Birmingham, Indian Restaurant Guide

“New to Brum, home of the Balti, but proving very popular” – this all-conquering retro-Bombay group opened in a prime central position near the town hall and art gallery in 2020, to their accustomed acclaim. The Birmingham branch pays tribute to Mumbai’s Swadeshi market, and the two cities’ shared legacies of ‘1,000 trades’. Top Tip: “loved their butter paneer and chicken Ruby Murray”.

There’s a “great buzz” at this outpost of Bollywood singer Asha Bhosle’s empire – yes, she's the same Asha namechecked in the 1997 Cornershop single, and amazingly the most recorded artist in music history – with “lovely cocktails” serving as a foil to the “rich” North-West Indian cuisine.

“Continuing to excite since it first opened in 2018: we always leave feeling wonderfully fulfilled!” – Aktar Islam’s “sensational” fine-dining Indian a little way out of the city-centre “is another step up from his former restaurant Lasan” and it is nowadays Brum’s most-commented on restaurant. The cuisine is “arguably more modern-European-with-Indian-influences rather than pure ‘Indian’ but perfectly spiced and spectacular!”. Islam did his brand no harm at all with his “superb Aktar At Home service”, which also inspires many adulatory reviews.

2018 Review: Chef and restaurateur Atul Kochhar opened his first UK restaurant under the Not Real Indian (NRI) brand in autumn 2017. The new 180-cover venture in Birmingham’s Mailbox development serves Sri Lankan, Malaysian, and British-Indian inspired dishes. NRI’s first site launched in Mumbai in 2016.

With its “beautiful food” and “great location” in the Jewellery Quarter, this pioneering venture has championed South Asian cuisine of the highest gastronomic ambition as an antidote to generic UK curry house fodder for two decades. Its ratings have slipped only fractionally since the departure three years ago of charismatic chef-director Aktar Islam (see Opheem), and founder Jabbar Khan remains dedicated to the original vision.

2018 Review: “Best balti and naan in Brum” is still the view fans express of this Balti Triangle veteran, although it attracted very limited feedback this year. BYO.

With its “good home-style Indian vegetarian cuisine”, the Joshi family’s canteen and sweet centre has developed into a Hall Green institution over almost five decades. Specialising in Gujarati and south Indian cooking, it lists no fewer than 72 main dishes… none of them is priced at over £5.95.