London, Indian Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: Striking design and high-quality cuisine make it worth knowing about this nouvelle Indian cocktail lounge and restaurant, hidden away behind the Bank of England.

“Still my favourite indian and can’t fault this place” – JKS Restaurants have hit an impressive stride at their City outpost, which cosies up its shiny Bloomberg Arcade location by modelling itself on an old-fashioned Indian Army mess. Not everyone loves that “half the site is a sports bar” (finding it “tacky”) but its (somewhat “male-dominated”) atmosphere is highly rated overall and the food is “brilliant” – a mixture of beer snacks, rolls, sizzlers, skewers, kebabs, chops and other fare. “A good spot for beers outside in the summer” too.

“Proper steak venues” with “fantastic prime cuts for sharing” is how fans applaud Neil Rankin’s cocktail-fueled smokehouses: vibrant hang-outs featuring live-fire BBQ in the open kitchens that form the heart of each outlet (and with a selection of taco platters backing up the menu’s core of smoked meat dishes). Ratings have varied of late, though, and Paddington and Shoreditch branches closed in autumn 2024, now leaving only Soho, Covent Garden and the City. Top Tips – look out for Bottomless brunch deals; and the £15 steak frites lunchtime offer (in Covent Garden only).