikes wasn’t enough. They highly discourage you to order the curry. They say, «I’m sorry it’s going to take 45 minutes to make.» As if they are asking you, «Are you sure you want to order that? It’s going to take forever to get to your table. Maybe you should order something else.»
Anyways… the good thing was that the chicken curry was good… and it did not take 45 mintues… and the bokchoy w/​the corn was good.
169 pounds ($ 253) later… totally NOT worth it.
I do not recommend this restaurant and will not return.
P. S. I sniped some photos even though I wasn’t allowed to… and they are terrible because I had to snipe them but that’s ok… it’s their fault for not allowing people to take pretty photos to make their food look good.

Essen sensationell Service katastrophal.

Bester kreativer Inder mit 1 Michelin Stern. Sehr schöner Laden, sehr posh und gestylt mit großer Showküche und Tandori Ofen. Ich empfehle mehrere Vorspeisen zu nehmen, die sind super lecker und man kann so viele Gerichte probieren. Portionen sind nicht klein, unbedingt die Jakobsmuscheln probieren, unglaublich lecker. Der gekochte Spinat ist auch ein Hit, sowie die Süßkartoffeln mit Tamarind Sauce und Yoghurt. Lobster ist ok, muß man aber nicht unbedingt haben. Desserts sind auch toll.
Preis-​Leistung ist absolut ok, die Preise zahlt man auch in jedem anderen Restaurant.
Service ist freundlich, wichtig: wenn es voll ist auf jeden Fall drauf hinweisen wie schnell oder eben langsam die Gerichte kommen sollen. Wenn man Pech hat, kommt sonst alles zusammen und das man keinen Spaß