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Where to eat modern Indian
23 Aug 2006It's not all flocked wallpaper and dishes swimming in grease, you know. Today's modern Indians are bright, fresh and brimming with new ideas. Have a look at five of the capital's best...
Indian Zing
236 King Street, W6 (020 8748 5959) £27.
Chef/patron Manoj Vasaikar has a good eye, both for composition of dishes and stylish decoration in his sweetly priced restaurant in Hammersmith's curry road. Designer plates carry items like steamed and grilled calamari with roasted tomatoes; Goan lobster balchao; Gymkhana lamb chops. A Summer Salad Season has just finished but so, it seems, has summer.
Masala Zone
9 Marshall Street, W1 (020 7287 9966) £23
Where once stood vegetarian Cranks, this Indian group with branches in Islington and Earl's Court has picked up the baton of healthy eating and run with it in a spicier, more enticing direction. Thalis (complete meals) are complemented by snacks, street food and noodle dishes that convey the Indian love of Chinese food.
Sarkhel's
199 Replingham Road, SW18 (020 8870 1483) £28
Before opening his own restaurant, Udit Sarkhel worked as executive chef of The Bombay Brasserie, the first London restaurant to point out politely and delectably that umpteen regional traditions lie behind the word curry. His own formative years were spent in Calcutta and an affection for Bengali cooking is evident in the menu that roams the subcontinent.
Brilliant Restaurant
72-76 Western Road, Southall, Middlesex (020 8574 1928)
The latest brilliant wheeze at this popular Southall restaurant opened in 1975 has been devised by Dipna Anand, daughter and niece of the Kenyan-Asian brothers who own it. Tandoori grills, judicious amounts of ghee, low-fat yogurt and salads are the basis of a modern Healthy Options Menu. Even so, don't miss the butter chicken.
Imli
167-169 Wardour Street, W1 (020 7287 4243) £26
This people's version of the posh brother restaurant Tamarind in Mayfair is the antithesis of a gloomy curry house. Bright lights and shiny surfaces make reading the short menu - divided into moods rather than courses - easy to read. New Traditions includes chicken wings in ginger and chilli and fenugreek flat bread wraps. Saunfiya lamb flavoured with fennel and star anise earns its place under Signature Dishes.
Prices above estimate a meal with wine for one
Reader views (3)
Shikara at 65 Great Ticthfield St W1 is the perfect indian dinner. Newly opened they are already poplaur amongst the locals, food and service is amongst the best you could expect. 8/10
- Rob Stewart, London, 30/08/2006 13:12
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Chowki on Denman Street is the perfect modern Indian. The menus are regional and change every few months, allowing customers to sample a much broader menu than most 'curry houses' usually allow! The perfect excuse to go back again and again.
- Lydia, London, 23/08/2006 16:28
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Gufaa on Upper Street, Islington is by far the best "Modern Indian" in London. The ingredients and cooking are of the highest quality and the staff are superb. A "hidden" gem. It beats Masala Zone (which is only 100 metres further up the road) hands down.
- Matt, London, 23/08/2006 12:30
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