The Best Indian Restaurants in London: A 2026 Food Guide

London has more fantastic Indian restaurants than any city outside India, and they cover a huge range. You can eat butter chicken from a 1946 recipe at a Covent Garden walk-in, or a Michelin-starred Mayfair tasting menu. This guide covers seven of the best Indian restaurants in London for 2026 and what to order at each. My favorite is last, and it pairs perfectly with a West End show. Several are walk-in only, so go early.

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Dishoom: Bombay Cafe Food in Covent Garden and Beyond

Dishoom is the most popular Indian restaurant group in London, modeled on the old Irani cafes of Bombay, with branches in Covent Garden, Carnaby, King’s Cross, and elsewhere. The food is comforting and consistent, and the rooms are styled around each location’s history. It serves breakfast through dinner, and most branches are walk-in with reservations available for daytime groups. Expect a wait at peak times, since the lines here are infamous.

• What to Order: The bacon naan roll at breakfast and the House Black Daal, which is cooked over 24 hours, are the dishes people come back for. The Chicken Ruby and gunpowder potatoes are also reliable. Mains run roughly £10 to £20 (about $13 to $25).
• Best If: You want consistent, well-priced Indian food in a lively room, or you are after a proper Indian breakfast.
• Skip If: You dislike queues. Dishoom’s popularity means long waits at busy times, and the no-booking policy for dinner can test your patience.

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Gymkhana: Michelin-Starred Indian Dining in Mayfair

Gymkhana holds one Michelin star and is one of the best-known fine-dining Indian restaurants in London. It opened in Mayfair in 2013, styled after the colonial-era gymkhana clubs of India, with dark wood, ceiling fans, and leather seating. The cooking centers on tandoor grills, game, and regional curries, and it is run by the JKS group, the same team behind Trishna and BiBi. The tasting menu costs roughly £120 to £195 per head, so this is a special-occasion restaurant rather than a casual dinner.

• What to Order: The tandoori dishes and the game are the high points, and the Malay chicken curry is close to a signature. The tasting menu is the fullest way to experience the kitchen, though the a la carte is more flexible.
• Best If: You want a high-end Indian meal for a celebration and you are willing to book four to six weeks ahead for a weekend table.
• Skip If: You just want great Indian food without the ceremony or the price. BiBi or Kricket deliver creativity for a fraction of the cost.

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BiBi: Modern Regional Indian Cooking in Mayfair

BiBi holds one Michelin star and is the solo project of chef Chet Sharma, who trained at The Ledbury before working with the JKS group. The cooking is modern and regional, built around tasting menus that pull from across India, with dishes like raw Orkney scallops with Indian lemonade and wood-grilled Lahori chicken. It is a smaller, more design-led room than Gymkhana, and the food is inventive rather than traditional.

• What to Order: Go with the tasting menu, which is how the kitchen is designed to be experienced. The seafood courses and the grilled meats are the high points.
• Best If: You want Michelin-level contemporary Indian cooking and you prefer a creative tasting menu over a classic curry house.
• Skip If: You want familiar dishes done well. BiBi reworks Indian food, so it is a poor fit if you are after a straightforward butter chicken and naan.

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Kricket: Indian Small Plates Across London

Kricket holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which the guide gives for good food at good value, and it has locations including Brixton and Soho. It started as a 20-seat shipping container in Brixton and has grown into one of the most popular modern Indian restaurants in London. The food is served as small plates that combine British ingredients with Indian flavors, and the cocktail list is a real part of the draw.

• What to Order: The Keralan fried chicken and the samphire pakoras are regular favorites, and the small-plate format means you can sample and share. Try the cocktails with a desi twist.
• Best If: You want creative contemporary Indian food at a mid-range price, in a casual room, with strong drinks.
• Skip If: You want large, shareable curries. The small-plate format means smaller portions, which adds up if you are very hungry or in a big group.

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Darjeeling Express: Home-Style Indian Cooking in Soho

Darjeeling Express is run by chef Asma Khan and an all-women kitchen, tucked on the top floor of Kingly Court off Carnaby Street. The food is home-style and draws on Khan’s royal Mughlai heritage, ranging from Calcutta to Hyderabad. Khan became widely known after appearing on Netflix’s Chef’s Table, and tables here book up well in advance.

