stut

There's a good Gaylord on Battersea Rise - no idea if that's the one you're referring to.

However, if I think of the last several "Indian" restaurants I've eaten at...

The Ritzy, Biggles Tandoori, Bengal Spice, Raj Bengal, Rajdouth, Dynasty (yes, actually Indian), Ahad, Mumbai Lounge, Bilash, Mother India, and the wonderfully named "The Gandhi, Sandy".

So, none of the above.

ajax

I see Shalimar a lot. And "Bengal ____."

Wingnut

Tayyabs and Lahore are good suggestions. If you want to venture a little further afield, you could try some of the South Indian places in Tooting - they have the bonus of being on a tube. My favourite used to be the Sree Krishna but the last couple of times I went (over a year ago now) it had definitely gone off the boil. One place I can recommend very strongly, but you'll need to be a bit more adventurous to get to it (it's in Peckham, and you'll need to venture onto the overground of bus) is Ganapati - see review here.

Cloudship

So I am not really all that familiar with the different variations of Indian food. I am just looking for some good Chicken Korma and good Nan, somewhere very easily accessible by tube. In the states I find the best restaurants are the hole in the walls, I am not sure if that holes true in London as well.

Thanks!

PaulRO

1. The Drummond Street collection has been good IMPE since the 60s.
2. Or: go to Brick Lane and side streets. BL is a longish street, running parallel about 150 metres east of Liverpool St station. Chokka with Bangladeshi and "Indian" genuine holes-in-walls.

Any one got a tip for me, staying at Canary Hilton of a weekend: a very nearby simple ethnic resto, preferably "Indian" or Jam?

JohnnyColombia

In Brick Lane I have always gone to Bangla Café. It is the one with the giant Lady Diana. I have tried others but always ended up going back to Bangla. Nazrul next door to Bangla is also good but unlicensed so you have to take your own beer.

Most of the other ones are a bit hit and miss. Especially the ones with tikka touts.

From Canary Wharf I am not sure, Is there still a Gaylord at Island Gardens? Failing that I'd get a cab to Lahore or Lahore II on the A13. Or go the whole hog and find Brick Lane.

stut

I can't recommend any on Brick Lane, despite working an overcooked pakora's throw from there, but I'm particularly enjoying the expression "tikka tout"...

Cloudship

"tikka tout"?

Is that a farting Indian Chef?

I too have read that Brick Road is overrated. But, the more I read, the more I think that what I am familiar with for Indian food is very different than what one finds over there. I see a lot of various subtypes - can someone explain them to me?

JohnnyColombia

I don't think Brick Lane is overrated, rather inconsistent. But I would understand that had you gone to a sub-par restaurant on Brick Lane then you might be minded to generalise about the whole street. The two I mention above are very good. Others are no better than any Indian in any British High Street. Some of them are plain bad.

It's been hard to keep up with changes, I lived in Brick Lane and went there for a curry at least once a fortnight for about 15 years. Now when I go back I always go to Bangla Café. Seems there has been a surge in new restaurants with recessed ceilings and blue lights that look a bit like a gangster's handbag. Bangla Café, still there, they still remember me, it is still excellent. Probably the best "Indian" I have had anywhere.

Indian in inverted commas because it is Indian, or Indian as we know it cooked by Bangladeshis. Depending on where you are from, it should be perfectly typical of what you are familiar with.

All of the restaurants in Brick Lane are Indian cuisine cooked by Bangladeshis save for the sweet shops which are potentially Bangladeshi proper

Further up towards Whitechapel Market, you find Bangladeshi cuisine cooked by Bangladeshis. A completely different menu and somewhat daunting in my experience. Lots of bones, perhaps the odd beak, names that don't really mean anything to you.

Drummond Street which was mentioned earlier is Indian but not in a typical way. They are mainly bhelpuri I think which to the uninitiated (like me) seem to all intents and purposes to be pickled rice crispies. I also think they are vegetarian. By all means correct me someone if I am wrong. If I wanted what I considered to be a curry, I wouldn't go to Drummond Street.

Lahore, Lahore II and Tayabs are all Pakistani, Both Lahore restaurants offer what you'd expect an Indian restaurant to offer though, unless you know what to ask for and ask the chef to rustle you up something a bit more Pakistani. Tayabs appears to me to be more authentically Pakistani, I am not a fan of their oily curries but the lamb chops are deadly. The whole ambience and experience there is pretty cool too.

There is a Mirch Masala on Commerical Road too. More authentically Indian than the Anglicised Indian cooked by Bangladeshis in Brick Lane. All good stuff and not so far away from what you would expect a curry to be, just with a different name and a bit more aromatic.

I think that sums it up. Goat curry? You'd probably have to go to West London for that

Reason077

This is a good point. If a restaurant in London needs to have someone standing on the street trying to hustle people inside, it probably isn't very good!

If there's any one "must go" place, it's Tayyabs. For it's busy, crazy vibe as much as the (excellent) food! Tip: Arrive early (by 6:30pm or so) and you won't have to queue.

bensyd

I went there for lunch thinking it would be a little quieter (still booked) and it was packed to the gums.

I can still taste those lamb chops.

stut

Sounds like a venue for an FT London lunchtime mini-do!

JohnnyColombia

Update, Cafe Bangla (recommended above) was unbeknown to me sold at the end of last year and it is now rubbish too

Trip Advisor reviews are giving it a bashing

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUse...n_England.html

I understand the chef has moved 2 doors away and opened a new place

Alsacienne

Could you be thinking of the Diwana Bhel Poori House at 121-123 Drummond Street? I had some delightful meals a few years back, and their vegetable thali (a tray with several delicious dishes) was a delight at an exceptionally reasonable price.

GadgetFreak

I thought it was very good. I believe it is a less expensive place owned by the people who own Chutney Mary.