22 editor picks across United Kingdom.
22 indian restaurants worth the trip across United Kingdom, editor-ranked. All cuisines in United Kingdom.
Family-run Indian cafe since 1984, on Soap Street behind the Arndale. The original rice-and-three counter, served canteen-style, still under ten pounds.
OrderRice and three curry: pilau plus chana, saag and a meat curry.
TipOpen 12:00-19:00 weekdays; takeaway queue moves fast at lunch.
Karam Sethi's Albemarle Street Indian dining room in Mayfair London, opened 2013 and Michelin two-starred since 2024, modelled on a colonial-club room.
OrderKid goat methi keema with sesame naan, plus whatever wild-game tandoori cut is being grilled that night.
TipThe basement bar serves the same kitchen as a la carte without the tasting menu lock-in. Book a fortnight out.
P G and Lilawati Sachdev opened Lily's in 1972; pure vegetarian, family-run, packed with Manchester regulars. Best Vegetarian 2018 award winner.
OrderThe Lily's thali, a daily-changing tour of Gujarati and Punjabi vegetarian plates.
TipTwenty minutes by tram from Piccadilly; closed Monday and Tuesday.
The Edinburgh outpost of London's Bombay-Irani cafe chain on St Andrew Square, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the old Bank of Scotland HQ.
OrderThe bacon naan roll for breakfast and the 24-hour house black daal at any other meal.
TipNo dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and the wait is 30 to 60 minutes. Drinks at the basement bar while you wait.
The Edinburgh outpost of the London Bombay-Irani cafe on St Andrew Square in Edinburgh, opened in 2016, a 200-cover all-day room in the former Bank.
OrderBacon naan roll at breakfast, house black daal at any other time.
TipNo dinner bookings under six; walk in from 17:30 and wait 30 to 60 minutes. Basement bar pours while you queue.
Family-run Indian cafe since 1984, on Soap Street behind the Arndale. Rice-and-three counter, canteen-style, still under ten pounds a plate.
OrderRice and three curry: pilau plus chana, saag and a meat curry.
TipOpen 12:00-19:00 weekdays; takeaway queue moves fast at lunch.
P G and Lilawati Sachdev opened Lily's in 1972; pure vegetarian, family-run, packed with regulars. Best Vegetarian at the 2018 Food Festival.
OrderThe Lily's thali, a daily-changing tour of Gujarati and Punjabi vegetarian plates.
TipAshton-under-Lyne is twenty minutes by tram from Piccadilly; closed Monday and Tuesday.
Indian street-food and craft-beer hall in a basement off Piccadilly. Twelve keg lines pour Bundobust's own brewery beers alongside the snack plates.
OrderVada pav with chilli butter, okra fries, and a pint of the Bundobust Mango Lassi sour.
TipAll vegetarian; gluten-free options marked. Bookings rare on weekends.
Mohammad Arshad opened Mughli on Manchester's Curry Mile in 1991; family still runs it. Focal charcoal pit, Mughlai cooking, lamb chops by platter.
OrderCharcoal lamb chops; tandoori paneer; finish with kulfi.
TipKitchen runs to 00:30 Friday and Saturday; family-lunch crowd from 14:00 Sunday.
Ranjit's Kitchen is a family-run Punjabi vegetarian counter in Glasgow's Southside, serving fresh, meat-free thalis and samosas for under a tenner.
OrderThe thali of the day, whatever the family has cooked fresh that morning.
TipIt is cash-only with a handful of tables; takeaway is the reliable option when the room is full.
Mohammad Arshad opened Mughli on Manchester's Curry Mile in 1991. Family-run, focal charcoal pit, Mughlai cooking, lamb chops by the platter.
OrderCharcoal lamb chops and the chargrilled paneer; finish with kulfi.
TipKitchen runs to 00:30 Friday and Saturday; Sunday is family-lunch crowd from 14:00.
Indian street-food and craft-beer hall in a basement off Piccadilly. Twelve keg lines pour Bundobust's own brewery beers alongside the snack plates.
OrderVada pav with chilli butter, okra fries and a pint of Bundobust Mango Lassi sour.
TipAll vegetarian; gluten-free options marked. Bookings rare on weekends; arrive at 17:30.
Mother India has served home-style Indian cooking in Glasgow's West End since 1990, a warren of small rooms famous for its sharing plates and slow-cooked dal.
OrderBuild a table of small dishes to share; the aubergine and the karahi lamb are long-time regulars' picks.
TipThe tapas-style spin-off, Mother India's Cafe on Argyle Street, is the cheaper way to eat the same kitchen's cooking.
Karam Sethi's Blandford Street Indian coastal restaurant in Marylebone London, opened 2008 and Michelin-starred, focused on Konkan and Mangalorean fish.
OrderBrown crab Goan curry, hariyali bream and a glass of riesling from the all-aromatic list.
TipThe tasting menu is the best route in, but a la carte stays open at lunch and books a week ahead.
Dakhin was Scotland's first dedicated South Indian restaurant, a Merchant City room in Glasgow serving dosas, appams and Chettinad curries, all gluten-free.
OrderA crisp masala dosa with sambar and coconut chutney.
TipThe whole menu is gluten-free, which makes it a rare safe bet for coeliac diners in the city centre.
Shish Mahal is the West End curry house that claims to have invented chicken tikka masala in Glasgow in the 1970s, still packed for its Punjabi cooking.
OrderThe chicken tikka masala, the dish this kitchen is said to have created.
TipThe claim is contested but the cooking is genuinely good; book ahead at weekends when it fills with regulars.
The Dhabba has served North Indian cooking in Glasgow's Merchant City since 2002, a smart Candleriggs room strong on tandoor breads and Punjabi curries.
OrderA tandoor bread basket with a slow-cooked lamb rogan josh.
TipThis is North Indian, so ask staff to steer you away from the Glasgow-Punjabi standards toward the regional dishes.
Chaakoo Bombay Cafe channels the Irani cafes of old Bombay on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, serving small-plate Indian street food and railway-station snacks.
OrderA spread of small plates: the okra fries and the keema pau are regulars' picks.
TipOrder in rounds like tapas rather than one big curry; the small plates are where the kitchen shines.
The Wee Curry Shop is a tiny, much-loved curry room on Buccleuch Street in Glasgow, cooking a short, fresh Indian menu at a handful of tables since the 1990s.
OrderThe set thali is the classic order; the menu is short and changes with what is fresh.
TipThere are only a few tables in the Garnethill room, so booking ahead is essential most evenings.
Thali Montpelier is the original of Bristol's thali institution, serving award-noted curry plates and reusable steel tiffin takeaways on York Road.
OrderThe full thali; buy the £20 steel tiffin and refills become the habit.
TipA past Observer Food Monthly cheap-eats award winner; vegan and gluten-free versions come as standard.
The Bombay-cafe-styled Indian dining room on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2012 as Dishoom's second site, runs Parsi cafe cooking.
OrderBacon naan roll at breakfast and house black daal at dinner. Chai on the side.
TipNo bookings for weekend lunch; expect a 45-minute queue on Saturday. Weekday breakfast from 08:00 walks straight in without waiting.
Mister Singh's India is an Elderslie Street institution in Glasgow, an Indian kitchen famous for haggis pakora and kilt-wearing staff since the 1990s.
OrderThe haggis pakora, a Glasgow-Scots-Indian mash-up the restaurant helped make famous.
TipThe Scottish-Indian theme is played for fun; it is a reliable, generous curry house near Charing Cross.
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