Page 112 - Traveling 71 eng

BENARES RESTAURANT
Benares
RESTAURANT & BAR
The Benares menu
is an invitation to
get lost in culinary
India, from the
starters to the final
dessert
The bustle of Chamberí hides—almost stealthi-
ly—one of those restaurants where the senses
are invited to travel. On Zurbano Street, softly lit,
Benares Madrid has spent ten years quietly yet
earnestly defending true Indian cuisine: the food
of families, of celebrations, of small daily rituals. It
is not a postcard-style exotic spot nor a nostalgic
outpost; it is a place where the scent of cumin and
cinnamon lingers among conversations, and whe-
re the only real obligation is to eat well and let go.
This past May, Benares celebrated its tenth an-
niversary as important things in life should be
celebrated: with friends and with food. For the
occasion, chef Luis Ojeda joined forces with Sa-
meer Taneja—Michelin-starred chef at Benares
London—to create a four-hands menu. It was one
of those meals to remember: eight courses that
felt like a round-trip journey between two cities and
two ways of looking at India. Tikka masala croque-
ttes, lamb pulao with gold leaf, Malabar crab in
coconut curry, duck momo in Nihari curry... dishes
that don’t aim to impress through gimmicks, but
rather by telling a story—the story of the country
that inspires the restaurant
Interior courtyard terrace of the restaurant
Words: Editorial staff - Photos: Benares
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