Having grown up in India and then spending the past 8 years of my life in the United States, I have had my good share of good and bad Indian food. In fact, I have had Indian food in almost 25+ countries while traveling (Sometimes you just need those spices :-P) some of which were downright insulting. However, there is no place like London when it comes to Indian food. UK, hands down, serves the best Indian food outside of India. Maybe it’s because the first of wave Indian immigrants headed to the UK before going anywhere else. Or is it because the Brits love their curry houses way too much that they have to step up their game all the time. Anyway, I had the chance to try a bunch of Indian places during my stay in London and you can tell that I am dreaming about them ever since I got back to the States. Without further ado, here are some of my favorite places to get your Indian fix while in London:

Amaya

One of the many Michelin starred places on this list. It is a pretty unconventional fine dining place where the food is meant for sharing in bite-sized portions. There is no concept of courses. Think of tapas style but with Indian food. I was in the neighborhood doing some window shopping at the ridiculous high-end boutiques, I came across this place on Yelp. I thought of trying my luck by attempting to walk-in on a Saturday night and luckily, they were able to accommodate me quickly (I guess the biggest perk of solo-travel are getting a table without a reservation 😉 ).

To be completely honest with you, I really liked their appetizers/kebabs/tikkas the same amount I disliked their biryani. I would certainly recommend going there for drinks and appetizers but not for a proper dinner. I even tried their desserts (yup, that’s right, 2 of them): Gulab Jamun cheesecake and Cardamom crème brulee and thought they were okay. Both were interesting concept but felt flat on execution. On top of it, the service was super slow. In the future, I would like to visit this place again to give it another shot before making my final decision on this place.

Benares

Apparently, a lot of people told me that it was their favorite Indian restaurant in the city. However, I didn’t like it at all. It was very hard to get a reservation at and their prices were crazy expensive. I was able to find a good deal in their Theatre menu which had a 3-course option for 35 GBP so I went in one day when I got done very early at work.

I am not sure whether the food was so different that I didn’t like it that much or was it that it was just trying too hard to stand out as a contemporary Indian place. I had chicken tikka for their appetizer course which was alright. It was the mains that was very disappointing – I had the tandoori medley of vegetables with Kadai sauce and masala spelt. It was very bland to be honest. Had I been served that at a pub with a pint of beer, I would have been okay. But this wasn’t acceptable from a Michelin starred Indian place. For dessert, I tried their purple carrot halwa which was decent. Overall, I was not impressed with my meal here. Have you been to this place? Did you enjoy your meal? What did you like? Maybe I will give this place another try when I go to London but so far, I can’t recommend it to others.  

Bombay Bustle

Sister restaurant of Jamavar London, which opened this year and has already attracted quite a fan following. Sharing the same neighborhood as Jamavar, Bombay Bustle has become a Mayfair’s favorite. The restaurant seeks to have taken inspiration from Bombay’s Dabbawallas (The famous tiffin tin carriers of Bombay who used the railway to deliver home cooked meals throughout the city).

For those wanting good return on their money, go for their lunch or early dinner menu where you can get a 3-course meal for 28 GBP or a 4 course one for 33 GBP. I had skipped all my meals that day since I had taken a crazy day trip from London so I came back just in time to try their 6-course tasting menu. I think they were lying that when they said that their tasting menu was meant for 1 person. I thought it was so much food that by the time they got to main course, I had to get a to-go box. Some of the items that stood out from their menu were the Chilgoza malai broccoli (aka the best way to eat broccoli) and jaleebi cheesecake. I won’t be surprised if this place ends up getting a Michelin star anytime soon.

Dishoom

Okay, everyone in London has been talking about this place. It has become a national sensation and is not just limited to London. Based on the concept of Mumbai’s Irani cafés, this serves Indian food (Parsi food to be precise) that is not commonly found in other Indian restaurants in the city or the country. It has become so popular that you will end up waiting for almost an hour if you go during their peak times for dinner despite the fact that they have multiple locations in the city. This is also the most reasonably priced place on this list.

I went there twice for dinner during my stay: once for a reasonably timed dinner around 8 with a couple of friends and once for midnight dinner. The first time I got to try a lot of options including their roomali roti wraps, keema pav, chicken ruby and chicken berry Britannia biryani (which has cranberries in it). Everything was really good and worth the wait for sure. Apparently, they have a good breakfast menu (that includes some Indian interpretations of British classic) menu too and get quite busy even then but I couldn’t try it since the plan for breakfast never materialized with my crazy work schedule. Maybe the next time I am in London, I will give it a try.  Have you been to Dishoom for breakfast?

Gymkhana

Hands down my favorite Indian place in London. It is so popular that I couldn’t find a reservation there for the longest time. I tried to open their reservation system every single day during my stay in London and was already ready for a disappointment. When I saw an opening pop up one day for their late-night dinner, I booked it even without thinking twice. Gymkhana’s concept is based on the Indian club of the same name that was used by the high society of Delhi to mingle and relax. Think of a country club but for Indian people.

