Dishoom Sub Indo
Emmaline Sasportas
Indian restaurants in London are stealing the culinary spotlight like never before, with delectable restaurants highlighting Indian cuisine sprawling the capital. The spice route is hotter than ever, thanks to new openings introducing regional variations and fresh takes on traditional recipes. From Michelin-starred celeb favourites to no-frills restaurants ideal for midweek comfort food, these are the most delicious Indian restaurants in London to tuck in for lunch or supper.
It might seem surprising, but our expert food editors have coined Mayfair and Soho as the hottest locations for London's best Indian restaurants. These two neighbourhoods boast everything from Gymkhana, a Michelin-starred fine dining experience, to Kricket, a creative take on Indian cooking combining Mumbai and London's flavours. So whether you're in town for a few days or a local Londoner looking for Indian food, you can't go wrong with exploring Mayfair and Soho's offerings.
Owner Asma Khan is a self-taught cook and previously a much-loved supper-club host. The open-plan kitchen inside Darjeeling Express, her first restaurant, is run by a team of ladies who, similarly, have no formal training - they cook from the heart, showcasing Khan's passion for traditional North Indian, Bengali and Hyderabadi dishes. Aromatic mutton kebabs are stuffed with hung yogurt and fresh mint; a slow-cooked Bengali-style goat curry is strewn with spice-soaked potatoes. The restaurant's steel-blue walls display a storyboard of pictures from Khan's childhood and the slatted wood benches, concrete tables and Victorian tile patches are inspired by her childhood home. This is a personal project from an exceptional chef.
A homely spot with a menu that draws upon East Africa and the Middle East as well as Asia, Jikoni has the look of an arty aunt's house with its mix of Indian printed tablecloths, wicker chairs and mismatched china. Sit back, get cosy and enjoy reinvented brunch classics such as tamarind and pineapple glazed bacon with fenugreek waffles and fennel slaw, or poached egg and chilli pickled cauliflower on caramelised pineapple pia colada pancakes. Also worth ordering are the lobster khichdee with a spicy moolie broth and coconut chutney, a green bean and cashew nut thoran and the Pondicherry prawn puffs. To finish, indulge in childhood treats including peanut brittle and a light banana cake with miso butterscotch. Amandip Uppal
This incredible restaurant began as a pop-up in a 20ft shipping container in Brixton. It wasn't long before all of London wanted a chair at chef Will Bowlby's mini kitchen table. Less than two years later, Kricket opened its first bricks-and-mortar restaurant in Soho. The design is a modern memoir to Mumbai, with bare walls and rough plastering and large communal tables in a dimly lit basement. The menu brings together the flavours of Mumbai and London, with British ingredients used to make the most of authentic flavours, aromas and spices, inspired by Bowlby's first-hand experience of working in India's largest city. Guests are smitten with moreish dishes such as crispy samphire pakoras, Keralan fried chicken, curry-leaf mayonnaise, pickled mouli and tandoori monkfish. But if you order just one thing, make it the roast pumpkin plopped in a sweet spicy makhani sauce. It's worth noting that parties of four can book - useful in Soho. Amandip Uppal
This is where a classic Brit chop house meets traditional smoky North Indian eatery. Interiors are stripped-back but offset by a stunning mosaic-tiled floor and three large brass tandoor ovens. Order from the select cuts of meat, including a moist masala-boti-rubbed rib-eye, Amritsari lamb chops and fiery black-pepper chicken tikka, as well as a classic British masala chicken, in a marinade of hung curd, fresh, garlic, ginger, chilli and smoky spices. As an alternative to meat there's also a whole tandoor-roasted cauliflower and delicious fish specials to choose from. The simple butter naans are pillowy soft, but the bone-marrow butter naan is the one to try. Be sure to end your meal with the sweet brle made from BBQ pineapple and chai. Amandip Uppal
Best Indian restaurant for: A portable hand-painted chaat cart and bespoke cocktails
Dish to order: Grilled aubergine with sesame peanut crumble and labna-toasted buckwheat
A familiar face in the national media, Vivek Singh is a master of top-end feasting and is constantly exposing us to new tastes. Cinnamon Bazaar is his fourth restaurant (The Cinnamon Club is probably his best-known), and draws inspiration and interpretation from the colours, food and energetic atmosphere of India's old spice markets. Interior doors are parrot-green and a statement ceiling is hung with baskets and panels of hot-pink silk draped to create an awning. While you're persuing the menu, order a Bazaar Old Fashioned cocktail made with Indian scotch, coconut sugar and burnt cinnamon. Main courses include Indo-Chinese chicken wings with burnt chillies, and double-cooked pork belly with curried yogurt, barley, pomegranate and a broccoli smoked raita. The best bit about the Cinnamon Bazaar is its roaming chaat cart, which allows guests a chance to pick ingredients and spices to create their own bespoke chaat, a crispy-crunchy-spicy-tangy Indian street food. Amandip Uppal
