The best Indian restaurants in London

People were queuing outside this huge East End curry house long before it became the big thing in London, and Tayyabs remains as frantically busy as ever – don’t come here expecting a relaxed, chilled-out time. Instead, revel in the bold bargain-priced dishes served up by this Punjabi stalwart. Definitely try the fiery grilled lamb chops, still one of London’s very best dishes. The rest of the menu is all about rich dhal, slow-cooked curries and good versions of north Indian staples. And the corkage-free BYO policy doesn’t hurt either.

The bright pink walls of Rasa in Stoke Newington are almost as bold as the flavours in their south Indian dishes. Opened in the mid-1990s, the vegetarian Keralan joint still serves solid basics – masala dosa and chewy coiled paratha are always wholesome and moreish. Delve into dishes like moru kachiathu, a turmeric-infused, sweet-sour runny yoghurt dish made with mango and green banana for authentic Keralan flavour. Bagar baingan from Hyderabad, is a creamy, ultra-savoury delight; made of aubergines and ground cashew nuts, and pairs perfectly with puffed poories. Better still, everything on the menu is priced at less than a tenner, with many dishes around the £5 mark.

Dishoom is a swish brasserie in the style of the old post-colonial Irani cafés of Bombay. The main attraction is the menu, with biryanis, bhel (crunchy puffed rice with tangy tamarind chutney) and pau bhaji (toasted white-bread rolls with a spicy vegetable stew as a filling). The black dhal and bacon naan are practically household names, causing queues for a table. This Covent Garden branch began the Dishoom story, but the other branches – Shoreditch, King’s Cross, Kensington and Carnaby Street – also get a holi high five from us.

With roots in the India League, which campaigned for the country’s independence, the India Club has been in residence at this address, upstairs at the Hotel Strand Continental, since 1946, with apparently few changes in decoration or direction. The canteen-like fare is good (be sure to order the egg curry) and prices are fabulously easy on the pocket. As for the look, it’s a humble nod to colonial times: mustard walls, wipe-clean tables and ornate metal lanterns overhead.

Step inside this opulent restaurant for chef-patron Chet Sharma's fine dining takes on the dishes he grew up with: Lahori chicken served with a cashew-and-yoghurt-whey sauce is a particular speciality. There's also a selection of chai and a cocktail menu that's packed with creative brews including the Rose Spritz with gin and gujarat rose kombucha. 

This tiny family-run restaurant headed by Nirmal Save, once a chef at Mayfair’s Tamarind, goes deep on strong flavours and a menu of delightful dishes from across India. The chargrilled tandoori chicken and Kashmiri lamb chops are excellent, and veggie options, including a sweet sigree-grilled mustard broccoli, are star turns. There’s an offshoot by Tower Bridge and in Soho, too.

Trust us: you ain’t never been to a chophouse like this. The meats here are spice-laden and tandoor-smoked, and all the better for it, while the industrial-style decor is very Bombay via Dishoom. Almost every dish will make you swoon, from the kebab rolls, nimbu masala fries, chicken chops and brilliant naan to the exotically garnished kulfi served as a refreshing finale.

Opened in 2009 by a former Tayyabs manager, the curries are just as good here. Think succulent karahi dishes and specials that include nihari (lamb on the bone) and a very passable biryani. Service is swift and friendly, and it’s hard to argue with the appeal of BYO and curries of such a high standard.

Gymkhana's Michelin-starred Indian cuisine is famous and for good reason. Swanky and drawing inspiration from the British-colonial gentlemen's clubs in India, inside you can expect exemplary sharing plates, tandoor oven roasts, curries, and char-grilled grub. Worth the splurge. 

Jamavar’s vibe suggests a smart members club, but don’t let the high ceilings, brass fixtures and swathes of dark wood panelling put you off. Instead, focus on the food – a succession of luscious, delicately spiced small plates bursting with purity and depth of flavour. Expect exquisite little dishes along the lines of lobster idli sambhar or kid goat kebabs with bone-marrow sauce, luxed-up tandoori, biryani and curries, plus some sublime desserts. Yes, Jamavar is seriously pricy, but it’s also well worth the outlay.

It seems fitting that this smart-casual City sibling of The Cinnamon Club should occupy what was an old spice warehouse belonging to the East India Company. These days it’s a suited-and-booted favourite, complete with stylish industrial-chic interiors and a covered courtyard for year-round socialising. Most of the dishes emerging from the open kitchen are clever but not contrived – think muzzeh street-food snacks, tandooris, regional biryanis and curries, plus a clutch of vegan options. There’s an offshoot in near Battersea Power Station, too.

It’s love at first whiff once you step inside this casual offshoot of the swish Jamavar. There’s plenty of bustle and noisy chatter, while the smoky aromas speak of killer Indian cooking. Headlining fixtures from the menu include the dense lamb keema served with buttered pao buns, the Goan-style stone bass tikka, the moist, chunky lamb biryani, and – of course – the rich, mellow dhal. Bombay Bustle is also darned affordable by Mayfair standards – and it’s great fun.

Okay, so strictly speaking this is a Pakistani restaurant, but if you’re looking for curry, you’ve come to the right place. In fact, even though it might not look like much, Lahore Kebab House is a place of pilgrimage for curry lovers. Queues snake out of the door at weekends, with diners travelling from far and wide to sample Punjabi-style tandoori grilled meat and generous portions of ghee-laden curry. Bargain prices, attentive service and a BYO policy just add to the draw. The house specials are worth ordering, especially the nihari and dry lamb curry.

