A super-stylish restaurant and bar in Knightsbridge, Osh is a buzzy spot that riffs on the cuisines of ancient Silk Road countries like India, Uzbekistan and Persia. The venue is buzzy and bright, with glittering chandeliers, deep blue walls and bright orange accents in almost every room; the menu is suitably eclectic. Lots of ingredients you’ve never heard of appear in sizzling small plates, cold market-fresh veg dishes and smoky shashlik skewers (which are grilled in an open kitchen).
No dishes disappointed. There was some lovely sesame bread to start, with delicious whipped tarragon butter, then a plate of perfectly cooked rabbit wrapped in rolls of cabbage leaf that had been sprinkled lightly with truffle.‘Osh’, the signature Uzbek pilau rice dish from which this restaurant gets its name, was a mass of silky, smoky lamb with fleshy tomatoes and some tangy pieces of radish that spiked through the fatty, rich flavours of the rice.
Desserts were just as excellent: a super-sweet slice of honey cake, and some salted pistachio eclairs. I could go on about the honeyed, tender beef fillet shashlik or the pompoms of featherweight rock shrimp tempura, but I’ll leave some things as a nice surprise.
Service was efficient, but not very informative – the only real negative. When we asked what the ‘hacelim’ sauce that came with the crispy aubergines was, the response was that it’s ‘very special’. In fairness, it totally was.