Photo by Bibi
Photo by Bibi
Bibi
Michelin Listed Contemporary Indian · Mayfair
Chef-Patron Chet Sharma came to food via a physics PhD from the University of Oxford — a trajectory that explains both the meticulous precision of his cooking and the almost scientific delight he takes in unexpected combinations. BiBi, part of the JKS Restaurants family (Gymkhana, Hoppers, Brigadiers), sits on North Audley Street in Mayfair and is the group's most personal project: the two tasting menus are named after Sharma's grandmothers (Bibi Kamal and Bibi Ranjana), and family recipes appear throughout — "Sharmaji's Lahori Chicken," passed down from Sharma's grandfather, is the dish that makes sceptics of traditional names into immediate converts. The 13-seat kitchen counter overlooking the custom-built sigree (Indian grill) is the best seat in the room, and the best seat to understand what Sharma is doing: taking exceptional British produce — Orkney scallops, Highland beef, Cornish lobster — and applying the flavour traditions of India with enough precision to make the combinations feel inevitable rather than experimental. The World's 50 Best Discovery List 2024 recognised it. Best Cocktail List at the National Restaurant Awards 2025. A Michelin star, when it comes, will not surprise anyone who has eaten here.
What to order: Tasting menu (Kamal or Ranjana), Sharmaji's Lahori Chicken, Ajwaini Scallops, Oxford Blue Malai Kofta, counter seats for full experience
Pricing: Tasting ~£55 set lunch, ~£95–120+ dinner. Cocktails are the supporting argument for the bill.
Best for: The most interesting Indian tasting meal in London; anniversary dinners; food-obsessed dates; anyone who thinks they know London's Indian scene and wants to be corrected
Comparable Restaurants: More personal and innovative than Gymkhana; better cocktail list than Jamavar; JKS group's most exciting current project; Michelin star feels inevitable
Photo by Gymkhana
Photo by Gymkhana
GYMKHANA
Two Michelin stars, dark wood panelling, plush leather banquettes, and a downstairs bar that is genuinely one of London's best for a spiced Old Fashioned. Named for the elite clubs of British India, the cooking reclaims the colonial-era Indian culinary tradition with far more skill than the colonisers ever showed the cuisine. The tandoori masala lamb chops are the single most discussed dish in London's Indian dining scene. The wild muntjac biryani answers anyone who thinks biryani can't be fine-dining.
★★ Michelin
Modern Indian Fine Dining · Mayfair
What to order: Lamb Chops, Wild Muntjac Biryani, Duck Dosa, downstairs bar Old Fashioned
Pricing: £120–180pp with wine.
Best for: Milestone occasions, international visitors, serious food enthusiasts
Comparable Restaurants: London's finest Indian by star; lamb chops the city's benchmark; rivals Trèsind Dubai; BiBi the more exciting current conversation
Photo by Ambassador’s Clubhouse
Photo by Desifoodfix
Ambassadors Clubhouse
Modern Punjabi · Mayfair
From the same team as Gymkhana, Ambassadors Clubhouse opened to immediate acclaim and gives London exactly what it needed: Gymkhana's cooking quality at a slightly lower altitude of formality. The shiny mirrored room downstairs plays desi bangers at a volume that makes dinner feel like a party. The goat shami bun kebab gets on best-dishes-in-London lists immediately. The best new desi restaurant in London — and easier to get into than its two-starred sibling.
What to order: Goat Shami Bun Kebab, Punjabi Biryani, Rich Curries, Cocktails
Pricing:
$$$–$$$$
£55–90pp.
Best for: Groups, celebrations, young professionals wanting the Gymkhana experience without the 3-week booking wait
Comparable Restaurants: Gymkhana's fun younger sibling; bun kebab better than Dishoom's best; easier booking than Gymkhana or Jamavar
Photo by Kricket
Photo by Desifoodfix
Kricket Soho
Born in a 20-seater shipping container in Brixton, Kricket now has four London branches and a Michelin Bib Gourmand — which is the appropriate recognition for a restaurant that quietly did more to change how non-desis engage with Indian food in London than almost any other. Chef Will Bowlby (who cooked in Mumbai kitchens before returning to London) built a menu that leans towards India's southerly states — Goan sausage croquettes, Keralan fried chicken with curry leaf mayo, Karnatakan pork neck — and proved that small plates, an open kitchen, and a good cocktail bar is exactly the right format for contemporary Indian food. The Soho spot remains the original and the best. The counter in front of the open kitchen is huge fun. The basement has something of a cool nighttime vibe. The pre-theatre timing makes it the best Indian dinner in the West End before a show.
