Soho, Indian Restaurant Guide

“There aren’t many restaurants where I will queue for nearly two hours to get a table but it’s worth the wait!” – This “madly popular” Mumbai-inspired chain “has taken London by storm” and is now the capital’s most mentioned chain. Even if the heady days of its Covent Garden debut are long gone, criticisms that it’s “too popular for its own good” are most notable by their absence; and instead its “a firm favourite” for its massive army of fans who feel “it never fails to impress”. The “buzzy, Indian, faux-retro vibe” (“I felt transported to the Parsi eating houses of Bombay in the 1960s”) helps set up a “crazy, frenetic atmosphere”; and even if the “noise levels are pretty bad”, “somehow it all comes together”. It helps that service is “always punctual and friendly” (respect: it’s such a busy chain), and the tapas-y food – though no longer as bleeding edge as it once seemed – still feels “vibrant”, with a selection of dishes that’s “far from run-of-the-mill” (“recommended by all our Indian friends!”), plus “an exceptional list of drinks”. Breakfast here is unexpectedly “a true thing of beauty” too: “so different” in a brilliant way. “You can book during the day, but not at night” – “the wait is tedious, but the buzzer system works well” and cocktails at the bar help blur time. In mid 2019, the chain acquired the former Jamie’s Italian site next to its original WC2 branch in order to expand its footprint. Top Tips – “black dahl is still the best” and “the bacon naan is the greatest restaurant breakfast dish of all time!”.

“So many layers of taste… a throwback to living in India” – their “fantastic take on subcontinental flavours and textures” has helped blaze a trail for Rik Campbell and Will Bowby’s street-food brand. Since mid-2015, their “always interesting and very tasty” bites have taken them from a Pop Brixton shipping container to three permanent outlets in Soho, Brixton and White City’s TV Centre. “Busy” Soho in particular is “great for counter dining”. Top Menu Tips – “spot-on bhel puri”, “fab chai, dazzling deep-fried chicken and delicious halwa”.

“The small menu really delivers on taste and price” with “some absolutely amazing dishes”, at Calcutta-born Asma Khan’s former supper club, now in hugely popular, permanent quarters off Carnaby Street. The “friendly” staff, including an all-women kitchen team of self-described ‘housewives’, ensure there’s a real “home-cooked” flavour to the enterprise.

“A hidden pearl in the heart of Soho”, this “smart-casual” spin-off from Mayfair’s Tamarind has a “lovely, buzzy vibe”; and serves “really impressive and refined modern Indian cooking” – “with a fresh-tasting twist to the traditional dishes” – from “a short menu that changes regularly.

“For a cuzza in Soho”, this “good Indian in the centre of all the action” is just the job thanks to its “flavoursome and so tasty” cooking and “top price/quality ratio”. Family run since 1988, its unfashionably traditional basement setting is also a great antidote when you’re sick of being dazzled by trendy new restaurant design-concepts.

“You’ll be lucky to get a seat at this bustling, Indian street-food outlet” in Soho – London outpost of an NYC-chain with six Manhattan locations. It serves “excellent, wholesome south-Asian-style filled rolls” – “there’s a huge variety of rolls to choose from” – and “Bollywood posters and songs make up for what’s a very compact space”.

“Magnificent biryanis” are served in a ‘dum’ – a heavy pot – at this two-year-old Indian café just south of Oxford Street, the first venture from Dhruv Mittal, who quit his job in the City and retrained as a chef in Mumbai. “All the individual spices, often quite unusual ones, could be identified and appreciated”, and there’s a “good choice for vegetarians”. But the basement setting isn’t its strongest point.