Restaurant: Mowgli
Address: 87 King St, Knutsford WA16 6DX
Miles from Altrincham: 8
Cost: £35 per person for the Christmas Feasting Menu
More info: mowglistreetfood.com
Five years ago I interviewed Nisha Katona about her extraordinary journey from child protection barrister with no business experience to the entrepreneur behind a rapidly growing chain of Indian restaurants.
She had opened up the first Mowgli on Liverpool's Bold Street only five years before and while she already had 10 restaurants to her name when we spoke, it was clear from our conversation that she felt like she had barely even started.
Fast forward to today, and Katona has a string of best-selling cookbooks to her name, is a regular judge on cooking shows, and has just been commissioned by ITV to front a 10-part cookery series called Nisha Katona's Home Kitchen. She's also been awarded an MBE for services to the food industry.
She now has a multimillion-pound fortune, having sold a significant stake in her company to a private equity firm last year.
That has added rocket fuel to the growth of Mowgli, which now stands at 25 restaurants, and we visited one of its newest outlets in Knutsford, which opened in July.
The first thing to say about Mowgli is that, outside and in, it is absolutely stunning, especially given the dour Barclays Bank that previously stood on this King Street site.
Inspired by traditional Indian food markets and the broken-down temples behind Katona's grandmother’s home in Varanasi, the interior mixes living trees, hanging plants, raw oak furnishings, fairy lights and lanterns to create an invitingly warm environment.
We were here to sample the Christmas Feasting Menu, which is available throughout the festive season and priced at £35 per person.
Opening with a glass of Prosecco or bottle of beer, it's not long before you dive straight into the flavour with a Yogurt Chat Bomb. A traditional Indian street food dish, they consist of a delicate, crisp-bread puff filled with chickpeas, spiced yoghurt, tamarind and coriander. Do not even consider taking a bite - consume the whole thing in one go and await the burst of sweet, tangy and spicy flavours. A wonderful start.
Mowgli's success has grown on the back of this kind of food: authentic dishes that do genuinely reflect how Indians eat at home and on their streets.
For the next course, we chose Gunpowder Chicken - chicken "poppers" with ginger, garlic, garam masala all golden fried in a chickpea batter. Intensely moreish, they were well matched with some Fenugreek Kissed Fries.
On to the main-course Tiffin Boxes, which are intended to embody the traditional Indian practice of enjoying a variety of flavours in one meal.
Arriving in two-tiered metal containers, they've been compared to a 'food roulette' experience. Indeed the menu description of the Office Worker’s Tiffin simply says 'Meat & veg food roulette, total pot luck'.
Such a strategy could spell disaster in some restaurants, but here it's a perfect fit - and once your waiter has explained what happy combination of ingredients you've alighted on in your dish, the bottom line is it was absolutely delicious. There are vegetarian or vegan options, too.
For dessert you're faced with a straightforward choice: The Mowgli Chocolate Brownie or a Mango Sorbet Ice Cream Cone. Stay on the carb train, or cleanse the palate. Our answer: have one of each! Both delightful.
Mowgli may have taken the private equity cash, but there's no evidence of any decline in standards here. On the three occasions I've eaten at one of their restaurants, the food has been exceptional and never less than interesting, and the dining experience is one of the best you can currently enjoy for high-street prices. Knutsford is lucky to have one - hop on the train and go!
