Chinatown, Indian Restaurant Guide

In the heart of Theatreland, this Indian street-food operation is focused on dishes served with ‘hankies’ – hand-spun roti folded around the dish – and still receives good marks (if from a limited number of reports). There used to be offshoots in Marble Arch and Paddington, but both have closed over the last couple of years.

“Clever, subtly infused curries a wonderful step up from your local Indian” (“the flavours of every option are incredible with each dish spiced to perfection”) have catapulted this project by university friends Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell from a Brixton pop-up to three thriving tapas-style restaurants, including a Soho flagship with cocktail bar, in less than 10 years.

2021 Review: Near Leicester Square tube and need a quick bite? – maybe grab a meal at this simple two-year-old: the first London outpost of Japan’s largest (1,000-strong) chain specialising in kare raisu dishes – curry and rice: over 40 different rice toppings are available, including hamburgers, scrambled eggs and fried oysters.

“A gem in Soho” – this large and stylish spin-off from the famous Mayfair mothership is “a very reasonable (and reasonably priced) option” that takes inspiration from regional cuisines across India. “The tasting menu is particularly good value by London standards”.

2021 Review: In the heart of the West End, this decidedly glam yearling scored better in our survey than the mixed rep it received in press reviews. The first UK outpost of a 30-strong international chain hailing from India and the Gulf, its repertoire of tapas-y offerings are very much of the funky, evolved school of Indian cuisine, and reporters salivate over “an amazing choice of inventive dishes” that are “far better than you would expect” in this touristy locale.

2021 Review: “For a cuzza in Soho”, this “good Indian in the centre of all the action” is just the job thanks to its “flavoursome and so tasty” cooking and “top price/quality ratio”. Family run since 1988, its unfashionably traditional basement setting is also a great antidote when you’re sick of being dazzled by trendy new restaurant design-concepts.

“You really can’t go wrong with Dishoom”. Shamil and Kavi Thakrar’s phenomenal chain remains the most commented-on in our annual diners’ poll and its “bustling and loud, throwback, Bombay-colonial-era atmosphere” and “distinctively superior” menu – such a “novel variation from what you get in a typical curry house” – have given UK diners a welcome jolt as to what can be expected from an Indian meal. This includes their “Asian-inspired alternative to the usual ‘Full English’ breakfast”, which has revolutionised the start of the day for many folks. “Super-friendly staff do all they can to create a great experience”, which – along with the “delectable cocktails” – helps to underpin the “good vibes” that makes their ambience so buoyant. Perhaps inevitably, ratings for its food have slipped a tad in recent times from being exceptional to merely good, but the overall verdict remains that the overall package is “relatively cheap and always really tasty”. The ability to book is restricted at certain times and at certain branches, but “the queue is worth it!” Top Menu Tips – “stupendous black dahl”; “you could have their okra fries by the bucket”; “ruby murray is a must try”; “that bacon naan… with unlimited chai latte = heaven!”.

“Tandoor as it is meant to be”, with “bursts of authentic, deep and rich smoky flavours”, earns an emphatic thumbs-up for this “energetic” operation just off Trafalgar Square. The “menu is limited but compelling, with bold and memorable spicing”, “mouthwatering chicken and duck” and “well made naan”, while “desserts are the weakest element”.

“First came here almost 60 years ago! And it’s still one of my favourites” – London’s oldest Indian restaurant “delivers fabulous food year after year”. Opened in 1926, in a first-floor space at the Piccadilly end of Regent Street, it is nowadays part of the upmarket Amaya and Chutney Mary group who have ensured its offering has moved with the times. The decor is “lovely” but not old-fashioned, and the “imaginative food has lots of flavours”. Top Menu Tip – “Rogan Josh on the bone”.

“Delicious small plates that are unusual, interesting and at times rather spicy” distinguish this Soho and Covent Garden duo presenting the Indo-Chinese cuisine developed by Kolkata’s historic Hakka community.

