Bombay Café + South Indian Pub · Multiple Locations / Islington
By Monty Khas, Anonymous Critic. Pays every bill.
Some restaurants win stars. Others win loyalty, the kind measured in queues around the block and friends who refuse to meet anywhere else. This pairing is about the second kind: two London favorites that feel nothing alike but hold the same place in the city's heart.
Dishoom: the café that scaled without losing its soul
When the original opened in Covent Garden in 2010, the idea, a tribute to the old Irani cafés of Bombay with their marble tables, bentwood chairs, faded mirrors and endless chai, seemed almost too specific to work as a chain. Today there are eight London cafés, and each one feels lived-in, with period photographs, ceiling fans and a soundtrack that slips you into another decade. Covent Garden is still the smallest and most atmospheric, and the waits there can be brutal.
The menu has its own canon. The house black daal, cooked low and slow overnight until it turns velvety and smoky, is the reason many people come back. Bhel puri is the opener, a crunchy, tangy, sweet tangle that makes supermarket Bombay mix seem like a sad rumor. Pau bhaji, buttery and mashed and scooped with soft rolls, is Mumbai's beach-snack comfort food. Chicken ruby is a buttery crowd-pleaser, and the spicy lamb chops are what your table will order a second round of.
Breakfast might be the best meal of all. The bacon naan roll (smoky bacon, cream cheese, chili tomato jam, warm naan) is a cult object in its own right, and the akuri, spiced Parsi scrambled eggs on toast, is how a lot of Londoners first discovered that eggs can be thrilling.
The bar is better than it needs to be: the Permit Room old fashioned and the thandai milk punch are the house showpieces, and the chai caffè martini is the after-dinner pick-me-up. For dessert, the chai-misu, a tiramisu soaked in house chai, serves two or three, and the chocolate pudding comes with Kashmiri chili ice cream for a gentle sting at the end.
The Tamil Prince: the desi pub, perfected
Then the graduate course: The Tamil Prince, on a quiet Barnsbury corner in Islington. Chef Prince Durairaj, a Tamil Nadu native who ran the kitchen at Roti King, and Glen Leeson, a former JKS general manager, took over a 19th-century local in 2022 and turned it into the city's best-loved desi pub. The bones of the old boozer remain, all polished mahogany and racing-green walls, while brass plates, old-school tea glasses and a window into the open kitchen tell you what's changed.
The menu takes its cue from Tamil Nadu without being boxed in by it. Channa bhatura arrives puffed and glossy, ready to be torn apart. Robata lamb chops are charred and juicy. Okra fries are addictive, onion bhajis come with mint chutney and a pint as nature intended, and chicken lollipops bring a sticky, chili-dipped dose of Indo-Chinese nostalgia. The pulled beef masala uttapam is the dish that surprises people most, a soft rice-and-lentil pancake loaded like a South Indian pizza. Garlic masala tiger prawns are the splash-out order, and the cocktails are better than any pub has a right to serve.
Book for dinner and weekends; a midweek pint and a basket of okra fries is the only time you can safely just show up. The team has since added The Tamil Crown and the Tamila spinoffs, but the original is still the one to book.
Why pair them?
Because together they tell the story of how Londoners eat Indian food now. Dishoom made a Bombay café feel like a London institution; The Tamil Prince made a London pub feel like home for South Indian cooking. One is polished and scaled, the other personal and rough around the edges in all the right ways.
Start at Dishoom. Graduate to The Tamil Prince. Keep going back to both.
The Quick Fix
What to order: Dishoom: bhel puri, house black daal, pau bhaji, spicy lamb chops, bacon naan roll or akuri at breakfast, chai-misu. The Tamil Prince: channa bhatura, okra fries, onion bhajis, robata lamb chops, pulled beef masala uttapam, garlic masala tiger prawns
Pricing: Both affordable to mid-range, with excellent value for the quality.
Best for: Dishoom: first-timers, breakfast meetings, groups and visitors on a schedule. The Tamil Prince: pub nights, casual dates and anyone who wants South Indian flavor with a pint
How it compares: Dishoom is the most consistent Indian chain in London; The Tamil Prince is the city's best desi pub, more personal than Brigadiers at a fraction of Gymkhana's bill; neither needs a star to matter
See where Dishoom / The Tamil Prince ranks: The Best Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Restaurants in London: Our Top 10 for 2026
The food was always this good. We're just paying attention.