London’s best Pakistani restaurants

Babur opened in 1985 – that’s a lot of years of collective cuisine knowledge! However, the restaurant is committed to providing the best possible presentations of a variety of India’s delicious cuisines, traditional and modern. Unsurprisingly, given its resume, these guys serve some great Pakistani classics on the menu, like Lucknowi Chicken Biryani served with mustard raita and browned onion and the Saffron and Mace Chicken Tikka, which we particularly love. 

Named after the famous travel route from Kabul to Kolkata and home to cuisines you can find on it and beyond, this restaurant is a must for fans of Pakistani or Indian food! In the same way that the road is a footprint of history and culture, this menu showcases a wide selection of old and new dishes. The restaurant is based in east London’s South Woodford, and the menu includes a fantastic Awadhi Dum Gosht Biryani, which is a lamb dish cooked in a dum with aromatic spices and served with raita. There are plenty more options for you to try, too, like Peshwari Lamb Chops, which are marinated in fennel, star anise, raw papaya and crushed spices.

Original Lahore has served authentic Punjabi food since its creation in 1970, including dishes like seekh and grilled lamb chops. The restaurant made a name for itself and has now branched out to three more locations. It’s even been endorsed by Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan and Salman Khan! The menu is incredibly expansive, with an impressive coverage of Pakistani cuisine. Our favourite is the Karahi Mix Veg, or if you’re dining on a Thursday and you eat meat, the Lamb Haleem. We would also recommend trying the Seekh Kebab starters. These are staple Pakistani cuisine dishes, and you would be missing out by not trying them. 

Aladin’s authentic Pakistani Halal food restaurant specialises in Karachi Nihari, Haleem, Karachi  Korma, Halwa Puri, Paya, Biryani, Kebabs and Tandoori. It’s so popular it receives a number of regular celebrity visitors, including Bollywood actors! From the menu, you can start with meat samosas or a tandoori chicken leg and follow them up with a tasty chicken saag. For the vegetarians, we recommend regular samosas followed by Bombay aloo. However, you have no shortage of options here, with over 100 items! If you want dessert, then you have some great options like Kheer, a special rice pudding.

Punjabi Dhaba has an extensive list of delicious dishes for you to try. Unique to this restaurant is its dedicated Tandoori starters section, including a mixed grill, tandoori chicken, tandoori king prawns and many more. Our top picks from the menu are the chicken karahi and kebab roll in naan, the latter because it is so unique! This restaurant has some tasty dessert options, too. One being the Kulfi Malia, which is a thickened milk and sugar combination.