Bib Gourmand
Modern Indian Small Plates · Soho
What to order: Keralan Fried Chicken with Curry Leaf Mayo, Goan Sausage Croquettes, Bhel Puri, Samphire Pakoras, Karnatakan Pork Neck; cocktails at SOMA next door
Pricing:
$$–$$$
Small plates £8–18. Bib Gourmand value.
Best for: Pre-theatre dinners, casual dates, Soho evenings, counter seating enthusiasts, South Indian food explorers
Comparable Restaurants: More accessible than Hoppers; better South India focus than Dishoom; Keralan fried chicken rivals any fried chicken in London
Inspired by India’s Army Mess Bars
Indian Barbecue, Built for Sharing
Brigadiers
Indian BBQ & Bar · Bloomberg Arcade, City
From the Gymkhana group, Brigadiers brings Indian BBQ to Bloomberg Arcade in a warren of rooms that feels like the best pub you've ever been in, except the food is world-class. Amritsari fish in pub-snack form: light, crispy, not remotely greasy. A chaat with a samosa snow-capped with yogurt. This is JKS doing Gymkhana's tricks in denim rather than a dinner jacket, and the City crowd has been full every evening since it opened to prove the point.
What to order
Amritsari Fish, Samosa Chaat, Kashmiri Lamb Cutlet, BBQ selection, Craft beer
Pricing:
$$$
Small plates £9–16, mains £18–32.
Best for: Post-work City crowds, casual groups, pub-format Indian BBQ
Comparable Restaurants: Gymkhana's casual sibling; best Indian pub experience in London; better for groups than BiBi or Jamavar
The Tamil Prince Dining Gift Experience
A Gift of Indian Sharing Plates at The Tamil Prince
Dishoom/ The Tamil Prince
Bombay Cafe + South Indian Pub · Multiple Locations / Islington
Two restaurants sharing an entry because they occupy the same emotional space — beloved, consistently excellent, endlessly queued-for — but in very different physical ones. Dishoom (since 2010) is the Bombay cafe institution that proved a restaurant chain can have soul: the house black daal slow-cooked for 24 hours, the bacon naan roll at breakfast, the lamb chops that the table always orders more of, the interiors that transport you to a 1960s Irani cafe without any of the effort being visible. The Tamil Prince (Islington, Michelin Listed) is what happens when a revived Victorian pub gets South Indian sharing plates: Chettinad lamb curry, channa bhatura, onion bhajis alongside a pint, a menu nominally inspired by Tamil Nadu but not bound by its borders, priced at £52pp for a three-course dinner, and booking slots that open 28 days in advance and fill within hours. The Infatuation calls it "utterly delicious." Texas Monthly has no relevant jurisdiction here, but if it did, it would agree. Start with Dishoom. Graduate to Tamil Prince. Both deserve your loyalty.
What to order
Dishoom: House Black Daal, Lamb Chops, Bacon Naan Roll (breakfast), Chicken Ruby. Tamil Prince: Chettinad Lamb Curry, Channa Bhatura, Grilled Lamb Chops, Onion Bhajis with a pint, Uttapam (weekend breakfast)
Pricing
Dishoom $$–$$$, Tamil Prince $$
Tamil Prince ~£52pp three courses. Dishoom mains £15–18.
Best for: Large groups, budget-conscious lamb chop pilgrims, BYOB enthusiasts, East London residents, visitors who want real Pakistani food without fine-dining prices
Comparable Restaurants: Tayyabs lamb chops rival Gymkhana's at 1/4 the price; Lahore Kebab House shish the best in the city; both beat every comparable Pakistani restaurant in NYC on value; neither needs a star to matter
A Culinary Journey Through Southwest India
Regional Flavours, Seasonally Inspired Menus
Quilon
★ Michelin
South-West Indian Coastal · Buckingham Gate, Westminster
Quilon has held a Michelin star since 2008 — which makes it London's longest-serving Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, a fact that would feel like heritage rather than achievement if the cooking hadn't continued to earn it year after year. Head Chef Sriram Aylur (also behind Bombay Brasserie) offers a comprehensive tour through the classic flavours of southwest India and the Malabar Coast, where the cooking is lighter, the coconut more present, the spice building gradually rather than arriving all at once. The British Good Food Guide ranked it the #1 Indian restaurant in London in 2024. The pepper shrimps to start. The kori gassi (Mangalorean chicken curry). The lemon rice with paratha, which is the Quilon version of a proof of concept: that this is what coastal Indian cooking tastes like when it's made by someone who grew up eating it rather than approximating it. The spacious, calm room runs by a smart and knowledgeable team that embodies the south Indian hospitality it's there to represent.
