Restaurant: Benares, London

Atul Kochhar trained at the Oberoi Hotel Group in India before coming to London in 1994. He then worked as head chef in Tamarind where he became the first Indian chef to be awarded a Michelin star.

On the back of this success he left Tamarind to set up his own restaurant in Mayfair called Benares where he has since won another Michelin star.

I'd been trying to get a booking at Benares for a Friday night for some months but without success. My penchant for keeping my options open till late in the week doesn't always work well when you're trying to get into one of the top restaurants in London.

I decided to try and book ahead and was fortunate to get a table within a week, probably due to the fact that it was August and lots of people are on holidays.

Atul has made a name for himself on TV over the last year or two appearing regularly on programs such as Saturday Kitchen and The Great British Menu. His food always looks fabulous so it was with a high level of anticipation that I headed there.

The entrance could easily be mistaken for an entrance into one of the many office buildings that occupy Berkeley Square. Once through the door you are taken upstairs to the main bar area. The decor is dark and contemporary and you certainly sense that you are in a temple of food. Having said that, you do feel as if you are sitting in what was once an office building.

As you'd expect, this is no ordinary Indian restaurant. Being a Michelin-starred restaurant you know it's not going to be cheap and in case you're in any doubt then one look at the prices will tell you that immediately. Do not go there expecting to pay high-street curry-house prices.

As we had arrived early (6:20pm) we were told that the good-value lunch menu was still available up to 6:30pm in case we wanted to avail of this. Nice of them to tell us this as it indicates that they are not being mercenary in squeezing us for every last penny.

However I'd waited for so long to eat here that I passed up on all the different menu options and headed straight for the A La Carte as I wanted to try the best of Atul's cooking.

We started with the Gosht Ke Shammi (Ground Lamb Patties Served with Cucumber Yoghurt) and the Tandoori Ratan (Lamb, Chicken Tikka and King Prawn Kebab Platter).

A slight side-track here. For many years my favourite UK restaurant was the Black Chapati in Brighton. It wasn't an Indian restaurant as the name might suggest. They served an eclectic range of dishes one of which was Lamb Patties. For me this was one of their best dishes and either myself or my wife would always order it when we went there. Unfortunately the Black Chapati is no more.

Anyway the point of the above is that once I saw Lamb Patties on the menu I just had to order it. I had this picture in my mind of the fantastic Black Chapati patties and I wondered if Atul could top them.

When they arrived they were nothing like the ones in the Black Chapati so it was actually hard to compare them as it would be like comparing apples and oranges - both nice but both different.

The Benares patties were very tasty without being exceptional. I probably wouldn't order them again but that's probably because I have a lingering vision of the exceptional Black Chapati patties.

The other starter was more memorable. A succulent piece of chicken, a big fat juicy prawn and a mini lamb cutlet all nicely tandooried. This I would definitely have again.

For the mains we had Machchi Amritsari (Batter Fried John Dory with Crushed Garden Peas and Gorkha Tomato Chutney) and Mongsho Ghughni (Roast Romney Marsh Lamb Rump on Rosemary and Garlic Chickpeas) with a side dish of Gobi Mutter (Stir Fried Cauliflower and Garden Peas with Cumin and Turmeric) and a basket of breads.

The John Dory was nicely cooked. It was still succulent inside which is not easy to achieve. Too often fish in batter is overcooked because the fish cooks quicker than the batter. The batter obviously had spices in it as it was much tastier than your average chop shop batter.

The crushed garden peas (i.e. frozen peas) were really delicious and complimented the dish perfectly.

Overall a very satisfying dish but I would not order it again. It just lacked that certain "je ne sais quoi".

The Lamb on the other hand was superb. Perfectly cooked lamb (i.e. pink) on a bed of spicy chickpeas. The flavour from the lamb was fantastic. Absolutely moreish.

The Gobi Mutter was another stand-out dish. A definite must-order for the next time. The breads were also delicious.

The thing that struck us most about the food was the background taste we kept getting long after we'd swallowed a mouthful. The subtlety of spicing and the lingering flavour was far beyond anything you'll experience in a high-street Indian.

As might be expected from a Michelin-starred restaurant the wine list favoured French wines but there were also choices from across Europe and the New World. At the top end there were the expected wines from Puligny Montrachet, Meursault, St Emilion etc.

Given that it was a warm summers evening and that we were having both fish and red meat we decided to opt for the rosé wine. This was a "Rose of Virginia" (at £42) from the Barossa Valley in Australia.

I'm not a fan of sweet wine (excluding dessert wine) and I'm always cautious of ordering a rosé in case it gets too sickly sweet. This wine was fresh and flavoursome but wasn't at all sickly sweet. It worked really well with our meal.

We finished off with a shared plate of three different Kulfis (pistachio, coconut and mango). I thought that these were superb and probably the best kulfi I'd ever had. The crunchy bits accompanying them added an extra dimension to the dish.

The service throughout was generally very friendly and efficient although one of the waitresses could do with spending another few days at Smile School!

Overall a very enjoyable evening's dining. The food ranged from very good to superb and I would definitely want to visit there again a number of times. I think that you only realise how good a restauarant is when you've tried many of their dishes and they are all consistently excellent.

The bill came to £162 with 12.5% service included. Not a shocking price for a Michelin-starred restaurant and I certainly have no complaints about it.

However is Benares five times better than Lahore (my favourite cheap Indian in London where £30 will buy two people a fantastic meal)? No of course it isn't but then it's horses for courses.

If you want a cheap night out with friends then go to Lahore but if you want a romantic evening with your partner or if you want to entertain a client then head to Benares. You won't be disappointed.