When comparing restaurants Strand visitors can walk to, consider four things: how close it really is to your theatre or office, whether the kitchen meets your dietary needs (especially halal), how clearly the menu is labelled, and whether the food has a point of view. Any halal restaurant central london diners choose should answer questions about its meat confidently.
Why is the Strand such a useful place to eat?
The Strand runs from Trafalgar Square to the Royal Courts of Justice, and for centuries it has been the road that connects the City with Westminster. Today it is lined with theatres, hotels, King’s College and Somerset House, and it sits at the foot of Covent Garden. That mix means the people eating here are unusually varied: lawyers and students at lunch, theatre audiences at six, hotel guests late in the evening.
For a restaurant, it is a demanding audience. Lunch must be quick. Pre-theatre must be punctual. And diners come from every background, which brings us to the question we are asked most often.
What makes a good halal restaurant central london diners can trust?
Halal, in Arabic, simply means permitted. For meat, it refers to an animal slaughtered according to Islamic practice (zabiha), with the name of God invoked and the blood drained. But a halal menu is about more than the meat supplier, and diners are right to ask more than one question.
- Where does the meat come from? A good restaurant can tell you its supplier and whether that supplier is certified.
- Is all the meat halal, or only some dishes? Mixed kitchens should label clearly.
- Is alcohol used in cooking? Some sauces and desserts are finished with wine or spirits.
- How is cross-contact handled? Separate boards, utensils and grills matter to many guests.
- Are gelatine and animal fats checked? These can turn up in desserts and some ready-made products.
Our menu at Paro is tagged for halal diners, alongside vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free tags, and our team is happy to talk through how dishes are prepared. Anyone searching for the best halal restaurant central london offers should look for exactly that openness, not just a sign in the window.
How did Indian food become part of London life?
A little indian food history explains why a street like the Strand is such a natural home for it. Britain’s first dedicated Indian restaurant is widely credited to Sake Dean Mahomed, who opened the Hindoostane Coffee House near Portman Square in 1810. Mahomed went bankrupt within a couple of years, though the coffee house carried on under other owners and the idea stayed. Veeraswamy opened on Regent Street in 1926 and is generally regarded as the oldest surviving Indian restaurant in the UK.
The great growth came after the Second World War. Many of the cooks who built the British curry house came from Sylhet, in what is now Bangladesh, which is why so much of Britain’s Indian restaurant tradition has Bengali roots. Our own kitchen continues that line in its own way: Chef Niaz cooks from Kolkata and West Bengal traditions, and every dish begins with our house 48-spice mix.
Is chicken tikka masala really the national dish of the UK?
The phrase national dish of uk became attached to chicken tikka masala after a 2001 speech by the then Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, who used it as a symbol of modern, multicultural Britain. It stuck, partly because it was true in spirit: a dish shaped by South Asian cooks for British tastes.
Its origin is disputed. A Glasgow restaurant, the Shish Mahal, has long claimed it was invented there in the 1970s when a customer asked for sauce with dry tikka. Others argue that similar tomato-and-cream gravies existed in Punjabi cooking well before. The honest answer is that nobody can prove a single birthplace. What is not in doubt is the technique: chicken marinated in yoghurt and spice, charred at high heat, then finished in a spiced tomato sauce. The yoghurt’s mild acidity and calcium help tenderise the surface of the meat, while the tandoor’s heat sets a smoky crust in minutes.
How should you time a meal around the Strand?
Distance on a map can mislead. The Strand is long, and walking from Trafalgar Square to Aldwych takes longer than visitors expect. Paro sits on Wellington Street, which rises from the Strand to the Lyceum Theatre and Covent Garden, so it is a short walk from the theatres, the Royal Opera House, the Fortune Theatre and Holborn.
We open for lunch Wednesday to Sunday from midday, and we serve both pre-theatre and post-theatre guests. For a pre-show dinner, arriving about 90 minutes before curtain up and telling your server the show time is the simplest way to eat without watching the clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does halal mean in a restaurant?
It means the food is permitted under Islamic dietary law. For meat this means zabiha slaughter, and many diners also expect no alcohol in cooking and care to avoid cross-contact with non-halal products.
Who opened the first Indian restaurant in London?
Sake Dean Mahomed is widely credited with opening the Hindoostane Coffee House near Portman Square in 1810. His own time running it was short, but it is regarded as the first Indian restaurant in Britain.
Where was chicken tikka masala invented?
Nobody knows for certain. Glasgow’s Shish Mahal claims to have created it in the 1970s, while others trace similar dishes to Punjabi cooking; the story remains disputed.
How far is Covent Garden from the Strand?
Very close. Wellington Street climbs from the Strand towards Covent Garden and the Lyceum Theatre, a walk of a few minutes.
