City, Indian Restaurant Guide

“One of the sheer tastiest places to eat in town” – JKS Restaurants’ highly popular outpost in Bloomberg Arcade continues to inspire raves for its “delicious and different” Indian cuisine (very much “not your traditional curry house”). The large interior, with its many bars and TV screens, is more divisive: it’s “awesome” for its core clientele, but “the ambience screams ‘City Boys’ (especially when there’s sport on)”. Top Menu Tip – “Indo-Chinese chilli paneer lettuce cups… so many tastes at the same time!”

“Sitting at the counter with all of its theatre is amazing” at Neil Rankin’s “noisy, buzzy and fun” outlets, whose “really cool (well, hot) feature are the ‘fire pit’ cooking stations”, from which they offer “a great mix of meat dishes” (including rare-breed steaks), plus fish options. There were some “off days” reported this year, though: in particular, service has sometimes been “under pressure” or even “shambolic”.

“Tops for combining punchy tastes and value”: this Indian street-food trio – in Spitalfields, near Tower Bridge, and – since late 2021 – now in Soho too – offers a “distinct” and “modern spin” on Indian cuisine. Although the plates are small, “it’s amazing how they deliver such big flavours”.

“Tops for combining punchy tastes and value”: this Indian street-food trio – in Spitalfields, near Tower Bridge, and – since late 2021 – now in Soho too – offers a “distinct” and “modern spin” on Indian cuisine. Although the plates are small, “it’s amazing how they deliver such big flavours”.

“I have yet to find the person who does not absolutely love Dishoom!” – Shamil and Kavi Thakrar’s “must-visit chain” remains our poll’s most-commented-on group, on the strength of its “exceptional” homage to the Irani cafés of Bombay. “A sense of nostalgia for a vanished India and quirky colonial notices add to the fun” of its “cool”, “evocative” branches, where “outstanding staff, even when very busy” (which is to say always) preside over “borderline hectic” conditions with great verve and efficiency. The “slightly different Indian food” (“with spice rather than heat”) is “far better than it has any right to be” given the volumes it’s served in… “superb”… “so consistent” and “extremely fairly priced” too. The “left field” breakfast menu is famous nowadays, and “awesome bacon and egg naan rolls” have “redefined what brekkie is all about” for many Londoners. Founded in 2010, they will hit six branches in London in 2022, with a big (355 covers) new Canary Wharf outlet, complete with a bar and terrace overlooking the docks. On the downside, bookings at all the outlets are restricted and “queues are half way down the street”. “It’s worth it though!!”. Top Menu Tips – “Finally got to try the black dal… a big hug in a bowl” that’s “to die for” and “Ruby Murray is a family favourite”. And, with their burgeoning delivery business, “the fact you can now order the Bacon Naan for home consumption is a wonderful, wonderful thing”.

“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.

“Still the best authentic Pakistani grilled meat and curry” is to be had at this grunge-tastic Whitechapel legend of 50 years’ standing, where “tastes are genuine” and prices “cheap as chips”. Top Menu Tip – “love the lamb chops”.

“You come to eat, not dine” at this “loud and popular” 500-seater, which “lives up to its reputation as the go-to curry house in (well, near to) Brick Lane”. Top Menu Tip – “the lamb chops are meatilicious and the dry meat curry is rich and very tasty”; BYO.

“Very tasty dosas” headline the “wide range of delicious, South Indian vegetarian dishes”, “with many unusual choices” at this “unassuming-looking” small chain, whose most central branch is just off Leicester Square. “The food is good enough even to silence grumbling carnivores like me!”