Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
St James's Indian dining with lunch worth booking.
Chutney Mary is a long-running upscale Indian restaurant on St James's Street, known for its glamorous, gilt-heavy dining room and a wide menu spanning northern Indian slow-cooked dishes, coastal preparations, and Parsi cooking. Michelin Plate (2024, 2025) and an OAD ranking confirm consistent quality. The Sunday brunch and Pukka Bar lunch offer the best value entry points at £££ pricing.
You walk into a St James's dining room gilded with crystal, colonial prints, and shimmering light, and the question answers itself: Chutney Mary is not hedging on atmosphere. This is a room that commits fully to a certain kind of glamour, and the food — northern Indian cooking with careful modern technique — delivers enough substance to match it. The verdict: book it, especially at lunch, where the price-to-experience ratio works hard in your favour.
Chutney Mary has been part of the London Indian dining conversation for long enough that its continued relevance is itself a credential. Camellia Panjabi, who pioneered the modern presentation of Indian regional cooking in London, built a group that includes Amaya and Veeraswamy, and Chutney Mary sits at 73 St James's Street as the most formal of the three. The Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 confirms the cooking is consistently at a level above casual dining, even if it hasn't crossed into starred territory. Its 2025 ranking of #276 in the Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe list places it firmly in the tier of restaurants worth planning around, not just stumbling into.
The interior earns its description: gilt, etched glass, large colonial artworks, and framed prints combine to produce a room that feels deliberately theatrical. For some diners, that wave of attention on arrival will feel like exactly the right welcome for a St James's evening. For others, it may register as a touch much. Either way, the atmosphere is the first thing you'll feel, and it sets a clear expectation: this is occasion dining, not a casual Tuesday.
The cooking focuses primarily on northern India, with excursions into coastal and Parsi traditions that give the menu real range. Slow-cooked dishes anchor the main course selection: a nut-thickened Karwan fish curry made with halibut, Bengal lamb curry, and 'Parsi wedding' duck represent the kind of regional specificity that separates Chutney Mary from generic upscale Indian. The Indian barbecue selection runs to tandoori Amritsan sea bass and Afghani chicken tikka. Small plates include baked crab balchao in its own dish with crispy breadcrumbs, baked venison samosa, and scallops in Mangalorean sauce. Desserts push into less expected territory: dark chocolate and Punjabi rum tart, cherry shrikhand, and Persian kulfi moulded as citrus segments on silver plate. The kitchen will adjust spicing on request.
This is where the editorial angle matters most for your booking decision. At £££ pricing in St James's, dinner at Chutney Mary is a considered spend. Lunch changes the equation. The Pukka Bar lunch and the Sunday brunch are both explicitly flagged as strong offers , formats that give you access to the room, the cooking, and the service at a price point that is easier to absorb than a full evening commitment. If you are visiting London for a few days and want a proper Indian meal in a serious room without the full dinner spend, the Sunday brunch is the format to book. The Pukka Bar lunch works for a midweek visit with a guest who warrants somewhere impressive.
For comparison: Benares in Mayfair sits in a similar tier and offers strong lunch value, but the room doesn't carry quite the same visual weight. Trishna in Marylebone is the better choice if coastal Indian is your priority and you want a Michelin-starred experience at a slightly lower price ceiling. Chutney Mary's advantage over both is the room: few Indian restaurants in London produce this level of theatrical atmosphere, and at lunch you get it at a fraction of the dinner cost.
If your interest in ambitious Indian cooking extends beyond London, it's worth knowing that Opheem in Birmingham offers a Michelin-starred format at a different price level, and Trèsind Studio in Dubai is where the format has been pushed to its most technically ambitious global expression. Chutney Mary sits between those poles: more polished than a neighbourhood favourite, less experimental than a destination tasting menu.
Chutney Mary sits at 73 St James's Street, SW1A 1PH, close enough to Buckingham Palace that the postcode alone signals the pricing register. Booking difficulty is moderate: this is not the kind of room that fills three months out, but you should not count on a same-week table for weekend dinner. For Sunday brunch, book at least one to two weeks ahead. For weekday lunch, you have more flexibility, but confirming in advance is sensible given the location attracts a reliable corporate and diplomatic crowd.
