Indian restaurants in Europe
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Indian Mango
Indian Mango specialises in Goan food, serving beef, duck, fish and some vegie mains. Its chef – poached from a five-star restaurant – makes up light, spicy, delicious dishes. Its bestselling (seasonal) creation is an Icelandic-Indian hybrid completely unique to this restaurant – svartfugl (guillemot) marinaded in Indian spices.
reviewed
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Akbar's
Bit of an Egyptian theme going on at this exceptionally popular Indian restaurant – sarcophagi and cat-gods watch over the cutting-edge decor beneath a 'night-in-the-desert' ceiling. The traditional curry dishes come in pyramid-size portions, and they don't take bookings – expect to wait 30 minutes for a table on weekend nights.
reviewed
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Kennington Tandoori
This local curry house is a favourite of MPs from across the river.
reviewed
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Mela
Despite its location in the heart of theatreland, this bustling Shaftesbury Ave eatery serves some pretty authentic dishes from across India (with an emphasis on tandoor) and there is magnificent choice for vegetarians. We love the décor too, with colourful papier-mâché Ferris wheels and naive paintings of carnivals and fairs (mela means 'festival' in Hindi).
reviewed
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Diwana Bhel Poori House
The first of its kind and arguably the best on this busy street, Diwana specialises in Bombay-style bhel poori (a sweet-and-sour, soft and crunchy ‘party mix’ snack) and dosas (filled pancakes made from rice flour). Thalis offering a selection of tasty treats are £6.75 to £8.50 and the all-you-can-eat lunchtime buffet (£6.95) is legendary.
reviewed
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Masala Zone
This spacious place with outside seating set back from Upper St is one of the best budget Indian options in London. Thoroughly modern in design, it serves up meals centred on its famous thalis, as well as tandoor and grilled dishes. There are now several other branches throughout the capital.
reviewed
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Cinnamon Club
Domed skylights, high ceilings, parquet flooring and a book-lined mezzanine all convey an atmosphere reminiscent of a colonial club. The food is sumptuous: a mix of traditional Indian with a modern European twist. If money is no object, treat yourself to a culinary adventure with one of the tasting menus (lunch/dinner £45/75). The club also does breakfast, with options ranging from European-style eggs to Indian uttapam (stuffed, crispy rice pancakes).
reviewed
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Il Guru
Il Guru is lined with embroidered drapes and elaborate statuettes, and has a few outdoor tables on the cobbled street. The tandooris are prepared in a proper tandoori oven, the curries and vegetables are tasty and the setting is suggestive, albeit of Rome rather than Rajasthan.
reviewed
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Misbah Tandoori
One of the best curry houses not only in Wales, but in the whole of Britain, the Misbah is an authentic Bangladeshi family restaurant with a large and loyal following.
reviewed
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Wee Curry Shop
Great home-cooked curries. It's wise to book – it's a snug place with a big reputation, a limited menu and a sensational-value two-course lunch. Cash only.
reviewed
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Delhi Belhi
An excellent Indian restaurant, ideal if you’ve overdosed on Mediterranean flavours.
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New Tayyab
This buzzing (OK, crowded) Punjabi restaurant is in another league to its Brick Lane equivalents. Seekh kebabs, masala fish and other starters served on sizzling hot plates are delicious, as are accompaniments such as dhal, naan and raita. But with Tayyabs now appearing regularly in guidebooks and the huge London Royal Hospital round the corner, you should expect to wait for a table.
reviewed
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Khajuraho
The latest addition to Prague’s growing range of Indian restaurants moves straight to the top of the chart as our favourite – a series of vaulted medieval rooms given an oriental atmosphere with Persian rugs scattered on the floor, Indian statues tucked into niches, and sequinned textiles glowing colourfully beneath glass table-tops. Service is friendly and attentive, and the food is bursting with authentic flavours – cumin, coriander, ginger, garlic and chilli – ranging from Kashmiri dishes to handi and South Indian specialities, with plenty of choices that will appeal to vegetarians.
reviewed
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Masala
An unpretentious Indian restaurant, with all of the good food and none of the stultifying atmosphere and stiff service you normally find at Indian places here. The owners aim for what they call home-style service, meaning relaxed presentation and good home cooking. One minor quibble: the food could use more spice. Advance booking essential.
