REVIEW: We tried Basmati Indian Restaurant in Beaconsfield

The award was presented by Sir Keir Starmer to the chef at the InterContinental London O2 hotel.

This came after judges visited restaurants up and down the country without telling owners the reasons behind their booking.

Basmati owner, Cllr Mohammad Khaled, was delighted to receive the news that his head chef won the accolade following the surprise visit.

He said: “It was a massive achievement. When we were actually awarded we were all really happy. 

“Out of all the chefs there, ours received the award from the chief guest Sir Kir Starmer.

“The chef was really happy, I tried my best to push him and it was a great achievement.”

The Indian recently celebrated its 17th anniversary with the restaurant looking brand new inside with its recent refurbishment earlier this year. 

The restaurant is hosting a New Year celebration (see page 19) with live music and a set menu on offer.

Cllr Mohammad is a member of a number of Beaconsfield communities recognising the host of local competition there is in the area.

He continued: “There is tough competition in Beaconsfield and in just old town there are 29 eating and drinking establishments with three Indian restaurants including ourselves

“There is a lot of competition but I am just trying to improve myself and my team.”

The Bucks Free Press were let inside to try out the chef’s award-winning food and check out the new refurbishment.

The food experience 

Poppadoms and an array of dips began the night as we contemplated what to have from the menu, which boasted a large selection.

We opted to go for mushroom rice, a Peshwari naan and an onion bhaji to go with a selection of curries from the chef’s specials.

First, we tried the ‘Uttaranchal Ki Nazakat’ and ‘Hariali Nazakat’, both dishes which were served to the judges for the ‘Chef of the Year’ award.

The ‘Uttaranchal Ki Nazakat’ was a creamy dish served with a yoghurt-based spicy sauce.

This was unbelievably tasty and we made sure none was left as we wiped the bowl clean.

The ‘Hariali Nazakat’ is a traditional north Indian dish cooked in a coriander based sauce.

This again was really good and it was clear to see why these two dishes landed the chef the award.

We also got to try the ‘Kata Massala’ and the ‘Hyderabdi’, again from the chef’s specials.

The ‘Kata Massala’ was cooked with garlic, ginger, coriander, curry leaf and honey.

Cooked with honey, it left a sweet undertone to what was a well-put-together dish.

We ordered the ‘Hyderabdi’ with lamb as it was also served with cooked aubergines and mushrooms.

The lamb was cooked perfectly and melted in the mouth on every bite.

Overall, it would be hard to criticise any of the dishes that were served to us as we finished every plate put before us.

The restaurant looked great inside with its new refurbishment and the members of staff were attentive and helpful in choosing what dishes to order. 

All staff were wearing masks with the owner, Cllr Mohammad, highlighting that Basmati will remain a safe space for locals to enjoy a meal out - which we can safely say will taste great.