Southall is London’s great Punjabi high street — and then some. Along The Broadway, South Road, The Green and King Street you’ll find Punjabi dhabas, Pakistani karahi houses, South Indian vegetarian cafés, Sri Lankan kitchens, Nepalese momo counters and sweet shops that have been going for decades. We pulled this list from our verified directory of Southall restaurants, so every pick below is a real, confirmed spot — not a rumour. One note: all twenty picks sit in Southall itself, as our verified batch for this guide contained no Hayes restaurants. Here’s where to eat, organised by what you’re craving.
The Broadway: karahi, grills & a night out
Spice Village (183 The Broadway, Southall — +442085744475) is a Pakistani-Indian mainstay of the Broadway, built around karahi, mixed grills and biryani. It’s the kind of big, bustling room that suits a group dinner where everyone orders something different and shares.
A few doors down, Haweli Restaurant Southall (171-173 The Broadway, Southall — +442088679222) is the Pakistani counterpart: karahi and mixed grills alongside chapli kebabs, the flat, spiced minced-meat patties that are worth ordering on their own.
For a family-table classic, Gifto’s (162-164 The Broadway, Southall — +442085138669) is a Pakistani-Indian family restaurant known for karahi gosht, butter chicken and garlic naan — the comfort end of the Broadway, done well.
And if the evening calls for something smarter, Madhu’s (39 South Road, Southall — +442085741897) is Southall’s fine-dining answer: Punjabi dishes, chaats and tandoori specialities in a more polished setting. It’s the place to book when the meal is the occasion.
Best chaat & street food
Southall does street food properly, and Jalebi Junction (93 The Broadway, Southall — +442085716782) is where to start: freshly made jalebi, chaats and samosas, right on the Broadway. Come hungry, and save room for the jalebi.
Rita’s (112 The Broadway, Southall — +442085716704) is a street-food restaurant built around its house-special chaat, with pani puri and chole bhature alongside. It’s a small, punchy menu that knows exactly what it is.
Tucked inside the Madan Shopping Centre, Chaskaa Chaat Bhandaar (Unit 5D, Madan Shopping Center, 27-29 The Broadway, Southall — +447424444873) serves pani puri, dahi puri and samosa chaat — a proper chaat stop in the middle of a shopping trip.
Best vegetarian & South Indian
Aahar Indian Vegetarian Restaurant (4 The Broadway, Southall — +442085744555) is a pure-vegetarian spot covering both North and South Indian cooking, with dosas and chaats on the menu. It’s the easiest all-vegetarian answer on the Broadway.
For South Indian specifically, Saravanaa Bhavan (97 South Road, Southall — +442088430088) serves masala dosa, idli and filter coffee — the classic South Indian vegetarian line-up, done the traditional way.
Delhi Wala (11 King Street, Southall — +442085740873) is a vegetarian street-food restaurant on King Street: dosas, chaats and paneer tikka rolls, quick and full of flavour.
And Apna Pind (29 King Street, Southall — +442085712857) is homestyle Punjabi vegetarian cooking — bhature chole and lassi, with fresh jalebi to finish. It’s the kind of place that tastes like someone’s kitchen rather than a restaurant.
Best Punjabi homestyle & kulchas
Poornima (16 South Road, Southall — +442088138444) has been serving homestyle Punjabi food since 1997, with kebab rolls, saag and makki di roti on the menu. Nearly three decades in, it’s still the neighbourhood’s comfort-food benchmark.
Pappu Dhaba (19 Adelaide Rd, Southall — +442085715999) is a Punjabi dhaba in the old sense: tandoori mixed grill, lamb karahi and chaats, served without fuss. Come for the karahi, stay for the tandoor.
For Amritsari kulchas, head to Kulcha Express (The Green) (108 The Green, Southall — +442088432226), which specialises in stuffed kulchas with chole bhature and lassi. (There’s a second branch on South Road at 80 South Road, Southall — +442088432255 — if that’s closer to where you are.)
Best biryani & kebabs
Nizams Biryani (10 High Street, Southall — +447405813725) is a Hyderabadi specialist: biryani, mandi and kebabs, with the biryani as the obvious order. If you only eat one biryani in Southall, make it this one.
For kebabs, Shahi Nan Kebab (56 High Street, Southall — +442085716395) does naan and paratha doner kebabs plus chicken and mutton tikka — a straightforward, generous High Street kebab shop.
Best Sri Lankan & Nepalese
Sambal Express Extra (88 South Road, Southall — +442085713637) brings Sri Lankan cooking to South Road: kothu roti, mutton rolls and string hoppers. The kothu — chopped roti stir-fried with curry — is the dish to try first.
House Of Momo (29 South Rd, Southall — +442046194780) is a Nepalese restaurant specialising in momos, including kothey (pan-fried) and chilli momos. Small, focused, and exactly what the name promises.
Sweets to finish
No Southall food crawl is complete without the sweet shops. Panji Sweets And Savouries (1 The Broadway, Southall — +442036016345) sells fresh jalebi, samosas, ghevar and other sweets and savouries — pick up a box to take home, or eat the jalebi while it’s still warm. And if you’re starting at the top of the Broadway, Moti Mahal (94 The Broadway, Southall — +442085719443), serving chaats, tandoori dishes and sweets since 1972, is the grand old name to finish at — or to start at, if you’re planning the day in reverse.
Where to go next
Twenty picks barely scratches the surface — our directory has dozens of verified South Asian restaurants across Southall, from Goan kitchens on The Green to late-night kebab shops on High Street, plus sweet centres, takeaways and cafés we haven’t room for here. Browse the full restaurant listings on desipages.org to find every spot, with addresses, phones, and photos, and plan your next meal.
Author: Manjul
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