Explore your love of spice with a tasting menu experience at one of London’s top Indian restaurants. Each course is an adventure – a chance to break out of your culinary comfort zone and try new flavours, textures and ingredients. If you’re ready to take the plunge, these award-winning restaurants offer tasting menus that will surprise, delight and linger in your memory for years to come.
Specialising in dishes from north-east India’s Sister States, Kanishka is the latest addition to Atul Kochhar’s restaurant empire. The menu promises ‘elevated simplicity’, relying less on oil and spice and more on the combination of top quality ingredients. The 7-course tasting menu features seared scallops with peas and caviar, a cumin and black pepper-spiced goat curry, and Atul’s signature chicken tikka pie.
Atul Kochhar’s tasting menu: £110pp. Wine pairing £60pp.
A star of the London food scene since 1999, Quilon continues to impress diners with its modern take on south-west Indian coastal cuisine. As you might expect, fish and seafood takes centre stage, alongside meat and vegetable dishes fragrant with coconut, curry leaves and Tellicherry pepper. The tasting menus change with the seasons but current highlights include fresh lobster with butter, pepper and garlic, lamb biryani with traditional Malabar spices, and Quilon’s famous fish curry (halibut simmered in coconut, chilli, and raw mango sauce).
Vegetarian tasting menu £85pp, non-vegetarian £85pp, seafood £95pp. 8-course beer and food pairing menu £120pp.
In Westminster, the former Old Westminster Library provides an elegant book-lined backdrop for Vivek’s Singh’s contemporary Indian cuisine. The restaurant has long been famous for its game, so expect to find dishes like clove-smoked pigeon and tandoori venison saddle on the seven-course tasting menu. If you’re not sure how to navigate the wine list, opt for the wine pairings or trust the sommelier to find the perfect bottle or carafe to complement your meal.
7 courses £90pp, or £170 with wine pairing.
Inspired by the tiffin tin carriers of Mumbai, Bombay Bustle serves some of the city’s best-loved dishes alongside family recipes. With its pewter bar and green leather booths, it feels less formal than big sister Jamavar but the food is equally impressive. Their tasting menu includes some of their most popular dishes – Achari lamb chop with pickling spices, crispy battered Koliwada squid, and an indulgent chicken tikka makhani. Round off your meal with their Old Gold Fashioned, made with roasted pecan-infused whiskey and homemade spiced bitters.
6 courses £65pp. Wine pairing £35pp.
Consistently ranked among the top Indian restaurants in London, Benares offers an unforgettable fine dining experience in the heart of Mayfair. Splash out on the tasting menu and you’ll be treated to dishes like baked Malabar scallop, tandoori lamb chop with saag aloo, and tawa masala turbot with clam moilee. The flavours are bold but refined – a real treat for spice lovers. For special occasions, consider booking the Chef’s Table, which overlooks the kitchen, or the Sommelier’s Table, where you can dine surrounded by exquisite wines from around the world.
6 courses £109pp, vegetarian £98pp. Paired wines available from £65pp.
Visit OpenTable to discover more of London’s best Indian restaurants.
Photo Credit: David Robson for Bombay Bustle. All other images courtesy of the restaurants.
