London has more Indian restaurants than Mumbai has Starbucks — but most of them are forgettable, and you know it.
1. Dishoom — King's Cross
Yes, everyone recommends Dishoom. Yes, there's a reason. The King's Cross branch is the flagship and the best of the lot — a Bombay Irani café brought to life inside the old Transit Shed behind the station. The black daal is cooked for 24 hours. The bacon naan roll at breakfast has a cult following. Go on a weekday to avoid the two-hour weekend queue.
Nearest station: King's Cross St Pancras.
Our King's Cross poster — available framed or unframed.
2. Gymkhana — Mayfair
One Michelin star. Colonial gentleman's club decor. The kind of place where the kid goat methi keema makes you forget you just paid £28 for it. Gymkhana does modern Indian fine dining without the pretension that usually comes with it. The tandoor section of the menu is where the magic lives. Book weeks ahead.
Nearest station: Green Park or Piccadilly Circus.
3. Lahore Kebab House — Whitechapel
No frills, no bookings, no nonsense. Lahore Kebab House has been serving some of London's best Punjabi food since 1972. The lamb chops are legendary — charred, spiced, and about £8. BYOB (off-licence next door), grab a table, and eat with your hands. This is the real thing.
Nearest station: Whitechapel (a short walk from Brick Lane).
Our Brick Lane poster — available framed or unframed.
4. Darjeeling Express — Covent Garden
Asma Khan's restaurant, famous from Chef's Table. The menu rotates, the cooking is home-style, and the all-women kitchen crew runs the show. The Calcutta lamb curry and royal biryani are worth the trip alone. It's in Covent Garden but feels nothing like Covent Garden — in the best way.
Nearest station: Covent Garden.
5. Hoppers — Soho
Sri Lankan and South Indian. The egg hopper with seeni sambol is the dish that put this place on the map. Tiny, always busy, no reservations for walk-ins at the Soho branch. The kari (curries) are built on proper coconut bases and the bone marrow varuval is filthy good. Tamil and Sinhalese flavours you won't find anywhere else in central London.
Nearest station: Tottenham Court Road or Leicester Square.
6. Ganapati — Peckham
South Indian home cooking in a tiny Peckham spot. The dosas are tissue-thin and properly fermented — none of that thick, rubbery nonsense. The thalis change weekly and use seasonal British ingredients with South Indian technique. It's BYOB, cash-friendly, and feels like eating at someone's aunty's house. In the best way.
7. Brigadiers — Bloomberg Arcade
From the team behind Gymkhana and Trishna. Indian barbecue meets army mess hall. The whole tandoori chicken is show-stopping — butterflied, marinated overnight, and served on a wooden board. There's a whisky bar, a card room, and TVs for cricket. It's extra, and it knows it.
Nearest station: Bank or Mansion House.
8. Roti King — Euston
Malaysian-Indian roti canai in a basement near Euston station. The queue wraps around the corner at lunch. The roti canai is flaky, buttery, and served with dhal that has no right being this good at this price. Everything's under a tenner. The laksa is solid too, but you're here for the roti.
Nearest station: Euston.
9. Tandoor Chop House — Adelaide Street
Indian-British mashup done right. Think tandoor-cooked cuts of British-reared meat with proper chutneys and raita. The tandoori rib-eye with bone marrow naan is absurd. The space feels like an old London chop house crossed with a Delhi tandoor kitchen. Great for people who think they don't like Indian food (wrong, but useful).
Nearest station: Charing Cross or Covent Garden.
10. Apollo Banana Leaf — Tooting
Sri Lankan Tamil food at its purest. Eat off a banana leaf. The mutton kothu roti is chopped, spiced, and fried to perfection right in front of you. The string hoppers with a proper fish curry will ruin you for lesser versions. Tooting Broadway is London's real curry capital — forget Brick Lane's tourist traps.
Nearest station: Tooting Bec (one stop from Tooting Broadway).
Pro Tip: Skip the Brick Lane curry houses with guys outside trying to drag you in — that's tourist London. The best Indian food in the city is in Tooting, Wembley, Southall, and the places on this list. Trust the queue, not the tout.
What's the best cheap Indian restaurant in London?
Roti King near Euston and Lahore Kebab House in Whitechapel are both under £10 a head and genuinely brilliant. For South Indian, Ganapati in Peckham is hard to beat on value.
Do I need to book Indian restaurants in London?
For Gymkhana and Brigadiers, book weeks ahead. Dishoom takes reservations for groups of 6+; otherwise, queue early. Lahore Kebab House, Roti King, and Hoppers are walk-in only — arrive before 6pm or after 9pm to skip the worst of the wait.
Where's the best area for Indian food in London?
Tooting for Sri Lankan and South Indian. Southall for Punjabi. Brick Lane for Bangladeshi (skip the tourist spots, find the locals-only places). Drummond Street near Euston for vegetarian South Indian. Wembley for Gujarati.