Yaatra is an Indian restaurant in Westminster, housed in the Grade-II listed Westminster Fire Station near Westminster Palace Gardens. As well as boasting an experienced team led by executive chef Amit Bagyal (formerly of Benares and Kanishka Mayfair), Yaatra lays on an impressive Christmas spread, and offers a wide range of different rooms and spaces for private hire over Christmas.
Inside, Yaatra is stately and ornate, with starched white tablecloths adorning the tables, and warm red and gold tones appearing through tapestries, curtains and other furnishings. Private rooms are all distinctive in their decoration too - the State Room, for example, features the original tiles from 1906 when the fire station was built, whilst the Sapphire and Ruby restaurants are in blue and red respectively.
Yaatra boasts history inside its walls too. The Watch Room - a cosy private dining room that seats eight for a Christmas feast - is where Winston Churchill once famously instructed Westminster Fire Brigade to save Westminster Abbey. Spaces range in size from extremely intimate like the aforementioned Watch Room, all the way up to the Sapphire restaurant which seats 70 for a Christmas banquet, or 150 for a standing reception or drinks party.
Meanwhile, the kitchen can lay on anything from bowl food and canapes to a proper Christmas spread. There are a variety of set menus on offer at different price points, featuring Indian takes on classic Christmas flavours. Dishes include masala lamb rump with roast potatoes, Brussels sprouts and chestnuts, tandoori-spiced roast turkey with honey roast parsnips, pigs in blankets and all the trimmings, and Christmas pudding with rum and raisin ice cream. On top of all that, Yaatra offers has a late license that allows you to stay until 3am, and the team can personalise everything from cocktails and menus to music options.