Indian restaurants have been stealing a march on London

House of Ming opened in London on May 25, 2023. (Photo via Instagram/Atelier Wren - the studio that designed the restaurant at St James' Court)

A dragon outside a marquee Indian hotel on the streets of London! That’s what happened on the evening of May 23, 2023 (Tuesday), at St James’ Court. The dragon made an appearance with some music and fanfare, signalling the 50-odd invited guests to enter the tastefully decorated House of Ming. It joins four other restaurants that serve St James’ Court, including the Michelin-starred Quilon, but Taj regulars know that House of Ming has been operating in Delhi for over four decades.

The guests were served 17 (or did it cross 20? It was difficult to keep track!) dishes that were accompanied by two expensive teas made available by the London Tea Exchange. The Da Hong Pao, grown in the Wuyi Mountains, which costs $1.2 million per kg, and Sea of Blossoms, made from 100 types of blossoms from 22 different countries, humbly priced at £1500 a kilo!

As I sat negotiating the signature Flaming Duck on my plate, having just emptied it of prawns and stir-fried Chinese greens, I asked Mehrnavaz Avari, area director, UK, and general manager, St James’ Court, how difficult or easy it was to choose the menu. “Forty to forty-five percent consists of our popular HoM (House of Ming) dishes from India. The rest have been worked out by our chefs here,” she answers. “We have kept in mind our sense of place, as we are located in the Royal quarter (the hotel is walking distance from Buckingham Palace) and the imperatives of Indian hospitality.”

House of Ming joins what is appearing to be a crowded space of high-end Indian restaurants; though every critic agrees there is scope for more. Gaylord shut in 2019 after being in business for half a century and so did Red Fort in 2018, after building a loyal clientele for over 35 years. London’s West End still has Chutney Mary, Benares, Jamavar, Gymkhana and Veeraswamy, to name just a few of the high end Indian restaurants.

Others like Dishoom have changed the equation completely. Offering food in a very pronounced cultural context, clever marketing and a markedly young crowd has made it stand apart. Regulars love how it takes care of you, offering refreshments while you wait for a table. It now has nine branches in the UK - six in London, and one each in Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham. It’s a pity, though, that it has now stopped its delicately cooked Raan, which was one of its signature shareable dishes. If you love tea, then go for its masala chai, over any dessert, if you have to choose.

Also to have made a mark is Asma Khan who runs Darjeeling Express. The gusty Asma, with a PhD in law from King’s College, leads an all-women team and seems to have wowed London with her Calcutta-style Dum Biryani.

Some zany new entrants have also garnered attention. Take, for example, the interestingly named The Tamil Prince. Located in Islington, it has the buzz of a pub, but serves perhaps London’s biggest and tastiest tiger prawns, and crispiest fried okra. Having replaced a pub, it also serves a good variety of cocktails. The head chef, Prince Durairaj, was associated with the no-frills Roti King at Euston, which served quick Indian/Chinese and Malaysian fare.

(Photo via Instagram/Dishoom)

Euston’s Drummond Street, currently somewhat hidden due to extensive construction work, is home to several restaurants. I have not been able to make the connection why the lanes around Drummond Street were the preferred address for Sylheti seafarers as recorded in their British naturalization certificates in the National Archives, Kew. The area is now a foodie delight, and offers reasonably good vegetarian fare. So it is ironic that a non-descript Raavi Kebab offers delectable seekh kebabs. The trick is to tell the person in the kitchen to cook the kebab just a bit longer than usual. Old-timers say it has been operating for years, but I wonder if it has been under the same management.

Roti King and Raavi Kebab are on either sides of Euston station, but they (and the several other restaurants on Drummond Street) offer a good choice for those using Euston station (and the nearby King’s Cross) to enter or exit London by outstation trains. None of the other important gateways like Victoria, Paddington, Waterloo, or Marylebone come anywhere close to the variety and convenience that Euston offers in terms of Indian fare. The only exception is Liverpool Street station from where Whitechapel Street/Aldgate is close by, an area which has the highest per capita of “Indian” restaurants run by Bangladeshis.

Almost every South Asian in the UK, whether living in London or outside, is likely to have visited Whitechapel, Harrow, East Ham, Southall and Hounslow. All these are thickly populated by the various Indian (and South Asian) communities offering unprecedented options in terms of quality and price. Tayyabs in Whitechapel, which features in almost every list, is overrated. Instead, head for Lahore Kebab House - the nihari and generous portion of curries make it stand out. You can also get fresh sugarcane (most likely from Africa or South America) juice in these localities, and it goes without saying that a Shree Krishna Vada Pav in Harrow and a Saravanaa Bhavan in Southall continue to draw crowds.

Back at House of Ming, Robert Walton, president of the Restaurant Association of Great Britain and founder of the Nth Degree Global, which is a partner of the Michelin Guide, is at my table. I ask him what he makes of the launch. “I am loving the evening, and the House of Ming is an incredible new brand enhancing the hospitality scene in London.” Robert and his wife bought a sixteenth-century, Grade II listed Manor House called the Langdon Court in Devon which will open in summer 2023 reflecting his commitment to the hospitality industry. I nudge him for his favourite Indian joint. “Kanishka by Atul Kochhar,” he says.