Gymkhana and Kitchen Table’s extravaganza

Two Michelin-starred restaurants join forces for a pairing menu

Among the restaurantsto receive their first Michelin stars last year were two of London’s finest young establishments. Tucked away like a speakeasy behind Fitzrovia hot-doghotspot Bubbledogs, Kitchen Table serves 12-course menus directed by the ingredients its suppliers perceive to be top-notch that day. Across town in Mayfair, Gymkhana is the first Indian restaurant to have been named National Restaurant of the Year.

But the two are also linked by the fact that each has a female co-owner who is a wine expert – and both are friends. Together, Sunaina Sethi (third picture), Gymkhana’s co-owner and wine buyer, and Sandia Chang (first picture), co-owner and sommelier at Kitchen Table, are aiming to “counter the preconception of the middle-aged white male sommelier” with a series of singularevents – starting with a one-off dinner on Monday June 1, where five courses will be coupled with unusual wines, for An Unexpected Pairing (£150). Wines and champagnes are to be announced on the night – but each will be chosen to elevate the flavours of the spiced dishes.

Hosted at Gymkhana (second picture), the menu will place a special accent on chatpata, dishes with a hot and sour flavour. To start is samosa papdi chat with a choice of tandoori scallops, artichoke masala 
or achari stone bass tikka. Next is succulent
 lamb nalli barra cooked to fall off the bone or kid goat methi keema made with mince. These will be followed by a wild muntjac biryani served beneath a pastry crust with pomegranate and mint raita.

A trickychoice between two desserts will end the meal in a sweetly chilled manner: creamy strawberry rabri or ras malai, a Bengali dish of paneer balls ina richly thickened sauce.