Soho, Indian Restaurant Guide

The “excellent”, “very flavourful” dishes at this duo in Soho and Covent Garden provide an “interesting and novel” answer to the question: “what is Indian food?” – showcasing, as they do, the distinctive Indo-Chinese cuisine developed by Hakka Chinese immigrants in Kolkata.

2024 Review: A kati roll is made of skewer-roasted fillings wrapped in a paratha – tasty Indian street food that hits the spot for a small but enthusiastic fan club amongst our reporters. With branches in Soho and Bethnal Green, they are imports from a four-strong Manhattan-based chain.

“Love this place!” – “fantastic, authentic Indian food is cooked by an all-female team” at this former supper club in Carnaby’s Kingly Court, from “the very impressive Asma Khan” – TV chef, writer and activist as chef-advocate for the UN Food Program and co-leader of a global campaign for gender equality in the kitchen (among her many talents). “The wonderful ethos alongside the amazing fare makes the experience even better” – and the staff are “fabulous”. Top Tips – “lunch is better than the thali-style dinner”; “the biryani evening is wonderful, and highly recommended”.

“Inventive and fancy Indian food a fair few notches above your standard curry house” is found at this Soho spinoff from the smart Mayfair namesake; (“have eaten here a handful of times this year and the dishes each time have been good”).

“You’ll almost always find a queue of people waiting for a table and a palpable energy of excitement in the room” when you visit these “vibrant” and “exotic”-feeling Indian favourites, which “whisk you to Bombay and back”. Cousins Shamil & Kavi Thakrar started in Covent Garden in 2010 and their growing group has become the most commented-on business in our annual diners’ poll, complete with seven London branches, three outside town; their ‘Permit Rooms’ spinoff brand, and turnover of over £100m. The interior design, a homage to Mumbai’s Irani cafés, absolutely slaps – “wherever you sit it’s quirky” and even though the busy scene can become “a bit of a zoo”, it’s all so upbeat that “you leave feeling good about your meal and yourself!”. Dishes are “bursting with flavour” and served by “efficient” waiting staff “who know their stuff”. The menu is “deliciously different”, although so many Londoners have now sampled it that once-arcane items like the “legendary black dahl (so rich and filling!)” are now part of London’s culinary canon. And what better way to start a new day than with an “unbeatable bacon and egg naan roll” – a high watermark of dining out invention of the last 50 years that’s core to their “game-changing breakfasts” (“you will never want an English bacon roll again”!).

“A favourite curry house for many years” – this stalwart Soho venue opened in 1988 and is a well-preserved time capsule of what the curry experience looked like when nobody dreamt of an Indian restaurant ever winning a Michelin star. “Everything is always high-quality and really tasty and the price is super-competitive for the area; and the staff are lovely too”.

“Interesting and unusual Indian food” – “not heavy curries at all, but a less familiar range of dishes, with very well-judged spicing and a huge range of delicate flavours” – again inspires rave reports for this superb Brit-run chain (founded by Will Bowlby & Rik Campbell), which also has a brilliant service ethos: “cheerful and obliging throughout and very prompt”. In 2025, they opened their latest 80-cover outpost in Shoreditch, which also introduced a debut breakfast menu alongside an all-day 50-cover Kafé and bar concept (serving street-food snacks). And coming soon – a launch in Covent Garden’s Neal’s Yard is planned. Top Menu Tips – “date and pistachio kuicha is particularly good; excellently light panipuri with tomato rasam”.

“Cheap and very, very cheerful!”, vegan Indian canteen just off Oxford Street, opened in 1979 by the Hare Krishna temple next door and serving ‘karma-free’ meals – which means no onions, garlic or mushrooms, and no alcohol. The value is pretty well unbeatable, with a 5-item plate at £7.95 or a 12-item thali extravaganza for £15.95. (“As a confirmed carnivore, I love this place as a change!!”).

