Food & DRINK
Mint Leaf
"Let's go for an Indian." Cue: belching, drunken grunts of approval and urination on street corners. Indian restaurants in the UK don't exactly have a reputation for haute cuisine, let alone haute clientle. Fortunately, life is a little more sophisticated at Mint Leaf, St James's hottest Indian restaurant.
Tucked away at the bottom of Haymarket, the restaurant has been on the scene for five years, and has recently released a diverse new sharing menu. All references to korma, poppadoms and 'meat' curry are happily conspicuous in their absence.
Among your average local (and often less salubrious) Indian establishments, there's a received tradition that lamb and chicken are the only meats that are allowed to be offered. Unless it's a bit posh, and then you might have some king prawns pinged in.
Mint Leaf couldn't be any more different. Lobster tail with curry leaf and coconut, john dory with lemon pickle, rabbit loin with chilli and saffron, quail with ground mustard and honey... the epic grazing menu is a feast of some of the best meat and fish all cooked with unique Indian flavours. Around our table, the award for the noisiest 'mmms' was definitely presented to the Scottish scallops served seared with sour mango on a peanut salad.
At this point, you might expect an obligatory reference to Tiger beer or perhaps Cobra, if we were feeling flush. Well, you've clearly not grasped the point yet. To drink beer with this food is akin to wearing flip-flops with a Savile Row suit. It's just wrong.
Rather, I'd suggest a bottle of Conundrum. Provided by oenological suppliers The Wine Treasury, this Californian wonder is made up from a concoction of five different white grape varietals, creating a confusing but exciting medley of flavours. It's about the fruitiest thing this side of an Innocent smoothie - it's almost as though a load of Opal Fruits (not Starbursts, because that's a crap name) have been mashed in a blender and then left to ferment. It's sharp, sweet and refreshing on the palate, and most importantly, it can stand up to the Indian spices on the plate.
If you're a red lover, then try the Migration pinot noir. Another Stateside spectacular, its perfumed flavours match the coriander dishes in particular.
But whatever you do, don't put on a mock Indian accent, don't order a vindaloo, and don't urinate on the street corner... you're not at curry club anymore.
By Mark Hedley
Mint Leaf, Suffolk Place, SW1Y 4HX
www.mintleafrestaurant.com, 0207 930 9020
The Wine Treasury, 020 7793 9999
