1998
A six-table beginning
Arjun Malhotra's grandmother lends him her recipe book and £4,000. Royal Taste opens above a spice shop on Marlborough Lane with one tandoor and no sign.
Since 1998A family recipe,
A family recipe,
a Mayfair room
Royal Taste is a story of one recipe book, two generations at the pass, and a belief that Indian cooking belongs on the finest tables in London.
Chef patron
Arjun Malhotra
The philosophy
Three things we refuse to rush
Fire first
Our tandoor is lit at 10am and never allowed to cool. Char is a seasoning — not an accident.
Ground each morning
Whole spices arrive from Kerala, Kashmir and Rajasthan, then are roasted and ground daily in house.
Nothing hurried
Biryanis rest for 40 minutes under pastry. Curries simmer for four hours. Some things simply take the time they take.
“My grandmother cooked for a household of thirty with one clay oven. If we can make thirty people feel like family, thirty covers a night is easy.”
Arjun Malhotra
Chef patron & co-founder
Best Contemporary Indian · London 2025
Two AA Rosettes
OpenTable Diners' Choice
The timeline
Twenty-seven years, one recipe book
2007
The cellar years
A fire closes the kitchen for a winter. The team rebuilds with a 180-bin cellar and a private dining room, The Amber Room.
2016
Two AA rosettes
The guide recognises the kitchen for its dum biryani and heirloom curry work. The founding butter chicken recipe remains unchanged.
2024
The next generation
Chef de cuisine Meera Malhotra joins her father at the pass, introducing a tasting menu that travels from Lucknow to Malabar.