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London is rightly famed for its multicultural make-up and nowhere is this better celebrated than in capital's food. Time Out and BBC on-line food writer and critic, Sejal Sukhadwala, picks five of its best world restaurants Click to view Top 5 London World Restaurants.
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Best Cheap & Chic Indian (Imli) |
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 Forget flock wallpaper, sitar music on a loop, grubby menus strewn with the word "exotic", and catering jars of mango chutney: the stereotypical Indian restaurant is dead. Now you can find stylish surroundings, menus that go way beyond the standard fare and food that's prepared and presented to the highest standards. |
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| London has the best Indian restaurants outside India and the scene is evolving. These days you’ll find everything from no-frills eateries specialising in regional delicacies to smart cocktail bars and Michelin-starred venues headed by celebrity chefs. |
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| One of the most exciting and surprising culinary trends of the moment is Asian street food: the hot, tangy, vibrant, boisterous, quickly cooked snacks sold by roadside vendors, consumed daily by millions of Asians on the move. |
Street Food |
| Imli - pronounced ‘eem-lee’ and meaning tamarind in Hindi - is an offshoot of a Michelin-starred restaurant named, appropriately enough, Tamarind. It specialises in Indian street food - but with better hygiene standards and no haggling over the bill. |
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 Here you’ll find chaats, which are like a cross between tapas and canapés. Typical ones include samosas, tikkis, papdi chaat (mini pastry discs topped with sprouted mung beans, sweet yoghurt, mint chutney, and chickpea flour vermicelli), bhel puri (Rice Krispies-like puffed rice mixed with diced cucumber, roasted peanuts, onions and a variety of chutneys), and pau bhaji (spicy mashed vegetables laced with cumin, cloves and cinnamon, served with toasted bread roll). |
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| Chaats are normally vegetarian, but here you’ll also find meat and seafood versions, alongside a small selection of curries, such as Goan pork (pork cooked in hot and sour gravy spiked with toddy palm vinegar). |
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 The menu, which is somewhat confusingly divided up into sections like "light and refreshing", "new traditions" and "signature dishes", also features skewers, wraps, and savoury pastries. Prices range from £2.95 to £6.95 per dish, and side dishes like poppadums, chutneys, rice, and breads cost between 50p to £1.50.
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Imaginative Desserts |
| Desserts (all £2.95) include Goan-style caramel custard made from coconut and jaggery (cane sugar); carrot halwa (grated carrots, cooked down in sweetened condensed milk with melon seeds and raisins) and ice creams and sorbets in imaginative flavours. |
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 There’s a small selection of wines (all available by the glass), cocktails, beers, and hot and cold beverages. The range of freshly produced juices and lassis is particularly impressive. Imli looks like a contemporary canteen, and is decked out in a pleasant orange, cream and chocolate brown colour scheme, with dark wood furniture and a few brass ornaments.
Friendly, black-clad staff are quick and efficient; and the venue is especially suited to having lunch with friends and colleagues. Just don’t ask for chicken tikka masala. |
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Imli, 167-169 Wardour St, W1F 8WR. Tel: 020 7287 4243. www.imli.co.uk. Leicester Square/ Piccadilly Circus Tube. Open daily 12 noon-11pm. 2-course lunch for two with soft drinks and service: around £30.
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