Stoke Poges, Indian Restaurant Guide

“Great curry house with friendly, helpful staff” – one of a trio (with siblings in Cookham and Marlow) that have been the last word in this corner of the Home Counties for top-class “authentic Indian cuisine with a price tag” since the late 1990s (Heston Blumenthal is a fan). Top Tip – “the Sunday buffet is an attractive outing”.

2023 Review: “Every dish is fresh and authentic” at this comfortable curry house which occupies a half-timbered building on the high street, and which has become well-known over many years for its superior Indian cuisine. Heston is a fan.

Chef Atul Kochhar is not just one of the UK’s most high-profile Indian chefs, but famous chefs full stop. He opened this modern, appealing dining room in 2020, just one day before the first Covid lockdown (aargh) as part of his empire of outlets across the Home Counties and it consistently inspires highly upbeat feedback (if, fair to say, short on utter rave reviews).

This veteran purveyor of “delicious” Pakistani/South Asian cuisine represents “really excellent value for the amount of food provided” – and as for the quality, its many fans insist it delivers among “the best lamb chops around”. Founded back in 1968 as a grocery serving the diaspora in Southall, it became a fully fledged restaurant in 1994 and now seats 180 guests in the main restaurant and another 180 in the ‘lounge’ function room upstairs.

If you’re looking for a “good pitstop in the West End”, this trio (also with an offshoot in Hammersmith) offers “tasty vegan and veggie Indian food” at “very reasonable prices” – nothing fancy, but “good basic cooking” of “South Indian staples”. Pickier diners can feel that some sauces are “rather watery”, or that the filling food can come “with no stand-out flavours”. Practically all agree, however, that “a great Masala Dosa and beer makes a very affordable meal in Central London”. Top Tip – “good choice to take a crowd: they’re not fazed by large tables”.

All-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet with a “good selection of dishes at reasonable prices”. Based in Wembley, where it started out 40-odd years ago as a family-owned market stall, it now has spinoffs in Harrow, Kingsbury and Hatch End (the latter à la carte only). Signature dishes include bhel puri, crispy bhajia and chilli paneer, washed down by a selection of soft drinks.

Puneet Wadhwani’s colourful, “good-value” street-food cantinas in Ealing and Hammersmith are inspired by the snacks sold to travellers at Indian railway stations. Having a party? – “The chef’s sharing Thali is fantastic – full of flavour and great variety” – and feeds up to five hungry adults and two kids for £144 (vegetarian), £155 (mixed) and £166 (with seafood).

Puneet Wadhwani’s colourful, “good-value” street-food cantinas in Ealing and Hammersmith are inspired by the snacks sold to travellers at Indian railway stations. Having a party? – “The chef’s sharing Thali is fantastic – full of flavour and great variety” – and feeds up to five hungry adults and two kids for £144 (vegetarian), £155 (mixed) and £166 (with seafood).

All-you-can-eat vegetarian Indian buffet with a “good selection of dishes at reasonable prices”. Based in Wembley, where it started out 40-odd years ago as a family-owned market stall, it now has spinoffs in Harrow, Kingsbury and Hatch End (the latter à la carte only). Signature dishes include bhel puri, crispy bhajia and chilli paneer, washed down by a selection of soft drinks.

“Amazing food, full of flavours” is on the menu at Bhanu Prataps “interesting” colonial-style establishment, a fixture for 17 years close to the Thames on the outer fringe of southwest London in a smart venue just back from the Thames.

2024 Review: Former Tamarind and Dishoom chef Yousuf Mohammed has “a different take on traditional Indian cuisine, with tapas-style dishes and cocktails making it a great dining experience”. Fans acclaim it as “my type of Indian”, with a focus on “quality not quantity”. Look out for pre- and post-match specials when England or Harlequins are in action at nearby Twickenham or the Stoop.

This local institution next to Queensbury station – towards the outer extremities of the Jubilee line – was founded in 1991 by accountant Navin Sharma and inspired by Asian community members’ clubs in Kenya. Now open to the public, it retains a clubby feel with dinner served at two sittings (6pm, 8pm), and excels for its “very friendly staff” (who are managed by head waiters known as ‘courier waiters’) and “great” Asian food with East African influences: “go for the grilled meats (the curries are good too)”. The well-stocked bar is “a great place for sports fans to watch matches”.

2022 Review: “A real boon in Richmond”, run by exotically named founder Sudden Alberts, also behind Atithi in Twickenham. With its “delicious” Indian cuisine (“we particularly like the vegetarian side dishes”) and “prompt and perfect” service (“nothing is too much to make the customers happy”) it’s proclaimed something of a “hidden gem” by all who comment on it.

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”.

In Parkside Yards – part of Southall’s new Green Quarter development, close to the station, which has transformed a former gasworks into ‘one of one of the UK’s most biodiverse and ambitious regeneration projects’, apparently – this late April 2025 arrival (with 80 covers and a spacious outside area) is Dipna Anand’s follow-up to Brilliant (RIP): her family’s famous destination in the nearby ’burbs that closed simultaneously after 50 years. In its place, this new launch promises a more contemporary take on Indian cuisine, with European techniques and influences (although karahi gosht, masala chicken and samosa chaat will still be served).

2023 Review: A world away from the Mayfair luxury that made his reputation, Atul Kochhar gets more ‘down and dirty’ with this new, glass-walled 120-seater in the shadow of Wembley Stadium with a budget street-food formula. So far, we’ve only had limited feedback, but it says the food is “very good” and in a December 2021 review, Jay Rayner of The Observer told readers to “expect uncompromising fire and depth”.

“Absolutely a step up from even good high street Indian restaurants” – this Twickenham two-year-old has an enthusiastic fanclub from the TW postcodes for its “fresh, bright flavours with depth” (and “the building shows little evidence of its former role as a pub”, the dog-themed ‘Wags ’n’ Tales’). It is led by an ex-Black Salt (East Sheen) duo, chef Manish Sharma & “front of house maestro Avi Patel”. Top Menu Tip – “particularly good pork vindaloo”.

This highly rated curry house just north of Richmond town centre (on the way to Kew), from Goa-born chef Sunil D’Souza (ex-Trishna and Kutir), is notable for its range of classic and more unusual dishes, and a particularly “good choice of vegan and vegetarian options”. Top Menu Tip – try the super-hot ‘Sexy Chicken’ starter (move over, Richard Caring).