Englefield Green, Indian Restaurant Guide

“Contemporary Indian cooking with flair and finesse” makes for an attractive dining option in the outer ’burbs at this colonial-style villa – a sister venue to Manor Vasaikar’s highly regarded Indian Zing, near Hammersmith. “The taste-stimulating amuse bouche to kick-off is definitely a harbinger of things to come” – (and “the loo decor must be seen...”).

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.

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!

2022 Review: “A real boon in Richmond”, run by exotically named founder Sudden Alberts, also behind Atithi in Twickenham. With its “delicious” Indian cuisine (“we particularly like the vegetarian side dishes”) and “prompt and perfect” service (“nothing is too much to make the customers happy”) it’s proclaimed something of a “hidden gem” by all who comment on it.

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 haute Indian, in the Surrey ‘burbs (there’s also a Reigate sibling) was set up by ex-Oberoi/Cinnamon Club chef-patron Awanish Roy; it offers “a different Indian meal experience”, with the “lovely” food sampling Goan seafood specialities, or game from the Karnataka region, alongside more trad Punjabi dishes.

Set in a parade of shops, Deepinder Sondhi’s subcontinental (with smarter dining room upstairs) is a fixture in these parts for its high-quality cooking, including some more adventurous dishes (think chocolate samosas, or chicken tikka with Laphroaig masala). If you wish, you can kick things off in style in the cocktail bar.

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.

2021 Review: Out in the boonies of New Malden, first class ratings again – if on slightly limited feedback – for Arjun Singh Rawat and Rajeev Danga’s North Indian three-year-old.

2022 Review: In a village near Leatherhead, this well-established Indian (opened in 1983) – nowadays run by the son of the founder – is strongly applauded by its local fans.

“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”.

“Luscious, carefully spiced and original food” wins high ratings for this “very good upmarket Indian” in deepest Chiswick. Founders Kuldeep Mattegunta and Mustaq Tappewale (ex- Kricket, Amaya, Benares among others) took over the venue from the brilliant, much lamented Hedone (RIP), whose open kitchen makes it a “great place for chef watching”.

“Well worth a detour by car, bus and/or train to eat in this small restaurant near Tolworth” – “looking just like your typical, noisy curry house on a dual carriageway… except that it is fully booked every night”. “From pani puri to chicken Chettinad, the flavours are exquisite” with “a lasting intensity that can leave you punchdrunk”. It’s not utterly ridiculous to hail it as “the very best Indian food in the UK at any price point, and yet it’s still very reasonably priced compared with the Indian palaces of Marylebone and Knightsbridge”. Top Menu Tip – “the lamb chops are an absolute must”.

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”.

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).

2023 Review: This “great-value local Indian” is a landmark on the South Circular near Putney which has built a sterling reputation over 32 years for its classic north Indian dishes supplemented by interesting Nepalese specialities such as momo steamed dumplings – all served in “huge portion sizes!”.