Restaurant in London, United Kingdom
Homestyle Indian cooking that earns its Michelin Plate.
Darjeeling Express delivers Michelin Plate-recognised Bengali and Mughal home cooking at £££ on the top floor of Kingly Court, Carnaby. The all-female kitchen produces punchy, precisely spiced dishes — the methi chicken and goat curry are standouts — with an open kitchen view that makes it a strong choice for a special occasion. Book 2–3 weeks ahead for weekend evenings.
Darjeeling Express earns its Michelin Plate recognition and its 4.5-star Google rating (across more than 1,600 reviews) for a reason: this is home-style Indian cooking at a level you won't find at most London restaurants in the ££££ tier, delivered at a price point that makes the decision easy. For a celebration dinner or an occasion meal in Soho where you want genuine cooking rather than polished-but-anonymous restaurant food, this is the booking to make. The all-female kitchen, the Mughal and Bengali recipes, the return to Kingly Court after a stint in Covent Garden — none of that matters as much as what arrives on the table, which is consistently well-spiced, ingredient-forward food that holds up to scrutiny. Book it.
Darjeeling Express sits on the leading floor of Kingly Court, the covered courtyard just off Carnaby Street in W1. It's a light-filled corner room with butter-coloured walls, wood floors, marble-topped tables and an open kitchen view , comfortable and low-key, not trying to impress you with interior design. For a special occasion, that's a feature rather than a drawback: the room keeps attention on the food and the company, not on the décor.
The kitchen draws on Bengali, Hyderabadi and Kolkatan cooking traditions, and the menu spans street food formats, home-style dishes and more formal preparations. At dinner, the format is a royal thali , a fixed-price arrangement that removes menu anxiety and works well for groups celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. Lunch offers a broader à la carte, which is worth knowing if you want more control over what you eat or if dietary preferences mean you need to choose carefully. The spicing across the menu is described consistently as clean, punchy and precise rather than generic heat-for-heat's-sake: the methi chicken, for instance, is built around keeping the meat moist while letting the fenugreek sauce do the work.
The kitchen is run entirely by women , mostly home cooks rather than formally trained chefs , which informs both the food and the atmosphere. Chef-Owner Asma Khan was the subject of Chef's Table Volume 6, Episode 3, and the restaurant started as a supper club before growing into its current form. That origin shows in the cooking style: dishes like the Bengali-style slow-cooked goat curry on the bone, the momos (Tibetan steamed dumplings in meat and vegetarian versions), and the fresh paneer in coconut korma sauce are the kind of thing you'd find at a very good home table in Kolkata, not at a restaurant trying to reinterpret Indian cuisine for a Western audience.
One of the practical advantages of Darjeeling Express for a special occasion is the open kitchen view from the dining room. You can watch the brigade at work from your table , and given that the kitchen's all-female composition is central to what the restaurant is, having that window into the operation adds something to the meal that a closed kitchen cannot. For a date or a celebration where you want conversation starters built into the setting, this is a more engaging room than most in this price tier. Asma Khan herself is reportedly often present and talking with diners, which makes the experience feel more connected than a typical restaurant service.
If you are considering whether to request particular seating when you book, aim for a table with a direct sightline to the kitchen. It won't change what you eat, but it does change what you experience.
The leading time to visit Darjeeling Express for a special occasion is dinner on a weekday rather than a Friday or Saturday, when Kingly Court as a whole gets busy and the surrounding Carnaby area can feel crowded. The top-floor position helps , you're separated from the street-level noise , but arriving at the venue is easier mid-week. Lunch is a good alternative if you prefer the à la carte format over the dinner thali, and the light through the corner windows at midday makes the room feel its leading.
Kingly Court draws consistent foot traffic year-round given its central London position, so there is no meaningful off-season advantage to timing your visit in a quieter month. The operative variable is day of week and time of day, not season.
At the ££££ end of London Indian dining, Amaya in Belgravia and Benares in Mayfair offer more formal service and grander rooms, but neither delivers the same home-style cooking register that Darjeeling Express does. Trishna in Marylebone is a closer comparison in terms of price and ambition, though its focus on coastal Indian cuisine means the two menus don't overlap much. If you specifically want Bengali and Hyderabadi home cooking rather than contemporary Indian restaurant food, Darjeeling Express has no direct London equivalent at this price point.
