Restaurant in Ewell, United Kingdom
Michelin-recognised North Indian at neighbourhood prices.
Dastaan holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a 4.7 Google rating for a reason: North Indian cooking with generous portions, precise layered spicing, and sauces that justify the return visit, all at ££ pricing in a Surrey suburb. Book weekend evenings ahead; weekday lunch is easier to secure and a strong alternative for a focused, quieter meal.
Dastaan holds a 4.7 on Google across nearly 1,000 reviews, which for a neighbourhood Indian restaurant on a Kingston Road parade in Ewell is about as clear a signal as you will find. Add a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025) and a top-800 ranking in Opinionated About Dining's Casual Europe list, and the case for booking is already made before you read another word. The real question is when to go, and what to expect when you get there.
Chefs Sanjay Gour and Nand Kishor run Dastaan as a genuine neighbourhood restaurant, not a destination-dining exercise. The name means 'story' in Hindi, and the menu tells a clear one: North Indian cooking with generous portions, precise spicing, and sauces that hold your attention across multiple courses. Michelin's own language for the Bib Gourmand award notes that portions are generous, spicing is superb, and the layers of flavour are consistent dish to dish. That is the Bib Gourmand benchmark: good cooking at good prices, no caveats required.
The room itself is modest from outside, but the dining room runs at full capacity most services and the atmosphere this generates is part of the experience. The service team keeps things moving with enough precision that a packed room does not translate to a slow or chaotic meal. For anyone accustomed to Indian restaurants at the ££££ end of the market, Dastaan at ££ is a different proposition: the value-to-quality ratio is the draw, not the room design or the theatre of the kitchen.
The editorial angle worth spending time on is how day-part affects the Dastaan experience. Dinner is the default choice for most diners, and the consistently packed room in the evening reflects that. If your goal is atmosphere and the full social energy of the place, dinner delivers it. The room is loud in the leading sense, tables are close, and the service team earns its reputation by running multiple covers without visible friction.
Lunch, by contrast, is where the practical advantages stack up. Booking is easier, the room is less pressurised, and if you are coming from central London or further afield specifically to eat here, a lunch booking makes the logistics simpler. For food-focused visitors who want to concentrate on the spicing and construction of the dishes rather than the noise level of a full dinner service, lunch is the better call. The menu does not change significantly between services, so you are not trading quality for convenience. At ££ pricing, a lunch here also leaves budget intact for something else in the day.
For special occasions or group dinners, evening works better. The atmosphere at peak dinner service gives the meal a social charge that lunch does not replicate. That trade-off is worth naming clearly: go at lunch for focus and ease, go at dinner for energy and occasion.
Michelin's Bib Gourmand notes call out the homemade kulfi as a specific highlight, alongside the gulab jamun. Both desserts are cited in the awards record, which makes them the safest order on the menu for a first visit. The North Indian focus means sauces are central to the cooking, and the award notes describe them as memorable across the board. Sides are noted as adding to the experience rather than padding it. The menu presents strong value relative to what is on the plate, and the spicing is the technical skill that justifies the Michelin recognition.
For Indian cooking at comparable depth and ambition elsewhere, Amaya in London operates at a different price point and format, and Trèsind Studio in Dubai takes Indian cuisine into tasting-menu territory. Dastaan is not trying to do either of those things. It is doing something more direct: consistent, affordable North Indian cooking in a room that fills because the food earns it.
Dastaan sits in a different tier from the ££££ London restaurants that typically generate the most travel. CORE by Clare Smyth, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton are all high-commitment bookings in terms of price and travel. Dastaan makes the case for the opposite end of the spectrum: a Michelin-recognised restaurant at ££ that you can book without significant lead time and visit without building a trip around it. For context on what a Bib Gourmand means alongside starred restaurants, consider how hide and fox in Saltwood and Hand and Flowers in Marlow occupy similar accessible-excellence positioning in their respective areas. Dastaan holds that position for South West London and Surrey.
If your interest is Indian cuisine specifically at the highest level of ambition, Opheem in Birmingham operates with a Michelin star and a different format entirely. Dastaan is not in competition with that experience. It is making a case for neighbourhood cooking done with enough care and consistency to earn national recognition, and on that measure it delivers.
Book Dastaan if you want Michelin-recognised North Indian cooking at ££ pricing without a difficult reservation process or a trek to central London. The food earns its awards, the value is genuine, and the room has energy that most restaurants at this price point do not generate. Go at lunch if you want a quieter, more focused meal. Go at dinner if you want the full atmosphere. Either way, the cooking holds up. For more on eating and drinking in the area, see our full Ewell restaurants guide, our Ewell bars guide, and our Ewell experiences guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dastaan | Indian | ££ | Easy |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Unknown |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Unknown |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Unknown |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Unknown |
What to weigh when choosing between Dastaan and alternatives.
For North Indian cooking at a similar price point in the wider Surrey and south-west London area, Kennington Tandoori and Dishoom (Carnaby or King's Cross) are reasonable comparisons, though neither holds a Bib Gourmand. If you want Michelin-recognised Indian cooking in London proper, Brigadiers in the City and Gymkhana in Mayfair are the step up — both at £££ or more. Dastaan is the call if you want the recognition without the central London pricing or booking difficulty.
The exterior on Kingston Road in Ewell gives nothing away — this is a modest shopfront, not a dressed-up destination. Inside, the dining room fills quickly and runs loud on busy nights, which is part of the appeal. Michelin's Bib Gourmand (2025) is awarded specifically for good cooking at moderate prices, so arrive expecting generous, well-spiced North Indian food rather than a formal tasting experience. Portions are described as generous, so ordering conservatively on a first visit is sensible.
Michelin's own notes single out the homemade kulfi and gulab jamun as specific highlights, and both are worth leaving room for. The menu draws on North India as its main inspiration, with spicing and layered sauces cited across editorial recognition as the kitchen's strength. On a first visit, anchor your order around the main dishes and make sure dessert is in the plan — the kulfi in particular is called out in Michelin's write-up.
Dastaan is a neighbourhood restaurant at ££ pricing — there is no dress code implied by its format or its Bib Gourmand status. Casual or neat-casual is entirely appropriate. This is not a white-tablecloth environment; the Michelin recognition here is for cooking quality and value, not formality.
Yes, with the right expectations. The atmosphere is described as electric — a packed dining room with happy diners — which suits a relaxed celebration or a birthday dinner with friends more than a quiet, intimate occasion. For a low-key anniversary where you want attentive, unhurried service, the busy dining room may work against you. For a group that wants good food, strong value, and a lively room, it lands well.
Dastaan is not documented as a tasting-menu format restaurant. The Michelin Bib Gourmand and editorial descriptions position it as an à la carte neighbourhood restaurant with a menu built around North Indian dishes at ££ pricing. If a tasting menu is your preferred format, venues like Gymkhana or Benares in London are better fits.
At ££ with a Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025) and an Opinionated About Dining ranking of #786 in Europe for casual dining, Dastaan offers a strong return on what you spend. Michelin's Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good food at a price that represents value — it is not a consolation prize. For North Indian cooking at this quality level, you would pay considerably more in central London for a comparable or lesser result.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
