FOOD : Masalchi by Atul Kochhar, Wembley Arena London

I know Chefs face from watching many a Saturday morning cooking programmes. Celebrity Chef Atul Kochhar was always cooking up something with spices and unusual ingredients that looked incredible onscreen. But not only is he a famous face from the telly, he is a two Michelin Star award winning Chef and a spice wizard of note! Now opening his ninth restaurant, I got to taste his incredible creations at his newest restaurant, Masalchi in Wembley Park, London.

The restaurant is open plan that lets the light in. This 120 seater doesn’t feel cavernous at all, the opposite really, its a warm and very social space. Cool tiles adorn pillars and walls around the kitchen/bar, creating a busy focal point for the restaurant.

REVIEW OF MASALCHI BY ATUL KOCHHAR, WEMBLEY ARENA, LONDON

Masalchi means the Spice Master or Spice Blender, which I think is a perfect description of Atul Kochhar. He has a way with spices, understanding the flavour profiles and how they blend or contrast with each other to create layer upon layer of subtle spice whilst building the heat.

Masalchi is inspired from Indian Street Food that Chef Kochhar picked up on his travels around the provincial markets in India. The menu is influenced by dishes from across the country, and is serving up what is called Pan-Indian food.

Overly spicy food doesn’t sit well with me as I find it only impairs my tastebuds rather than enhancing them for savouring the spice. I had nothing to fear here at Masalchi; every single dish was incredibly and beautifully prepared and felt like much love and time had gone into preparing each dish.

We were trying out the Spice Masters menu, which is probably ideal as it means you don’t have to worry about making those dreaded dish decisions and then end up with food envy. It’s a six dish menu, with three sides for £28pp.

There’s always poppadoms to start but here’s what we ate dish by dish.

MIYAJI SHEEKWALE - Family recipe of lamb seekh kebab from Lucknowi household. This was my standout dish. Succulent lamb with soft spices that kicked in on the last bite.

PUNJABI SAMOSA CHOLE (V) - Proper Punjabi samosa with spicy chickpea curry. The pastry on these samosas was tremendous, slightly buttery yet firm, almost biscuit like but lighter and stuffed to the brim with lamb and potatoes. A dish of two halves; if you needed the spice hit, then scoop up the chickpea curry.

CHICKEN 65 - Crisp chicken tossed with curry leaves and chilli. If only all the chicken in the world was cooked this way. So succulent, packed with flavour and a really nice kick of heat at the end.

MACHHI MASALA - Fish in South Indian spiced sauce. Another stunning dish offering decent sized chunks of flaky fish in a nice spiced sauce.

CHICKEN MAKHAN PALAK - Classic butter chicken with spinach. I’m a fan. Simply delicious. A bowl of creamy softly spiced chicken that I could have spent the next 3 hours scooping up with their fluffy naan breads.

The three sides were PEELI DAAL (V) and the PULAO RICE and NAAN.

This fantastic menu was accompanied by a wee cheeky house red and then their in house Lassi’s of Mango and Pineapple & Coconut.

GULAB JAMUN - Cheese dumplings in rose syrup. The wording of cheese and rose syrup gave me the fear, but these were so so good. Not one ounce of cheese as we know it, was tasted or visible. These dumplings are light, almost cake like in texture that’s been saturated in syrup. An absolute delightful way to end your dining experience here.

This meal, end to end was faultless. There is nothing I would change at all and I’m going to happily confess that this was possibly some of the best Indian food I have ever eaten.

My advise to you, is to go. Make that booking and eat here.

Masalchi, 2 Wembley Park Boulevard, Wembley, HA9 0HP. www.masalchi.co.uk

My Spoon Award : Tartan Spoon 10/10

I was invited by Masalchi to review their menu. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.