Nouvelle-Indian with a Michelin star

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel’s Rasoi By Vineet Indian Restaurant is situated on the first floor of the Hotel in Geneva’s picturesque street by the river. Although the Hotel has two other restaurants, the innovative nouvelle Indian eatery Ğ with its original branch in London Ğ is one of the best culinary experiences in this cosmopolitan Swiss city.

Fans from chef Vineet’s restaurant in Chelsea, London claim, he is "the leader and standard in gourmet contemporary Indian cuisine."

Slick decor and nouvelle cuisine
With a slick interior design which is contemporary yet warm and cozy, this is no standard Indian restaurant. The dining menu is small and selective while the wine menu looks more like an encyclopedia than just a display of options. A friendly and warm waitress helps select the best wine for each desired dish.

The menu emphasizes a few selections of chef Vineet’s seasonal pre-fix menus with six courses: one being a traditional Indian vegetarian option and the other an innovative selection of lamb and chicken. The staff highly recommends the fixed menus to get a real taste of the "Michelin star experience a la Indian".

Elegantly designed tandoori oven
If one is used to the traditional hole-in-the wall type Indian restaurants, than the dishes and presentation at Rasoi might take many by surprise. The portions are rather petite and light Ğ tapas style even Ğ yet the architecture is a fine gastronomic design.

In the Tandoori Basket Bread starter an assortment of tandoori roti and naan bread with garlic and coriander, saffron and sesame, and peshawari selections. The tandoori bread varieties are baked right on the spot at the elegantly designed tandoori oven, located right at the entrance. South Indian Halibut is a personal favorite main course. The chef uses a variety of herbs and spices from the Chettinad region of India Ğ famous for its cuisine Ğ like the Chettinad masala, and the dish is served with cashew rice.

The lobster dish is half a lobster grilled on a bed of ginger and broccoli khichdi spiced with cocoa powder and is outstanding. Green Chicken Masala in garam masala, fresh herbs and spinach is also a popular fare as well as the Limousin Lime Lamb with aromatic coriander rice.

Make sure to leave room for the signature dessert of the chocolate samosas! Then wash it all down with a cup of mint teaÉ Rasoi By Vineet (rasoi is Hindi for kitchen) is a refined and sophisticated approach to Indian food. While innovative and original, for fans of typical Indian dishes, this place might be a bit over the top. Yet for numerous visitors and local Swiss residences, Rasoi is the best new restaurant in the cityÉ

What’s the bIg deal of a Michelin star anyway?
For countless restaurants, nothing can be more prestige than receiving (and maintaining) a Michelin Star.

But what is the story behind the Michelin guide book? The very first edition of the Michelin guide was initiated in 1900 to help motorists in France find a decent hotel and/or restaurant. Throughout this century, the guide established itself as the chief culinary reference all over Europe.

The guide slowly spread to the West and East (Tokyo Michelin being the most famous one). A sad incident happened in 2003 when one of France’s most prominent chefs, Bernard Loiseau, committed suicide because he was downgraded from three stars to two.

Consequently many institutions backfired and even a number of famous chefs decided to hand back their stars, doubting the Michelin system. Many still claim that the Michelin star system puts too much pressure on chefs and the restaurant. Yet for Michelin, at the end of the day, the main purpose of the guides is essentially to promote the Michelin brand and its core product: automobile tires.

Rasoi by Vineet inside
Mandarin Oriental Geneva Hotel
Quai Turrettini 1, 1201
Geneva, Switzerland
T: +41 (22) 909 00 00