The rise of the high-end curry house

Back in 2000, not one Indian chef in the UK held a Michelin star. For many people, dinner at a curry house meant a formica table, plastic cutlery and warm salad garnishes on Brick Lane. 

Two decades later, all that has changed. There are seven Michelin-starred Indian restaurants across London and haute cuisine curry houses are taking over swathes of Mayfair and other upmarket areas that were previously the domain of chic French bistros and Italian osterias.  

So what’s behind the rise of the high-end Indian restaurant? And which are the dishes not to miss? We spoke to four top chefs at our favourite upmarket Indian eateries in the capital to find out. 

Pahli Hill

A running thread throughout these restaurants is a focus on highly seasonal British produce – parachuted into an unexpected context amid the zing and sizzle we’ve come to love from Indian cuisine. Pahli Hill in Fitzrovia is one of the finest examples of this.