Varma opens up West London venture

Executive chef Andy Varma claims his latest venture, the 75-cover Chakra, is set to be ‘the most exciting new restaurant in London’. Situated on the borders of Notting Hill and Holland Park, it aims to be both a local favourite and a must-see destination for international gourmands.

With a menu that uses traditional artisan recipes from India’s royal kitchens, Chakra boasts an interior by celebrity designer Dezzi McCausland that uses a colour scheme of cream and dark mahogany. Chesterfield banquet seating, vintage cigar style panelling, Madras ice-cream leather and Oak Colchester flooring has been combined with a rustic stone element and warm gold lighting for dramatic effect.

In the royal palaces the gourmet chefs of old invented the concept of regal ‘plates’ or platters for sharing. Andy Varma says he aims to re-create this traditional way of ‘running’ the food from pan to table at Chakra. The menu, designed very much to share, combines seven schools of cooking, each containing recipes that have evolved throughout the centuries. Typically, 1 or 2 dishes should be ordered to share from each section, to try different cooking preparations and techniques or ‘schools’ of Royal Indian origins.

Andy Varma is a well-known TV chef in India and has worked in Canada, USA, and Egypt with corporate chains such as the Sheraton, Four Seasons and Oberoi Groups. He has been the chef patron of Vama, The Indian Room in Chelsea along with brother Arjun, since 1998, and hopes the latest venture will recrate the success of his Kings Road establishment.