When asked for my favourite meal, my mind instantly flicks through the candid mental photographs and tasting notes recorded on the dishes I’ve most loved.
Sometimes it’s the simple things, like the ratatouille at La Guinguette in Bristol on a cosy winter’s evening with my love, or a divine gazpacho consommé from Derrière, taken on a simmering August afternoon in Paris. A seasonal main of tulips, stuffed with a duxelle of sunflower seeds at Hide in Mayfair was frankly, life-altering, as was a deconstructed tiramisu at Source at The Gilpin in Cumbria.
A stay at The Greenway Hotel & Spa allowed for an evening jaunt into nearby Cheltenham, for a restaurant visit I had been eyeing up for some time. Michelin guide recommended, Prithvi was founded by Jay Rahman, a Cheltenham local with hospitality running in the family. In 2012, the new era of an existing name commenced. Headed by Executive Chef Tom Law, they designed a sophisticated reimagining of South Indian cuisine.
On arrival, we pass a glass frontage emitting a muted glow, with an all matte-black exterior save for the restaurant name in a clean gold font. Like something one might expect from a members’ club, the restaurant is a fold of privacy, with tables arranged to encourage savouring quiet moments. Led to an intimate booth in the window, its deep blue velvet mirrors the softly lit interior colour-drenched in forest green, in stark contrast to the crisp white linens of the table. Smooth jazz plays softly in the background as we settle into the evening and begin to consider the menus, ordering a bottle of the Simpsons Chalklands Classic Cuvée White N.V.
Meaning ‘Mother Earth’ in Sanskrit, Prithvi is best known for their imaginative and emotive tasting menus, built from a profound understanding of each flavour, texture and ingredient they deftly combine.
The seven-course tasting menu is an expedition through the world they create. We start with multiple hors d’oeuvres – including flaxseed crackers topped with curried vegetable purée, Bombay mix, pickled onion and micro coriander, and a choux pastry filled with a signature curried cheese sauce, topped with truffle. Both set the standard of the evening, with perfectly balanced sweetness and spice, profoundly light and yet entirely unexpected in their combination of texture.
From its flavour profile to the ingredients, we are guided through each dish by our server. I experience a spiced carrot purée with a sweet date centre, topped with crisp toasted almonds. My partner enjoys a venison potato terrine, topped with a curried mayonnaise and a single fried curry leaf, recommended to be eaten in one bite.
Again, our conversation turns to the unanticipated textures, the inclusion of traditional elements alongside new flavours and the chef’s ability to construct such profundity in each morsel.
A sashimi of tuna is served atop a crisp lace, with mango gel and a smoked yoghurt, presented on ceramic coral. A unique pairing, their twist on pappadoms and their accoutrements pair perfectly with the robust fish. Even the interlude for bread is a further moment of reflection, with an onion seed milk bun served alongside an aromatic biryani goat milk butter. A sweet, fragrant, warm loaf piled with spiced butter – I defy you to find a combination so decadent, yet so homely.
Slivers of Chettinad cauliflower, steamed in infused brown butter of warming clove and cinnamon and bitter ajwain and fenugreek before roasting, were served atop a silky coconut milk-infused curried cauliflower foam. With pickled cauliflower stem and a sweet and sour tamarind and black garlic sauce, the dish is topped with truffle-infused potato puffs, which crackled and popped at the table.
Giving the whole affair a child-like nostalgia, yet with an exceptionally adult palette, I sobbed quietly from the first bite and I long to reclaim the emotion.
With each dish as beautiful as the last, we are introduced to elements in fabulously intriguing combinations, as evidenced in the kohlrabi salad. With English pear shavings and smoked almonds, it features a panko deep-fried duck egg, served with an egg yolk yoghurt and freshly shaved truffle in abundance. Halibut arrives with tandoori spiced vegetable creams and seared carrot, topped with clams and a zesty herb sauce. Venison meets picked blackberries and smoked beetroot puree, set aside a venison keema doughnut and tandoori venison gravy, a melting pot of flavour, texture and colour.
Not usually one for dessert, the whole affair had me longing for it, if purely out of fascination with how it might be proposed. We are presented with a chocolate mousse, with a verdant fig leaf ice cream and an amaranthine masala fig. A velveteen coconut crème brûlée arrives, a triumph of colour, surrounded by delicate jewels of blood orange, topped with a quenelle of tamarind sorbet, and a sprinkle of meringue. Both are topped with shards of coco and flaxseed waffle, redefining what could, and now should be, in a sweet ending.
Unusual ingredients that challenge your perception of a dish, or maybe ordinary ingredients presented in such a way that your concept of the component itself is challenged. Each element is weighed, measured and meticulously calculated, all the while celebrating the cultural heritage behind each.
A hard notion to balance… and yet Prithvi consistently overachieves.