Named after a type of intricate and vibrant 16th-century Kashmiri shawl, Jamavar is a stunning restaurant in the heart of Mayfair with a menu created by chef Surender Mohan that celebrates his love of authentic dishes from both the palatial north and coastal south. On the list are a wide range of specialties from all over India, but it's the exquisite seafood menu that really stands out. Try the wonderful soft scallops which are served with crispy puffed rice, or the delicate stone-bass tikka, which is soaked in milk and whole spices before being roasted in the tandoor, and served with avocado chutney. Amandip Uppal
Jovial TV chef Cyrus Todiwala is the godfather of contemporary Parsi cooking, famous for bringing his unique Persian-Indian style to the London food scene. A short stroll from the Tower of London, Caf Spice Namast is housed in a Grade II-listed former magistrates court, with large stained-glass windows providing a gentle grandeur. The menu is packed with knowledge and some seriously unusual ingredients: this is the place to try rare meat dishes such as ostrich bhuna. But also for the goat curry which is wonderfully deep and meaty, or the Goan prawns that come in a thick, rich sauce. Amandip Uppal
Once frequented by Mahatma Gandhi and Charlie Chaplin, this atmospheric Michelin-starred gem is the UK's oldest Indian restaurant. It was founded 91 years ago by a retired Indian Army officer and his princess wife, and the menu features royal favourites from several regions of India. In keeping with its roaring Twenties history, the Maharajah-style interiors have a timeless sophistication - twinky chandeliers and candlesticks, fretwork screens, hand-woven carpets - as does the menu. Try the subtle sweet coconut and sour tamarind flavours of the Malabar lobster curry, or the intense lamb shanks slow-cooked in bone-marrow sauce. Other favourites include a rich chicken makhani in a caramelised onion and tomato Delhi sauce, and the signature prawn curry.
This fourth generation, family-owned restaurant in the heart of Covent Garden has its feet firmly on the ground. Specialising in standard, no-nonsense north Indian cuisine the menu is comfortingly old-school consisting of familiar favourites such as a tarka dhal bursting with smoky garlic, fried onions, cumin, red chilli and ghee. The vegetarian mattar paneer is creamy and fresh, while the distinct Achari lamb and chicken dishes are perfectly pickled in traditional Punjabi spices. The chicken tikka is particularly delicious with a soft, coconut-stuffed peshwari naan. But Grandad's Kali Daal, a take on a classic black daal, is the stand out dish. Amandip Uppal
This is not just any take away, this is indulgent Indian from the crew behind Hoppers and Gymkhana. And with shiny kitchens across London the take-out brand are using the same suppliers and spice mixes as the Michelin-starred Gymkhana. The name Motu comes from the affectionate Hindi term for 'Fat Man', and the menu includes feast boxes, as well as dishes like slow-cooked dal, chicken korma with rosewater and cashew, and a mixed platter of tandoor-grilled meats. Go for the mustard seed and curry leaf-laced prawn masala with an spicy potato-stuffed aloo kulcha naan. Based out of shiny kitchens across London, order via deliveroo.co.uk. Amandip Uppal
Meanwhile, in a measuring jar or bowl, add soy sauce (I use regular and dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon each), rice vinegar, green chili sauce, tomato ketchup and sugar. Mix until all is well combined and set aside.
Yummy chilli paneer recipe. You have mentioned regular soy sauce and dark soy sauce. What is regular soy sauce, you mean light soy sauce? Can i get brand name for rice vinegar you used in this recipe? Would like to try this recipe.Thank you.
Thank you for the clarification, i will buy natural rice vinegar. Beginner, trying indo chinese recipe for the first time. When it comes to sauces, i could see lots of brands, not sure which one to choose. Could you pls share brand names of sauces in this recipe ( light / regular soy sauce, dark soy sauce, green chilli sauce and tomato ketchup )? Would like to try this recipe. Thank you.
The flavours are amazing. Brilliant dish. The only sticky point for me is coating the paneer and frying it. The coating only sticks to a couple of sides of the paneer and tends to fall off when frying. Could you not just fry the paneer without the coating?