Windsor, Indian Restaurant Guide

“An excellent take on Indian cuisine with a blend of classic dishes and spiced modern British versions” – Atul Kochhar’s “interesting” cuisine at this four-year-old venture is inspired by the cuisines of Punjab and Rajasthan. Some fans still suggest it “just edges Sindhu, its nearby sister in Marlow” but its ratings were undercut this year by a couple of mixed reports.

“Not your typical Indian restaurant” – this inviting colonial-style villa is a beacon of the outer southwest ’burbs sitting just back from the Thames. The “lovely food” from a menu offering a “good range of choices” wins a very positive thumbs-up in this year’s survey. It was founded by owner Bhanu Pratap 16 years ago.

“The food is different and good” – inspired by the street food sold on Indian railways – at these funkily decorated canteens, in a nondescript Ealing parade of shops and a somewhat cuter one on Hammersmith Grove. Top Menu Tip – “sharing Thalis are a must, with great flavour combinations and excellent value”.

“If you like dosas, idlis and uttapams”, these “cheap and cheerful” but “spotless and well-run” canteens in the West End (plus Hammersmith and Harrow) are “an excellent choice for very good South Indian vegetarian food” – they’re also “a top option to take a crowd because they’re not fazed by large tables”, and “even carnivores don’t complain” when they try the “tasty food”.

“The food is different and good” – inspired by the street food sold on Indian railways – at these funkily decorated canteens, in a nondescript Ealing parade of shops and a somewhat cuter one on Hammersmith Grove. Top Menu Tip – “sharing Thalis are a must, with great flavour combinations and excellent value”.

This Wembley fixture (with spinoffs in Hatch End and Kingsbury) is best known for its all-you-can-eat Indian vegetarian buffet with a choice of 45 items, including an Indo-Chinese selection with dishes such as chilli paneer. The family-owned business started out 40 years ago as a market stall.

This Wembley fixture (with spinoffs in Hatch End and Kingsbury) is best known for its all-you-can-eat Indian vegetarian buffet with a choice of 45 items, including an Indo-Chinese selection with dishes such as chilli paneer. The family-owned business started out 40 years ago as a market stall.

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”.

“A great local Indian” in leafy Teddington “where the cooking has a modern twist” – Mayur Nagarale opened this contemporary spot enlivened by a large, colourful mural in mid 2023 and it quickly won a more-than-local reputation, with fans crossing numerous postcodes for a meal.

“In the lost part of Richmond” (on the way to Kew) – “a very good curry house” spread over three levels, whose staff are “always really friendly”. Head Chef Sunil produces a menu that intersperses less familiar dishes and ingredients with tandoori classics: “it’s much much better than so much of what’s available locally, and well worth the extra short walk from the town centre”.

“Top-class cooking” has earned a strong reputation for this three-year-old Indian in East Sheen – a spinoff from the brilliant Dastaan in Ewell, and similarly belying its “pedestrian” interior. A few reports this year, though, suggest success risks going to their heads a little (“a return visit and still worth the trip, but bills have risen – please don’t price yourself out of the game!”). Top Tip – “the pork cheek vindaloo and the soft-shell crab remain things of beauty”.