Camden might not have the reputation of Brick Lane or Tooting, but the NW1 area has plenty of decent options for great South Asian food. From thalis to dosa and lots of Indian veggie food, there’s plenty of variety and different types of curry. Here’s a few of our favourite places to tempt your tastebuds in Camden.
Sonita’s Kitchen
Bringing a taste of the home-cooking from North India to Camden Market, Sonita’s Kitchen is a family-run street food. Purveyors of Punjabi food and snappy puns (‘naan of the bad stuff’, nice), Sonita’s curries include vegan, gluten and nut free, options. The menu includes curry boxes which are £8.00 for a regular vegan curry or £10.00 for a meat curry (chicken or lamb with Bombay potatoes) and there’s plenty of sides and snacks too including masala chips, samosas and roti.
Chai Thali
Chai Thali is a bright, contemporary restaurant serving up Indian street food. The Camden branch is one of two restaurants (the other is in Fulham), and it also hosts retro Bollywood nights on the first Friday of each month. But Bollywood beats and colourful decor aside, the menu offers up a tasty mix of meat or veggie thalis for around £20.00, plas well as curries including Kerala fish curry, bhindi masala – an okra based dish, and Goa jheenga masala prawn curry which are all between £8.00–£12.00 excluding rice or other sides.
Chai Thali also has a good selection of chaat rekri, small plates which are great for sharing, including kurkuri bhindi – crispy battered okra, spiced masala wedges, chilli paneer and plenty of Samosas. Wash them down with a cup of chai, a mango lassi, or cocktails like the Mumbai madness.
Indian Alley Bar & Canteen
Dishes from the roadside eateries of Delhi are the order of the day at Indian Alley. Nestled in a unit in Camden Stables Market, you can dine in or grab food to go. The curry menu includes Butter chicken,Chhole (chickpea curry), and Saag Paneer (spinach curry) from £6.00–£10.00, but there’s also plenty of tandoor if spiced grilled food is your flavour. The curry boxes come with saffron rice and kachumber salad, and there are sides including naan, roti, and paratha. There’s an interesting drinks menu too, with cocktails like the Indian old fashioned made with spiced apple syrup and non-alcoholic drinks including nibupani, a refreshing mix of lemon juice, mint and soda.
Chutneys
Tucked off the main road between Mornington Crescent and Warren Street, Drummond St is known locally as Little India due to the variety of establishments, some of which have been going strong since the 1960s. Chutneys serves up veggie and meat curries for around £10-14, but in our humble opinion, the start of the menu is dosa. It’s a (massive) crispy rice and lentil savoury pancake, served with veggie curry and chutney. There are meat, veggie and vegetarian options, including potato masala and paneer jalfrezi for around a tenner. It’s also a BYOB restaurant, and they won’t charge corkage.
Diwana Bhel Poori House
Another Drummond Street favourite, Diwana has been serving up South Indian vegetarian food since 1971. As the name suggests, menu favourites include bhel poori –a vegetable, puffed rice snack dish with tamarind. But, it’s also known and loved for its cheap, lunchtime buffets. There’s plenty of great stuff on the dinner menu too including dosa and Gujarati thalis.
Bengal Lancer
A short walk from Camden Road train station will lead you to Kentish Town’s The Bengal Lancer, an Indian Restaurant which has been open since 1984. It serves up classic dishes like Rogan Josh, Chicken Saagwala and Saag Aloo, as well as Goan Fish Curry, and Subjee Begun Pie (an aubergine, chickpeas and mixed cheese pie). Most veggie and meat curry dishes are around £8-10 but the seafood dishes are around £15.00–£18.00. With this much flavour and variety, it’s easy to see why it’s been a neighbourhood favourite for so many years.
And for more city centre spice, check out our picks for Best Curry in Soho & Covent Garden.
