Kutir

Kutir occupies a townhouse on Lincoln Street, a quiet Chelsea backstreet off the King's Road, where guests ring the bell to be let in. Chef-patron Rohit Ghai opened it in 2018 after years in the kitchens of London's leading Indian restaurants, and named it for the Sanskrit word for a cottage. The dining rooms are domestic in scale and detail: sage-panelled walls, marble fireplaces, gilt mirrors and William Morris upholstery, with framed engravings and shelves of hand-painted plates drawn from Indian wildlife. The cooking follows the feasting traditions of India's hunting retreats, refined for the room.

Private hire runs across the first floor. The Sariska Room, hung with artwork of Indian jungle foliage, seats up to 16; the smaller Ranthambore Room takes eight to nine and looks over the rooftop courtyard, with its own terrace for drinks before or after dinner. Taken together the two rooms hold as many as 25 for an exclusive first-floor takeover. In the warmer months the planted garden terrace opens for outdoor dining. Menus and cocktails are built to the occasion, and Rohit Ghai will come to the table on request.