Last Updated on January 14, 2026
A collaboration between restaurant and artist in Mayfair
The recent opening of an art exhibition at Mayfair’s Kanishka by Atul Kochhar restaurant got me thinking about the relationship between food and art. Kochhar, Michelin star chef and restaurateur, has formed a three-month partnership with female artist Zara Muse. The exhibition of her portraits of women, which launched on International Women’s Day, provides further incentive – in addition to Kochhar’s stellar Indian cuisine – to visit the restaurant in the next few months.
Zara Muse is represented by Grove Gallery. Her portraits of women are all painted in profile and her oil paints are applied to the canvas with a palette knife, giving depth and vitality to her work. These striking works reveal the beauty of their subjects through the female gaze and speak to the strength and creativity of women. They are life-enhancing and sitting surrounded by these canvases will be a memorable sensory experience.
The dialogue between food and art is an interesting one to tune into. Fine dining restaurants present plates of food that are artworks in themselves, often leaving one thinking ‘This is too beautiful to eat’. As we all eat with our eyes before our taste buds get to work, our appetite is whetted by visual and olfactory stimuli. But what about the surroundings in which the food is served?
I take great pleasure from spaces that are beautifully designed, the napery, glassware, crockery and cutlery that prepare me for the meal ahead. The ambience of the restaurant matters to me too. A well-designed interior makes me smile and relax and if there is good artwork on the walls then I am positively happy. There are restaurants in London that specialise in their visuals – Yopo at The Mandrake comes to mind immediately as one venue that transports diners into a magical space through its strikingly original artwork. But even restaurants without such stunning installations add a lot of value with original artwork. Collaborations with galleries seem a no-brainer when one considers that London is a hub for both the arts and cuisine, but any city in the country has art galleries and restaurants that could go into partnership.
Some decades ago – when I was a student who waitressed to pay my rent – I worked in a lovely restaurant that not only changed its menu according to the seasons (not as de rigeur then as it is now) but also changed the artworks. The regular diners were invited each quarter to the opening of the new show – an evening of bubbles, canapes and the unveiling of the new works. I enjoyed a similar experience at Kanishka on International Women’s Day where guests were able to examine each work up close. Back in my waitressing days, the artworks in the restaurant were for sale. The galleries that represented the artists were happy for the extra exposure and potential sales, while the restaurant had a regularly changing set of paintings on the walls and some diners brought guests they knew would enjoy the art. It was a most creative collaboration.
Studies have been conducted that reveal that the way food tastes is affected by the soundscape in a restaurant. I have no doubt that food tastes better when one’s visual senses are satisfied not only by what sits on the plate but what lies in view on the surrounding walls.
Kanishka by Atul Kochhar, 17-19 Maddox Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 2QH
Grove Gallery, 156 New Cavendish St, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 6YW
Leave a Reply