London, Indian Restaurant Guide

“Exceptionally flavoured, and unusual, ‘street-food’ dishes” – “the spicing makes them stand out” – have earned consistently high marks for this “inventive” Indian for much of the decade. It compares well with the better-known Indian Zing just a few steps closer to Ravenscourt Park tube station, and is “well worth a try”.

2019 Review: “Indian favourites imaginatively recreated” and “fusion food such as steak with masala chips” comprise a “superb menu that is hard to choose from” at the Cinnamon Club’s offshoot in the City. The setting – a large atrium near Liverpool Street – is a real bonus, because “you can sit outside in a covered courtyard in virtually all weathers”.

“Love this new Indian street-food joint” – a neighbourhood cantina in Hammersmith not dissimilar to its predecessor (Chai Naasto), refurbed, formatted and renamed by the same owners to become this current incarnation. It serves a “good selection of veg and non-veg options”, and some dishes are “fantastic”. There’s also a branch in Northfields.

The “fantastic”, “properly spicy and tasty” Indian cooking at this Mayfair two-year-old is “definitely of the quality and invention of Jamavar” – its celebrated stablemate nearby. Taking inspiration from Mumbai street and comfort food invites the comparison to an “upmarket Dishoom”, while the departure of founding chef Rohit Ghai has thus far only had limited impact on the excellent ratings.

2019 Review: “Cute and cheerful” pan-Indian street food and bar operation in a new development near Mornington Crescent. All reports are upbeat, if with a caution that you should “pick your way through the menu carefully to have a better-than-standard curry house experience”.

This “real local gem” north of Putney Bridge serves “delicious and unusual Indian food” – and is “refreshingly free from the usual clichés”. Owner Shilpa Dandekar is a “great and innovative chef” – she trained at the Taj Group and worked under Raymond Blanc – and her cooking is “beautifully presented”. Only the “rather ordinary room” gets brickbats – “more prestigious surroundings required!”.

This Covent Garden outpost of a grandee of modern Indian cuisine “means you get the quality of The Cinnamon Club at a more affordable price” – “really interesting food”, “spiced with expertise”. There’s a particularly useful pre-theatre menu.

“An exceptional local” – this Woodford three-year-old (from the ex-manager and ex-head chef of Mayfair’s Tamarind) delivers “a real treat of modern, well-spiced food”, and draws fans from north London to Essex. On the downside, the “noisy” room “could be more cosy”.

“Still a classic” – this “elegant” destination in “Westminster’s lovely former library” has long been one of London’s most pre-eminent posh Indians; and its “interesting and idiosyncratic” cuisine has made it “something of an institution” (including amongst the politico classes – “being within division bell distance of Parliament, there’s a fair chance of spotting a well-known face or two”). Its enjoyment was “tempered by episodes of wobbly service over the last year”, however, and those who found the staff “over-stretched” were more likely to judge it “too expensive”.

Posh Pakistani, hidden away in a Belgravia mews townhouse for more than 40 years: some may find it “stuffy”, while others praise the “great ambience”. It’s certainly “not the cheapest”, but it’s survived on its “stalwart, authentic, fantastic food” (particularly lamb chops).