Weekend Fun,
May 23 2023
There’s a new generation of chefs bringing a modern twist to the traditional tikkas, bhunas and vindaloos. Today, the best Indian restaurants in Covent Garden are exciting, sophisticated and bursting with aromatic spices.
Flavoured by India, cooked in Britain and served to share, dip and wipe the plate clean with naan bread, the curry is a national dish and a staple of the Indian restaurant scene in London. Covent Garden has long been a mecca for Indian restaurants, and over the years, menus have evolved to include Indian street food, Southern Indian dishes and contemporary takes on family favourites. So, get your taste buds ready for our top Indian restaurants in Covent Garden.
The Irani cafés and early talkie cinemas of post-colonial Bombay are the inspiration behind Dishoom, Covent Garden, a restaurant that has a glamorous flourish in its decor and tasty dishes for your table. Open from breakfast till late, here you can start your day with a breakfast lassi and its legendary bacon and egg naan rolls.
Try a hot potato vada for lunch with a warm chai, or choose the signature black dahl, cooked over 24 hours for extra flavour. The restaurant doesn’t take evening bookings unless you’re part of a large group, so just turn up and grab a table and take in the wonderful antiques and authentic touches that give Dishoom restaurant its vintage glamour.
Find out more about Dishoom, Covent Garden
Designed to capture the bustling energy and cultural melting pot of an Indian marketplace, Cinnamon Bazaar, Covent Garden, takes its flavours and spices from popular trading routes with India, like Iran and China. The result is a dining experience full of fragrant and inventive dishes. Sit under lanterns, hanging baskets and ribbons of pink sari silk in this fun offshoot of the famous modern fine dining restaurant, The Cinnamon Club in Westminster.
Choose the à la carte menu, go for a bottomless biryani brunch special or enjoy some chaat and spiced Indian chai for Cinnamon Bazaar’s afternoon tea. With an impressive choice of perfumed cocktails, too, Cinnamon Bazaar is a colourful and inviting place to dine.
Book a table at Cinnamon Bazaar
This Covent Garden Indian restaurant is a combination of the classic British chop house and the marinades of Indian cuisine, swapping the grill for a tandoor. The wood panelling, old photos and trad jazz tunes go well with the smell of spices and grilled meat. The result is hearty plates of prime-cooked meat, tandoor-smoked and packed with fiery flavours.
Order Amritsari crispy lamb chops that fall off the bone or tandoori duck breast and mop up the juices with a fluffy naan bread – no-one will mind you using your fingers here. Wash it all down with a craft beer, gin and tonic or an Indian-flavoured cocktail, like their spiced raspberry rani.
Reserve your table at Tandoor Chop House
Here’s a vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant in Covent Garden that saves the theatrics for the food. Its scene-stealing paper masala dosa is a lentil and rice pancake cone that, at 30 centimetres long, takes over most of your table! The chefs come from Karnataka, and traditional South Indian vegan and vegetarian dishes and Mumbai street food is their speciality.
Sagar is the place to try lentil pizza, known as uthappam, if you haven’t tasted it before. You can also try a thali – an assorted platter of lentil-based mini bowls, rice, poppadum and a dessert served on a metal tray.
If you’re tempted by our choice of Indian restaurants in Covent Garden, book a stay at Thistle, Piccadilly just a short distance away where you can enjoy home comforts in elegant surroundings.
