Veeraswamy, Regent’s Street

A few months ago Veeraswamy was known predominantly as London oldest Indian restaurant, celebrating its 90th birthday in 2016. Tucked away at a first floor Regent’s Street address, this eatery was only frequented by those in the know. But when the renowned Michelin Guide 2017 was released with Veeraswamy as a new 1 star entry, foodies flocked to try this established restaurant.

VeeraswamyVeeraswamy

The entrance is small and unsuspecting and you will be greeted before heading up in the lift to the dining room. With old fashioned portraits in the lift and traditional music playing in the background, I left like I was travelling back in time. The illusion continued as I stepped out into an opulent restaurant, the alluring smell of spices flavouring the room.

To start we ordered the Tandoori Green Prawns, delicate and juicy wild prawns, grilled to perfection and served with coriander, mint and chilli. I tried the Raj Kachori, a typical street food from Delhi which has become a signature dish at Veeraswamy. Colourful and unique in shape, I was very excited to taste it. The familiar flavours of Rajasthan came flooding back to me, but here the textures were refined and elevated to produce a fine dish of delicious food.

VeeraswamyVeeraswamy

There was a range of elaborate main courses to choose from on the menu, which included a few 90th birthday celebratory additions. We couldn’t resist the Patiala Shahi Raan which our waiter strongly recommended. It was a dramatic dish, a juicy lamb shank encased in thin, crunchy pastry and cooked for a long time. The meat was tender whilst the exterior remained crisp, a brilliantly innovative and tasty dish. A keen lover of Makhani chicken curry we ordered it to trial the Veerswarmy version. The curry was creamy, rich and moreish, paired with garlic naan, lemon rice and saag.

Each component was carefully made and presented prettily, but without being over-stylised and pretentious. There are so many contemporary, ‘trendy’ new Indian restaurants in the city, it feels like Veeraswamy have avoided modernising too much to keep the experience authentic.

Full from our feast of indulgent Indian dishes we only opted for one portion of rose kulfi to share. It was the ideal light dessert after a meal of rich and indulgent curries. Paired with a cup of comforting homemade Masala tea, it was a lovely end to a beautifully refined Indian meal.

More information and book a table at Veeraswamy here.

All photos supplied by the restaurant.

Hot on the Highstreet Week 199

Welcome to London Mr Lagerfeld. The maestro of materials, controller of couture, and the king of fashion has finally set up shop in our capital city, following 18 other international and European stores. Continuing Coco Chanel’s legacy is not an easy task but Lagerfeld has bettered the brand and introduced his own eponymous label to the highstreet offering monochrome Karl inspired clothing and accessories.

Karl’s fashion friends gathered for the Regent’s Street shop opening last Friday evening, now the largest Lagerfeld store in Europe. You will only see black and white here, the venue is slick and glossy with smooth surfaces and mirrors, faux fur furniture and ‘I Love Dust’ graffiti-style artwork designed especially for the shop. Inside the world of Karl you can buy women’s and men’s clothes, handbags, sunglasses and shoes. You will find everything you need to replicate the stylish look Karl is known so well for, including signature white collars.

The UK store also offers a brilliantly British capsule collection, a special range just for the UK. This includes a Union Jack sweatshirt and tokidoki dolls of Karl in a monochrome suit with an additional patriotic British tie. If you can’t afford Chanel prices, snap up a little piece of Karl at this exciting store. With ipads installed into the walls of each changing room, customers can take ‘selfies’ in the Karl outfits and even alter the filters checking yourself out before purchasing anything. Mini ipads can also be found throughout the store allowing visitors to browse the entire Chanel collection virtually.

The Karl Lagerfeld store is now open at 145-147 Regent Street.

www.karl.com

Tommy Guns Salon, Regent’s Street

There was something strangely ominous about the empty vintage barber chairs at Tommy Guns on the Jubilee weekend. As I entered, I felt like I may be volunteering myself for a Sweeney Todd horror. The new branch of this trendy salon is situated in the depths of the Superdry nightclub-esque shop, through the piles of preppy clothes and statuesque (half naked) male models. Finally you reach Tommy Guns, with no natural light, the room is lit only by shimmering beautiful art deco lamps.

Originally a Barber shop designed and built by Percy Westwood and Joseph Emberton, it opened its doors in 1929 within the Austin Reed shop, now the Superdry flagship store – it has been lovingly restored by Tommy Guns, the salon’s original features have been blended with modern touches to create an iconic space expressing its British heritage: a stunning arena for hairdressing, keeping its original style and preserving much of the vintage equipment.

I sat in the echoey chamber and let the experts take care of me. My hair was not in the best state, in fact I was positively disgruntled with the previous colour treatment, so I was overjoyed when they offered to dye it, even though this was originally not part of the plan. The small team on hand went to every trouble to perfect my hair and ensure I walked out happy. Explaining the fragile state of my over-coloured locks, they explained the only safe option seemed to be an all over dark shade. The tone applied was rich and luscious, the lovely colourist used reds to eliminate the unattractive hints of khaki green. It worked miraculously although several layers were needed to create a consistent all over colour. I was amazed by how down to earth and yet professional the staff were at Tommy Guns, I spent a lovely afternoon chatting about all kinds of topics, while my hair was efficiently treated.

After dying, my hair was washed, towel dried and trimmed by Clive. Adamant to grow my hair, I insisted on only a tiny trim, which was completed super fast before a voluminising blowdry. I cannot thank Tommy Guns enough for rescuing and resurrecting my disaster hair and giving me a cut and colour to restore my confidence. I just hope this review raises awareness… as a trip into Regent Street’s Superdry is worth making just to discover the hair emporium, Tommy Guns located within.

Visit the Tommy Guns website here for more information and to book.