2020 Review: “The small menu really delivers on taste and price” with “some absolutely amazing dishes”, at Calcutta-born Asma Khan’s former supper club, now in hugely popular, permanent quarters off Carnaby Street. The “friendly” staff, including an all-women kitchen team of self-described ‘housewives’, ensure there’s a real “home-cooked” flavour to the enterprise.

“It ain’t Bibi or Tamarind, but it’s less than half the price and it’s jolly good” – this “ever-reliable” Covent Garden institution has earned devotion from generations of fans for its “authentic” Punjabi curries and “great staff” (“I’ve been coming here for excellent meals for over 40 years”). Founded in 1946 – the year before Indian independence – it claims to have been the UK’s first north Indian restaurant and is now run by the fourth generation of the founding family. It’s run with a conscience too – “during lockdown they served over 45,000 meals to the needy and homeless”.

A kati roll is made of skewer-roasted fillings wrapped in a paratha – tasty Indian street food that hits the spot for a small but enthusiastic fan club amongst our reporters. With branches in Soho and Bethnal Green, they are imports from a four-strong Manhattan-based chain.

“You really can’t go wrong with Dishoom”. Shamil and Kavi Thakrar’s phenomenal chain remains the most commented-on in our annual diners’ poll and its “bustling and loud, throwback, Bombay-colonial-era atmosphere” and “distinctively superior” menu – such a “novel variation from what you get in a typical curry house” – have given UK diners a welcome jolt as to what can be expected from an Indian meal. This includes their “Asian-inspired alternative to the usual ‘Full English’ breakfast”, which has revolutionised the start of the day for many folks. “Super-friendly staff do all they can to create a great experience”, which – along with the “delectable cocktails” – helps to underpin the “good vibes” that makes their ambience so buoyant. Perhaps inevitably, ratings for its food have slipped a tad in recent times from being exceptional to merely good, but the overall verdict remains that the overall package is “relatively cheap and always really tasty”. The ability to book is restricted at certain times and at certain branches, but “the queue is worth it!” Top Menu Tips – “stupendous black dahl”; “you could have their okra fries by the bucket”; “ruby murray is a must try”; “that bacon naan… with unlimited chai latte = heaven!”.

“Setting the benchmark for high-end Indian gastronomy in London” – “the capital may have a lot of hot new Indian destinations, but this Sethi family property in Mayfair is still at the top thanks to dazzling cuisine” – “interesting twists on the classics” with “exceptional spicing”, all served by “thoroughly welcoming” staff in a “richly decorated and buzzy environment”.

The “absolutely delicious” South Indian vegan and vegetarian food at this quintet of low-key cafés – stretching from Harrow to Covent Garden – is “good enough to keep carnivores quiet”: in particular “the dosas, which are just what you want from a dosa: crispy, tender, flavourful”. The formula is “simple but it works, even if the menu is always the same”; and it helps that the experience comes at “very reasonable prices”.

“Delicious and quite unusual dishes” help win praise for Atul Kocchar’s Mayfair five-year-old, which is “handy to know about just off the West End’s main shopping streets”. Even fans, though, feel that the prices for some items are a bit “ridiculous”.

“Imaginative dishes”, which deploy “authentic and distinct spicing with just the right kick”, “make for a cracking experience” at Samyukta Nair’s “smartly decorated room on the edge of Mayfair, with memories of Old Bombay”. It’s “the casual little sister of Jamavar” and “almost as good as its more expensive sibling” – while probably more “fun”. Top Menu Tip – “Jalebi cheesecake”.

“Always a good experience” – this “upmarket Indian” in St James’s is the original venture of Ranjit & Namita Mathrani, plus the latter’s sister, Camellia Panjabi (who run other top Indians and the Masala Zone chain). One of London’s first ‘nouvelle Indians’ (when it opened, on its former site, in SW10), its “complex and well-balanced” dishes are “done well enough to let them off the high prices” and served in a great space, whose “wonderful décor gives it character”. Rishi’s a regular apparently.