Michelin-Starred Mayfair Indian Closed for Members’ Club-Inspired Refurbishment

Tamarind, Mayfair’s storied Indian restaurant has closed ahead of an extensive refurbishment, according to Big Hospitality reports today.

The restaurant, which opened in 1995, was the first Indian restaurant in London to win a Michelin star when it was awarded the accolade in 2001, and still holds it to this day.

A brand consultancy close to the company is quoted as saying that the refurbishment will create a “new and much needed dining concept” at Tamarind, creating “a place where you’ll feel like a member of a private club, but... won’t have to pay through the roof to be one.”

A statement on the Tamarind website alludes to how that feel might come about — the “brand new interiors” are being created by Sagrada, the London firm responsible for interior design at the exclusive Dover Street member’s club The Arts Club — while also promising a “reinvented approach to the menu”.

Diners are, in the meantime, directed to Tamarind’s more casual Soho sibling, Tamarind Kitchen, though reports also suggest an all-new, south Indian restaurant from the company — “influenced by the bountiful coastline and coconut-laden beaches found in the region” — is due to open in London soon.

• Tamarind Mayfair to reopen later this year with a ‘private club’ feel [Big Hospitality]