South Kensington, Indian Restaurant Guide

This grand Indian near Gloucester Road tube station was famous in the late 1980s, and nowadays has achieved a respectable semi-obscurity. Now owned by India’s swish Taj Hotels group, all reports rate it well, and fans say it’s been “year-in, year-out enjoyable” for four decades.

This family-run “stalwart” of the Earl’s Court-South Ken dining scene (and its ‘Noor Jahan II’ Bayswater offshoot) has built a strong following for its “consistently good” Indian dishes over the past 60 years – and the smattering of celebs and royals among its guests (Angelina Jolie, Prince William…) has not gone to its head: “after all this time it remains your typical curry house”.

With its “good North Indian cooking” from family recipes, this well-established venue with Bollywood posters lining the walls is these days a rival to veteran Noor Jahan for bragging rights on Earl’s Court’s “curry corner”.

“A quirky steampunk theme combined with an emphasis on cocktails and craft beers accompanies very sound modern Indian cooking” at this Earl’s Court venture, whose name pays tribute to the 19th-century Scottish botanists who classified the subcontinent’s plants. “After a few false starts on the site, this restaurant has found its forte under the same ownership as its predecessor Mr Wing (RIP)”.