Chorleywood, Indian Restaurant Guide

Malik Ahmed’s traditional but “exceptional” curry house has achieved consistently high ratings for more than 20 years. Part of a trio with siblings in Cookham and Marlow, it’s run hands-on by a family with 150 years in the business – the restaurant Malik’s great-great-grandfather founded in what is now Bangladesh is still going strong!

An all-you-can-eat buffet – with options at breakfast, lunch and dinner – is a longstanding feature of this no-frills veggie veteran: a family business that started out as a market stall in 1984. It also offers an à la carte menu, which includes a significant Indo-Chinese section. No alcohol, so knock yourself out on the array of milkshakes and lassis. (It also has offshoots in Hatch End and Kingsbury).

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”.

2023 Review: “Every dish is fresh and authentic” at this comfortable curry house which occupies a half-timbered building on the high street, and which has become well-known over many years for its superior Indian cuisine. Heston is a fan.

2022 Review: An unusual theme – it’s modelled after the Indian community’s members’ clubs in Kenya – sets the tone at this wood-panelled stalwart, which celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2021. The culinary offering (ranging from grills to sharing plates and curries) continues to gain highly positive marks, though commentary this year was scant.

An all-you-can-eat buffet – with options at breakfast, lunch and dinner – is a longstanding feature of this no-frills veggie veteran: a family business that started out as a market stall in 1984. It also offers an à la carte menu, which includes a significant Indo-Chinese section. No alcohol, so knock yourself out on the array of milkshakes and lassis. (It also has offshoots in Hatch End and Kingsbury).

2021 Review: Rohit Ghai not only opened Chelsea’s Kutir this year, but this February 2019 yearling occupying three units of the Wembley Boxpark (not the loveliest of locations, in the shadow of Wembley Stadium). As yet it’s inspired little survey feedback, but if you’re a fan of Indian cooking, its wide selection of dishes are said by some social media aficionados to be worth a try.

“The best Anglo-Indian food tasted this year!” is a typical view of this three-year-old venture from high-profile chef Atul Kochhar, which just might be the best of his half-dozen restaurants (which include Sindhu at the Compleat Angler, also in Marlow). Inspired by the cuisines of the Punjab and Rajasthan, it has a “lovely tasting menu” as well as shorter set and à la carte options, and serves some “interesting and very pleasant Indian wines”.

This West London pair of Indian street-food canteens, in Ealing and Hammersmith, elicits little in the way of commentary this year but wins its usual solid ratings for food and service.

This West London pair of Indian street-food canteens, in Ealing and Hammersmith, elicits little in the way of commentary this year but wins its usual solid ratings for food and service.

Slightly mixed feedback this year on this Indian two-year-old run by well-known chef, Atul Kochhar. Some reports acclaim it as “outstanding” in all respects. A medium view is that it’s “not fine dining and still finding its level”, while the least positive report says, “it attracts the ‘look at me, me, me’ brigade and is overpriced”. Still, local popularity is such that in late 2023 they’ve now added takeaway to its offering.

2023 Review: A world away from the Mayfair luxury that made his reputation, Atul Kochhar gets more ‘down and dirty’ with this new, glass-walled 120-seater in the shadow of Wembley Stadium with a budget street-food formula. So far, we’ve only had limited feedback, but it says the food is “very good” and in a December 2021 review, Jay Rayner of The Observer told readers to “expect uncompromising fire and depth”.

Established on the foundation of a long-running takeaway business, this highly rated Whetstone curry house serves “high-quality” food with a focus on “super-dramatic presentation” of dishes, with “steam rising from the table”.