Woodlands Restaurant
With three locations across London, Woodlands Restaurant has been garnering support since 1981. Having been a South Indian-focussed eatery, under the original owner’s son and his wife, it has now expanded to a diverse collection of Pan Indian vegetarian food. They specialise in street food, with a twist, like their sev poori (onion, potato and yoghurt topped pastry) and bombay bhel with corn (puffed rice with onions, potato, corn and chutneys). They also have a lunch box on offer for only £5.95, which contains a masala dosa, lemon or pilao rice and a vegetable curry on the side.
Address: 77 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2PS, 37 Panton St, SW1Y 4EA, 102 Heath St, NW3 1DR. For more info check out their website.
Sagar
There are now three branches of Sagar (Hammersmith, Covent Garden and Fitzrovia), all specialising in the south India vegetarian favorites of dosas and uthappams (lentil pizzas), both with an extensive menu of styles and fillings – all of them fabulous. Check out the lunchtime deals of thalis from only £3.50, but gourmet evening versions include a robust, north Indian Rajdani thali. Sagar is one of the few places in London serving mulga podi, an explosive mixture of ground lentils and spices with melted ghee known as “gunpowder. Unlike most Indian vegetarian eateries, they serve alcohol, and even have vegetarian wine on the international wine list.
Address: 31 Catherine St, WC2B 5JS /157 Kings St, W6 9JT/ 17a Percy St, W1T 1DU.
Rasa
Das Sreedharan is a one- man food ambassador for the south Indian state of Kerala, but of his several excellent restaurants in London, only the original Rasa in N16 is pure vegetarian. Here you can discover a whole new world of vegetarian delights like avial (vegetables steamed in turmeric water with coconut and chili), moru kachiathu (mango and green banana in spiced yoghurt) and rasa vangi (aubergines with curry leaves), all with tempting lists of familiar and exotic ingredients for less than £4 a dish. If you want to try them all, order a bespoke feast of taster portions for £16, all richly flavoured with authentic combinations of fresh spices. Whatever you have, make sure you try the £2 selection of delicious home-made pickles and chutneys.
Address: 55 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 OAR.
Indian Veg
In a simple, no-fuss caff in North London you can get an all you can eat meal for £7.95. The walls are covered with tongue-in-cheek veggie propaganda to ensure you come back for more. It’s been open since 1985 and has an ever-changing menu. Open daily from noon onwards this place it the ultimate cheap and cheerful BYOB restaurant. According to some of the staff, they are hoping to start giving away their leftover food to their local homeless community soon.
Address: 92-93 Chapel Market, N1 9EX. For more info check out their website here.
Sakonis
If you want a taste of Mumbai in London, book a table at this buzzing, family- run restaurant in the heart of the “little India” stretch of the Ealing Road, always packed with local Gujarati families. The East-African/ Asian- influenced menu offers an array of tangy, spicy starter snacks like pani puri (puffed wheat with chick peas and coriander in spiced tamarind water) and aloo papdi chat (potatoes with mustard seeds, crunchy fried chickpea flour and yoghurt) all around £3.50. Main dishes, between £ 5- £8, include Mumbai favorites like pav bhaji (a spicy veg curry with toasted buns), and several typically Indian versions of vegetarian Chinese dishes. The big draw here is always the sensational lunch and dinner buffets at £9, and for an utterly authentic Mumbai experience, there is a weekend breakfast buffet for £ 4.50, with rocket -fuel curries and masala tea. Unlicensed.
Address: 127 Ealing Rd, Wembley, HA0 4BP. For more info check out their website here.
Shayona
In the grounds of the magnificent Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple, Shayona brings an exotic touch of the sub-continent to this residential Neasden backstreet. The menu has authentically spiced Indian vegetarian fare like South Indian dosas and Punjabi channa masala (spiced chick peas), with a few unusual additions such as a 1/4 pounder veggie burger with fries and a paneer sizzler of tandoori roasted cottage cheese served with peppers on a sizzler dish, and a shayona curry made with curried soya mince. Expect to pay around £25 a head for a full dinner or just £7.99 for the fabulous lunchtime Gujarati Buffet (between noon and 4pm every weekday). Don’t go home without a peek inside the sublime, hand-carved marble Hindu temple (the largest outside India, open until 6.30pm). Its proximity means no booze in Shayona, but there are refreshing lassis (fruit, salt and sweet yoghurt drinks).
Address: 54 Meadow Garth, NW10 8HD
From: ELLE UK
