The 23 Best Indian Restaurants in London (2026)

The special-occasion rooms. Eight Indian restaurants in London hold Michelin stars, and these six are the ones I'd book for a big night. Gymkhana, on Albemarle Street, is the top of the tree, with two stars. The menu draws on the whole of India, and the tandoor, the biryanis and the chaat-style sharing plates do the heavy lifting.

Order: the kid goat methi keema (£22), the cheapest way into the à la carte, then the wild venison biryani (£50) to share. Spend: £85 a head at lunch, £160 for the tasting menu (£150 vegetarian), plus 15% service and £4.50 a head for water. Book: online through the website. Spice & veg: a full vegetarian tasting menu and a vegetarian feast at lunch. Tube: Green Park, 3 minutes. The catch: there's no step-free entrance, and à la carte adds up fast when the tandoori lamb chops alone are £75.

Trishna in Marylebone cooks India's coastal food, with seafood at the centre, and was first awarded a Michelin star in 2012. The fish is the reason to go. If I wanted the best Indian seafood in London, this is where I'd book.

Order: the Koliwada squid and shrimps (£19), the hariyali bream (£24), and the Dorset brown crab with coconut oil, pepper and curry leaf (£34). Spend: the squid, the bream, rice and bread come to about £70 a head with water and 15% service; the lunch and early-evening menu is £45 for three courses. Book: SevenRooms, where all availability is shown. Spice & veg: a vegetarian section on the menu, and vegan dishes on request. Tube: Bond Street, 7 minutes. The catch: dinner is over-16s only, and there are no accessible toilets.

Jamavar, on Mount Street, and its menu is split between the royal kitchens of the north and the coast of the south. It opened in 2016 and won a Michelin star within a year.

Order: the Old Delhi butter chicken (£38), Leela's lobster neeruli (£52) if it's a celebration, and the Chandni Chowk aloo tikki (£20) to start. Spend: the lunch and early-evening menu (£47 for three courses, £54 for four, served daily until 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 6.30pm) is the smart way in; à la carte runs about £90 a head. Service is 7.5% plus a £3 cover charge. Book: OpenTable, with card details to confirm. Spice & veg: a full vegetarian tasting menu (£130). Tube: Bond Street, 6 minutes. The catch: its Google rating (4.1) trails Gymkhana (4.4) and Trishna (4.6), and the late-cancellation fee is steep.

Quilon, near Buckingham Palace, is the Kerala and Karnataka coast done at Michelin-star level, a star it has kept every year since 2008. Two things set it apart: the seafood, and a no-tipping policy, so the price on the menu is what you pay.

Order: the lentil-crusted scallop (£21), the Quilon fish curry (£35) and the baked black cod (£44), with a Malabar paratha. Spend: a scallop, the fish curry, a paratha and half a lemon rice come to £68 all-in. The weekend brunch is £56. Book: SevenRooms or phone. Spice & veg: spicy dishes are starred on the menu, like the Mangalorean chicken (£33); a vegetarian tasting menu is £135. Tube: St James's Park, 4 minutes. The catch: closed Mondays, and the tasting menus are whole-table only.

Benares on Berkeley Square pairs Indian cooking with British produce, and it's the one I'd pick if wine matters as much as the food: the tasting menu has a £129 wine pairing. It has been open since 2003 and holds a Michelin star.

Order: the oyster vindaloo (£23), the black dal makhani (£17) and the lobster pulao (£59). Spend: the thali (£46 for two courses, £52 for three, at lunch and 5.30pm to 6.30pm) is the value play; the tasting menu is £139. Add 13% service and a 2% cover charge. Book: OpenTable. Spice & veg: a vegetarian tasting menu. Tube: Green Park, 5 minutes. The catch: one Google reviewer calls the portions very small, à la carte adds up, and its Google listing shows no step-free entrance.

Veeraswamy opened on Regent Street in 1926 and calls itself London's oldest surviving Indian restaurant. It holds a Michelin star, and the menu leans into the history: Anglo-Indian mulligatawny (£14.50), a 1926 Hyderabad lamb biryani (£39).

