Kinaara at InterContinental 5/5 fine-dining in London Greenwich
HALAL STATUS Fully Halal food menu • Alcohol servedSince our last review of a hotel-based restaurant involved Indian eatery Royal Shezan being rated 4.5/5, we arrived at 5-star InterContinental hotel’s Indian fine-dining venue Kinaara with high hopes.
Our expectations, however, rested more on the fact that the respective kitchens at both these hotels were headed by chefs who have worked under renowned Indian Chef Vivek Singh of the Cinnamon Collective.
As such, while Royal Shezan in west London’s Hotel 55 is lead by the highly accomplished K.K. Anand, Kinaara’s in south east London’s North Greenwich is manned by a man who boasts quite the CV.
Head Chef Imamuddin Khan behind Kinaara’s 2 AA rosettes award
Chef Imamuddin Khan hasn’t just worked at prestigious Indian restaurants like the Radisson in New Delhi, as well as the Taj Hotel and The Cinnamon Soho in London, but has also co-authored the best-selling culinary book ‘The Curry – Classic and Contemporary’ with Chef Vivek.
Beautiful gold-purple interior colour-scheme
Having only opened last year in November, Chef Imamuddin is already making waves at Kinaara, which in Urdu/Hindi means ‘on the shore of, or on the edge of a riverbank’, after recently being awarded 2 AA rosettes.
While the stroll past the iconic O2 and towards the imposing hotel is impressive enough, our first impressions of the restaurant certainly lived up to expectations, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering panoramic views of Canary Wharf across the River Thames.
Private room with Canary Wharf across the Thames
Located on the second floor, this spacious 65-cover venue’s sumptuous interior is underpinned by a gold and purple colour-scheme, with a private dining room able to accommodate a further 24 guests.
Parking is available for £9 on a first-come first-served basis in the hotel’s car park for dinner bookings (completely rammed when we visited during the weekday at 5pm), with additional parking next door at The O2 car parks 2, 3 and 4.
We were also informed that Kinaara is scheduled to be closed for 15 days this coming August for renovative purposes.
DRINKS
Summers End, Pink-lit Sunset – £11 each
Despite the disappoint of not having a dedicated non-alcoholic drinks menu, Kinaara is able to get a mixologist to create off-the-menu beverages which, as it so happens with these two similar-looking frothy concoctions, turned out to be surprisingly good.
But, although the Summers End was a pleasant enough fruity affair, the Pink-lit Sunset turned out to be a humdinger, with a zingy undertone helping to highlight its sophisticated floral notes.
Classic, Rose, and Mango Lassis
What characterised these creamy trio of lassis was the yoghurt. It tasted so authentic, as evidenced by the Classic, which also managed to strike that perfect subtle balance between the sweet and the salty.
As for the rose, then it easily trumped its mango counterpart in terms of flavour, with the latter barely discernible.
SMALL PLATES & GRILLED
Kadak Kekda Amritsari – Punjabi-style soft shell crab, capers salsa, tomato chutney, £10.00
Amuse Bouche: WOW!
After a deceptively simple-looking Amuse Bouche, where a soft and delicately spiced masala bread, covered in a tiny sprinkling of mustard seeds, packed quite the wallop courtesy of some spicious globules, we were served a number of superb small plates and grilled starters.
Kicking things off was this Kadak Kekda Amritsari. Although we thoroughly enjoyed the surprisingly strong kick of the spicy tomato chutney, we thought the batter enveloping the soft shell crab could have been served crispier than it was.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed the colourful medley that was the capers salsa, which, while adding that extra textural dimension, offered hints of sweetness here and there.
Saffron Malai Tikka – Chicken breast, cream cheese & cardamom, £15.00
For us, very few things come close to the pleasurable experience of a melt-in-your-mouth malai chicken. Kinaara’s version was sublime, with the breast being infused in the unmistakable aroma of saffron.
Add to that the subtlety of the cardamom cream cheese offering a touch of sweet fragrance, and this Saffron Malai Tikka set a high benchmark right off the bat.
Anaardana Chaat – Wheat crisp & spiced chickpea, sweetened yoghurt, tamarind, £8.00
This faultless Anaardana Chaat was a dish which, we suspect, a chef as talented as Imamuddin could have created with his eyes closed.
While the wheat biscuits therein assured plenty of crispy-crunch, the classic combination of the yoghurt, tamarind and spices was perfectly aligned.
The joy of cutting into a positively pink and juicy lamb chop is a moment seldom matched during a food review.