reviewed
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Café Spice Namasté
Chef Cyrus Todiwala has taken an old magistrates court just a 10-minute walk from Tower Hill and decorated it in carnival colours; the service and atmosphere are as bright as the walls. The Parsee and Goan menu is famous for its superlative dhansaak (lamb stew with rice and lentils; £14.95) but just as good are the tandoori dishes and the Goan king-prawn curry. Bonuses: it makes its own chutneys and there’s a little garden behind the dining room open in the warmer months.
reviewed
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Amaya
Hidden down a little arcade behind Starbucks lies a swish, stylish restaurant, with low-lit interior, colourful jewelled inlays in the wood, hanging crystal strings and chandeliers. But what will really hold your attention are the chefs at work in the open kitchen, as they slave over an iron skillet (tawa), charcoal grill (sigri) or clay oven (tandoor). Varied set menus (including vegetarian one and an express lunch put the emphasis on sharing dishes with your dining companions.
reviewed
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Shalimar
Here since forever, Shalimar serves tandoori, tikka and kebab dishes from an open kitchen that taste like they’ve come via southern Hungary (there’s got to be paprika in there somewhere) rather than the subcontinent, but at least it’s a fix when you need it most. We’re told the chef’s from Nepal, which may explain the hybrid tastes. Still the mutton biryani (2190Ft) is a force to be reckoned with and the choice of vegetarian dishes (1050Ft to 1750Ft) is plentiful.
reviewed
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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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Benares
This restaurant, in a prime Mayfair location, is the first independent project of Atul Kochar, who a few years ago became only the second Indian chef in the world to earn a Michelin star. The interior is made up of dark wood, taupe upholstery and cream walls, while the small but choice menu brings together the four corners of India with contemporary dash.
Kochar has an expert touch when it comes to spicing, although he needs some help sorting out his service, which is a little scatty.
reviewed
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Haveli
Indian music and a waft of incense will guide you towards this popular, authentic curry restaurant with tables split between an informal street-level bar and a cosy red-brick and whitewash cellar. The onion bhaji is light and crisp, the naan bread soft and buttery, and the curry dishes nicely spiced; there’s a good selection of vegetarian dishes, including a very tasty channa pindi (chick peas and white cheese in a tangy sauce rich in cumin and fresh coriander).
reviewed
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Shalimar
Shalimar is an Indian restaurant of some standing amongst the many in Mariahilfer. The food on offer crosses the entire subcontinent, but the speciality of the house is Balti, an Indian/Pakistani equivalent of wok cuisine cooked with generous portions of curry spice, onions, coriander and basil. In summer Shalimar's hidden garden - shaded by mature trees and guarded by pictures of Vishnu, Hanuman and Shiva - is a perfect antidote to Vienna's hot-and-bothered streets.
reviewed
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Rasoi
Relax with a Singapore Sling in the Bombay cocktail bar, then head downstairs to this posh Indian restaurant with a refined, semiformal atmosphere, in a cellar that’s been tarted up to look like a maharajah’s mansion. The cuisine is certainly good enough for royalty, though you’re more likely to be sharing with an appreciative crowd of expat Brits hankering after authentic tandoori chicken, rogan josh and chicken jalfrezi.
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India Curry
The strong smells of India – the ones that churn, rather than turn, the stomach – wafting from the door are a good sign that this place does decent curry. The usual selection of tandoori chicken and rogan josh is available, and vegetarians will be happy with the likes of malai kofta (balls of cottage cheese stuffed with nuts in a coconut, herb and cashew sauce) and aloo bhindi bhaji (curried potato and okra).
reviewed
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Rasa Samudra
This bubblegum-pink eatery just up from Oxford Street 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 divinely spiced. It is one of six Rasa restaurants in London.
reviewed
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Balti Drambliai
It's hard to decide what we like best about this maze-like, dirt-cheap vegetarian restaurant in the basement of a former Duke's palace: the smell of curry wafting from the kitchen, the divine soups, the small library with chess and other games, the pints of alus or the eclectic range of Indian, Middle Eastern and Italian dishes. To top it all off, because of the recent smoking ban, you can actually smell those curries.
reviewed