City, Indian Restaurant Guide

The cooking is awesome and “the bar is mega!” according to the many fans of this JKS outpost in the Bloomberg Arcade. Modelled on an Indian Army mess, “it’s always been a very masculine, ‘City boys’ type place (some evenings the male:female ratio is at gay-bar disparities!)”. The quality of the “inauthentic but deliciously tasty” cooking is undisputed, but there’s lively debate about what’s best on the menu: “the short rib curry is the stand-out here”; no, “the biryani in pie crust is the best Indian dish in town”.

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.

“Fire-cooked” steaks, supplied from North Yorkshire, aged in-house and supplemented by “inventive” side dishes (tacos, parathas and more), are what put Neil Rankin’s BBQ group on the map, with its fifth site opening in Paddington Basin last winter followed by a smashburger spinoff in White City. But even fans can note that what “was once a firm favourite has declined” – service is often “a bit all over the place” and dishes can arrive “lacking genuine flavour”.

2021 Review: If the food market in Flat Iron Square doesn’t take your fancy, remember this consistently good modern basement Indian, serving a wide mix of options, including a number of south Indian dishes like dosas; good with families too.

2021 Review: “Everything here is great, but I totally loved the paneer burger” – an alternative to the best-selling bhangra burger on the menu of these popular pop-ups, in POP Brixton and now also Vinegar Yard, SE1. After over ten years in the game, the business shifted up a gear in May 2019 with the opening (flush with £300k of investment having won BBC2’s ‘My Million Pound Menu’) of the new forever-home listed here: a 50-seater in Camden Town’s Stables Market.

“The food is served with a bit of theatre” in this splendid old school hall not far south of Tower Bridge (Grade II listed and part of what was once St. Olave’s Grammar School) – nowadays a contemporary Indian venue that’s part of Lalit Hotel Group’s flagship UK property. It’s consistently well-reviewed in our annual diners’ poll, but at less busy times can seem “quiet”.

“Novel dishes full of spice and intrigue” draw a “buzzy” crowd to this “refreshingly innovative” and hugely successful modern Indian trio: an “elevated street-food experience that’s really good fun”. The “tiny but perfectly formed” Spitalfields original is “still the best”, say fans, but the food also hits the spot at “tapas-style” venues in Soho and Tower Bridge.

“Novel dishes full of spice and intrigue” draw a “buzzy” crowd to this “refreshingly innovative” and hugely successful modern Indian trio: an “elevated street-food experience that’s really good fun”. The “tiny but perfectly formed” Spitalfields original is “still the best”, say fans, but the food also hits the spot at “tapas-style” venues in Soho and Tower Bridge.

2022 Review: East London’s oldest Indian (established 1939 in Whitechapel) briefly found fame in late August 2020, when it was reviewed by Marina O’Loughlin for The Sunday Times. Run by four generations of the same family – and with somewhat antediluvian decor – it’s not the place to uncover the latest in food fads; or as Marina eloquently put it: “it tastes like the past, deliciously”. Reports please!

“You nearly always have to queue for a table – often for at least an hour – but the atmosphere is amazing and the food is worth the wait” at Shamil & Kavi Thakrar’s unbelievably successful chain: again, the most commented-on business in our annual diners’ poll, which has stormed the capital since it first opened in Covent Garden in 2010. Outlets in Canary Wharf and Battersea Power Station opened in late 2024, bringing the total in London to seven, and each branch has its own intriguing character, with the unifying theme being a homage to the Irani cafés of post-war Bombay. “Very much a well-oiled machine, there is little sign of any drop-off in quality as the group expands”, while “for such large places the brilliant service is remarkably friendly and efficient”. Meanwhile, the “deeply flavoursome and satisfying” menu has introduced Londoners to “authentic and delicious dishes that aren’t just another copycat Indian selection”, with such “zingy and exciting flavours”. And morning-time in London will never be the same again, since the advent of their “great Anglo-Indian breakfasts”. All-in-all, “the whole approach is inclusive and exciting”, “it’s always buzzy and fun too”; and “overall and for the price point you can’t go wrong!”. Top Menu Tips: “the black dal is to die for!”; “superb okra fries”; “the roomali roti is sublime”; “the lamb chops are excellent”; “Chicken Ruby is dreamy”. In the mornings, “the unfailing Bacon naan is a thing of poetry”; “chilli cheese toast hits the spot every time”, and “drink the lemon ginger and honey chai”.

2023 Review: “Good scruffy fun with a side order of nostalgia” is to be had at this “hidden gem” in the Strand (a favourite with staff at the Indian High Commission opposite). “An almost anonymous doorway leads you up some stairs” where you “step back in time, not to a cheesy incarnation of the British Raj, but to the early days of independence”. Founded in 1951 (Prime Minister Nehru was among the founding members), the ‘club’ is open to the public and serves food that can be (but is not invariably) “excellent” at a “great price”, in an authentically “slightly chaotic atmosphere”. It’s been under siege for the past five years from a landlord itching to redevelop, but it’s “an institution that deserves to survive, and an oasis of good value in central London”. Top Tip – it’s unlicensed – “pause for a drink in the bar downstairs before or after eating” or carry your pint to the table.