Quillon

Should you book Quillon for a southwest Indian dinner in London?

Yes, if you want a focused, technically assured tour through the flavours of the Malabar Coast and southwest India, served in a comfortable room near Victoria with a team that clearly knows its subject. Quillon has held a place in the Opinionated About Dining Casual Europe rankings since 2023, climbing from a recommendation to #333 in 2024 and #362 in 2025; a ranking that places it firmly in the upper tier of London's Indian dining options. For food-focused diners who want regional specificity rather than a pan-Indian crowd-pleaser, this is the right room.

What Quillon delivers

The kitchen under Head Chef Sriram Aylur specialises in southwest Indian cooking, with fish and shellfish at its centre. The Malabar Coast focus gives the menu a coherence that broader Indian restaurants rarely achieve: dishes like baked black cod with tamarind, jaggery and fenugreek, pepper shrimps, kori gassi, lemon rice with paratha are signals of a kitchen operating within a defined culinary tradition rather than trying to cover every region. The OAD notes describe immediate confidence in the kitchen; the kind of assurance that comes from a team cooking in a register they understand deeply.

There are three ways to eat here: a seafood tasting menu, a vegetarian menu, an à la carte that gives carnivores more flexibility. The Beer and Food tasting menu is worth noting as a structural rarity, pairing a south Indian meal with specifically selected brews rather than defaulting to wine reflects a genuine understanding of how these flavours interact. That said, if wine is your priority, the à la carte format gives you the most flexibility to choose across the list at your own pace, which suits the food-and-wine explorer better than a set pairing locked to beer.

The room itself is built around sandstone and rattan detailing, which the OAD describes as authentic to the south Indian aesthetic rather than generic luxury hotel décor. The setting at 41 Buckingham Gate puts it squarely in Westminster, convenient for pre- or post-theatre, government district business dinners, or visitors staying in the area.

Booking and timing

Quillon is relatively easy to book compared to London's most in-demand restaurants. Monday is closed. Lunch runs Wednesday through Saturday (12 PM–2:30 PM, extending to 3:30 PM on weekends), and dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday (5:30 PM–10 PM, with 10:30 PM closes on Friday and Saturday). A week's notice is typically sufficient for most slots, though weekend dinner will fill faster. If your schedule is flexible, a weekday lunch gives you the most relaxed version of the room.

How Quillon compares to other London Indian restaurants

Quillon sits in a different position from most of London's high-profile Indian options. Amaya is stronger on theatre and the grill format; Benares plays a more pan-Indian game with a Mayfair price point. Trishna in Marylebone is the closest direct comparison, also focused on southwest Indian seafood, the two are worth comparing directly if you're choosing between them. Trishna has a slightly more neighbourhood feel; Quillon's room is smarter and better suited to a business or occasion dinner. Ambassadors Clubhouse and Babur serve different formats and price points. If you want the most focused Malabar Coast cooking in a polished room, Quillon is the cleaner choice over the alternatives listed above.

For Indian cooking outside London, Opheem in Birmingham and Trèsind Studio in Dubai represent the category at its most ambitious globally, but they are operating in a different register: tasting-menu-led, highly conceptual. Quillon is the better call if you want a more traditional southwest Indian meal in a comfortable, knowledgeable room.

The wine angle

No specific wine list data is available for Quillon, so any claims about the depth or direction of the list would be speculation. What can be said: the existence of a dedicated Beer and Food tasting menu alongside a wine-pairable à la carte suggests the kitchen is not wine-centric in the way that a French tasting menu room would be. If wine pairing is central to your evening, the à la carte is the right format to choose, it allows you to work through the list at your own pace and pair individual dishes as you see fit. If you want to let the restaurant lead on pairings, the Beer and Food menu is the more distinctive offer and better reflects the kitchen's own point of view on how these flavours drink leading. Diners coming from a wine-forward background who also want to explore regional Indian flavours should consider this the trade-off worth making.

For broader London planning, see our full London restaurants guide, our full London hotels guide, our full London bars guide, our full London wineries guide, and our full London experiences guide. If you are planning a wider UK trip built around serious restaurants, The Fat Duck in Bray, L'Enclume in Cartmel, Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, Hand and Flowers in Marlow, and hide and fox in Saltwood are worth adding to your list.

Verdict

Book Quillon if you want regionally specific southwest Indian cooking, particularly seafood, in a polished, knowledgeable room near Victoria. It is easy to book, well-suited to occasions and business dinners, operates with enough menu variety to satisfy groups with different dietary requirements. The Beer and Food tasting menu is the most distinctive thing on offer; the à la carte is the right choice if wine flexibility matters to you.