Google reviewers rate the experience at 4.4 across 2,343 reviews, which is a meaningful sample for a restaurant of this type and price point. That score, combined with consecutive Michelin Plates, suggests consistent delivery rather than occasional excellence.
For broader planning around your London visit, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, and our full London bars guide. If you are building a wider UK food itinerary, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton represent the other end of the ambition spectrum in British fine dining. Closer to London, Hand and Flowers in Marlow and Gidleigh Park in Chagford offer strong weekend-escape alternatives. For a more accessible London Indian option, Ambassadors Clubhouse and Babur sit at lower price points if budget is the primary constraint. See also our London wineries guide and our London experiences guide for the wider trip. For strong Indian cooking outside the capital, hide and fox in Saltwood is worth noting for a different register entirely.
| Detail | Chutney Mary | Benares | Trishna |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price range | £££ | £££ | ££-£££ |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2024, 2025) | 1 Star | 1 Star |
| Booking difficulty | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| Leading format | Sunday brunch / Pukka Bar lunch | Set lunch | À la carte lunch |
| Atmosphere | Theatrical, glamorous | Calm, formal | Relaxed, neighbourhood |
| Location | St James's, SW1 | Mayfair, W1 | Marylebone, W1 |
The Pukka Bar is a confirmed option for lunch, making it a practical choice if you want a lighter commitment than a full dining room booking. It is a good way to experience the venue at a lower spend, particularly for solo visitors or a two-person lunch that doesn't warrant a full table reservation.
Chutney Mary's format is à la carte rather than a dedicated tasting menu in the traditional sense. The strength of the offer is in choosing across a wide menu of regional Indian dishes rather than surrendering control to a set sequence. If a tasting-menu format is what you want for modern Indian cooking, Amaya in the same group offers a more structured grilling-counter experience.
Based on available detail, the slow-cooked dishes are where the kitchen shows its range: the nut-thickened Karwan fish curry with halibut and the 'Parsi wedding' duck are the formats that distinguish Chutney Mary from a standard Indian restaurant. From the small plates, baked crab balchao and scallops in Mangalorean sauce represent the coastal reach of the menu. For dessert, the Persian kulfi and the dark chocolate and Punjabi rum tart are the most distinctive options.
Yes, with a caveat. The Pukka Bar lunch is the right format for solo visitors: it gives you access to the kitchen without the social weight of a large dining room table. Solo dining at dinner in the main room is possible but the theatrical atmosphere is calibrated for groups and couples. If solo dining flexibility matters, Trishna has a more relaxed room that accommodates singles more easily.
At £££ for dinner, it is worth it if the combination of serious northern and coastal Indian cooking with a glamorous St James's room is what you are buying. The lunch formats (Sunday brunch, Pukka Bar) are where the value is sharpest. Compared to Benares, which carries a Michelin star at a similar price, Chutney Mary trades starred precision for a wider menu and a more dramatic room. Which trade-off you prefer depends on what you're prioritising.
Yes. The room, the service attention on arrival, and the wide menu make it a reliable choice for birthdays, anniversaries, or a business dinner where atmosphere matters. The St James's address adds to the occasion-dining framing. For a more intimate special occasion, Amaya offers a counter-style experience with theatrical cooking that feels personal rather than grand.
Benares is the closest comparison in price and ambition, with the advantage of a Michelin star. Trishna is the better choice for coastal Indian cooking in a lower-key room. Amaya is the right pick if you want a live-fire, counter-format experience from the same ownership group. For a lower price point, Babur in Honor Oak delivers serious cooking without the St James's premium.