Order: the mulligatawny, then the roast duck vindaloo (£39) or the Patiala shahi raan en croute (£39.50). Spend: there's a £60 minimum per person at dinner; the pre- and post-theatre menu (£40 or £45) avoids it. Service is 15%, of which 6% is fixed. Book: online, up to three months ahead. Spice & veg: vegetarian mains and a vegetarian tasting option. Tube: Piccadilly Circus, 3 minutes. The catch: its lease ran out in summer 2025 and the landlord, the Crown Estate, won't renew it. The restaurant is fighting that in court and still takes bookings, but check it's trading before you plan a trip around it.

Regional kitchens in the centre. Plenty of London curry houses cook the same generic menu. These four cook a specific region properly. Darjeeling Express is Asma Khan's restaurant, cooked by a team of women, and its heart is Kolkata and Bengal. It's on the Michelin Guide's list and now on Rupert Street in Soho, and it's the one I'd send a friend to for Indian home cooking at its best.

Order: at lunch, puchkas (£9), the kosha mangsho, slow-cooked Bengali mutton (£28), and the prawn malaikari (£23). Spend: lunch runs about £45 a head with 13.5% service; dinner is the Lazeez feast only, at £75 a head. Book: online. Spice & veg: vegetarian and vegan dishes marked throughout. Tube: Piccadilly Circus, 2 minutes. The catch: evenings are set-menu only, and it's closed on Sundays.

Punjab on Neal Street has been cooking Punjabi food since 1946, first in Aldgate and here since 1951, and it says it's the oldest Punjabi restaurant in the UK. It's old school in the best way, with family recipes like Grandad's kali daal on the menu.

Order: kadu puri (£7.75), Grandad's kali daal (£14.95) and the acharri murgha (£19.95); the butter chicken (£20.95) is a family speciality. Spend: a starter, curry, rice and naan come to £39.50, on the April 2025 menu. Book: mostly walk-in, though it takes bookings from overseas visitors, which is worth knowing. Spice & veg: the curries are labelled mild, medium or hot, and many vegetable dishes are vegan. Tube: Covent Garden, 4 minutes. The catch: expect a wait at 7pm to 9pm.

The Tamil Prince is a corner pub in Barnsbury, north of King's Cross, that cooks Tamil food. It's on the Michelin Guide's list, and it's the most relaxed of these: you can order a pint with your Chettinad curry.

Order: the Chettinad lamb curry (£16) with a buttery roti (£4.50) and the okra fries (£9); the robata lamb chops (£37.50 for a half rack) if you're sharing. Spend: those three dishes come to £29.50 before drinks. Book: SevenRooms; it's busy, so do. Spice & veg: vegetarian and vegan dishes marked, including a special masala dosa (£13.50); the kitchen can't cater for allergies. Station: Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, 4 minutes. The catch: it's a bit out of the way, and not step-free according to its Google listing.

Rasa, on Stoke Newington's Church Street, cooks Keralan vegetarian food, and it's the place I'd send a vegetarian who is bored of paneer. The dosas are the draw, and the feast menu is the easiest order.

Order: the Rasa veg feast (£27 a head), which is the chef's choice, or build your own around a Nair dosa (£12) and moru kachiathu, a spiced yoghurt curry (£9). Spend: £27 to £28 a head for the feasts, on the 2025 menu. Book: OpenTable or the website. Spice & veg: all vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free dishes marked. Station: Stoke Newington (Overground), 6 minutes. The catch: no Tube nearby, closed Mondays and weekday lunchtimes, and one Google reviewer who lives locally says the menu has never changed in four years.

Modern Indian, mid-price. Newer restaurants cooking Indian food with British ingredients and a lot of confidence. Kricket started in 2015 in a shipping container in Brixton, and the Soho branch on Denman Street is its first proper restaurant. It holds a Bib Gourmand from Michelin, and it's where I'd go for Indian small plates before a show.

Order: the Keralan fried chicken (£15), the Tamil beef keema pulao with bone marrow (£19) and the bhel puri (£8). Spend: three plates with rice and naan are about £53 a head with 15% service; the thali is £20 until 4.45pm. Book: SevenRooms. Spice & veg: plenty of vegetarian and vegan plates. Tube: Piccadilly Circus, 2 minutes. The catch: not wheelchair accessible, and the seats are counter stools and raised booths.

Colonel Saab fills the grand old Holborn Town Hall, and the room is half the reason to go. The menu runs from Old Delhi curries to Anglo-Indian dishes like the chicken chop.

