Vineet Bhatia's Rasoi best in London for Indian cuisine
London, August 28, 2008 (IANS)

Michelin Star chef Vineet Bhatia's Rasoi is once again rated the best London restaurant in the Indian cuisine category, according to Harden's London Restaurants list for 2009. The best London restaurant rating goes to Petrus, the restaurant of top chef Marcus Wareing, who has two Michelin Stars. Gordon Ramsay's eponymous restaurant slips from the first place after eight years and is rated second best. Ramsay holds three Michelins. Le Gavroche in Mayfair comes third.

Harden's rankings are based on a total of 85,000 reports from 8,000 diners. The Harden's guide says average cost of dinner for one in London - including house wine, coffee and service - was now an average 40.11 pounds, with prices increasing 4.7 percent over the last 12 months.

Harden's described Rasoi as follows in the 2008 ratings list: Sublime and zingy spicing creates "1001 intoxicating flavours" for visitors to Vineet Bhatia's "tucked-away" Chelsea townhouse - a "bizarre" home for such a pre-eminent "nouvelle-Indian"; prices are "sky high, though".

Mumbai-born Vineet Bhatia earned his Michelin Star in 2001. He worked two prominent London Indian restaurants before setting up Rasoi in 2004, which won a Michelin two years later. He launched Urban Turban - a casual dining affair - in 2007.

Among other results, Chez Bruce is named London's favourite restaurant for the fourth straight year. The Wolseley is again No. 1 for business, followed by the Don and Bleeding Heart. La Poule au Pot is best for romance for the 13th consecutive year.

The survey divides restaurants into price categories, with the Ritz Restaurant and Pied a Terre coming fourth and fifth, overall, for places where a meal costs more than 80 pounds ($147). The Ledbury beat J. Sheekey in the 60-79 pounds group; Chez Bruce and La Trompette headed 45-59 pounds; Lamberts and Upstairs Bar were top two in the 35-44 pounds category.

Best restaurants by cuisine, reported by Bloomberg, are British: Chez Bruce, Lamberts; French: Petrus, Upstairs Bar; Italian/Mediterranean: Assaggi, Latium; Indian: Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, New Tayyabs (Pakistani); Chinese: Kai Mayfair, Mandarin Kitchen; Japanese: Zuma, Jin Kichi.

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