• What to Order: Start with the chilli cheese toastie or keema toastie, both Khan’s childhood favorites, then the methi chicken or prawn malaikari. The stuffed aloo parathas are a strong side.
• Best If: You want home-style Indian cooking you cannot easily get elsewhere, and you can book ahead.
• Skip If: You want to walk in on the day. This is a small, popular room that relies on reservations, so spontaneity rarely works here.

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Trishna: Michelin-Starred Indian Seafood in Marylebone

Trishna holds one Michelin star and specializes in Indian seafood, drawing on the coastal cooking of southwest India. It is the restaurant that launched the JKS group, which later opened Gymkhana, BiBi, and Hoppers, and it is well-priced for its quality. The signature is the Dorset brown crab, and the kitchen caters well to vegetarians and vegans, which is not always the case at this level.

• What to Order: The Dorset brown crab is the dish to get, along with the aloo tokri chaat. The fixed-price lunch is a good way to eat here without committing to the full tasting menu.
• Best If: You want Michelin-starred coastal Indian cooking at a gentler price than the Mayfair tasting menus, with strong options whether you eat seafood or not.
• Skip If: You want a big, traditional North Indian curry-house spread. Trishna is refined coastal cooking served in tasting-menu and small-plate form, so it is a different experience from a Punjabi or Mughlai feast.

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Punjab Restaurant: The Oldest North Indian Restaurant in the UK

Punjab is the oldest North Indian restaurant in the UK, founded in 1946 and on its Neal Street site in Covent Garden since 1951. It is still owned and run by the same family, now in its fourth generation, and many of the recipes have barely changed since the start. The food is North Indian and Punjabi, heavier on dairy and wheat than rice, and the room is filled with framed receipts and family photos that track its history. It is a walk-in restaurant, seated first come, first served.

🏆 My Personal Pick: Punjab is my pick of the list. The food is excellent and the staff are some of the friendliest I have come across in London. It is walk-in only, so there is usually a line, but it moves fast. I got there right at opening and was seated quickly. Order the butter chicken, which the family has been making since the beginning, and Grandad’s Kali Daal. The bullet naan, made with fresh chilli and garlic, is worth getting if you can take the heat.

• What to Order: The butter chicken and Grandad’s Kali Daal are the signatures. Add the bullet naan for chilli and garlic, or the cheese naan if you want something milder. Mains cost roughly £12 to £20 (about $15 to $25).
• Best If: You want traditional Punjabi cooking with history behind it, in the center of theatreland, without paying fine-dining prices.
• Skip If: You need a guaranteed table at a set time. Punjab does not take reservations.

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Best Indian Restaurants in London: What to Know Before You Go

A few practical points apply across these. The price range is wide, from around £12 for a main at Punjab to £195 for the tasting menu at Gymkhana, so match the restaurant to the occasion. The fine-dining rooms, Gymkhana, BiBi, Trishna, and Darjeeling Express, need booking well ahead, often weeks in advance for weekend tables. Punjab and Dishoom are walk-in, so go early or expect a line. For halal diners, check directly with each restaurant, since policies vary by location and are not consistent across the group restaurants.

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Where to Stay in London: My Top Picks

• Generator London is my go-to budget spot in the city. It’s comfortable and stylish in a way most hostels aren’t, and it’s an easy base near King’s Cross.
• Mimi’s Hotel Soho is one of my favorite hotels in London for the vibe, the price, and the location, right next door to the Dog and Duck and a short walk from the rest of my Soho picks. Be aware that some rooms don’t have windows, which the website states clearly, so check before you book if that matters to you.
• Canopy by Hilton London City is another favorite, close to the Tower of London and an easy walk to both Borough Market and Sky Garden, which are in my top recommendations. The hotel also has a great rooftop bar and first floor restaurant.
• The Ned London occupies the old Midland Bank building in the City, and is about ten minutes from Sky Garden. The ground floor holds a whole collection of restaurants under the original banking hall columns and the brunch is outstanding.
• The Savoy London is the classic London splurge on the Strand, with Kaspar’s for seafood and the American Bar for a proper cocktail.

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🍪 Final Bite

The seven restaurants here cover the full span of Indian food in London, from a fourth-generation Covent Garden curry house to Michelin-starred seafood and inventive tasting menus. If you only have time for one and want history and value, go to Punjab and get there at opening. If you are marking an occasion, book Gymkhana or Trishna weeks ahead. For everything in between, Dishoom, Kricket, and Darjeeling Express each give you a different angle on how amazing Indian food in London can be.

Got an Indian restaurant in London you think belongs on this list? Tell me your favorite in the comments.

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