London has plenty of Indian restaurants built for admiration, and then addiction. Trèsind is not here to remind you of what you already love, but to maybe make you fall in love with it all over again. At 13-14 Hanover Street, in swanky Mayfair, polished technique meets ingredients and ideas that refuse to stay neatly within any one of India’s countless culinary traditions. This story, though, does not begin in London, it is, however, definitely the epilogue to a successful one. In Dubai, Trèsind Studio became the first and only Indian restaurant in the world to earn three Michelin Stars in 2025.
Himanshu Saini is the magician chef at its centre, and his brilliance is not merely technical. It is in the confidence to take a flavour people know well and ask how much further it can go without losing itself. And Indian food is hardly ever lost when it comes to London’s streets.
Chef Amit Bagyal leads the kitchen at Trèsind Mayfair, while Saini continues to shape the wider culinary direction. The restaurant is built around multi course tasting menus, limited covers and two timed evening seating’s, but what matters more is the freedom within them. The food moves quickly between recognisable Indian references and combinations that would rarely meet under ordinary circumstances. Take the opening courses. Arugula pani puri comes with preserved pear. Watermelon somehow complements Guntur chilli sambal. Mushroom chai, once you are over the surprise of its existence, pairs king oyster mushroom with a za’atar cannolo. Ghewar chaat brings avocado, strawberry, pomelo and yoghurt ice cream to a party you never want to leave. An Orkney scallop varuval comes with Kristal caviar and black truffle.
So, to reiterate, these combinations are unusual, but what is not as evident is how quickly they start to feel inevitable once they are on the plate. For this, butter chicken provides the neatest demonstration. On the classic menu, it remains wonderfully recognisable, served with butter naan and black dal.
On the signature tasting menu, it seems to have experienced a spiritual awakening: gorgonzola dolce filled tortellini in smoked chicken makhani with chilli jam. The pasta is the surprise among surprises, the makhani is the backbone. Just like that, the oddness disappears, and what remains is the comfort of flavours that are just so in-sync. Elsewhere, a month aged lamb chop arrives with rosemary vindaloo to add depth, chimichurri to add zest, and Goan sanna to pleasantly surprise. Wagyu gets molcajete chimichurri chutney and becomes your favourite dish on the menu. The vegetarian menu too speaks for itself. Tandoori morels become irresistible with yellow chilli lababdaar and butter naan, while the saag burrata with garlic pickle and laccha paratha may even tempt meat-eaters. Then comes the aptly named showstopper, Khichdi of India, turning rice-and-lentil goodness into something even more expansive than its already multi-regional identity.
Trèsind can borrow shapes, ingredients and influences from elsewhere, yet the food keeps circling back to spice, acidity, richness and warmth. That makes Saini’s achievement in Dubai feel relevant here, without making London a sequel. The three Michelin stars showcased what he could do at the highest level; Mayfair is where that imagination gets a different set of surroundings and, presumably, a different audience. Now it gets to ask something more interesting: how strange can Indian food become while still feeling like itself? Very, it seems.