Bloomsbury, Indian Restaurant Guide

The “absolutely delicious” South Indian vegan and vegetarian food at this quintet of low-key cafés – stretching from Harrow to Covent Garden – is “good enough to keep carnivores quiet”: in particular “the dosas, which are just what you want from a dosa: crispy, tender, flavourful”. The formula is “simple but it works, even if the menu is always the same”; and it helps that the experience comes at “very reasonable prices”.

2021 Review: “Simply delicious south Indian cuisine” from the state of Tamil Nadu – including “the best dosas ever” – means this “justly popular independent” in Fitzrovia “is very different from your usual curry house”. “I’m slowly working my way through the menu and have yet to find something I don’t like”.

“Great food, attentive service, and an overall lovely experience” are winning a small but very enthusiastic fan club for this quirky, late 2021 Indian two-year-old. Despite the interest of a historic building – Holborn’s former Town Hall – it inhabits something of a restaurant graveyard site, which has seen off numerous previous occupants (Shanghai Blues, Gezellig, Burger & Lobster). And, shortly after opening, it too was written off as a ‘Curry Catastrophe’ by the Evening Standard’s David Ellis. So kudos to owner Roop Partap Choudhary for persevering with his very personal vision for the enterprise.

2022 Review: Chef Krishna Negi (who first made his name when he launched Tangawizi in Richmond in 2004) opened this Fitzrovian basement spot in October 2019, with a menu featuring ‘nano plates’ (small plates and sharing bowls) inspired by 1947’s partition of India. Some initial reviews on its cuisine have been very upbeat.

“It ain’t Bibi or Tamarind, but it’s less than half the price and it’s jolly good” – this “ever-reliable” Covent Garden institution has earned devotion from generations of fans for its “authentic” Punjabi curries and “great staff” (“I’ve been coming here for excellent meals for over 40 years”). Founded in 1946 – the year before Indian independence – it claims to have been the UK’s first north Indian restaurant and is now run by the fourth generation of the founding family. It’s run with a conscience too – “during lockdown they served over 45,000 meals to the needy and homeless”.

2023 Review: Sabbir Karim’s “reliably consistent” modern curry house near Great Ormond Street Hospital boasts an “extensive menu that goes well beyond the traditional Indian dishes”; offering “very good quality across the board”.