Kuti’s Brasserie (Indian) – Southampton

The success of my restaurant is down to the quality of our food. We only use the best fresh ingredients. Our chicken is fresh, never frozen and lamb is the best I could find from Wales. Every dish is cooked to order and the difference is in the taste.

There can’t be a restaurant in Southampton, nay, in the county of Hampshire itself, that boasts a more impressive-looking residence than The Royal Pier (if there is, leave a comment below).

If this magnificently-lit historical landmark doesn’t set your pulses racing, it might be time to book that medical.

Kuti’s Brasserie is the culmination of the dedicated hardwork put in by restaurateur Kuti Miah, and his way of saying thank you to the people of Southampton for welcoming him all those years ago and embracing him as their own.

And this Indian restaurant is already making waves, having last year won three awards, and that too within a space of a single week which Mr Miah described as “the proudest week of my life”:

• Asian & Curry Awards – Best Newcomer South of England.
• International Indian Chef of the Year Awards – Restaurant of the Year.
• Cobra Good Curry Guide – Certificate of Excellence.

The place itself is huge, with no expenses or effort spared in making certain its glitzy and lavish interior matches the grandeur of the building itself.

While the lounge area can accommodate between 20-30 people, the important thing to note is that the alcohol bar is located entirely separately from the large 120-cover dining hall.

But there’s more. Not only is there seating for 70 more upstairs, including an outside setup overlooking the docks that once saw the Titanic cruiseliner depart for its ill-fated maiden voyage, but Mr Miah will soon be opening a second restaurant with a European menu that’s going to be showcasing, among other things, premium steaks.

As for Kuti’s Brasserie, then it offers a fully Halal food menu, with every effort made at procuring its produce from quality sources.

(Left-right) Beach, Red Caribbean, Tropical

While these mocktails aren’t part of the official drinks menu, they can readily be ordered on request.

And of the trio had, the best was easily the passionfruit-oriented Tropical; but only because the other two were garden-variety.

The not-so-good was the yoghurt-based pink Beach, which not only erred on the side of sour, but also appeared to have split making it quite unappealing.

As for the Red Caribbean, then it was mellow in its fruity delivery, and nothing more than pleasant.

Moongphali Chicken Tikka – Chargrilled chicken breast marinated with peanuts, tamarind and curry leaves, £7.95

It would be no exaggeration to say that this Moongphali Chicken Tikka will likely be in the running for our end of year awards, it was that good!

We kid you not when we say that this wasn’t so much chicken in texture as it was fish, it was that tender. In actual fact, the texture was so unbelievably soft that the knife didn’t so much cut as it did glide through.

And with its yoghurt-based marination complemented so well by the delicate smokiness imparted by the extreme heat of the tandoor, which also gave it an attractive charring, this would be one dish we’d happily return for.

Adraki Lamb Chops – Chargrilled lamb chops marinated with ginger, fenugreek, cinnamon, garam masala, £11.95

And these Adraki Lamb Chops just confirmed the fact that Kuti’s Brasserie have the technique and knowledge of utilising the tandoor to serve up some exceptionally good grilled dishes.

Couple that with the sheer quality of the meat sourced, and what we had here were cuts of lamb presented as pink, succulent and tender as you’ll ever hope to for.

In addition, not only did the delicate charring successfully add a textural contrast of sorts, but its smokiness also helped to enhance the flavour of the deliciously spicy marination. A triumph!

Lamb Thali £22.95

The anticipation of receiving a thali anywhere is always an arousing one, heightened, in this case, by the history and surroundings of this restaurant. And we were expecting something quite special after a spectacular pair of starters.

This particular one contained four dishes, dal of the day, rice, gulab jamon dessert and bread.

Sikandari Lamb Shank – Lamb shank and apricots infused with delicate spices simmered in rich onion gravy, £18.95

Had the strength of the spices in this otherwise discernibly sweet onion and tomato-based curry been more intense, this Sikandari Shank would have been more balanced than it was.

In addition, had the cut of lamb been of a less fatty variety, then the meat would have been more tender, and thus more enjoyable, than it actually was.

In the end, a lamb shank that neither looked the part nor hit the high notes.

Bhuna Gosht – Tender house smoked spring lamb cooked with tomato, peppers, ginger and cumin, £14.95

In terms of spice, this Bhuna Gosht was easily the most fiercest dish enjoyed on the evening.

Better still, rather than the heat of the chilli hitting you in one go, it built up gradually.

As for the spring lamb, then indeed it was tender just as the menu promised, making this an enjoyable one.

And with no garam masala to the whole thing, this had a mild smoothness to it which we all enjoyed.

Mushroom Matar Masala – Fresh mushrooms and green peas finished in thick masala gravy, £9.50

It was the gentle spicy-sweetness of this Mushroom Matar Masala which marked this out as arguably the pick of the curries had.

With the assortment of vegetables and mushrooms being nice and soft, and with the curry sauce delivering a good depth of flavour, this had just enough heat to make it an enjoyable one.

Gosht Dum Biryani – Slow cooked lamb with aromatic basmati rice, spices, flavoured with saffron and kewra, £18.95

There’s a reason why we go for Dum Biryanis when visiting award-winning restaurants; when done right, they’re a thing of beauty. The problem, of course, is that these are notoriously difficult to get right on the best of days.

In this case, what frustrated us the most was how a biryani, whose lamb turned out to be so utterly tender, could lack the necessary masala that makes a biryani such a memorably distinct one.

Yes the rice was well executed, but it was all too simple for our liking. A pity, since the clay pot it was presented in was a nice one.

Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to try their desserts menu.