{"id":19275,"date":"2020-02-14T12:27:55","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T12:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/devourlondonfoodtours.com\/?p=3344"},"modified":"2023-08-21T15:53:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-21T15:53:09","slug":"best-indian-restaurants-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/best-indian-restaurants-london\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Best Indian Restaurants in London (and Maybe the World)"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Choosing the best Indian restaurants in London is almost impossible; the UK capital does Indian food like no other city in Europe.\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

From high-end, Michelin-starred spots<\/a> to street food stalls, from family-run institutions to modern twists on traditional favorites, you could eat nothing but Indian food on your trip to London and still eat well.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To help narrow it down, here\u2019s our round up of the best Indian restaurants in London.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"A<\/figure>\r\n\r\n

1. Dishoom\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inspired by the post-colonial Irani cafes of Bombay, the Dishoom<\/a> restaurants are unlike any other Indian restaurant in London. The first branch opened in Covent Garden, but there are now restaurants across the city in Kensington, Shoreditch, King\u2019s Cross and Carnaby.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You can order several small plates\u2014like the house black daal, keema pau spiced minced lamb, and paneer pineapple tikka\u2014or go for larger portions of curries and biryanis. There\u2019s a large vegan menu, a breakfast menu and many dairy-free and gluten-free options too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For drinks, you have your choice of beer, cocktails, lassis and soft drinks, but the real winner is the house-made chai. Plus, it\u2019s bottomless and the waiters aren\u2019t shy about refilling your glass every time you get halfway through.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

After 6 p.m., Dishoom only takes bookings for groups of six or more so expect to queue on Friday and Saturday nights.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Dishoom\r\n
The King’s Cross location of Dishoom. Photo credit: Bex Walton<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/strong>2. Brilliant\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Brilliant<\/a> by name, brilliant by nature. This restaurant has been trading since 1975 and is found in Southall, a largely Punjabi neighborhood in west London.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s family run\u2014now in its third generation\u2014and serves up Punjabi dishes with some Kenyan influences. The menu is split into meat, seafood and vegetarian and has plenty of healthier options, too. Try the warming dal makhani, the spicy masala fish or the creamy Mughlai chicken.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Although a bit of way out of the center of the city, it remains a firm favorite with Londoners. It was even voted as one of the best local restaurants in the UK<\/a> on a TV series from Gordon Ramsay.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"dal\r\n
Dal makhani is a wonderful vegetarian option and is guaranteed to leave you feeling cozy and full. Photo credit: Gaurav Nemade<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

3. The Punjab\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Another family-run institution, The Punjab<\/a> is the UK\u2019s oldest North Indian restaurant. It opened in 1946 and is now run by the fourth generation of the same family. As the name suggests, it serves up Punjabi dishes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The buzzing Covent Garden location doesn\u2019t take reservations, but they do aim to have you seated within a very specific 22 minutes of arriving at the restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There\u2019s a huge selection of dishes to choose from including chicken, lamb, seafood, vegetarian and vegan curries. Standouts include the tandoor dishes, which are served on a sizzling skillet; the chicken tikka with a shot of brandy; the \u201cGrandad\u2019s kali daal,\u201d taken from the family\u2019s grandfather\u2019s recipe; and the sweet pumpkin curry, as well as the long list of buttery Punjabi breads.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\"Chicken\r\n
Chicken tikka is always a good idea.<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

4. Dum Biryani\u00a0<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

You can\u2019t go to a restaurant called \u201cBiryani\u201d and not get a biryani. But luckily, that\u2019s more than okay at Dum Biryani, where the Hyderabadi rice dish it\u2019s named after is packed with flavor and lined with tasty sides.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Inspired by the owner\u2019s travels through southern India, this Soho restaurant is hidden in a basement location, making it less busy than some of the others on this list.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s named after dum biryani, a cooking method that sees a pot of rice, spices and meat or vegetables sealed with dough and steamed slowly. Of course, these are the stars of the menu\u2014available with lamb, chicken, seasonal veg or seafood and served with okra, homemade lime pickle, and a pepper and peanut curry.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Elsewhere on the menu you can find starters like crisp flatbreads, fried yogurt patties and mushroom filo parcels, and main options like curried baby aubergines, lamb and lentil stew, and sea bass with green mango sauce.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

5. Darjeeling Express<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What started as a supper club\u2014founder Asma Khan would cook dishes from her hometown of Calcutta for 12 people in her home\u2014has now become Darjeeling Express<\/a>, a permanent restaurant in Carnaby serving much more than 12.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In the open-plan kitchen, you\u2019ll see an all-female team of cooks who, just like the owner, haven\u2019t been trained as professional chefs but instead cook homestyle dishes from different Indian regions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The menu changes every eight weeks to make the most of seasonal ingredients, but dishes could be black chickpeas with ginger, tiger prawns cooked in coconut milk, and chicken cooked with dill and tomatoes. Asma and the restaurant even featured on the Netflix series Chef\u2019s Table<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Choosing the best Indian restaurants in London is almost impossible; the UK capital does Indian food like no other city in Europe.\u00a0 From high-end, Michelin-starred spots to street food stalls, from family-run institutions to modern twists on traditional favorites, you could eat nothing but Indian food on your trip to London and still eat well.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":19313,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2031,2032],"tags":[2045,100,2033],"ppma_author":[2313],"class_list":["post-19275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink-in-london","category-london-blog","tag-indian-food","tag-international-food","tag-london-restaurants"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDevour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you're looking for the best Indian restaurants in London, you've come to the right place. 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