Colonel Saab’s founder, Roop Partap Choudhary, will take diners on a unique culinary journey across India, with a nine-course food and art pairing tasting menu of dishes, paired with curated art collected by Roop across the continent and lovingly brought to London.
Colonel Saab is named after Roop’s father, Colonel Manbeer and the extensive menu is inspired by places he was stationed in the army. You can expect dishes inspired by local lunches in the tents of Rajasthan to British-inspired Indian breakfasts in the Officer’s Mess followed by stunning banquets hosted by Maharajas. Expect many regional specialities appearing for the first time on a London menu.
The menu includes some exciting new dishes like pulled charcoal lamb with jeera aloo, biryani, a chicken Chettinad with malabar paratha and a chocolate silk cake. The vegetarian menu includes Gutti Vankaya, Andhra-style eggplant curry and Cauliflower 65, followed by South Indian curd rice with a fruit sorbet.
Each mouthful will bring the continent and its rich history to life, with fascinating stories and insight about the carefully paired art and artefacts from a stunning, carved temple door from South India, to handwoven Persian carpets and precious decanters and crockery from the palace of the Maharaja of Faridkot.
The multi-sensory experience of India will also incorporate mixology. A Masala Dabba – or spice box – of artisanal gins, whiskies and rums based on Indian botanicals has been created with the Diageo mixology team, along with innovative cocktails by celebrated mixologist Antony Bertin, designed to match the food.
The art-festooned restaurant is a treasure trove of eclectic and museum-worthy Indian art and artefacts collected by his family on their travels. Roop and his team pair extraordinary art, including 17th and 19th Century Tanjore paintings, the Maharaja of Patiala’s Asprey drinks bar, pure silver Gujarat temple doors and a canopy of ornate chandeliers from Firozabad with dishes which tell the stories of those regions and people.
Roop said: “We are passionate about food, art and India so this combines all three and brings them to life, in a multi sensory experience which will take you across the vast continent and its diverse and beautiful sights, tastes and fragrances, showing the powerful roles food and art plays in India.”
The modern Indian restaurant has made its home in the elegant former Holborn Town Hall, continuing his family’s proud legacy of hospitality that spans more than three decades, celebrating the vibrant and diverse culture of India’s food and history with humility, elegance and originality.
The Art and Food Pairing Experience launches on 24 May 2022. The nine-course menu costs £150 per person.
To discover more, visit: colonelsaab.co.uk
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