What to order
Pepper Shrimps, Kori Gassi, Malabar Fish Curry, Lemon Rice with Paratha, Black Pepper Crab, Quilon's vegetarian menu (separate — genuinely excellent)
Pricing
$$$$
£60–100pp. Tasting menu option available.
Best for: Seafood lovers, South Indian coastal cuisine seekers, Westminster business lunches, the visitor who wants London's longest-standing Michelin-starred Indian table
Comparable Restaurants: British Good Food Guide's #1 Indian in London 2024; Michelin star held longest of any London Indian restaurant; more focused coastal south Indian than Trishna; better for seafood than Gymkhana; the most complete representation of Malabar cooking in Europe
Starters Inspired by Bold Indian Street Flavors
Hearty Indian Mains Served with Pulao
Darjeeling Express
Bengali Home Cooking · Kingly Court, Soho
Chef-owner Asma Khan's journey from supper club to Kingly Court landmark is the kind of story that makes you believe in cooking honestly. Khan is often still on the floor checking on tables. The terracotta room and intimate booths turn a casual lunch into a two-hour affair you don't want to leave. London's best Bengali cooking — with the Bengali Aloo Bonde and mutton biryani as the anchoring arguments.
What to order:
Bengali Aloo Bonde, Mutton Biryani, Nihari, Fish Jhol, Raita
Pricing
$$$
Mains £18–28.
Best for: Authentic Bengali cuisine seekers, intimate dinners, long lazy lunches
Comparable Restaurants: London's best Bengali; more personal than Dishoom; rivals Gymkhana on cooking soul; unique Bengali focus in a city where the cuisine is underrepresented at this quality level
Contemporary Indian Coastal Dining in Marylebone Village
A Relaxed Neighborhood Dining Atmosphere in Marylebone
Trishna
Indian Seafood · Marylebone
Marylebone's Indian seafood specialist makes the case that coastal Indian food is the cuisine's most underrated tradition outside the subcontinent. The Dorset crab with koliwada batter is a meeting of British ingredient and Mumbai tradition that works with elegant simplicity. The stone bass preparations are worth visiting for alone. A quiet, intimate room with genuinely world-class fish cookery. The companion argument to Quilon's Malabar case — Trishna makes the Mumbai and Mangalorean case, with equal conviction.
What to order
Dorset Crab Koliwada, Stone Bass, Kerala Prawn Curry, Neer Dosa, Coconut Rice
Pricing:
$$$$
£70–110pp.
Best for: Seafood lovers, romantic dinners, coastal Indian enthusiasts, those who've done Quilon and want the Mumbai contrast
Comparable Restaurants: London's best Mumbai-style Indian seafood; rivals Quilon for technical seafood cooking from a different regional angle; more intimate than Quilon
All-Day Indian Kitchen & Bar in East Dulwich
All-Day Bites, Big Flavour, No Full Meal Needed
Kokum
Modern Indian · East Dulwich
Co-founder Sanjay Gour was once Gymkhana's head chef. His Zone 2 menu pulls all the same indulgent tricks, but in far more casual, wallet-friendly surroundings in East Dulwich. The Infatuation puts it "right up there with the best Indian restaurants in the city." Time Out calls it "a brilliant place to start" for people who want to eat like Gymkhana without paying for it. The khumb palak — concentrated spinach leaves with mushrooms, garlic, and dry red chilli — is described by food critic Andy Hayler as one of the best vegetarian Indian dishes he's ever eaten. The lamb biryani's pastry lid is pried off tableside "with a level of care you come to expect from Kokum." The pork ribs glazed spicy-sweet-sticky are the dish you immediately send photos of to friends. A curry masterclass programme for people who want to make Kokum-worthy food at home. The beer served on an outdoor barbecue setup in good weather at £15 for a full meal. London has very good Indian restaurants in Mayfair; it now also has one in East Dulwich that doesn't apologise for the postcode.
What to order:
Khumb Palak (mushroom, spinach, garlic — maybe London's best veg dish), Pork Ribs, Lamb Biryani (pastry lid broken tableside), Amritsari Fish, Tadka Makhani Cauliflower, Naadan Falooda
Pricing:
$$–$$$
~£50–70pp. Dramatically more wallet-friendly than Gymkhana for the same DNA.
Best for:
South Londoners, anyone who wants Gymkhana-quality cooking without Mayfair prices, vegetarians (khumb palak alone), date nights that don't announce themselves with the bill
Comparable Restaurants: Gymkhana's head chef cooking in East Dulwich at half the price — that is the entire argument. Biryani rivals Gymkhana's wild muntjac version for tableside theatre; khumb palak beats most veg Indian dishes in the city; worth the Overground trip