Eating in is the new eating out. And new-style eating in doesn’t mean limp chop suey and polystyrene boxes leaking sweet & sour sauce. Oh no. High-class restaurant delivery has taken off and taken to the road, with Michelin-starred kitchens bringing epicurean excellence to your home via motorbike. Reflecting Britain’s love of curry (it’s the No.1 takeaway and the most searched for cuisine on SM), our selection below is weighted in favour of Indian meals, but the choice is exhilarating – stay-at-home diners can now order anything from British beef short rib to scallop ceviche or tuna sashimi pizza. Here we celebrate London’s delivery from mediocrity.
Benares, Indian (above)
Order through: Supper (for lunch and until 7pm)
Delivers to: Zone 1
Michelin-starred cooking from Atul Kochhar melds Indian traditions with top-quality British ingredients and some European ideas. The result is a raft of richly flavoured dishes ranging from shami kebabs with mint and tamarind relish to tandoori-spiced quail with wild mushroom biryani – all of which make a welcome change from high street curries.
Buddha Bar, Pan-Asian (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: South Kensington, Chelsea
This glitzy Pan Asian joint can send out an array of superior Japanese snacks including sushi and sashimi, nigiri, soft-shell crab, foie-gras gyoza, and miso-cured venison tataki. Main plates of barbecued chicken and Wagyu beef will please meat-eaters, while the notable vegetarian selection (featuring the likes of chilli tofu with shiitake mushrooms) gives Buddha Bar widespread appeal – at a price.
Cinnamon Soho, Indian (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: Soho
Vivek Singh’s Anglo-Indian menu contains such treats as grilled king prawns with coconut rice and gently spiced spinach, alongside ox-cheek vindaloo and Lucknow-style chicken biryani: stylish takes on classics that won’t break the bank.
Gaucho, Argentinian (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: Mayfair, Marylebone
Claiming to serve ‘the finest Argentinian steaks’, this beefy chain offers cuts of traditional rib-eyes and fillets alongside less-common cuadril (tail of rump). To counter meat fatigue, choose light starters such as scallop ceviche with mango and yellow pepper. And it would be rude not to have a salted dulce de leche cheesecake delivered for dessert.
Hixter Bankside, British (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: London Bridge, Bankside
“It’s all about steak and chicken” at this Mark Hix venture: 1kg bone-in rib and specially reared chooks. With prawn cocktail or De Beauvoir potted salmon to start and doughnuts and marshmallows to finish, you can have the ideal Friday night dinner sent home from here.
Kurobuta, Japanese (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: Mayfair, Marylebone
Chef/owner Scott Hallsworth’s (ex-Nobu Park Lane) menu boasts many winners, with upmarket alternatives to your favourite sofa snacks including: beef fillet tataki with garlic crisps; sweet, popcorn-like baby shrimp tempura; and tuna sashimi pizza with wasabi-flavoured flying fish roe.
M Restaurants (above)
Order through: Supper
Delivers to: Zone 1
Former Gaucho MD Martin Williams’ grand establishment houses a steakhouse (M Grill) and raw restaurant (M Raw) in one. The menu’s mantra is ‘six continents, six countries’, so the choice of beef ranges from exemplary USDA Prime fillet to the fuller, French hanger steak and Japanese Kobe cuts. Sushi, ceviche and bao buns will suit those after something lighter.
Pizarro, Spanish (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: London Bridge, Bankside
José Pizarro’s Bermondsey restaurant is always packed, so delivery is a wise option. Tapas such as plates of cheeses, hams and chorizo are perfect for sharing in front of the TV, before moving on to gutsier mains of slow-cooked pork rib, spiced Catalan sausages or fideuà (pasta with squid and monkfish).
Tamarind, Indian (above)
Order through: Supper
Delivers to: Zone 1
The world’s first Indian restaurant to win a Michelin star, Tamarind deals in refined high-end cooking, grounded in aristocratic Moghul cuisine but updated for Mayfair dining. Choose from traditional curries, tandooris and kebabs, two types of dhal, familiar vegetable side dishes and other north Indian classics.
Tredwell’s from Marcus Wareing, British (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: Mayfair, Marylebone
The ‘modern London cooking’ at Tredwell’s highlights prime British ingredients, with simple grills and burgers alongside more cheffy dishes such as richly seasoned heritage tomatoes and goats’ cheese on crispy ‘music bread’ (carta di musica), or tender slow-cooked beef short rib paired with a side of indulgent blue cheese croquettes. Would it be naughty to order a meal for your home dinner party and claim you’re the cook? Yes, but…
Trishna, Indian (above)
Order through: Deliveroo
Delivers to: Mayfair, Marylebone
Michelin-starred Trishna remains a London benchmark for classy Indian food. “Delicate” coastal cuisine is the stated focus, with light, crunchy haldi chipirones (baby squid), spicy soft-shell crab and signature tandoor-cooked fish all impeccably done. But that’s not the only way to go; quail pepper fry with Keralan spices, tandoori lamb chops and stuffed baby aubergine do more than make up the numbers.
This article was published 22 March 2016