London Restaurants

  1. Kastoori

    If you're a true curry junkie and neither Brick Lane nor Whitechapel will do, the capital's contemporary hotspot is in the suburban wilds of SW17 - or Tooting. Near Tooting Broadway and Tooting Bec tube stations, you'll find rows of neighbouring curry houses, from Bangladeshi to Sri Lankan, including Kastoori. Here you'll get excellent Gujarati cuisine, by way of Africa, which is obviously lovingly homemade, rather than churned out on an assembly line. It's like no other Indian you'll ever eat.

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  2. Kerala

    Oxford Circus may seem an odd place to go for Indian food, but this little gem gets consistent thumbs-ups for its South Indian dishes. Try one of their distinctive biryanis or the prawns cooked in masala sauce.

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  3. Rasa

    Flagship restaurant of the Rasa chain, this superb South Indian vegetarian eatery can't be missed - not with its signature shocking-pink façade! Friendly service, a calm atmosphere, jovial prices and outstanding food from the Indian state of Kerala are its distinctive features. If in doubt, don't bother with the menu and order the multicourse Keralan Feast (around £16 ). Rasa Travancore just across the road is more of the same, but with fish and meat.

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  4. Rasa Samudra

    This bubblegum pink eatery just up from Oxford St showcases the seafood cuisine of Kerala state on India's southwest coast, supported by a host - eight out of 14 main courses - of more familiar vegetarian dishes. The fish soups are outstanding, the breads superb and the various curries heavenly spiced. The same group runs the South Indian vegetarian restaurant Rasa in Stoke Newington.

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  5. Woodlands

    This South Indian vegetarian restaurant, whose rallying cry is 'Let Vegetation Feed the Nation', sets out to prove that South Indian vegetarian food can be as inventive as any meat-based cuisine and does a pretty convincing job of it. Superb thalis (around £16 to around £18 ) and dosa s (Indian-style pancakes; around £6 to around £7 ) are highlights. There's also a Marylebone branch (tel: 7486 3862; 77 Marylebone Lane).

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