One of Dubai's greatest low-profile culinary gems dares to modernise traditional Indian cuisine with flavour-bursting food that is creatively prepared and imaginatively executed. Trèsind has all the hallmarks of an insider's secret: it is neither pretentious nor contrived, and it is hidden away in plain sight on Sheikh Zayed Road, up on the second floor of the Nassima Royal Hotel, formerly the Radisson Royal and soon to be renamed the Voco Dubai.
The name is a playful abbreviation of "Très" and "Indien", yet the restaurant is anything but traditional. Think of it as a La Petite Maison of Indian food, offering top-class service, a clean and modern setting and inspired yet simple, delicious dishes. Little wonder it is one of the favourite restaurants of HRH Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan.
It was originally opened in 2014 "with the aim of introducing the next frontier of Indian food to a global audience", as its owner, Bhupender Nath, puts it. That ambition has largely been realised thanks to the efforts of its now 32-year-old head chef, Himanshu Saini, who has emerged as one of India's most talented young cooks. The mushroom and truffle chai soup, the cedar-wood tikka, the tofu paturi and the avocado galouti kebab are all fantastic, though the nine-course chef's tasting menu offers the complete experience.
Saini may have developed a number of avant-garde dishes that employ the drama of dry ice, but diners should not be fooled by the smoke and mirrors. "I wanted to create a modern and extraordinary menu," he explains, "but at the same time, if a dish only looks good and doesn't taste good, then a diner will never return. That's why our philosophy was to innovate only when it could improve upon the original, and we avoided playing with traditional dishes that we felt already tasted and looked perfect."
The restaurant was redesigned last year around a wonderfully paradoxical concept that combines progressive Indian fusion with old-fashioned French Guéridon service, in which a chef prepares each dish on a trolley beside your table. The brand has also expanded abroad, with Trèsind Kuwait opening in August 2017 at The Palms Beach Hotel & Spa in the capital's Al Bidaa district, and Trèsind Mumbai launching in Inspire BKC, part of the city's Bandra-Kurla Complex.
For the very best the kitchen can offer, reserve a place in the Trèsind Studio, a twenty-seater chef's table section where Saini himself serves up a sixteen-course tasting menu.
