Benares Restaurant & Bar in City of London

I found this place while looking for recommendations on the web. I was really disappointed as it did not meet my expectations that were based off of reviews online. I intend this to be a constructive feedback given the food overall was good and service was nice. My disappointment was mainly with the portion sizes of all dishes on the set menu. I don't expect restaurants to go out of their way in their generosity but this definitely felt below par.I would love to hear others who have been here. Also wonder if there is a bar for portion sizes that even Michelin star restaurants ought to adhere to.

Great service and food. A bit pricy but worth trying. Only scored 4* as one of the desserts we ordered was not the one we ordered. Other than that, all was tasty and the hosts were very polite, knowledge and explained what food they are serving

Hit and miss. Good attentive amicable service. Well cooked and well presented ingredients, however, some dishes were a miss. The scallop with strawberry is a huge miss, an overpowering taste of out of season strawberries! The foie gras with Langoustine and raw curry didn't blend well. The tandoori lamb chop was scrumptious and wish if I had a whole rack of it. The dessert was light and fluffy and pink in all the right places. Will definitely try again when it is not a valentine's menu. Recommended.

Obviously great food, the lobster biryani is fantastic, butter chicken on point, super tender and prefect spice! lamb chops great in quality but so spiced that the lamb does not come through.Very friendly service, quick and attentiveI'd really like the light to be dimmer, I think it would do wonders for the atmosphere

A Michelin starred Indian restaurant right on the same strip as Sexy Fish and Amazonico.Customer service was A1. Very attentive staff. Decor is just okay, not too fancy. Same goes for the ambiance. The bar area though looked really nice however, at almost £20 per cocktail hmmm not so sure about that lol. Maybe a bottle of champagne.For Starter, we had the Samosa and the Truffled bronze Turkey Momo.Didn't expect the turkey to be in a broth but this actually tasted nice. The unusual looking samosa was accompanied with a mint, tamarind and ginger sauce which was good. The actual samosa was just okay.For main, we ordered Lamb Yorkshire Pudding and Vegetables Masala with a bread roll. The Vegetable Masala wss nicely spiced. We chose pilau rice as the side of choice of which the texture was very good. Not too soft or hard. The Lamb Yorkshire pudding however was just average for me.The chosen dessert was Sticky Toffee pudding served with a salted caramel sauce. This was my highlight of the dinner. You can smell the aroma of the salted caramel from the get go. Only complaint was that the pudding was too sticky, you really needed to press on your fork to cut a piece lol. Besides that, everything on the dessert plate was decent.The Indian smoothie-like drink called Lassi typically mango flavoured was good, just a tad too thickIn summary, the food is good but no wow factor.

Is this really a Michelin starred restaurant? I’ve waited to visit Benares for some time and had never gotten round to booking as it’s rare I fancy Indian food when in London but yesterday was pre planned and I was excited for the experience. I was left disappointed.Ultimately the food was tasty but not worth the price point. As another reviewer mentioned, it’s potentially a victim of its own success.Our meal started with waiter (small male who was more formally dressed than the others) coming up to the table asking ‘are you ready to order?’ Then followed with ‘well what do you want then?’ One of many red flags to come. Limited interaction; no asking if we’d like another drink. Not checking how the food is - the basic etiquette of food hospitality.My starter of samosas was very tasty and the lamb main was devine. Everything else was average.Other members of staff were warm and welcoming but the whole experience did not scream Michelin standard. There are better Indian restaurants in London; I wouldn’t go back.

I loved every bit of Benares!Beautiful entrance, great bar with little pool, nice people working thereGood atmosphere and balanced noise wise, good to talkAs a veganI got obsessed with Samosa even more after this visit, it was amazing flavourPotatoes been lovely, flavour just incredible I cannot even describe and little pot with Daal, very beautiful little silver potsMy friend ordered meat dish and I could see how happy he was, that was specialWe been so full after that we couldn’t fit dessert, hope next time ❣️But we received lovely complimentary cake, that was such nice gesture 🌹 Thank you Benares team, I look forward to come back soon!

Had a great lunch at Benares, started with some great cocktails, mine was a lychee martini and my partner had the mango margarita which was really delicious with a sweet chilli and salt rim, need to learn how to make it, and the bar staff were so nice in sharing with me the ingredients. Service was great with advice and recommendations for the menu, and help with dietary requirements. We had the Momo with mushroom sauce and truffle and the Squid keema to start both were outstanding and full of flavour. For mains we had the lamb black pepper stir fry which was served in a Yorkshire pudding and the hake with green curry spices both delicious and the hake was cooked to perfection. The restaurant had a really nice atmosphere with diners as well as staff so friendly, we bonded with the table next to us through food envy of each other's dishes. Overall, great food, service, drinks and atmosphere.

Exquisite food and excellent service. The wine list is an extensive selection if white, rose, red and sparkling, ranging from £38-£999. All the food was explained which would probably beneficial to someone not well versed in Indian and Indian fusion food. They also gave me some recommendations when I was stuck between two wines. The notes for the wine are not listed so if you are unsure it's best to ask them. My favourite dish was definitely the salmon which was both delicate and flavourful. They also bought a dessert out for the birthday we were celebrating. The only thing downside (and it was one my parents had rather than me) was it felt a bit busy/cramped with the amount of tables. However it was peak lunchtime so I believe this to be unavoidable. This isn't a cheap meal out but the price is actually worth it unlike some other Michelin star restaurants.

The food was delicious and the lunch set menu was well thought out and good value. Would recommend ordering sides which are an extra cost as the main meal is not really complete otherwise.The service could be improved. After waiting a very long time for our mains to arrive, I enquired as to their arrival. There was no previous apology or acknowledgement that it was taking a long time (over 45 minutes). The server commented that they were on their way and went to the kitchen. We were offered a drink on the house and an apology, which seemed very reactive. Finally, after more waiting, our mains arrived. We were kindly offered a side and naan bread once we finished our meal, which was a bit odd but appreciated as it was delicious.I appreciate things can happen in the kitchen but the restaurant was not busy and so it was a bit disappointing that it wasn't better managed. I felt as if they forgot about us and wonder what would have happened if I didn't mention it.Would highly recommend for the food and hope they take this as a learning experience to providing service to match their food.