For Indian cooking outside London, Opheem in Birmingham operates at a higher price tier and a more technically formal register, while Trèsind Studio in Dubai represents a completely different approach to Indian fine dining. Darjeeling Express sits between those poles: more refined than a casual curry house, more personal than a fine-dining Indian tasting-menu operation.
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The dinner format is a fixed-price royal thali, so you won't be choosing individual dishes from a menu in the evening. If you want to order à la carte, come for lunch instead. The room is relaxed and informal despite the Michelin Plate recognition , smart casual dress is fine. Chef-Owner Asma Khan is often in the restaurant, and the all-female kitchen team is visible through the open kitchen. For a first visit, dinner is the more complete experience; lunch gives you more flexibility over what you eat. Prices sit at £££, which makes this significantly more accessible than London's ££££ Indian options like Amaya or Benares.
The dinner royal thali format is the closest thing to a tasting menu here, and at £££ pricing it represents good value for the quality and the Michelin Plate credential. The cooking draws on Mughal and Bengali recipes rather than contemporary Indian fine-dining technique, so if you're comparing it to a tasting-menu experience at Opheem in Birmingham or Trèsind Studio in Dubai, expect a different register entirely , home-style and personal rather than technically elaborate. For what it is, the thali format is worth it.
At dinner, the royal thali removes the choice , you'll eat what the kitchen is serving. At lunch, the standouts in the database include the methi chicken (moist, well-spiced, rich fenugreek sauce), the Bengali-style slow-cooked goat curry on the bone, the fresh paneer in coconut korma sauce, and the momos in both meat and vegetarian versions. The channa chaat is noted for its tangy sweet-sour balance. One dish flagged as disappointing in testing was the tamarind dhal, described as watery. The crunchy green beans with cumin and dried red chillies are worth ordering as a side.
Smart casual. The room is informal , wood floors, marble tables, no dress code theatrics , but it's a Michelin Plate restaurant in a central London setting. Jeans are fine; arriving in gym kit is not. For a celebration or date dinner, treat it as you would any good restaurant in Soho: make a reasonable effort and you'll fit in.
The menu includes both meat and vegetarian options across several dishes , the momos come in meat and vegetarian versions, and the fresh paneer in coconut korma sauce is a substantive vegetarian option. For specific dietary requirements (allergies, vegan requests), contact the restaurant directly before booking rather than assuming the kitchen can accommodate on the night. Hours and contact details are not currently in our database, so check the restaurant's booking page for current information.
Bar seating is not confirmed in our current data for Darjeeling Express. The open kitchen view from the dining room tables is the closest equivalent to a counter experience here , tables with a direct sightline to the kitchen are worth requesting when you book. If bar or counter seating is a priority for you, Trishna in Marylebone is worth considering as an alternative London Indian option where the counter experience is more established.
Book at least 2–3 weeks ahead for weekend evenings. The Michelin Plate recognition and the restaurant's profile from the Chef's Table feature mean demand is consistent. Weekday lunch is the easiest booking to get on shorter notice, and the à la carte format at lunch gives you more flexibility than the fixed dinner thali. If you're planning a birthday or anniversary dinner on a specific date, book as far ahead as the restaurant's reservation system allows.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darjeeling Express | The cooking of Kolkata and Chef-Owner Asma Khan’s Mughal ancestry inform the menu at this bright and breezy restaurant on the top floor of the perennially busy Kingly Court. Asma can be found chatting away with diners while the all-female kitchen team create authentic, vibrant dishes whose careful spicing enhances each central ingredient. The methi chicken is an excellent example of their talents, the meat moist and flavoursome, its sauce wonderfully rich and bringing out the best in the chicken.; After a brief sojourn in Covent Garden, Asma Khan’s popular Indian eatery is back where it all started, on the top floor of Carnaby Street’s Kingly Court, next door to the site of the original venue. It's a coveted, light-filled corner spot, low-key but comfortable, with creamy butter-coloured walls and ceilings, wood floors, marble-topped tables and lots of green plants. There’s a view into the kitchen where an all-female brigade weaves flavours in a style that blends Bengali, Hyderabadi and Kolkatan influences, deftly applying their skills to a hotchpotch of street food, home-style and classic dishes. Dinner is a 'royal thali' fixed-price deal, but there's also