Greater London, Indian Restaurant Guide

Handily tucked away off Trafalgar Square, this popular venture presents an Indian restaurant in the style of a wood-panelled London chophouse. Rated well all-round, fans say it’s “worth the journey just for the crispy lamb chops” (and “the chicken is a highlight, too”).

“If you like dosas, idlis and uttapams”, these “cheap and cheerful” but “spotless and well-run” canteens in the West End (plus Hammersmith and Harrow) are “an excellent choice for very good South Indian vegetarian food” – they’re also “a top option to take a crowd because they’re not fazed by large tables”, and “even carnivores don’t complain” when they try the “tasty food”.

The cooking is awesome and “the bar is mega!” according to the many fans of this JKS outpost in the Bloomberg Arcade. Modelled on an Indian Army mess, “it’s always been a very masculine, ‘City boys’ type place (some evenings the male:female ratio is at gay-bar disparities!)”. The quality of the “inauthentic but deliciously tasty” cooking is undisputed, but there’s lively debate about what’s best on the menu: “the short rib curry is the stand-out here”; no, “the biryani in pie crust is the best Indian dish in town”.

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2025, this well-established fixture serves “decent food that’s just a little smarter than average”. It has attracted plenty of useful publicity over the years thanks to high-profile patronage by politicians from both sides of nearby Parliament (Brown, Prescott, Cameron, BoJo), who refer to it as ‘the KT’. Keen Westminster-watchers will be interested to note how many newbie MPs beat a path to its door this year...

This “enjoyable” if “typical local curry house” in Kennington was opened by Zalal Uddin in 1982 and is still family-owned. It makes the most of its proximity to the Oval – offering “very good service in trying, post-cricket, circumstances” – and to Parliament, which makes it a “good bet for MP-spotting”.

“You nearly always have to queue for a table – often for at least an hour – but the atmosphere is amazing and the food is worth the wait” at Shamil & Kavi Thakrar’s unbelievably successful chain: again, the most commented-on business in our annual diners’ poll, which has stormed the capital since it first opened in Covent Garden in 2010. Outlets in Canary Wharf and Battersea Power Station opened in late 2024, bringing the total in London to seven, and each branch has its own intriguing character, with the unifying theme being a homage to the Irani cafés of post-war Bombay. “Very much a well-oiled machine, there is little sign of any drop-off in quality as the group expands”, while “for such large places the brilliant service is remarkably friendly and efficient”. Meanwhile, the “deeply flavoursome and satisfying” menu has introduced Londoners to “authentic and delicious dishes that aren’t just another copycat Indian selection”, with such “zingy and exciting flavours”. And morning-time in London will never be the same again, since the advent of their “great Anglo-Indian breakfasts”. All-in-all, “the whole approach is inclusive and exciting”, “it’s always buzzy and fun too”; and “overall and for the price point you can’t go wrong!”. Top Menu Tips: “the black dal is to die for!”; “superb okra fries”; “the roomali roti is sublime”; “the lamb chops are excellent”; “Chicken Ruby is dreamy”. In the mornings, “the unfailing Bacon naan is a thing of poetry”; “chilli cheese toast hits the spot every time”, and “drink the lemon ginger and honey chai”.

“A Covent Garden institution, this much-loved and invariably busy Indian restaurant has been a landmark in the area since 1951”. A pioneer curry house that started out five years earlier in Aldgate, it is now run by the great-grandson of the founder and “prides itself on its original old-school” North Indian cooking (“I took a Punjabi friend for dinner, he reckoned it was almost as good as his grandmother’s”).

“Brilliant, innovative and constantly changing” – Will Bowlby & Rik Campbell’s “unfailingly interesting” street-food cafés provide “real Indian food… cooked by Brits” and inspire a large army of fans for this small group, which added a fourth Canary Wharf outlet in early 2024 (and has announced a fifth branch will be coming to Shoreditch at the end of the year). They have achieved an all-round success story: “super-friendly service” scores incredibly highly as does the “buzzy environment”. And in Soho, “the restaurant is now supplemented by the Soma Bar next door” with an array of funky cocktails.

“You get the whole deal” at this superb Indian all-rounder in St James’s: the venture which – when it was first located in SW10 – formed the first link in the restaurant chain owned by Ranjit & Namita Mathrani and the latter’s sister, Camellia Panjab (which nowadays, as MW Eats, also encompasses the Masala Zone chain, plus Veeraswamy and Amaya). The “amazing” cuisine features “a deliciously innovative mix of regional Indian dishes”; service is “impeccable (especially from the manager, Kanwal”); and the “glamorous dining room” is well-suited to any occasion.

“A favourite curry house for many years” – this stalwart Soho venue opened in 1988 and is a well-preserved time capsule of what the curry experience looked like when nobody dreamt of an Indian restaurant ever winning a Michelin star. “Everything is always high-quality and really tasty and the price is super-competitive for the area; and the staff are lovely too”.

“The food is served with a bit of theatre” in this splendid old school hall not far south of Tower Bridge (Grade II listed and part of what was once St. Olave’s Grammar School) – nowadays a contemporary Indian venue that’s part of Lalit Hotel Group’s flagship UK property. It’s consistently well-reviewed in our annual diners’ poll, but at less busy times can seem “quiet”.

This Soho outpost from the upscale Tamarind group serves some “lovely” Indian food in a simpler mould than its famous namesake: kebabs, curries and dishes from the tandoor. For the interior, they’ve gone for a funky café-style space, although at night the room can be “rather dark”.

“It may be the oldest Indian restaurant in London” (est. 1926), but this first-floor operation, “looking down on Regent Street”, has “definitely kept up with the times” and its “attractive” verging on “funky” interior is thoroughly contemporary. Nowadays part of the excellent MW Eats group (with siblings including Chutney Mary and Amaya), its “colourful food is beautifully presented” and “well spiced”; “meat is succulent and tender” and there are “superior and delicate curries”. “The cocktails are good too”.

“Fire-cooked” steaks, supplied from North Yorkshire, aged in-house and supplemented by “inventive” side dishes (tacos, parathas and more), are what put Neil Rankin’s BBQ group on the map, with its fifth site opening in Paddington Basin last winter followed by a smashburger spinoff in White City. But even fans can note that what “was once a firm favourite has declined” – service is often “a bit all over the place” and dishes can arrive “lacking genuine flavour”.