Meriden, Indian Restaurant Guide

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.

“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”.

2022 Review: An unusual theme – it’s modelled after the Indian community’s members’ clubs in Kenya – sets the tone at this wood-panelled stalwart, which celebrated its thirtieth birthday in 2021. The culinary offering (ranging from grills to sharing plates and curries) continues to gain highly positive marks, though commentary this year was scant.

2021 Review: Rohit Ghai not only opened Chelsea’s Kutir this year, but this February 2019 yearling occupying three units of the Wembley Boxpark (not the loveliest of locations, in the shadow of Wembley Stadium). As yet it’s inspired little survey feedback, but if you’re a fan of Indian cooking, its wide selection of dishes are said by some social media aficionados to be worth a try.

Malik Ahmed’s traditional but “exceptional” curry house has achieved consistently high ratings for more than 20 years. Part of a trio with siblings in Cookham and Marlow, it’s run hands-on by a family with 150 years in the business – the restaurant Malik’s great-great-grandfather founded in what is now Bangladesh is still going strong!

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 looks exceptionally unlikely from the outside”, but it’s worth discovering this stalwart Indian which has been “nestled away in Willesden Green” for over 40 years now. Fans say it does the “best biryani in London” – for which it’s particularly known – but “all the dishes are excellent”. The family arrived in the UK from the coastal town of Rajpur via East Africa and describe the cuisine as ‘Kokni soul food’; the results are “rich, tasty and fresh”.

“The food tastes fresh and is not heavy” at this “consistently great” Childs Hill operation, specialising in “Indian tapas-style street food”. That TripAdvisor have ranked it #1 out of 15,000+ London restaurants may be over-egging it a bit, but they must be doing something right as a Muswell Hill spin-off is on the cards.

2023 Review: This cute family-run Muswell Hill curry house with a small terrace for outdoor dining prides itself on its Mughal-inspired north Indian cuisine, which goes down well with a local clientele.

This “enjoyable and good-value” family-run operation in an East Finchley shopping parade specialises in the regional cuisine of Hyderabad, and is one of the best bets for a decent cuzza in this part of north London.

“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 “great local Indian” in Kilburn, now 60 years old, was a pioneer of Keralan cooking in the UK (and has fed celebs as diverse as Diana Ross and Harrison Ford over the years); and still serves “lovely dosas and appetisers” as well as “good vegetarian dishes”. The odd report says “the dining room is looking really tired”… but they’ve been saying that for decades now and most diners warm to its unaffected style.

“We keep going back for more!” – this “lovely local Indian” has pleased the Hampstead crowd for more than 50 years with its “food to suit all tastes”, “good value” and “charismatic owner (the son of the founder) who carries the service”. No wonder it’s “often packed”.

“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”.

Nobody is entirely happy about the change of style at this “wonderful curry house” of more than three decades’ standing in Turnpike Lane, following a recent “facelift”, although “if that’s what they had to do to survive the pandemic, then fair enough I suppose – but we really miss the old place”. Some feel it’s now “essentially a large takeaway counter with the restaurant area tucked behind under glaringly bright lights”, while more positive types feel that overall it’s “still recommended for a quick casual eating experience, but not for a relaxed evening out as in the past”.

2022 Review: Adding Indian spicing to pasta and crispy Italian pizza explains the name of Devinder Singh’s Tufnell Park venue, which opened in Spring 2020. Early bird feedback suggests it's a concept that ‘has legs’.

“Brilliant, innovative and constantly changing” – Will Bowlby & Rik Campbell’s “unfailingly interesting” street-food cafés provide “real Indian food… cooked by Brits” and inspire a large army of fans for this small group, which added a fourth Canary Wharf outlet in early 2024 (and has announced a fifth branch will be coming to Shoreditch at the end of the year). They have achieved an all-round success story: “super-friendly service” scores incredibly highly as does the “buzzy environment”. And in Soho, “the restaurant is now supplemented by the Soma Bar next door” with an array of funky cocktails.

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.