2024 Review: 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.

“Truly delicious modern twists on Indian classic dishes” with “some very different tastes” has helped inspire a very loyal fan club for star-chef, Atul Kochhar’s Mayfair fixture: a mirrored, smart venue opened in 2019 a little way off Regent’s Street overseen by head chef Ashok Kumar. “We recently tried other nearby top-end Indian restaurants. No, Kanishka is the best and we always drift back!”. Top Tip – excellent value set menu.

“It’s always uplifting to be in the Bustle!”, say fans of this “high-quality, fun Indian restaurant close to Oxford Circus” – the bubbly younger sibling of Jamavar from Samyukta Nair. “Prices are not so daunting as others have become in Mayfair” (note the “excellent value Express Lunch/Early Dinner”), and there’s “fast and professional service in the spacious and well-designed dining room”, which some find “noisy and unconducive to conversation”. Top Menu Tips – “love the prawn starter and the lamb curry with soft bao buns”.

Now in its 99th year, London’s oldest Indian has (under its most recent owner, the MW Eat Group) maintained “consistently high standards”, providing “superior, delicate flavoursome curries in a series of colourful, beautifully presented dishes”, matched with thoughtfully updated decor, overlooking Regent Street from the first floor. Whether or not it sees its 100th birthday is in the hands of landlords, The Crown Estate, who seem blind to its cultural significance, and more interested in terminating its lease and redeveloping the building of which it is part. Sign the petition to save it on the Veeraswamy website!

“A gorgeous, sumptuous room with food to match” – classic Punjabi dishes with a Kenyan twist are a slightly offbeat discovery at this Piccadilly hotel restaurant from the Anand dynasty, founded almost a century ago in Nairobi. “The setting is delightful, all ornate with chandeliers but it doesn’t feel too swanky or over the top”. And appropriately for the West End hotel setting, they offer an afternoon ‘High Chai’ where tandoori salmon sandwiches and murgh tikka wraps are followed by very British scones, clotted cream and strawberry preserve. Top Menu Tip – “sea bass is prepared table side for that extra bit of theatre”.

“You can’t get into Gymkhana now it’s got so many awards” but fans say this big (140 covers inside, plus 40-seat outside terrace) new sibling just off Regent Street from the all-conquering JKS restaurant group “is a good alternative”: with its Punjabi-inspired menu delivering “superb” flavours, and its “lovely” and “interesting” decor, themed around the party mansions of North India. Reports are mixed though (“I thought it was comparable to Brigadiers, my fellow diner definitely did not”) and a fair few reports consider it “very expensive for what you actually get”. Top Menu Tip – “great chops”.

Harneet Baweja’s 10-year-old Indian street-food outfit “just gets better and better”, with “innovative, authentic and well-spiced sharing plates” and “warm service”. The Spitalfields branch is “the original and best”; while the Soho and Tower Bridge follow-ups also win praise. Top Tip – look out for the ‘India Club’ events: one-off celebrations of a particular city, region or festival.

“One of the most iconic interiors in London” – the historic, late-Victorian Criterion restaurant in Piccadilly Circus (built in 1873) – makes the latest addition to the Masala Zone group (opened in 2023) “a new gem in the collection”, whose “opulence really suits an Indian destination”: it’s “worth going just to see the old Criterion, and thankfully the wonderful original decor has been retained”. With “great food and attentive but unobtrusive service” typical of the classy MW Eats group, “all Masala Zone restaurants are excellent”, offering good-value street-food or home- style thalis in four venues. The Covent Garden branch opposite the ROH stage door is tipped for pre- or post-opera dining.

2022 Review: After winning a mentorship in a pop-up competition at Westfield White City Shopping Centre in 2018, Mehak Kansal brought this bricks-and-mortar operation to Mayfair in October 2020. ‘Bindas’ – Punjabi for without limitations and inhibitions – here translates into eclectic decor and a varied selection of street food. No feedback as yet, but they must be doing something right, as a second site is on the cards.