Order: the Anglo-Indian chicken chop (£16.95), then Colonel Saab's butter chicken (£22.45) or Old Delhi's famous lamb curry (£28.95). Spend: a starter, a curry and a share of rice and naan come to about £52 a head with the £1 cover and 12.5% service; the two-course lunch tiffin is £34.95. Book: online. Spice & veg: a chilli icon marks the mildly spicy dishes, and vegan dishes are flagged. Tube: Holborn, 3 minutes. The catch: it's a big room, so not the place for a quiet dinner, and its Google listing shows no step-free entrance.

Kutir is chef Rohit Ghai's restaurant in a Chelsea townhouse just off the King's Road, with a menu that pays homage to India's heritage and wildlife, down to a game tasting menu. It has no Michelin star, and at £80 its tasting menus cost about half what the Mayfair rooms charge.

Order: the lamb shank rogan josh (£28), guinea fowl biryani (£26) and the tandoori broccoli with morels (£16). Spend: tasting menus are £80, whether you choose signature, vegetarian, vegan or game; the 'linner' set, served 1pm to 4pm, is £35. Add 15% service. Book: OpenTable or phone. Spice & veg: full vegetarian and vegan tasting menus, and menus for other diets. Tube: Sloane Square, 5 minutes. The catch: it doesn't open until 1pm, and its Google listing shows no step-free entrance.

Brick Lane, honestly. Brick Lane is famous as London's curry capital, but I wouldn't cross the city for one of its curry houses. Most are Bangladeshi- or Pakistani-owned and serve the standard British curry-house menu, and there are far fewer than there were: about 60 in the mid-2000s, down to 23 by early 2020, according to the Runnymede Trust's Beyond Banglatown report. If you're in the area, eat at one of these two, both five to ten minutes' walk away. Gunpowder is a small room off Commercial Street with a Michelin Bib Gourmand, cooking modern Indian small plates.

Order: Maa's Kashmiri lamb chop (£11), the Chettinad pulled duck oothappam (£8.50) and the aloo chaat (£9). Spend: three or four plates each, so £28 to £40 a head; the set lunch is £25 (Monday to Saturday until 5.30pm). Book: OpenTable. Spice & veg: vegetarian plates marked. Tube: Aldgate East, 5 minutes. The catch: there's no naan on the menu, and one Google reviewer found the service rushed because of fixed sittings.

Dishoom Shoreditch is the Bombay café chain's east London branch, on Boundary Street, a few minutes from the top of Brick Lane, with a verandah where dogs are allowed. It's a reliable choice any time from breakfast to midnight.

Order: the house black daal (£11.50), the chicken ruby (£18.90) and a garlic naan (£5.50), or the lamb biryani (£21.50). Spend: daal, ruby and naan come to £35.90, about £40 with the optional 12.5% service. Book: daytime tables for any group; after 6pm, groups of six or more only. Spice & veg: spicy dishes and vegan dishes are marked, and there's a vegan menu. Station: Shoreditch High Street, 2 minutes. The catch: evening queues of 30 minutes to an hour for couples, though the chai while you wait is free.

Cheap vegetarian classics. Two old-fashioned vegetarian restaurants where a proper meal costs under £20. Diwana Bhel Poori House has been on Drummond Street, the little Indian strip behind Euston station, since 1971. It's a canteen for bhel poori and dosas, and the one I'd pick for a cheap meal before a train.

Order: the bhel poori (£6.50), pani poori (£6.50) and a masala dosa (£12.95), or the Diwana thali (£19.95) if you're hungry. Spend: under £20 a head; the all-you-can-eat buffet is £14.95 (Friday 12 to 2.30pm, Saturday and Sunday 12 to 4pm). Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: strictly vegetarian, with vegan and gluten-free dishes marked. Tube: Euston Square, 3 minutes. The catch: it's now licensed, so the old bring-your-own-bottle trick no longer applies.

Sagar on King Street in Hammersmith cooks the vegetarian food of Udupi, on the Karnataka coast, where its chefs come from. The dosa list is long and cheap, and this branch is cheaper than Sagar's Covent Garden one.

