Meriden, Indian Restaurant Guide

All-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet with a “good selection of dishes at reasonable prices”. Based in Wembley, where it started out 40-odd years ago as a family-owned market stall, it now has spinoffs in Harrow, Kingsbury and Hatch End (the latter à la carte only). Signature dishes include bhel puri, crispy bhajia and chilli paneer, washed down by a selection of soft drinks.

If you’re looking for a “good pitstop in the West End”, this trio (also with an offshoot in Hammersmith) offers “tasty vegan and veggie Indian food” at “very reasonable prices” – nothing fancy, but “good basic cooking” of “South Indian staples”. Pickier diners can feel that some sauces are “rather watery”, or that the filling food can come “with no stand-out flavours”. Practically all agree, however, that “a great Masala Dosa and beer makes a very affordable meal in Central London”. Top Tip – “good choice to take a crowd: they’re not fazed by large tables”.

This local institution next to Queensbury station – towards the outer extremities of the Jubilee line – was founded in 1991 by accountant Navin Sharma and inspired by Asian community members’ clubs in Kenya. Now open to the public, it retains a clubby feel with dinner served at two sittings (6pm, 8pm), and excels for its “very friendly staff” (who are managed by head waiters known as ‘courier waiters’) and “great” Asian food with East African influences: “go for the grilled meats (the curries are good too)”. The well-stocked bar is “a great place for sports fans to watch matches”.

“Great curry house with friendly, helpful staff” – one of a trio (with siblings in Cookham and Marlow) that have been the last word in this corner of the Home Counties for top-class “authentic Indian cuisine with a price tag” since the late 1990s (Heston Blumenthal is a fan). Top Tip – “the Sunday buffet is an attractive outing”.

All-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet with a “good selection of dishes at reasonable prices”. Based in Wembley, where it started out 40-odd years ago as a family-owned market stall, it now has spinoffs in Harrow, Kingsbury and Hatch End (the latter à la carte only). Signature dishes include bhel puri, crispy bhajia and chilli paneer, washed down by a selection of soft drinks.

“It looks exceptionally unlikely from the outside”, but it’s worth discovering this stalwart Indian which has been “nestled away in Willesden Green” for over 40 years now. Fans say it does the “best biryani in London” – for which it’s particularly known – but “all the dishes are excellent”. The family arrived in the UK from the coastal town of Rajpur via East Africa and describe the cuisine as ‘Kokni soul food’; the results are “rich, tasty and fresh”.

“Wonderful Indian tapas” draws an enthusiastic local crowd to this Childs Hill spot which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year (“we’re lucky to have it in this part of north London”). Some fans, though, “prefer the setting of the newly opened Muswell Hill branch” and say “the divine tapas is just as good as the original”.

2023 Review: This cute family-run Muswell Hill curry house with a small terrace for outdoor dining prides itself on its Mughal-inspired north Indian cuisine, which goes down well with a local clientele.

This “excellent local” Indian in the low-key setting of an East Finchley shopping parade trades on its good-value tandoori dishes and curries.

This veteran purveyor of “delicious” Pakistani/South Asian cuisine represents “really excellent value for the amount of food provided” – and as for the quality, its many fans insist it delivers among “the best lamb chops around”. Founded back in 1968 as a grocery serving the diaspora in Southall, it became a fully fledged restaurant in 1994 and now seats 180 guests in the main restaurant and another 180 in the ‘lounge’ function room upstairs.

Puneet Wadhwani’s colourful, “good-value” street-food cantinas in Ealing and Hammersmith are inspired by the snacks sold to travellers at Indian railway stations. Having a party? – “The chef’s sharing Thali is fantastic – full of flavour and great variety” – and feeds up to five hungry adults and two kids for £144 (vegetarian), £155 (mixed) and £166 (with seafood).

This Kilburn institution has been serving “reliable” South Indian cooking – including “very tasty vegetarian dishes” – for more than 60 years, with a loyal following of regulars who have “been eating there for a long time” and see no sign of a dropping off in quality. Its interior design wins no prizes… never has! (During its long service, numerous celebs have been through the doors, including Harrison Ford, Kylie Minogue and the Indian Cricket Team!)

“Great food and service” have made this family-owned Hampstead curryhouse – now run by the founder’s son – a winner for nearly 60 years. It’s “always noisy and cramped”, but that hardly dampens enthusiasm. High-profile regulars are name-checked on the menu – the ‘Arctic murg’ super-spicy butter chicken is a tribute to the Sheffield rockers.

Puneet Wadhwani’s colourful, “good-value” street-food cantinas in Ealing and Hammersmith are inspired by the snacks sold to travellers at Indian railway stations. Having a party? – “The chef’s sharing Thali is fantastic – full of flavour and great variety” – and feeds up to five hungry adults and two kids for £144 (vegetarian), £155 (mixed) and £166 (with seafood).

2024 Review: Nobody is entirely happy about the change of style at this “wonderful curry house” of more than three decades’ standing in Turnpike Lane, following a recent “facelift”, although “if that’s what they had to do to survive the pandemic, then fair enough I suppose – but we really miss the old place”. Some feel it’s now “essentially a large takeaway counter with the restaurant area tucked behind under glaringly bright lights”, while more positive types feel that overall it’s “still recommended for a quick casual eating experience, but not for a relaxed evening out as in the past”.

2022 Review: Adding Indian spicing to pasta and crispy Italian pizza explains the name of Devinder Singh’s Tufnell Park venue, which opened in Spring 2020. Early bird feedback suggests it's a concept that ‘has legs’.

“Authentic cooking from the open kitchen” elevates this Indian venue, easily missed amidst the anonymous units around Westfield Shepherd Bush’s Southern Terrace. It’s the London representative of a chain founded in 1972 in Bombay by JK Kapur (with 15 locations in India) and specialises in North Indian cuisine.

2022 Review: After winning a mentorship in a pop-up competition at Westfield White City Shopping Centre in 2018, Mehak Kansal brought this bricks-and-mortar operation to Mayfair in October 2020. ‘Bindas’ – Punjabi for without limitations and inhibitions – here translates into eclectic decor and a varied selection of street food. No feedback as yet, but they must be doing something right, as a second site is on the cards.

“Maybe not some upscale fancy restaurant but one of the best Indians on the central-west side of London: no wonder they have been in business for 70 years!” – this veteran family-run tandoori in Bayswater has served generations with “Indian food that’s cheap ’n’ cheerful but good nonetheless” (“from the tandoori chicken to the breads”). The BYO policy makes it even better value than the prices on the menu suggest (“and the Sainsbury’s on Westbourne Grove, 50 yards away, stocks Cobra”).