No dress code is formally stated, but the St James's location, £££ pricing, and theatrical interior strongly imply smart casual as a minimum. For dinner, treat it as you would any upscale Mayfair or St James's restaurant: no sportswear, and erring towards smart will be appropriate rather than overdressed. For Sunday brunch, the atmosphere is noted as more relaxed, so the threshold is slightly lower.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chutney Mary | This long-standing, popular Indian restaurant comes from the same stable as Veeraswamy and Amaya, and its stylish dining room may be the jewel in the group’s crown. A certain luxury is to be expected when Buckingham Palace is just a short walk away, but there’s a relaxed, fashionable feel to the surroundings here too. The appealing menu offers lots of choice and the well-judged, flavourful dishes (mostly from northern India) have been subtly updated, while still respecting the foundations of the cuisine.; Camellia Panjabi was one of the first restaurateurs in London to showcase, in a modern idiom, the many-splendid iterations of Indian regional cooking. This is upscale food that shines with glittery excitement and regal flavours in a glamorous setting. On arrival, you are engulfed in a wave of attention; some might feel a touch overwhelmed, but for others it’s a magic carpet ride to the glory days of the Raj. The cavernous interior is glitzy, glossy, lavishly crammed with gilt, crystal, shimmering lights, framed colonial prints, large artworks and etched glass. The food is equally polished: dabba gosht was a creamy, nutty lamb stew; baked crab balchao served in its baking dish was gently spiced and topped with crispy breadcrumbs. Other small plates might include baked venison samosa or scallops in Mangalorean sauce. There is an Indian barbecue selection offering the likes of tandoori Amritsan sea bass or Afghani chicken tikka, as well as roster of slow-cooked dishes that includes 'Parsi wedding' duck, Bengal lamb curry and a delicious nut-thickened Karwan fish curry made with halibut. The waiting staff are happy to convey any request to modify the spicing back to the kitchen. Desserts are equally wide-ranging within the national compass: dark chocolate and Punjabi rum tart, cherry shrikhand or perfect Persian kulfi, elegantly moulded like citrus segments and served on a silvery plate. The Sunday brunch is also worth noting, as is the Pukka Bar lunch.; Opinionated About Dining Casual in Europe Ranked #276 (2025); Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | £££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
How Chutney Mary stacks up against the competition.
The Pukka Bar at Chutney Mary is a documented option and worth knowing about — it offers a lunch menu that gives you access to the kitchen at a lower commitment than a full dinner. If your goal is to try the cooking without locking into a three-course spend at £££ pricing, the bar is the smarter entry point.
Chutney Mary's strength is its breadth rather than a single fixed tasting format — the menu spans northern Indian slow-cooks, Indian barbecue, and small plates, giving you genuine choice. If you want a structured tasting progression, Amaya (from the same group) leans harder into that format. At Chutney Mary, building your own selection across the menu's sections tends to produce the better meal.
The kitchen's range runs from baked crab balchao and venison samosa among small plates, through tandoori Amritsan sea bass and Afghani chicken tikka from the Indian barbecue section, to slow-cooked dishes including Bengal lamb curry and a nut-thickened Karwan fish curry with halibut. Desserts such as dark chocolate and Punjabi rum tart or Persian kulfi are worth leaving room for. The staff will adjust spicing on request, which is a practical advantage if you're ordering for a mixed group.
Solo dining works here, particularly at the Pukka Bar for lunch, where the format is less formal than the main dining room. The main room is large and service is attentive, so you won't feel neglected, but the social energy skews toward couples and groups. If solo dining in a more counter-focused setting appeals, Gymkhana nearby offers a different dynamic.
At £££ in St James's, Chutney Mary is priced for the postcode, and it largely delivers: Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025, a kitchen with genuine regional range, and a dining room that justifies the setting. Lunch and the Pukka Bar offer better value than dinner for price-conscious visits. If you're benchmarking against Veeraswamy or Amaya from the same group, Chutney Mary sits at the higher end on atmosphere and occasion-dining feel.
Yes — the gilded St James's dining room, attentive service, and a kitchen capable of dishes like dabba gosht and Persian kulfi make this a reliable special-occasion choice. It holds Michelin Plate status (2025) and ranks #276 in Opinionated About Dining's Europe Casual list for 2025, which gives you a credible benchmark. For a more intimate occasion, request the main dining room rather than the bar area.
Within the same ownership group, Veeraswamy (the older, Mayfair-adjacent institution) and Amaya (a grill-focused format) are the natural comparisons. Outside the group, Gymkhana in Mayfair holds a Michelin star and is the sharper choice if cooking credentials matter more than atmosphere. For a lower price point with serious regional Indian cooking, Darjeeling Express offers a distinct proposition.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
