Our favourite Indian restaurants across Britain Published 07 November 2023
Indian food in Britain is no longer low-cost, one-flavour-fits-all, post-pub curry fare. Today, British Indian restaurants reflect an exciting, nuanced cuisine, inflected with the scope of flavours of the sub-continent, deserving of the same respect as the finest classical cookery. Here are 29 of our favourite spots across Britain, from budget-friendly cafés to decadent fine-dining restaurants.
On the evening of November 17th, 1873, two decades before Eros pitched up, Piccadilly Circus welcomed a glittering newcomer into its midst. Designed by architect Thomas Verity, who had a hand in both the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A) and the Royal Albert Hall, The Criterion was an ornate, five-storey building with the Marble Hall and a grand, American-style Long Bar on the ground floor, and a theatre in its basement; not to be upstaged, the floors above featured several dining rooms and a ballroom.
Choosing one course isn’t always for cost reasons: sometimes appetites are smaller, or you’re pushed for time, or you’re just in the mood for something simple. We’re all for pushing the boat out every so often and lingering over several courses, but eating out well doesn’t always have to be that way.
Camellia Panjabi has always been an agent of change. Along with her sister and brother-in-law, she is responsible for igniting a shift in the perception of Indian food in the UK from low-cost, one-flavour-fits-all, post-pub curry to an exciting, nuanced cuisine, inflected with the scope of flavours of the sub-continent, and deserving of the same respect as the finest classical cookery. This year’s Lifetime Achievement recipient in CODE Hospitality’s annual Women of the Year Awards, tells Tessa Allingham about a drive to innovate that has defined a game-changing career.
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