BiBi.

BiBi

Chet Sharma's own account of the problem he set himself: The tasting menu is 15 courses with the supplement. You can't do that number of dishes of blow-your-socks-off spice (National Restaurant Awards, 2022).

Why go

Sharma cooked at Mugaritz, opened Claridge's under Simon Rogan, and worked at L'Enclume, The Ledbury and Moor Hall, picking up a PhD in physics at Oxford on the way (The Staff Canteen, 2024). BiBi opened in 2021, named for his grandmothers Kamal and Ranjana, and holds a MICHELIN star. The kitchen works to a stated rule: We take all of the best fresh produce here in the UK and then dried spices and ingredients from India and put them together, which is why the menu moves with what suppliers can deliver rather than with a regional map. Dinner is a Chef's Selection tasting menu at £145, lunch a four-course at £65. Sharma describes the current phase as evolution over revolution, with small tweaks pretty much every week.

Order this / avoid

• Order: Sharmaji's Lahori chicken, which The Good Food Guide records as never coming off the menu, and take a counter stool over the kitchen rather than a booth.3 If £145 is too much, the £65 lunch is the same kitchen.
• Avoid: Sunday, when it is closed, and Friday or Saturday night if you want a late table, since dinner service ends at 9pm on those two days.

What locals & experts say

• Chet Sharma, chef-patron (The Staff Canteen, 3 September 2024): on the brief, Indian food isn't limited to naans and curries. It can be a much wider thing, and on where the dishes come from, My real source of inspiration is nostalgia. It's flavours and experiences that I had locked away for the last 30 years.1
• The Good Food Guide (rated Very Good, ££££): Upscale Indian food that shines, and by far the more interesting option among its Mayfair neighbors, with a wine list extremely well-chosen (if expensive).3
• Chet Sharma on his own standards (National Restaurant Awards, July 2022): I'm never satisfied with what I do. It's just the way I am.2
• MICHELIN Guide: one star. The guide edition that awarded it could not be pinned in this pass, though Sharma was already discussing the star in July 2022.
• Local rec: on Jeff's list as a chef recommendation for refined Indian; the chef in question is not named, so it stays his provenance. His words below.

Good to know

• Timing: Monday to Wednesday 5.30pm to 10pm; Thursday 12pm to 2pm and 5.30pm to 10pm; Friday and Saturday 12pm to 2pm and 5.30pm to 9pm; closed Sunday.
• Booking: essential. Counter stools face the kitchen.
• Price: £65 for four courses at lunch, £145 for the Chef's Selection at dinner, with wine pairings offered.
• Late a la carte: "BiBi Lates" runs Monday to Thursday after 9pm, which is the only way to eat here off a card rather than a set menu.
• Children: under-12s cannot be admitted under the licence, and there are no high chairs or pushchairs.
• Dietary: no allergen, gluten-free, celiac, vegan or halal statement is published. Ask when you book, and do not assume halal either way.
• Hygiene: FSA inspection 11 February 2025, Westminster; hygienic food handling Very Good, cleanliness and condition Good, management of food safety Good5.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: "Chef rec for refined Indian" REAL. The recommending chef is not named in his notes and could not be traced.

Verdict

should-visit — BiBi is worth the detour. Chet Sharma came through Mugaritz, L'Enclume, The Ledbury and Moor Hall with a physics PhD along the way, and BiBi is what he does with that: British produce, Indian dried spice, and a menu built on his own memory rather than on a regional template. He holds a MICHELIN star and The Good Food Guide rates the cooking Very Good, calling it 'Upscale Indian food that shines'. It stops short of a must because the critical record is thin for the price, with no byline review found and no second award that could be pinned to a body and year.