Hemel Hempstead, 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.

“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”.

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”.

2025 Review: It has a star chef’s name over the door, but feedback was inconsistent this year regarding this outpost of Atul Kochhar’s empire of Indian restaurants. Amongst reports, one diner described dishes as plain “bizarre” and another who felt the “food is OK” added, “but it’s not worth the price and overall seems overhyped”.