St James's, Indian Restaurant Guide

“Setting the benchmark for high-end Indian gastronomy in London” – “the capital may have a lot of hot new Indian destinations, but this Sethi family property in Mayfair is still at the top thanks to dazzling cuisine” – “interesting twists on the classics” with “exceptional spicing”, all served by “thoroughly welcoming” staff in a “richly decorated and buzzy environment”.

“First came here almost 60 years ago! And it’s still one of my favourites” – London’s oldest Indian restaurant “delivers fabulous food year after year”. Opened in 1926, in a first-floor space at the Piccadilly end of Regent Street, it is nowadays part of the upmarket Amaya and Chutney Mary group who have ensured its offering has moved with the times. The decor is “lovely” but not old-fashioned, and the “imaginative food has lots of flavours”. Top Menu Tip – “Rogan Josh on the bone”.

“Always a good experience” – this “upmarket Indian” in St James’s is the original venture of Ranjit & Namita Mathrani, plus the latter’s sister, Camellia Panjabi (who run other top Indians and the Masala Zone chain). One of London’s first ‘nouvelle Indians’ (when it opened, on its former site, in SW10), its “complex and well-balanced” dishes are “done well enough to let them off the high prices” and served in a great space, whose “wonderful décor gives it character”. Rishi’s a regular apparently.

“Clever, subtly infused curries a wonderful step up from your local Indian” (“the flavours of every option are incredible with each dish spiced to perfection”) have catapulted this project by university friends Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell from a Brixton pop-up to three thriving tapas-style restaurants, including a Soho flagship with cocktail bar, in less than 10 years.

2021 Review: In the heart of the West End, this decidedly glam yearling scored better in our survey than the mixed rep it received in press reviews. The first UK outpost of a 30-strong international chain hailing from India and the Gulf, its repertoire of tapas-y offerings are very much of the funky, evolved school of Indian cuisine, and reporters salivate over “an amazing choice of inventive dishes” that are “far better than you would expect” in this touristy locale.

2020 Review: “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.

“You really can’t go wrong with Dishoom”. Shamil and Kavi Thakrar’s phenomenal chain remains the most commented-on in our annual diners’ poll and its “bustling and loud, throwback, Bombay-colonial-era atmosphere” and “distinctively superior” menu – such a “novel variation from what you get in a typical curry house” – have given UK diners a welcome jolt as to what can be expected from an Indian meal. This includes their “Asian-inspired alternative to the usual ‘Full English’ breakfast”, which has revolutionised the start of the day for many folks. “Super-friendly staff do all they can to create a great experience”, which – along with the “delectable cocktails” – helps to underpin the “good vibes” that makes their ambience so buoyant. Perhaps inevitably, ratings for its food have slipped a tad in recent times from being exceptional to merely good, but the overall verdict remains that the overall package is “relatively cheap and always really tasty”. The ability to book is restricted at certain times and at certain branches, but “the queue is worth it!” Top Menu Tips – “stupendous black dahl”; “you could have their okra fries by the bucket”; “ruby murray is a must try”; “that bacon naan… with unlimited chai latte = heaven!”.

“Imaginative dishes”, which deploy “authentic and distinct spicing with just the right kick”, “make for a cracking experience” at Samyukta Nair’s “smartly decorated room on the edge of Mayfair, with memories of Old Bombay”. It’s “the casual little sister of Jamavar” and “almost as good as its more expensive sibling” – while probably more “fun”. Top Menu Tip – “Jalebi cheesecake”.

The world’s first Indian restaurant to bag a Michelin star (in 2001) – this “sophisticated and glamorous” Mayfair linchpin has neither lost its way, nor remained pre-eminent: it just continues to plough its own distinctive path. The kitchen “always finds a neat twist to traditional favourites” and succeeds in delivering “stunning presentation and wonderful flavours”. And “despite its top quality food and location, the bill isn’t bad either”. Top Tips – “the vegetarian fare is particularly delicious”; and “the lunchtime menu is great value”.

“Delicious and quite unusual dishes” help win praise for Atul Kocchar’s Mayfair five-year-old, which is “handy to know about just off the West End’s main shopping streets”. Even fans, though, feel that the prices for some items are a bit “ridiculous”.

In the heart of Theatreland, this Indian street-food operation is focused on dishes served with ‘hankies’ – hand-spun roti folded around the dish – and still receives good marks (if from a limited number of reports). There used to be offshoots in Marble Arch and Paddington, but both have closed over the last couple of years.

“A gem in Soho” – this large and stylish spin-off from the famous Mayfair mothership is “a very reasonable (and reasonably priced) option” that takes inspiration from regional cuisines across India. “The tasting menu is particularly good value by London standards”.

“A beautiful restaurant interior, plus warm, professional and attentive staff” have helped Samyutka Nair and family’s “posh Indian” near Mayfair’s Berkeley Square acquire a reputation as “one of the best subcontinental restaurants in London”. Its ratings sank this year, though amidst a number of experiences of cooking that was “solid, but not as refined as expected” – “It was very nice… but is it so different to many others that have sprung up to justify the high price here?” Top Tip – “set lunch is a steal!”

“Delicious small plates that are unusual, interesting and at times rather spicy” distinguish this Soho and Covent Garden duo presenting the Indo-Chinese cuisine developed by Kolkata’s historic Hakka community.

2021 Review: “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.

“There’s a reason this chain has endured for so long” – its street food and curries are “so authentic”, “imaginative” and “such good value for money”: “you still have to go a long way to beat their thali deals”. Owned by MW Eats (who own the posh Chutney Mary, Amaya, etc), they sold off their Camden Town and Bayswater sites in the last 12 months; and in mid 2023 launched a stunning new landmark branch on Piccadilly Circus, in one of London’s most historic, but (in recent times) most-under-achieving restaurant sites: the magnificent, Neo-Byzantine, mosaicked chamber dating from 1873 that for many years was The Criterion (RIP). Innovations on the new site include breakfast, ‘Indian High Tea’ and late opening.

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”.

Rohit Ghai’s Mayfair two-year-old offers a “glam Indian street-food experience” – inspired by the home cooking of his childhood in Madhya Pradesh – from a “short but always very good menu”.