Chutney Ivy Restaurant, Leicester

Photo Source: Dluxe Magazine

Leicester’s Chutney Ivy, is one of Leicester’s premier restaurants based in the Cultural Quarter of the City Centre, situated near both the Curve Theatre and Phoenix Cinema. Priding themselves on a fine dining experience, Chutney Ivy hosts a combination of classic Indian hospitality with some of the best traditional Indian cooking methods, with fresh ingredients and modern twists on some people’s favourite dishes.  To achieve good Indian cooking there is a need for appropriate use of aromatic spices.

Chutney Ivy says that the ‘skill lies in the subtle blending of these spices to enhance rather than overwhelm the flavour of a particular dish’. At the restaurant, they aim to bring the most traditional Indian dishes from all corners of the sub-continent, whilst maintaining the flavour in classic recipes. There’s also a generous helping of signature dishes which enhance Chutney Ivy’s fusing together of food trends happening in modern society. Their food is all cooked and prepared in their kitchen by experienced staff and with seven years of research and experience their menu is the best it can be. It’s no surprise then that recently it received recognition of its work becoming 2017 Leicester Curry Awards’ winner for Best Restaurant. I was invited along to sample of their menu and decided to take my dad along with me as a late Fathers Day treat. 

Chutney Ivy are trying to outreach into innovative ideas for their restaurant and one of those being the Indian Tapas Platter. A great alternative if you’re just looking to have a quick bite to eat before heading to the theatre with a few drinks or even as a lunch option. The platter is a compromising portion with its combination of Siek Kebab Stacks (kebabs, sun-dried tomato on nan squares), Paneer stacks (Indian fresh cheese), Aloo Tokki (crispy potatoes, green peas and spices) and Fish Pakora (fish marinated in lime, ginger and garlic).

The platter was full of different flavours, they complimented one another well and it didn’t feel like it was all about the level of hotness but about getting those specific flavours, they wanted correct. I particularly enjoyed the Paneer stacks, something I hadn’t heard of before but had a great texture to it. The Aloo Tokki was nice too.

On our starter was also a Dim Bhajee Salad; boiled eggs sautéed in caramelised onions, roasted jeera and turmeric. Served on a bed of greens. A traditional Indian salad, these flavours and dish are inspired by the owner’s village and a dish he remembers fondly. The dish was very refreshing but also had some nice warm flavouring to it too. This is a great option if you’re feeling a smaller portion for your starter. It was something I hadn’t sampled of before but would try again.

The focus for our main course was their take on a korma, a curry which usually packs a medium heat into it and is usually quite heavy when eating it. Their Muragh Jaal Qurma is roasted chicken from the Tandoor gently cooked in sweet spices of cinnamon, Bay leaves, green cardamom, milk, yoghurt and a hint of green chilli. As most kormas come with a cream base, it usually caters for the Western palette making it no authentic to Indian flavours. The dish itself isn’t more sauce than chicken too meaning all the flavours are packed exactly where they should be, inside the chicken. The hint of the green chilli within the outer layers of the chicken also gave it a nice kick to coincide with the sweeter spices. The dish itself pleasantly surprised me with how much I enjoyed the flavour, there was also enough in the portion to satisfy you and leave you with enough room for pudding.

They also offered us some of their Capsico Keema Mattor, an Indian take on something like a British Sheppard’s pie. The bell peppers are chargrilled and stuffed with spiced minced lamb, paneer and peas. My dad enjoyed this dish more than I did, he thought the hotter flavours of the spiced mined lamb went well with the cheese.

Last on the menu was dessert. We tried a traditional Indian dessert called Kalajam, sweet milk dumplings flavoured with green cardamom and marinated in ghoor(date syrup). This dessert is served hot with a side of vanilla ice cream. This dessert was sweet, quite sticky in texture but sided well with the coldness of the ice cream. If you had a hot dish for your main course then this would be the dessert I would finish with afterwards.

All in all, Chutney Ivy Restaurant really do host some of the best hospitality and attention to detail in their dishes. I thought their combination in flavourings and inspiration behind the dishes were really the key to their success.

If you'd like to visit Chutney Ivy Restaurant for yourself if or when your next in Leicester then below are their details;

Chutney Ivy Restaurant

2017 Best Restaurant, Leicester Curry Awards

41 Halford Street, Leicester, LE1 1TR

Phone: 0116 251 1889

thanks for reading,

*Restaurant Review. Invited to review the Chutney Ivy Restaurant, Leicester. All photos and views are my own.