This is a confusing title indeed, so apologies if the reader is confused as well. I think it might be a conflation of several ideas – that the London Indian restaurant brings people of Indian origin together in the capital; that really good Indian restaurants in London offer some of the best eating experiences the capital can provide; and that the best Indian restaurant in London, full stop, may well be the best restaurant in the country.
While all of these things are individually true (kind of, anyway) it is important to remember that the best Indian restaurant in London doesn’t exist. There are so many different types and styles of Indian eating that it would be peculiar to claim that any one of them is better than the others.
That said,Indian restaurantsin London are clearly a cut above the rest – as is evidenced by the huge numbers of people of Indian origin who flock to the best ones every day. Indeed, it is safe to assume that any London Indian restaurant in which there are more than a few people of Indian origin, is a place well worth a visit for any curry lover.
One of the biggest surprises to an English person, attending the best Indian restaurant in London for the first time (bearing in mind that the restaurant in question will be, as note, only the best in it specific field), is the enormous quantity of dishes that are not curry. Bear in mind that we have been brought up on a diet of substandard curry dishes from places calling themselves curry houses, or Indian restaurants, which bear little relation to any of the good Indian restaurants in London. So when we do get a chance to try the real deal, there is little wonder our faces light up with delight and surprise.
Real Indian cuisine, as enjoyed by the people of Indian origin who flock to the good Indian restaurants in London, is fragrant and full of surprises. It uses citrus notes and smoky flavours to bring out the best in the meat and vegetables it enshrines. It’s accompanied by acres of mouth-watering side dishes whose flavours and aromas are enough to make a person think he or she has died and gone to culinary heaven.
The best Indian restaurant in London, in any given area of London anyway, is the one with the most people of Indian origin eating in it. It’s the place where you can get street food as well as high concept Indian meals. It is anywhere where your concept of what Indian food is, is radically altered almost as soon as you walk through the door.
The modern Londoner is probably more blessed, in food terms, than anyone else in the world. He or she can enjoy fine Indian dining one night followed by something equally marvellous from a completely different country the next. And he or she could go on doing this for years without ever once repeating himself or herself. From great London Indian restaurant options to the cuisine of just about anywhere, the capital is a winner.
