Mark Bittman
More than 15 years ago, the first ?upscale? Indian restaurants began appearing in London, including the now-famous Tamarind. The occasion was notable: in a city filled with curry joints, here was a white-tablecloth operation with Michelin star aspirations. It was eclectic, exciting, expensive and successful?and yes, it got its star. And I don?t have an unkind word to say about it.
Still, it isn?t what I look for when I go to London. The great thing about the so-called ?Indian? food scene here is that you can find it in every neighbourhood and it?s the genuine item. The white tablecloth spots are fine for people who are skittish about true subcontinental food. But those that offer the real deal are amazing, and frankly have more guts than those that cater to, well, a white-tablecloth clientele. And don?t assume that good ingredients are restricted to the pricey places; every restaurant discussed here uses high-quality meat and vegetables.
Caf? Spice Namast?
Intricate, fascinating, different, delicious and unpretentious.
That should do it, though some details are in order. Caf? Spice in the East End has a casual, ?70s, almost hippie-ish look, with bright colours and uniformed staff. It demonstrates not only how sophisticated real ?Indian? food can be, but how fine it can be, even in such a laid-back place.
Appearance aside, it is a terrific restaurant, very close to mind-blowing. The chef is the well-established and much-loved Cyrus Todiwala.
New Tayyabs
This spot in Whitechapel serves Pakistani food, and, as my friend Jay Rayner, The Guardian?s restaurant reviewer, says, it is ?meat heaven.?
It looks and feels like a cafeteria, although there?s actually service. Here, you can eat a magnificent lamb kebab, or quite possibly the best tandoori lamb chops you will find in the city (or perhaps anywhere else). Smashed thin, spread with a cumin-dominated yogurt marinade, grilled until crackly, eaten with fingers … well, meat heaven.
Sitaaray
Maybe this is a Covent Garden tourist trap, but it worked for me: all-you-can-eat kebabs and curries served in a Bollywood atmosphere, filled with television screens playing music and movies, and, in general, noise. There are vegetables, creamy dal and a good assortment of chutneys and raitas and pickles and whatnot. Desserts are ? la carte; you won?t need them, but the carrot halwa is lovely.
Chor Bizarre
If you think the heart of Mayfair is too classy for a crass commercial operation, think again: here is Chor Bizarre, just as wacky as it was in its original location in Delhi. A chor bazaar is a thieves? market?what we?d call a flea market, although the ownership of the items for sale may be more dubious. This restaurant looks like a mock fancy antiques store. Chor Bizarre doesn?t take itself too seriously, and the generally pan-subcontinent food, which ranges from Pakistani to Kashmiri to Keralan, is very, very good. The menu is vast, and it would take four people five visits to get through it all.