Inside Kahani’s £38 Three-Course Menu: Modern Indian Dining in Chelsea

October 2026|By All Set Team|Edited by Lewis Mack

Peter Joseph's contemporary Indian cooking, from the tandoor and charcoal grill to the table

Indian fine dining is rarely associated with a £38 three-course lunch. At Kahani, however, that price opens the door to Peter Joseph's cooking in a format that feels considerably more substantial than a quick set-menu stop.

Just off Sloane Square, the restaurant brings together the flavours of Joseph's Chennai childhood, Indian cooking techniques and British seasonal produce. The lunch and early evening menu offers three courses for £38, with dishes including lamb seekh kebab, wild mushroom galouti and an Alleppey curry of stone bass and octopus. Yellow dal, saffron rice and roti accompany every main.

It is a menu that gives you a good sense of what Kahani is about: spice-led cooking, the tandoor and charcoal grill, and dishes designed to be shared. With the restaurant directly opposite Cadogan Hall, its early evening hours also make it a useful option before a concert.

The story behind Kahani

Kahani means “story” in Hindi, and this one begins in Chennai.

Peter Joseph grew up cooking beside his mother and walking the city's spice markets before training in hotel kitchens in India. His career later brought him to London, where he became head chef at Tamarind in Mayfair and held a Michelin star.

In 2018, he opened Kahani on Wilbraham Place, creating a restaurant centred on contemporary Indian cooking and the idea that food is best enjoyed communally.

The cooking here moves between the tandoor and charcoal grill, with seasonal British produce taken through Indian spice and technique. It is a more modern expression of Indian food, but the flavours remain firmly rooted in the subcontinent.

Chef Patron Peter Joseph in chef whites in the dining room at Kahani — Chef Patron Peter Joseph

Three courses for £38

The set menu starts with a choice of three dishes.

Green apple and bitter gourd come dressed in blue cheese, with sprouts and toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds adding crunch. The wild mushroom galouti takes the soft kebab of Lucknow and gives it a vegetarian treatment, with fennel and a lotus stem broth.

Then there is the lamb seekh kebab, cooked on the grill with water chestnut, ginger and coriander and served with burani raitha.

For an additional £12, the smoked Malabar prawns offer another route into Kahani's coastal cooking. Cooked with fresh turmeric, coconut and curry leaves, they are one of the restaurant's better-known dishes and were singled out by Time Out when it first reviewed Kahani.

A pink cocktail topped with dried rose petals beside copper pans of curry, dal, naan and grilled dishes on a marble table — From Kahani's kitchen

The mains take the menu in a different direction.

The Alleppey stone bass and octopus curry draws on the cooking of Kerala, combining the seafood with raw mango, turmeric and coconut. Chicken makhani is chargrilled before being folded through creamed tomato and fenugreek leaves, while paneer tikka masala is grilled before being finished with onion, tomato and coriander.

For £15 more, there is Lahori nihari, one of Kahani's signatures. The lamb shank is slow-cooked with yoghurt, chilli and nihari masala, making it the richest option on the menu.

Dessert keeps the choice concise. Mango mousse comes with cardamom gelato and a crisp vanilla tuile, while pineapple and banana pudding is served with butternut squash and cranberry. The latter was picked out by Country & Town House when it included Kahani among London's best pre-theatre menus.

The menu also works well for vegetarian diners, with choices running from the green apple and bitter gourd salad and wild mushroom galouti through to paneer tikka masala and either dessert.

A setting to match the cooking

The restaurant's interiors were designed by Kai Interiors, with royal blue velvet, gold-lacquered tables, crystal chandeliers and peacock motifs giving the space a distinctly glamorous feel.

The open kitchen is visible from the dining room, putting the tandoor and grill at the centre of the experience rather than hiding them away.

Blue velvet chairs around a table laid for dinner in the dining room at Kahani — The dining room

A table laid with glassware and white plates against a dark blue wall at Kahani — Laid for dinner

For private occasions, The Peacock Room seats 14 and can be curtained off from the main restaurant. It keeps the same blue velvet and rich detailing as the main dining room, while offering a more intimate setting.

The Peacock Room at Kahani, a long table with blue velvet chairs, gold curtains and a gilded peacock feather on the wall — The Peacock Room

Lunch, or before the concert

The set menu is served Thursday to Saturday from 12.30pm to 6pm, giving you plenty of flexibility for lunch, a late afternoon meal or an early dinner. From Monday to Wednesday, it is available from 5pm to 6pm.

That early evening window is particularly useful given Kahani's location opposite Cadogan Hall. A three-course dinner can easily fit around a concert without requiring an overly early booking.

From 6 to 8 November, Kahani will also mark Diwali with a three-course menu priced at £60. The menu includes duck tikka smoked with a Calcutta spice blend, Afghani lamb do pyaza, and Indian sweets with paan kulfi to finish.

FAQ

Where can I eat a set menu near Cadogan Hall?

Kahani, directly opposite Cadogan Hall on Wilbraham Place, serves a three-course Lunch and Early Evening Menu for £38, Thursday to Saturday from 12.30pm to 6pm and Monday to Wednesday from 5pm to 6pm.