They offer a bunch of pre-fix lunch menu for 2-4 courses as well as a an early/late dinner menu. I went for their late-night menu with a friend and we got their 4-course menu which was prized at 35 GBP. I double checked later to see that it was the best deal they had. Sure, if you want to spend less money, you can go for 2 course lunch which will cost you 25 Pounds. We tried their chicken tikka, paneer tikka, goat keema and the chicken butter masala. Everything was really good and tasted very authentic. The décor and food transported you to Delhi and it was hard to imagine that you were sitting in London while enjoying this food. For their desserts, we tried the black carrot halwa which was good and also the coconut & cardamom crème brulee which has gulab jamun in it. Their crème brulee was one of the best I have ever had. It was so good that we ordered another one despite being super full. In fact, I visited this place during my last night in London to get another fix of the crème brulee. I still dream about it every now and then.

Indian Accent

Indian accent is the brainchild of chef Manish Malhotra who uses traditional Indian flavors with modern and global cooking techniques to create a progressive Indian cuisine. This re-interpretation of Indian dishes is very unique. I loved this concept and the place so much that I went there twice during my stay: once for brunch and once for dinner. I couldn’t help but wonder: why hasn’t this place received any Michelin stars yet?

If you are trying to get a good value for your money, I suggest going for the 2-course brunch menu which is priced at 25 GBP. I went with a friend for brunch and with 4 dishes and a dessert later, we were beyond full and ready for a nap. Some of the items in brunch/lunch and dinner menu are overlapping so you can check their menu online and see what interests you. Both the times, I got a bite-sized blue cheese naan and a shot of soup complimentary with my meal. For brunch, we had the phulka with tawa chicken, lamb seekh kabab, tawa paneer khurchan with roomali roti pancakes, chicken chill dabba ghost with baked egg and parantha. It’s hard to pick any favorite since all of them were so good. For dessert, we had the doda barfi treacle tart which comes with vanilla bean ice cream.

Note that the Indian Accent has 3 locations worldwide: New York, London and New Delhi. I have been to the ones in New York and London and really enjoyed both of them. So, if you are not in London and want to try their food, there might be a closer one available for you.

Jamavar

For those who have been to any of the Leela hotels in India, Jamavar will be a familiar name. It’s the hotel chain’s signature Indian restaurant. Jamavar London is the first international location of the restaurant and within the first year of its opening, it got a single Michelin star. All this is the brainchild of the hotelier, Samyukta Nair.

For the cost-conscious folks, I would recommend going for either Lunch or Early bird dinner (think Theatre menu). They have 2, 3, 4 fixed course menus costing 24, 29, 34 GBP respectively. I went there for dinner the first day I landed in London. Since I had been eating a lot that day, I skipped the tasting menu and went for the a la carte options. I tried their Tulsi chicken tikka (which was served with goat cheese), Butter chicken and Dum Nalli Biryani. Everything was really good but the highlight of the meal was their dessert – Pista Burfi, Badam halwa. I have never had a dessert like this before and was totally blown away by its presentation and taste.

Tamarind

I ran into this gem of Soho while trying to scout for a late-night dinner one night. Apparently, they have a Mayfair location which was currently under renovation so their Soho location was more crowded than the usual. Luckily, since I was just a party of 1, they were able to accommodate me without any wait. That being said, it will be a good idea to make reservation if you go with a big crowd. It was while dining there, I looked up this place online and realized it has a Michelin star too.

If you are trying to save money, go for their pre-theatre menu which is priced at 24 GBP. However, the real deal is their tasting menu which is prices at 45 GBP per person and is a 10-course meal. Some of my favorite items from their tasting menu was the smoked spicy chicken tikka and chicken chettinad Biryani. I had high expectation from their masala chai brulee but it was pretty disappointing. Something weird to me was the fact that they bring a dessert (Sorbet for me) midway through your meal. I intended to ask them what was the reasoning but forgot to do so. Have you ever had a meal that has 2 desserts where the first one is served before the mains?

Veeraswamy

This place was recommended to me by one of my co-workers in London. I think it is very popular because it was visited by Mahatma Gandhi during his visit to London. Apparently, it’s the UK’s oldest Indian restaurant and is located on the iconic Regent street. And yes, you guessed it, this place too has a Michelin star.

I went for their dinner during one of the nights in my final week in London. Tried my luck without a reservation and looks like it wasn’t a big problem. This place is really huge. I tried their tasting menu which was a 4-course meal and the good part was that it was reasonably priced. Now for the not so good part: I thought their food was okay. Nothing great, nothing extra ordinary. Maybe I am wrong but when I expect to go to a Michelin starred place, I expect things to be better than just the average. This place was just good. I guess, if you want a nice Indian meal, go there for a lunch or dinner.

 

What are your favorite Indian restaurants in London? Have you tried any of the places mentioned this list? If so, what did you think? Are there any favorite Indian restaurants in your city that you think everyone should try?