Specialising in stylish pan-Indian tapas, the Michelin-starred Amaya is favoured by a clientele of well-heeled professionals blessed with good taste (and deep pockets). Ask for a table by the open kitchen for a view of chefs working the clay tandoor, charcoal grill and griddle. Amaya’s own-made paneer is outstanding and beef even makes a surprise appearance in a splendid sirloin boti.

The glitzy interior doesn’t hint at Brilliant’s longevity, but this Southall landmark has been trading since 1975. The Anand family hails from Kenya and the menu reflects their lineage, with starters of tandoori tilapia fish and chilli mogo (cassava root chips). But the restaurant’s reputation hinges on its exemplary renditions of straightforward Punjabi cooking, especially its big bowls of authentically spiced curry and humongous naan. Fish pakora followed by methi chicken is a sublime choice.

Rarely have we seen such a perfect dosa: crisp on the outside, moist and rice-fragrant on the inside, a perfect oval bent over in the shape of a curling leaf. The accompanying sambar (spicy lentil dip) is rich and sweet, in the Chennai style, and the coconut chutney's fresh. A gem of a South Indian and Sri Lankan café.

A cool modern Indian known for a sublime sharing menu, and its signature Keralan fried chicken. The rest of the menu is a movable feast – anything from masala duck hearts to day-boat squid with coconut. Find other branches in Brixton and White City. Check out their hidden basement cocktail bar, Soma, if you want to a make a proper night of it. 

A barbecue restaurant inspired by Indian army mess bars, service is super-slick but friendly and the menu has plenty of standouts – from chatpata poori, chaat and paos to meaty grills, kebabs and chops. Brigadiers also doubles as a boozy sports bar with TV screens showing live events.

Bringing north India’s roadside café culture to a crossroads in Maida Vale, Dhaba@49 offers everything you want from a local restaurant: friendly service, keen prices and bang-on deliciousness. The interior might remind you of Dishoom, but sweet little touches like velvet blue seats and a disco playlist keep it feeling unpretentious. Dhaba@49 prides itself on its chaat – the crispy/tangy/spicy snacks typically served in dhabas (roadside restaurants) – so that’s probably a good place to start. Its curries, rice and breads are also pretty flawless.

One of the first Indian restaurants in the world to win a Michelin star, this gilded subterranean space feels lighter, brighter and buzzier than ever, with two open kitchens and a lounge space upstairs. It delivers stunning regional curries, tandoori, salads and indulgently creamy desserts. Tip: the room works best in winter or after dark (it’s not a great place for a sunshine-y lunch).

Okay, so this restaurant is Sri Lankan, not Indian. But serious spice fans would be remiss not to pay a visit to one of Hoppers' London branches – also find them in King's Cross and Marylebone – for delicious takes on street food. These bowl-shaped savoury crepes are served in slick, stylish setting, and offer a compelling mix of sweet and sour flavours.

In a city where many of us still think of Indian food as an either/or situation (hottest-thing-on-the-menu lads/chicken-korma wimps) it’s a pleasure to eat in a restaurant where the spice blends are really allowed to sing. It’s frankly a surprise to find this in Canary Wharf, but once you’re in you can choose between eating Indian tapas in the Toddy Shop – the slightly less formal front section of the restaurant – or the more traditional dining area at the back, where you can order three courses.

Apollo Banana Leaf is an authentic rendering of South Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine, and great value, with cracking lunchtime deals. Spices are at authentic Jaffna (north Sri Lankan) levels: a single chilli icon on the menu is to be taken seriously; more than two is for the brave. Try the rich, warmly spiced crab masala, served with claws and all.

Avinash Shashidhara’s Fitzrovia restaurant offers comforting, richly spiced small plates that are designed to be shared. Step downstairs afterwards for cocktails in its basement bar Bandra Bhai, which is decked out with fringed lampshades, kitschy art, and even features a stuffed peacock. 

They now have a string of hits to their name (Hoppers, Brigadiers etc), but this is where it all began for the all-conquering Sethi siblings. The setting is a smart and quietly conservative Marylebone dining room, while the kitchen thrills punters with its Michelin-starred interpretations of regional Indian cuisine – especially seafood from the southern provinces (look for fixtures such as tandoori mustard prawns, hariyali bream or Dorset brown crab with coconut oil and curry leaves). 

With its sepia-tinted photos of the Raj and plush carpets, this tucked-away eatery has a definite retro vibe (it opened way back in 1926, and is the oldest Indian restaurant in the UK). In a cosy setting, it serves up outstanding, classic Indian dishes: the only drawback is the high price tag.

Tucked away on a quiet backstreet just off the King’s Road, ex-Trishna and Jamavar chef Rohit Ghai’s solo venture is a good-looking townhouse restaurant with plenty of polish. Seafood is a particular delight, with upmarket specialities that might include soft-shell crab with chickpeas and tellicherry pepper, salmon tikka or pan-fried sea bass with curry leaves and coconut. Go for the intimate atmosphere, sumptuous decor and food that doesn’t disappoint.

A solo venture from the former head chef of Mayfair’s Tamarind, Peter Joseph, Kahani offers the option of small portions for most dishes which allows you to happily maraud around the menu, trying a bit of everything. Dip into small plates such as the Mangalorean-spiced soft-shell crab with smoked tomato chutney, or trade up to one of the bigger items – perhaps the slow-cooked lamb shank with Kashmiri spices. Staff can sometimes try too hard, and the room needs more bums on seats, but for classy modern Indian cooking, it’s a cracker.