Sally E.
Yelp
Where do I begin?
Firstly, I have to say that I live right next to Little India in Los Angeles and have eaten my fair share of Indian food in my life. So my standards are quite high.
Benares is an upscale Indian restaurant in Chamberi, in Madrid. My friend and I walked in and were greeted by a coat check, then led to our reserved table inside.
The service was impeccable, as was the food. My friend and I started with the complimentary papadums with a variety of sauces - delicious! We also had this interesting cracker-type thing filled with sauce. I have no idea what it was since it was explained in Spanish but I loved it.
For the dishes, we ordered chicken tikka masala to share as well as fresh cheese, rice, naan, and a beef starter. Everything we ate was impeccable. Flavorful and delicious - and a tad too much food. It was spectacular, though. Nothing was spicy, which surprised me - but I guess they had to cater to Spanish taste buds.
Yes, it's a little more than I would typically pay for Indian, but with this kind of guaranteed quality and service - I'd definitely return for a nice night out!