★ Michelin · Southwest Indian Coastal · Buckingham Gate, Westminster
By Monty Khas, Anonymous Critic. Pays every bill.
There's a particular kind of calm that settles over you at Quilon. Maybe it's the location, with its own entrance on Buckingham Gate inside the Taj group's St James' Court hotel, minutes from the palace yet a world away from the tourist crush. Maybe it's the newly renovated room. Or maybe it's the cooking, which has been quietly confident since 1999 and has held a Michelin star since 2008.
The room
Quilon is easy to walk past, and it seems to like it that way. Inside, the space is calm and polished, with South Indian motifs, gold-embossed artwork and the kind of soft acoustics that let you hear the person across the table. It's a room built for quiet conversation and long lunches, not for selfies, and it's all the better for it.
The cooking
Quilon's subject is the southwest coast of India: Kerala, Karwar, Mangalore and the Malabar coast. The cooking there tends to be lighter than its northern cousins, with more coconut, curry leaf, black pepper and tamarind, and spice that builds slowly rather than arriving all at once. Kerala-born chef Sriram Aylur shaped the menu around that sensibility over more than two decades, and it shows on every plate.
The baked black cod is the signature, and deservedly so: glossy, flaking and tamarind-tinged. Crab cakes come crusted in vermicelli and scented with curry leaf. The prawn masala, simmered in coconut milk, is quietly one of the best dishes on the menu. Lobster butter pepper garlic is the indulgence order, rich and peppery in a way that makes you want bread to mop the plate. Manglorean chicken curry, the kori gassi, is a homestyle classic made with real finesse, and quail ambotik with Goan chili and kokum shows the kitchen's sharper, sourer side.
Then there's the Fisherman's Catch, a seafood plate of pepper shrimp, crab cake, fish cafreal and grilled scallop that doubles as a crash course in coastal technique. Add a biryani and a flaky Malabar paratha, and your table will go quiet with concentration.
A smart trick: many dishes can be ordered in smaller portions, so two or three people can build their own tasting menu without committing to a set one. The kitchen will also put together a seasonal tasting menu tailored to your preferences.
For vegetarians
Vegetarians are not an afterthought here. The dedicated vegetarian tasting menu is among the best meat-free Indian meals in London, and even the side dishes impress: seasonal greens such as asparagus or snow peas tossed with coconut, mustard seed and curry leaf can steal attention from the mains.
Drinks and dessert
Before dinner, the candlelit QBar pours a chili-spiked house cocktail called the Qojito, and the cocktail list goes further with drinks like the Amsul, built on a kokum-infused gin. The wine list is long and organized by style rather than region, which makes pairing with spice much less intimidating. Desserts are modern and playful; the pistachio creations and a baked yogurt with palm jaggery and tropical fruit are the ones to try.
Before you go
Quilon is closed on Mondays, serves lunch Wednesday through Sunday, and runs a weekend brunch. Book online or by phone. The British Indian Good Food Guide ranked it the top London restaurant in its 2024 hot list, a reminder that the city's Indian community rates this room as highly as Michelin does.
Quilon is not the flashiest Indian restaurant in London, and it seems to know that. It doesn't need tiger print or a DJ. It needs a piece of black cod, a good paratha and an hour of your attention, and it will repay all three.
The Quick Fix
What to order: Baked black cod; crab cakes; prawn masala; lobster butter pepper garlic; Manglorean chicken curry (kori gassi); the Fisherman's Catch; Malabar paratha; the vegetarian tasting menu; a Qojito at QBar
Pricing: Upscale. Tasting menus are a special-occasion spend; weekend lunch is the gentler way in.
Best for: Seafood lovers, fans of coastal Indian cooking, vegetarians, Westminster business lunches, and long weekend lunches
How it compares: The deepest dive into Kerala and Mangalorean cooking in London; more regionally focused than Trishna; better for seafood than Gymkhana; far calmer than Ambassadors Clubhouse
See where Quilon 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.