London City Restaurant Guide

Very early feedback is adulatory for the massive menu of flavour-packed Indian BBQ dishes served at this JKS Restaurants (Gymkhana, Hoppers) newcomer (opened in June 2018), which occupies the largest restaurant space in the City’s Bloomberg Arcade. A sizeable operation inspired by traditional Indian Army mess halls (well, that’s what the press release said) it comprises multiple spaces including several bars (The Tap Room, Blighters) and private rooms (the biggest, The Pot Luck, has its own entrance).

“Simply mouthwatering plates” of “succulent and well-seasoned chops” reward a trip to these “fun” haunts, which in September 2018 added a Shoreditch branch to initial ventures in Soho and the City. It’s a case of “simple food but done extremely well” and “if you like meat, this is a good place to share lots of it with friends, and at a very good price too”. “OK, so I was sceptical: yet another beards and tatts place, I thought – but the quality is such that I (and my meat-loving wife) discuss little else but when to go next!”

“In an unlikely location” east of the City, Cyrus Todiwala’s brightly decorated HQ delivers “time and time again”. “No ordinary Indian, the varied food is prepared with panache and extraordinarily skilled mixes of subtle flavours”. Service is “excellent” too, and the worst complaint amongst the many reports we receive is that “it’s a bit pricey”. Events are a regular feature here, and “Cyrus is very informative and entertaining throughout”.

“Unpretentious, relaxed and with a wide choice of wines and small plates” – with the latter “nicely judged to complement wines” – plus “enthusiastic and knowledgeable service” win particular praise for the Battersea original of this small group, and also its EC4 spin-off “hidden away and almost under the crypt of St Bride’s Church”. Last year, a further outlet also opened in Islington (no reports yet), and in 2018 a new City branch opened near Liverpool Street. Top Tip: “Monday nights is the time to go as wine is sold at retail price”.

“Dim sum are top class – beautifully presented and all of them delicious” – at this slick, “fun” and hugely popular Chinese-inspired duo (originally created by Hakkasan and Wagamama founder, Alan Yau), whose stylish looks are “verging on bling, but well done”. Both branches score highly, although the well-established Soho original still has the edge over the relatively new Broadgate Circle branch. “Great cocktails” too – “their tea is also exquisite”. Top Tip: cool terrace in EC2.

“Home-style Indian tapas” – “beautifully spiced, without overpowering the flavour of the ingredients” and “each plate a unique reinvention of a traditional dish” – lures sizeable queues outside this “cosy, if slightly cramped” two-year-old “tucked away 150m from Spitalfields Market”; a second branch opened in the shiny new One Tower Bridge development at the start of September 2018. Top Menu Tip: “the spicy venison doughnut is inspired”.