35 best Indian restaurants in London to book

Best Indian restaurant for: Feasting after market mooching
Dish to order: prawn recheado

The queue stretching down Portobello Road provokes a gasp as we arrive at Permit Rooms on a balmy spring evening. The hundred-strong throng of hungry Londoners eager to be among the first into the restaurant reflects the capital’s ongoing love affair with Dishoom, from which Permit Rooms comes. The first London outpost, which follows successful openings in Brighton, Oxford and Cambridge, is a buzzy billet-doux to Bombay’s drinking dens – all-day hangouts for hungry passers-by. Downstairs, a cacophony of clinking cutlery and murmurs of satisfaction fills the street-level bar area, chestnut and chocolate shades joyfully interrupted by the bar’s turquoise tones. The immersive decor flows into the dining room above, where we sit and watch the hustle and bustle play out between overflowing tabletops as we anticipate the arrival of a decadent chai caffè martini. Menus mirror those of Dishoom’s, albeit with a spread of options exclusive to the Permit Room format. We ladle peanut masala, a crunchy mixture of roasted fresh peanuts tossed with chopped tomatoes, onions, coriander, chilli, and lime juice, into our mouths between cocktail sips, and the main event soon follows. Service is speedy, so much so that we’re soon surrounded by picky bits and larger dishes. We swerve the signature chicken ruby in favour of the mattar paneer, silky cubes of cheese and a hearty helping of peas, inviting us to pile them atop mounds of rice and get to work with steaming scraps of naan bread. However, it’s the prawn recheado that warrants a return visit sooner rather than later. Plump, pan-tanned prawns swim in a tangy masala of red chillies, garlic and ginger – a satisfyingly meaty event that has us in a stand-off over the last bite. Reluctantly (ish), pudding appears. Piping hot rum-soaked gulab jamun is better suited to a chilly winter’s evening, but it is the excuse we jump at to book in and overindulge another time.

Address: Dishoom Permit Room Portobello, 186 Portobello Road, London W11 1LA
Website: permitroom.co.uk