Passionate dining awaits during the month of love at new restaurant Kinaara at InterContinental London - The O2

Savour a truly romantic experience at Kinaara, the latest restaurant opening at InterContinental London – The O2 with a backdrop of London’s breathtaking nighttime skyline and the River Thames.

For the month of St. Valentine, guests can explore the rich and indulgent flavours of India’s most gastronomic regions with a fresh, wholesome and indulgent 7-course menu complemented by a hand-picked selection of fragrant wines to pair with each course.

Kinaara Head Chef Imamuddin Khan has curated a dining experience designed to celebrate memorable moments in the city of London with the one you love. With dishes centred upon seasonal and sustainable British game meat and fish, the menu fuses years of tradition, passion and skill to seduce a marriage of unforgettable textures and flavours, leaving you wanting more.

The dining experience at Kinaara begins with an exceptionally warm welcome and a presentation of poppadoms and homemade chutneys. The restaurant offers three freshly prepared flavours; from coriander and mint, to tomato and garlic and red onion and truffle.

The next accompaniment arrives dark and rich in colour and marks one of India’s most popular creations: the dal 'makhani', translating to buttery, creamy (and essentially perfect in every way). Its simplicity and finesse derive from a lentil-based dish mixed with butter and cream and served with freshly-made naan bread cooked in a traditional tandoor grill.

The pilau rice, noticeable from its radiant yellow, is more luxurious than you may presume.

The coveted culprit for its brightness and warmth is saffron, one of the most precious spices in the world. You can identify it by its thin, red threads from the ‘crocus sativus’ flower. It has a sweet, earthy and floral taste - and paired with pilau rice, provides a delicious accompaniment with dals, curries and other fragrant dishes.

Did you know that the sought-after spice is populous in Iran and the best time to pick saffron is just before sunrise in Autumn? Another dish you may recognise saffron’s presence in is the deliciously moreish Spanish paella.

The third course on Kinaara's Valentine's Menu presents the Crispy Duck Chaat, a tasty dish that can be found in its original form on India's bustling street food scene.

Boasting layers of fresh, shredded duck meat quietly sat underneath a crown of crispy duck skin, Chef Imam has combined the moreish notes of fat and salt with a piquant sweetness and slight vinaigrette that reside in the duck's underbelly where pickled watermelon cubes, thin circles of black radish and the crunch of toasted cashew nuts hide.

The Harvali Tandoor Guinea Fowl, a seasonal winter game meat popular in the United Kingdom, offers a tenderness due to its thorough marination of Indian green herbs and spices, specifically green chilli, coriander and fennel. This softens the meat before it is sent to the charcoal grill where it develops a darker, richer flavour that evolves from the intense heat.

The sustainably sourced freshly Grilled Halibut fish offers warm, sweet aromas from its marination in herbs, fennel seeds and the most important ingredient: the kokum dried berries that grow on Kokum Butter trees in the regions of Goa.

This penultimate course again offers a unique base layer made from a steamed chickpea cake, known as the humble ‘dohkla’.

The 'dokhla' is a common staple in Indian cooking with its fluffiness comparable to the inside of a loaf of white bread or cake. Light in flavour and texture, its fluffiness makes it the perfect component to soak up the creamy, flavoursome, and moreish coconut sauce.

This Valentine's Day, we encourage you to explore Indian Fine Dining at Kinaara with a Valentine's Day Seven-Course Menu with wine pairing available to book on the 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th of February 2023.

The Valentine's Wine Pairing Menu is available to experience during these dates, as well as our a la carte menu with the exception of Valentine's Day, February 14th, where only the Valentine's Day 7-Course Menu will be available to book with pre-payment online.

Kinaara is open for dinner at InterContinental London - The O2 every Tuesday to Saturday - 5pm to 10pm with a vegetarian menu, tasting menu and an exquisite private dining room for 24 guests, ideal for special occasions or private dinners.

We hope to see you soon.

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