Indian Accent

1 · POSITION

Indian Accent opened at The Manor in New Delhi in 2009 and now occupies an address at The Lodhi. Its cooking places recognisable Indian flavours in new combinations with ingredients and techniques from elsewhere. Manish Mehrotra LHL-P-541 helped establish that approach, while the restaurant's own account records Shantanu Mehrotra as executive chef from the beginning. [1, 2]

2 · RECOGNITION AND SURPRISE

The original menu, revisited for the fifteenth anniversary in 2024, included preparations such as goat-cheese mousse inside a stuffed pepper and a mille-feuille built with khakra. Such dishes retained an identifiable Indian point of reference while changing the construction around it. The diner could recognise something and encounter an unfamiliar texture or arrangement in the same course. [3]

3 · MORE THAN ONE ROUTE THROUGH DINNER

The restaurant offers both à la carte dishes and a chef's tasting menu, with separate provision for vegan and gluten-free dining. This gives its culinary language several forms of access. A guest may build a meal around particular preferences or follow a sequence selected by the kitchen; invention does not require every table to take the same journey. [1]

4 · BEYOND ONE AUTHOR

In a September 2025 interview, Manish Mehrotra described leaving Indian Accent after fifteen years and taking time away before a new venture. His departure does not erase his foundational contribution. Equally, the continuing role of Shantanu and the kitchen team shows why the restaurant's authorship cannot be reduced to a single name on an international profile. [1, 2]

5 · ⚑ CANDOUR

⚑ Manish is a formative figure, not the current culinary director assumed from older descriptions. This entry concerns the New Delhi restaurant; other cities have their own operating histories. Indian Accent helped give modern Indian cooking international visibility, but the claim that it single-handedly invented the category is broader than the evidence supports. [1–3]