Order: the masala dosa (£7.45) or paper masala dosa (£8.95) with medu vada (£6.45), or the South Indian thali (£18.45). Spend: about £14 a head for a dosa and vada. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: all vegetarian, many dishes vegan, and an onion- and garlic-free menu. Tube: Ravenscourt Park, 4 minutes. The catch: it's a long way west if you're staying central.

Local favourites, further out. Some of the best Indian food in London is in the suburbs where people from India settled, and it's cheaper there. Tooting in south London is the easiest trip: the Northern line runs straight there. Radha Krishna Bhavan on Tooting High Street cooks the food of Kerala, and the sadya, a spread of small dishes on rice, is the order.

Order: the vegetarian sadya (£15.95) or seafood sadya (£17.95), or a masala dosa (£6.95) and the fish molie (£11.95) with a Kerala paratha (£3.50). Spend: under £20 a head (prices from its online ordering menu). Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: curries labelled from very mild to hot; vegan sadya. Tube: Tooting Broadway, 2 minutes. The catch: the menu also carries standard curry-house dishes like tikka masala; skip those and order from the Kerala side.

Dosa n Chutney, a few doors along the same street, is one of the cheapest good meals in London: a South Indian café where a masala dosa costs £5.95.

Order: the masala dosa (£5.95) or a paper roast (£7.50), idly vada sambar (£5.25), and the Chettinadu chicken curry (£9.95) if you want meat. Spend: about £13 a head for a dosa, a vada and a mango lassi. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: a long vegetarian section, with meat and fish too. Tube: Tooting Broadway, a minute. The catch: closed Tuesdays, and it's a café, not a night out.

Sakonis has been on Ealing Road, Wembley's Indian high street, since 1984. It's vegetarian, with dishes from across India and some Indo-Chinese too, and it's famous for its chaat and chilli paneer. Go on a weekend morning for the breakfast buffet.

Order: the chilli paneer (£12.95), bhel puri (£10.25) and pani puri (£7.95), or a masala dosa (£9.95). Spend: about £22 a head with the 10% service; the buffet is £23 on weekdays, £25 at weekends, and the weekend breakfast buffet £12.95. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: all vegetarian, with chilli ratings on the menu; no alcohol. Tube: Alperton, 7 minutes. The catch: it's Zone 4, so it's a trip, best combined with a Wembley match or concert. For home-style Gujarati cooking, Asher's Africana is a short walk up the same road.

Madhu's in Southall is where Punjabi cooking meets Kenya: the Anand family cooked in Nairobi before opening here in 1980, and the menu mixes both. It's on the Michelin Guide's list, and it's the reason to take the Elizabeth line out to Southall.

Order: the nyama choma, grilled lamb ribs with chilli and lemon (£14), the machuzi kuku chicken curry (£13.50) and mogo chilli garlic, fried cassava (£8.50). Spend: the ribs, the curry, a naan and a pilau come to £36.50, and no service charge is added. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: a vegetarian section and a £35 vegetarian sharing menu. Station: Southall, 6 minutes. The catch: closed Tuesdays, and it's out in Zone 4.

Hyderabad to London in Forest Gate, east London, is a cheap halal biryani house cooking the food of Hyderabad. It's open every day from 11am until at least midnight.

Order: the lamb biryani (£8.99), or the nalli biryani with lamb shank (£17.99), and the talawa gosht, fried lamb (£10.99). At weekends, order the haleem, a slow-cooked wheat and lamb dish (£7.99). Spend: £9 to £20 a head. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: mostly meat; veg and paneer biryanis for vegetarians. Station: Forest Gate (Elizabeth line), a minute. The catch: it's a canteen, not a restaurant for an evening out.

Babur has been in Honor Oak, south-east London, since 1985, and it's the neighbourhood Indian restaurant worth the trip: game and fish dishes you won't find on a standard menu, and wine pairings on the tasting menu.

Order: the clove-smoked lamb chops (£12.95), then the steamed shoulder of lamb with beetroot rice (£22.50), marinated for 100 hours. Spend: the set lunch is £24.95 (Monday to Saturday), the Sunday buffet £27.95 and tasting menus from £57.95. Book: online or phone. Spice & veg: dishes are marked 'Hot' or 'Roaring Hot'; a vegetarian thali (£23.95) and vegetarian tasting menu. Station: Honor Oak Park, 5 minutes. The catch: no Tube, so it's a train or Overground trip from central London.