I’ve moaned before about the lack of decent Indian restaurants in Amsterdam, and after my proper South Indian curry in London a few weeks ago, I felt certain an Amsterdam equivalent was going to fall far short of the mark. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Mayur is at the Spiegelgracht end of the Leidseplein area, and as such doesn’t suffer from quite the same reputation as its neighbours down the street, closer to the square itself. But the black exterior makes it look more like a Jimmy Woo-style club than a dinner venue, and you’d never guess at the elegant lounge you step into off the street. We had a drink there beforehand while waiting for another dinner guest to arrive, which was nearly fatal given the generous measures of spirits that were being poured as pre-dinner tipples.
Luckily, the third member of our party arrived before we got too drunk, and we cracked on with the enormous menu. And then after about five minutes, we gave up and asked the waiter what he thought we should eat. He recommended a variety of dishes, telling us that most people opt for this chef’s selection, at which point we couldn’t really see the purpose of the enormous menu. But anyway.
The feast started with various pieces of meat (plus a prawn) from the Tandoori oven. Some were hot, some spicy, some herbal, and all served with mint raita. I never usually pick Tandoori from a menu, because I expect it to be dry and because I love sauces. But this was moist, succulent, varied and delicious.
Next, we had three curries: a classic chicken tikka masala, which was carefully spiced and not at all creamy; a butter chicken, which tasted strangely like Campbell’s tomato soup (this has happened to me before, so I’m starting to think that’s how it’s supposed to taste, although it’s not how I make it myself); and a lamb and spinach curry. The dishes came with a fourth vegetarian curry of potato and peas, as well as rice and two types of naan. I ate till I had to undo my buttons.
I could’ve done without dessert, but it was part of the chef’s menu so I managed about half of the cold rice pudding with pistachios. It was tasty – I was just too full to appreciate it.
Dinner came to around €45 each, including a couple of drinks, and I would go back for the Tandoori alone. But coupled with the pre- and post-dinner lounge, the helpful service and the rest of the dishes, Mayur is now at the top of my recommended Indian restaurants list.
