Zest

Send us more details about this place.

The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2011) edition.

Zest is not just an Indian restaurant: it’s a fine restaurant that happens to serve Indian food. Next door to Harvey Nichols, the interior is sophisticated with statement mulberry walls, pale wood and cream leather chairs. The table settings are impeccable and service is politeness itself. Zest specialises in North Indian and Bangladeshi food with nods to other regions, and because it has a shorter menu than many other establishments, there’s real temptation to move away from the familiar. A starter peculiar to Zest is 'Salmon 65'. This huge piece of fresh fish is complemented but not overwhelmed by garlic and ginger with hints of coconut and just a pinch of coriander – fabulous. Lightly grilled lamb kebab is moist and mildly spiced and both arrive with freshly chopped salad. A mustard-based lamb sarisha, named on the menu after Sir Walter Scott, is good and spicy, and chilli-garlic chicken, full of crunchy vegetables, further cranks up the heat. For any fan of Indian food, this is the place.

• High point: Beautiful presentation
• Low point: Jarring blue signs in the window