plenty to savour on the lunchtime carte – the sort of menu from which you want to order everything. Classic channa chat brings lovely tangy sweet-sour flavours and good textural contrast, there are moreish momos (Tibetan steamed dumplings) in both meat and veggie versions, plus utterly delicious fresh paneer served in a rich, creamy coconut-heavy korma sauce, and a gutsy Bengali-style slow-cooked goat curry served on the bone. Spicing is clean, clear and punchy, while incidentals and sides of, say, crunchy green beans with cumin and dried red chillies, are no slackers. Only a dish of rather watery, insipid tamarind dhal disappointed at our test meal. Service is cheerful, brisk and efficient, while drinks run from lassis, cocktails and Indian beer to a brief international wine list.; Michelin Plate (2025); Chef's Table, Volume 6, Episode 3. Darjeeling Express started as a supper club in Asma Khan's London home before growing into a celebrated restaurant. The kitchen is run entirely by women, mostly housewives without professional training, cooking the food of their childhoods from Calcutta and Hyderabad. The food is homestyle Indian cuisine, focusing on royal Mughlai and Bengali recipes passed down through generations. The restaurant is known for its vibrant atmosphere and authentic dishes like puchkas, biryani, and kebabs.; Michelin Plate (2024) | £££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Darjeeling Express and alternatives.
Go at dinner if you want the full experience: dinner is a fixed-price royal thali format, while lunch offers an à la carte menu with more flexibility to graze across dishes. The restaurant sits on the top floor of Kingly Court just off Carnaby Street, so allow extra time to find the entrance. Asma Khan's background in Mughal and Bengali home cooking shapes the entire menu, which means this is a very different proposition from high-street Indian — expect clean, punchy spicing over sauce-heavy shortcuts. Michelin awarded it a Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which is a reliable signal you're eating somewhere that takes the cooking seriously.
The fixed-price royal thali at dinner is the format to book around if you want to understand what Darjeeling Express actually does well. It draws on Mughal and Bengali royal cooking traditions passed down through generations, delivered by an all-female kitchen team without professional training — that provenance is part of what you're paying for at £££ pricing. If a set format doesn't suit your table, the lunchtime à la carte gives you more control. For a full tasting-menu Indian experience at a higher price point, Amaya in Belgravia offers a different style, but Darjeeling Express is the stronger case for home-style depth over formal showmanship.
At lunch, the channa chat, momos (steamed dumplings in meat and vegetarian versions), fresh paneer in coconut korma sauce, and the Bengali slow-cooked goat curry on the bone are all worth ordering based on documented reviews. The methi chicken is specifically noted for moist meat and a rich sauce that handles the spicing well. At dinner, the royal thali is the only format, so ordering decisions are made for you. Skip the tamarind dhal if given the option — it has drawn criticism for being watery and lacking depth.
The room is described as low-key but comfortable — butter-coloured walls, wood floors, marble-topped tables, lots of plants — which sets the tone. There's no indication of a formal dress code; this is not a jacket-required room. Neat casual clothing is appropriate, and the atmosphere at Kingly Court generally skews relaxed. If you're coming from an office in central London, you won't need to change.
The menu includes both meat and vegetarian versions of dishes like momos, and the à la carte at lunch features clearly vegetarian options including paneer. The kitchen's Bengali and Mughal base means many dishes centre on vegetables, lentils, and dairy. For specific allergies or strict dietary requirements, check the venue's official channels before booking — phone and website details are not currently listed on Pearl, so check recent booking platforms for up-to-date contact information.
There's no bar seating documented for Darjeeling Express. The venue is a dining room on the top floor of Kingly Court, described as a corner spot with table seating and a view into the open kitchen. Drinks include lassis, cocktails, Indian beer, and a short international wine list, but these are served at the table rather than at a dedicated bar counter. If bar or walk-in counter dining is your priority, this isn't the format for it.
Book at least two to three weeks ahead for weekend dinners, and a week or more for weekday slots — Kingly Court as a whole runs at high footfall, and Darjeeling Express has a following that keeps tables occupied. The restaurant returned to Kingly Court after a stint in Covent Garden, so its existing audience knows where to find it. If you're planning around a special occasion, book as early as possible rather than banking on short-notice availability.
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