What's New in London's Desi Food Scene

TL;DR

• London's Desi restaurant scene spans every price tier, from Kensington fine dining to neighbourhood takeaways
• The geographic spread is vast — Queensway, Kensington, Notting Hill, Croydon, and South London all have strong clusters
• Heritage institutions like Veeraswamy and Bombay Brasserie remain active alongside younger independent openings
• South Indian cuisine is well-represented, with dedicated dosa restaurants now operating across multiple boroughs
• Pakistani and Bangladeshi kitchens add depth that most "Indian restaurant" roundups tend to undercount

London's Desi Food Geography

London does not have a single Desi restaurant district the way Bradford has Manningham or Leicester has the Golden Mile. Instead, the city's South Asian restaurants are distributed across dozens of neighbourhoods, each with its own character and price range.

In central and west London, the tradition runs deep. Veeraswamy (99-101 Regent Street) is the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in Britain, dating to 1926, and it is still earning serious praise. Weekend evening hours run from 5:30–10:30 pm. Nearby in Kensington, Zaika (1 Kensington High Street) brings a refined approach to modern Indian cooking, with reservations available via reservations@zaikaofkensington.com.

Bombay Brasserie (Courtfield Road, in the Baileys Hotel) has been a landmark for decades, now under Millennium Hotels management. Monday service from 5:45 pm. For something in the same neighbourhood with a different register, Raj of Kensington (1 Abingdon Road) has held its ground in a competitive market.

In Notting Hill and Bayswater, Maharaja (50 Queensway) is one of the area's established names, with Palki (44 Golborne Road) offering a more relaxed neighbourhood setting further along the Portobello corridor. Durbar (24 Hereford Road) maintains evening service seven days a week from 5:20 pm, phone: +44 20 7727 1947.

Independent Restaurants Across the Boroughs

Mumbai Delight (51 South Lambeth Road) brings Maharashtrian-influenced cooking to South Lambeth, a part of inner south London with a growing Desi restaurant presence. Email: ajay@mumbaidelight.co.uk.

Anokha (15 Churchfield Road) in Acton operates with a clear focus on quality Indian cooking away from the tourist circuit. Info: info@anokhaindian.com. The Rasoi (130 St. John Street) in Clerkenwell has Monday-to-Sunday service starting at 11 am, with email at therasoi130@gmail.com.

Empire Empire (16 All Saints Road, Notting Hill) is from the Gunpowder restaurant group — which made its reputation on bold, spice-forward small plates — and brings that energy to an All Saints Road location. Thursday and Friday service starts at noon. Contact: marketing@gunpowderrestaurants.com.

Akash Tandoori (70 Northcote Road, Battersea) runs evening service seven days a week from 5:30 pm. Email: akash.sw11@gmail.com. Blossom by Khans (159A Lavender Hill) is nearby in Clapham Junction, with phone: +44 20 7978 4455. Both serve the affluent south London residential market that has grown substantially for good Desi dining.

Raka Indian Cuisine (306 Kingston Road, Wimbledon) rounds out the south London picture with Monday-to-Sunday evening service from 5 pm. Phone: +44 20 8542 7717; website: raka.co.uk.

South Indian and Regional Specialists

Crispy Dosa (38-40 High Street, Croydon) operates as part of a small chain of South Indian restaurants and is consistently regarded as one of the best places for masala dosa in greater London. Email: crispydosacroydon@gmail.com; phone: +44 16 8925 8917.

Memsaheb (65-67 Amsterdam Road) in the Isle of Dogs is one of east London's quieter discoveries — a Bengali-influenced Indian kitchen in a relatively underserved restaurant corridor. Website: memsahebe14.uk.

Tsaretta Spice (55 Church Street, Twickenham) describes itself as Indian tapas, a format that works better than it sounds — small plates, bold spice, convivial setting. Phone: +44 20 8892 1096; website: tsarettaspice.com.

Royal Tandoori Selsdon (226 Addington Road) covers the Croydon/Selsdon area with evening service from 5–10:30 pm, Monday through Saturday. Phone: +44 20 8651 3500.

Indiya (180 High Street, Bromley) serves the outer south-east London market with a full Indian menu. Contact: contact@dineindiya.co.uk.

Insider Tip: For the most concentrated Desi dining experience in west London, the Queensway/Bayswater triangle — Maharaja at 50 Queensway, Durbar at 24 Hereford Road, and Palki at 44 Golborne Road — is walkable and covers traditional Indian, Notting Hill casual, and Portobello neighbourhood dining in a single evening.

FAQ

Where are London's Desi restaurant clusters? The most accessible clusters are Queensway/Bayswater (west), Kensington (fine dining), Clapham/Battersea (south), and Croydon (further south). Tooting and Southall have dense South Asian populations and robust local restaurant scenes that extend well beyond this list.

What are the heritage fine-dining options? Veeraswamy (99-101 Regent Street) is the oldest, followed by Bombay Brasserie (Courtfield Road/Baileys Hotel) and Zaika (1 Kensington High Street). All three take reservations and operate at a noticeably higher price point than the neighbourhood restaurants.

Is Pakistani cuisine well-represented in London? London has a large Pakistani community, particularly in east London, Walthamstow, and Southall. On this list, Pier Masala (9 Pier Road) covers Indian and Bangladeshi cooking, while Shimla Merch Indian Takeaway (552-556 Limes Avenue) serves the outer north-east. For the full picture of Pakistani dining in London, dedicated Halal restaurant guides are more reliable than general Indian restaurant roundups.

Are there South Indian vegetarian options? Crispy Dosa (38-40 High Street, Croydon) is the standout for South Indian vegetarian. The Adyar Ananda Bhavan chain also has London-area locations for those seeking the full South Indian vegetarian experience including sweets.

Bottom Line

London's Desi food scene is too large and too spread out to summarise with any single list. What this snapshot shows is the range: from Veeraswamy's century-old Regent Street elegance to Crispy Dosa's focused South Indian menu in Croydon, from Bombay Brasserie's hotel-dining grandeur to Memsaheb's quiet east London neighbourhood kitchen. The city rewards the curious diner who is willing to travel across boroughs, because the best discoveries are rarely in the tourist centre.