These french-trimmed Lamb Barrah were exquisitely execeuted, with a yoghurt-based marination whose spicious heat was masterfully measured, and a smoky edge courtesy of the tandoor.
Grilled Broccoli – Smoky maranade of honey, Kashmiri chili, cashew & curried yoghurt, £12.00
Whilst the variety of mellow sweet notes married nicely with the gentle heat of the curry-flavoured sauce beneath, a tad more charring could have added more of a smoky profile, as well as some additional texture, to help take this Grilled Broccoli to the next level. An enjoyable dish nonetheless.
MAINS
Malabar Meen – Halibut simmered with shallots, curry leaves & coconut, £24.00
This Malabar Meen was an exercise in subtle brilliance, with deft touches on the part of the chef accounting for a gently spiced-cum-sweet curry, which didn’t just boast a velvety texture, but allowed the tender and meaty chunk of Halibut to shine for all its worth. An absolute joy!
Dum Pukht Chicken Biryani – Traditional Awadhi-style chicken & basmati rice, £22.00
Wherever there’s a dum biryani, you better believe FtLion will be showcasing it.
And thank goodness we did too with this Dum Pukht Chicken Biryani, for there were no preparatory short-cuts here; just genuine love and attention to detail.
The aromas and fragrance exuding from this pot was another moment in this review to behold.
We couldn’t get enough of taking deep whiffs in between mouthfuls of succulent chicken and long-grained rice – all enveloped in a masala spice that never threatened to overpower the mild flavours of this beautiful “traditional Awadhi-style” biryani.
Butter Chicken – Old Delhi-style grilled chicken, dried fenugreek, tomato sauce, £20.00 –
Butter Chicken is an interesting dish in that it can be interpreted and executed in a variety of ways. Some are more buttery and cardamom-oriented, while others prefer more of the piquancy of the tomato base to define things.
While Kinaara’s was the latter, the balance between the taste of the tomato, the strong aroma of the cardamom, and the heat that lingers in the background, was quite something. Needless to say, this dish got better with each given bite.
SIDES & BREADS
Dal Makhani – Black lent is cooked overnight with tomato, ginger, garlic & red chili, £8.00
“Wow” was the first word written in reaction to this deeply rich and complex Dal Makhani, made memorable by the unmistakable smoky-edge of the butter used therein. Just a delightfully creamy affair this.
Heeng Jeera Aloo – Baby potato tempered with cumin seed & asafoetida, £8.00
The lightly sour pickle spice underscoring this Heeng Jeera Aloo simply danced on the palate. And with the baby potatoes being delicately soft, this was another delicious side.
Truffle & Cheese Naan – Smoked cheese, black truffle, £6.00
Although not as crispy as we’d have preferred, the pleasant scent and earthy taste of the truffle was certainly apparent, with the cheese lingering in the background.
DESSERTS
Dhanak Kulfi Indian Ice Cream – Flavored with Beetle spice, Caramel, Pistachio, £10.00
This Dhanak Kulfi Indian Ice Cream was the one recommended by Chef Imamuddin, and for good reason too given how utterly good the trio of ice creams were.
What we had here were silky smooth quenelles of caramel, pistachio, and beetle spice, with the distinct flavour of pan leaf making the never-before-tasted beetle spice an absolute delight.
Gulab Jamun – Pistachio crumble, vanilla ice cream, £10.00
This playful little dessert had plenty going on, with flavour combinations holding our interest until the very end.
We found the small quantity of rose crumble as a bed for the warm and nicely saturated gulab jamun, as well as the pistacho crumble neath the smooth vanilla ice cream, to be an effective touch, both texturally and flavour-wise.
- YES/ NO
- CHILD SEATING
- DISABLED FACILITIES
The precision with which Chef Imamuddin Khan combined and layered his spices wasn't just key to producing such outstanding dishes, but also showcasing a menu that'll live long in the memory.In fact, so epic was Kinaara's, that we left the restaurant immediately convinced that this would be FtLion's first 5/5 review rating of 2023!
Diners might like to note that a 12.5% service charge will be added to the final bill.
Drink - Classic Lassi
Starter - Saffron Malai Tikka/ Lamb Barrah
Main - Malabar Meen/ Dum Pukht Chicken Biryani
Side - Dal Makhani
Dessert - Dhanak Kulfi Indian Ice Cream
Be the first to leave a review.
Kinaara
One Waterview Drive, Greenwich Peninsula, London SE10 0TW.
T: +44 (0)208 463 6913 | W: kinaara-london |Â E: [email protected]
Opening Hours:Â Sun-Mon CLOSED | Tue-Sat 17:00-22:00
