Co-founder of India’s premier farm-to-fork restaurant, Aditi Dugar, shares with U her favourite Indian restaurants in London.
Set in Mayfair, Michelin-starred Benares combines traditional Indian flavours with locally sourced British ingredients to create a set and a la carte menus. Chef Atul Kochhar takes the conventional understanding of Indian food and gives it a decidedly modern identity. While you will still be able to sample some of Britain’s favourite Indian dishes like chicken tikka masala, a meal at Benares is incomplete without Chef Kocchar’s take on Scottish scallops and New Forest venison. The Chef's Table quite literally has a window into the kitchen, making you feel intimately close to the chef’s realm of culinary magic.
Inspired by Colonial India's gymkhana clubs (sports clubs for the erstwhile Anglo-Indians), Karam Sethi’s Gymkhana recreates the food and culture of the British Raj that fused Indian dishes with a typical British sensibility. Right from its interiors that are reminiscent of Indian gymkhanas, the restaurant's menu is a lesson in history through gastronomy. The Duck Curry with paper dosa, the delectable Raan, and the butter pepper garlic crab curry come highly recommended. As is the gin and tonic cocktail with curry leaves and ginger. Ask the server to seat you downstairs for a more intimate experience.
Dishoom is an Indian restaurant quite different from the British notion of what Indian cuisine must entail. Paying homage to the glorious Irani café of Mumbai, Dishoom recreates to perfection the flooring, the furniture and of course, the food. Giving the casual dining cafés run by the Parsi community of Mumbai a modern, more elegant character, Dishoom offers a mix of classic North Indian dishes and Mumbai specialties such as the eggs Kejriwal, bacon naan roll, chai and bun maska and more. You may pair your dishes with a range of beverages including the Eats India Gimlet and the Dishoom IPA. They don’t take reservations so late breakfast and tea time are easier time slots to find a table.
Jikoni is the colourful, “slightly bonkers” restaurant created by the extraordinary Ravinder Bhogal. In this restaurant off Marylebone High Street, this youthful talent embraces all and brings its guests into a home that is reminiscent of the one she grew up in with her Indian parents in Africa. It is charmingly informal, the menu from the Kenyan born British Indian delightfully draws from all her geographic culinary experiences. The prawn toast scotch egg combines a crunchy exterior with a soft prawn filling to create a complex and delicious mingling of texture.
Michelin-starred Veeraswamy has been around for 92 years and has consistently served some of the finest classical Indian food. While the name may lead you to believe the food is focused on South Indian vegetarian staples, Veeraswamy has an extensive North West frontier menu and is renowned for its coastal delicacies. The lobster Malabar curry, a typical dish from the Southern state of Kerala, is a delicate balance of flavours and produce.
Woodlands is where you go to when you miss India. It has nostalgia in every dish. A hugely successful food chain in India, the London outposts offer typical North and South Indian dishes that the diaspora often allude to as comfort food. It offers dals, curries, poppadums, dosas, idlis and thalis. From the popular Paneer Tikka of the North to the classic Pesarettu of the South, this is unapologetically “home food” in a climate full of modern, reimagined Indian dining. While the beverage menu boasts international wines and Indian beers, it might be a good idea to experiment and pair a dish with the plum and ginger cider made of Surrey apples.
Tamarind is renowned among Indian restaurants for its authentic, no-nonsense North West Frontier menu. Inspired by India’s rich Mughal history, the restaurant is among the few in London that has kept the genuineness of the culinary heritage at the heart of the dining experience, winning it that highly deserved a Michelin star. Every bite bursts with flavour and originality, so you should make sure to go there on an empty stomach. The lamb tikka chop, Malabar prawns and the smoky naans are popular with regular patrons. But not ordering the Papdi Chaat—a dish associated with street food dining and not usually ordered in a fine-dining extablishment—would be a huge mistake. You haven’t had Papdi Chaat, even in India, if you haven’t had it at Tamarind.
Among the newer entrants in London’s populated fine Indian dining scene is Jamavar, housed in the glorious hotel The Leela. The menu ranges from the Royal Kitchens of the North to succulent options of the Southern shores, showcasing why the phrase “Indian cuisine” is grossly inadequate to use. Pan-seared achari pork, malai stone bass and the crispy guinea fowl mallagai are an example of how spices, ingredients and geography within India determine the specifics of the cuisine. The stone bass is served with the most delicious avocado chutney that is flavoured with mace and green cardamom.
Roti Chai is on point about how Indians traditionally like to dine: At home and on the streets. The foodie nation is unique in its embracing of both cultures, neither one being disdainful of the other. The restaurant has two rooms, the Street Kitchen and the Dining Room, each with its own distinctive menus. The Dining Room downstairs is better suited for those looking for a quiet meal and the menu reflects the classic Indian homecooking staples: Goan chilli prawns, Bengali crab cakes, Palak Paneer, and more. The frenetic Street Kitchen is designed for quick meals and the menu packs in the best from India’s street food culture. There are the ubiquitous Bhel Puri, Samosa Chaat, Railway Lamb Curry, and Bun Tikkis. They do a great job of getting the flavours of the street food right.
In the 5 months since it opened this casual sister restaurant of the Michelin starred Jamavar, Bombay Bustle has created quite a noise in London and further abroad. The restaurant is on the site of the former Hibiscus, a fine dining stalwart. At Bombay Bustle it is charmingly relaxed. The room is now decorated as a chic Bombay railway carriage. Food is delivered in many familiar tiffin boxes. Head chef Bhaskar Banerjee, graciously welcomes the occasional guest when he is not so slammed in the kitchen producing the well-priced for Mayfair small plates. They are particularly strong on vegetarian dishes though meat eaters will not go hungry. Bombay Bustle captures the essence of Mumbai and a love of home comforts alongside the capital’s rapid pace of life. The service is highly competent, and it is obviously a hit with the many other Asians that can be seen enjoying their meals. Bombay bustle buzzes with energy.
Widely experienced with stints at Zuma, Le Petite Maison, and La Gavaroche, Aditi Dugar is the co-founder of India’s premier farm-to-fork restaurant that focuses on botanical bistronomy. With his bursiness partner, Prateek Sadhu, they are hosting a pop up venture at Carousel from 17-21st of April - upholding their philosophy by using the highest quality ingredients and produce sourced entirely within the UK – apart from the native Indian spices they have brought over.
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London's Best Indian Restaurant
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