Diwana Bhel Poori House

Historic in its renown for authentic cuisine, it is the place my partner takes me whenever he needs his Indian food fix in London. I honestly haven't tasted (Indian) food this good in a long while. Refreshing. Genuine. A family run business. I don't know what else to list to make it clear: Try it. You will love it. Don't be shy to ask for recommendations. Thank you for genuinely great food 🙏🏻.

The lunch buffet is AMAZING. The most authentic Indian food I’ve had outside of India. Great value and lots of flavour. The restaurant is warm and inviting. So happy I stopped in. They constantly keep refilling the buffet and it was a revolving door of people coming in. Thank you! I really enjoyed the mint tea, and the buffet was a great opportunity to try new foods.

Met up with some long standing friends on Friday evening. The place has a warm friendly feel about it. The menu is fairly simple, making life simpler all round. The waitress was friendly, helpful and gifted with an amazing memory for our orders. The other staff also had a nice friendly vibe. The food is simple and very tasty. My Rava Dosa and mixed starters were all very tasty. A great place for a very enjoyable evening.

An absolutely beautiful place! Gorgeous food, big portions, fantastic service. 10/10 could not recommend more

My mum and I come to this restaurant on our yearly trip to London every June. It is authentic comfort food, delish! Great place to try a different sort of Indian, no meat but as a meat eater it’s no problem as the food is so nice. Never had a bad meal and very consistent. This year they have redecorated and the place looks great. Highly recommend the Diwana Thali with chappatis. Very friendly staff, big shout out to Milan! See you June next year!

This restaurant has got amazing Indian vegetarian food! We were truly carried away by the authentic flavours of the dishes, proving it to be the first Indian veg restaurant in Central London since 1971☺️. Moni, who is such a wonderful soul helped us have a great time there! Many thanks to her!

Wow wow wow. Where do we start. “Mmmm yummy yummy” -beyonce. She didn’t miss with that one cuz wow. Wow what a dosa. A dose a what? Is a joke I might say. Because it sounds like I’m saying a dose of. But there’s no joking here. Just robust and yummy dosa. Good for the health, good for the soul.

The food here is amazing fresh, flavourful, and perfect if you’re vegetarian. It’s a clean and welcoming place with a wide variety of dishes to choose from. The buffet is not only affordable but also offers great value for money. Highly recommend it for anyone looking for a satisfying, meat-free meal in a relaxed setting

Great, affordable buffet experience for lunch. I did sample pretty much everything but I was thinking it would have been nice to have things be labeled-- it's just sort of thrown out there rather unceremoniously on a haphazard assortment of plates and trays. I am not a picky eater, so this easy easy enough, but I do agree with some of the reviews that say that this buffet is not, by any means, ah... formally organized. But there was a diverse assortment of food and everything was quite tasty. I thought the service was solid, in response to some of the complaints. We were seated promptly and got our drinks fast as well.

AMAZING RESTAURANT!! We loved everything we tried. I wish I could give it 10 stars! It is that good. Do yourself a favor and stop by to try it out next time you are in London!

Went twice to this restaurant, once to order a la carte and secondly for their Sunday buffet. Had a bhel poori starter and a thali which were both ok but not that spicy. The buffet lunch was reasonable but not half as good as the buffet just up the road (Ravi Shankar). They now charge £12.95, an increase of over 50% compared to what was being charged before the lockdowns (£7.95).

For many years, it was safe to take Drummond Street and its row of affordable Indian restaurants for granted ... then along came HS2 and London as we know it has been under threat ever since. Glad to see that things still look the same, and Diwana remains a firm favourite. Love the fact that the pine furniture hasn't changed in decades. Great South Indian food at affordable prices - what's not to love?! All restaurants in Drummond Street seem to compete with lunch buffets, but a la carte doesn't break the bank either - love the dosas!

Went here based on the reviews on their food. As a we are new to Indian food, it was a bit hard to know what to order. We tried 4 different dishes. Not much help from the waiter. Half of what we ordered were great, the other half was so so. Perhaps because our lacking knowledge of what to order. The chairs and benches felt like it was not made to sit and dine... Seriously it was a big downside! When it came to the check, the waiter didn't show it, and when I tried to take it from his hand, he left with it. Credit card terminal were set to payment, which were higher than bill including 10% and then he had entered 20% additional for tip. How rude is that?? We are not going back here, that is for sure.

"Hi Andrew, I'm in London for the day. Feel like trying some awesome Indian food?" Well that's a rhetorical question right? Of course I want to go! I got this text from a friend while I was eating brunch up in Stoke Newington (check the map...it actually is in London...I had to look twice to make sure) at a cute little french patisserie that has perhaps the best almond croissant I have had to date (including those in Paris...). A couple of hours later I was standing outside this restaurant, shivering in the cold or perhaps with longing at the multitude of platters I could see through the large front windows. The windows that did nothing to block the mouth watering aromas coming from within. To set the stage for this meal, I've got to note two things. First, I love meat. I prefer to have meat in everything and have the idea that a salad is something that adds color to my burger. Second, this place is fully veggie and no meat to be seen. So while the sights and smells were good, I was a bit doubtful at this place's ability to...well keep me satisfied. I was wrong...oh so so wrong...but in the best way possible. I'm not sure what it is that pushed me over the edge into admitting it, perhaps the curried mushrooms that were fresh and spicy, the light fluffi breads, the crunchy chick peas, or the sauteed potatoes and onions. Or maybe it was the assortment of dishes I couldn't even name that melded together in an wave of vegetable heaven. I even sort of felt healthy eating two heaped plates of the stuff...before I started on dessert that is. Dessert was two sugar syrup soaked gulab jamun, a piece of cococut sweet, and what I think was a form of fruitcake. Great stuff and spiked my blood sugar level to all new highs. I'm definitely going back to this place. It's got great food and the buffet is only £7! From what I hear, the dosas are on a whole different level so that's next on the eating list!

Okay I had to said I really agree with the rest of the reviews that the service is not the best and waiter is terribly impatient. Came by here with my friend, and we both brought cash. Highly suggest you do so..but anw, the prata was good and Thali was good too. It's small and simple, and probably a good place for you to come by if you're out of food options and would like to sample Gujarati food. :)

I'm surprised more Yelpers haven't been here. I was treated to the bargainous £6.95 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet and the food was delicious. There were loads of veggie dishes on offer on a long table in the window, decorated with carved fruit and veg. You take a big tin plate and load up. It's an odd looking place, clad wall to ceiling in very dated varnished pine, but it was absolutely heaving when I went midweek, and there was a continual turnaround of tables as more punters flocked in. I gather from work colleagues and from what I've read online that this place has been considered a dear secret to many people for years now, and that the buffet lunch is something of an institution. A great find, a short walk from Euston station.

Is it a 3*** or a 4**** ... tricky because the food is pretty good I have to say, but not at all impressed by the rock hard, super narrow and immovable seats, the tight fit tables (all literally nailed to the floor) or the mildly surly and somewhat mixed service. Most of the decent tables were apparently reserved. Even the table in the window that we first sat at, and which wasn't reserved when we entered but which we were asked to move from, then has a reserved sign placed on it! No one came in to occupy that table or any other reserved table for the 45 minutes we sat in there! When I paid by card I was 'encouraged' to add a tip to the bill and the person stood over me as I put in my pin - a tad insensitive around security in my opinion! Anyway, the sweet lassi was delicious, the service brisk and the food definitely enjoyable. I had the most expensive Thali and I'd recommend it. The bill for two came to around £20 (with tip!) Would I go there again? Doubt it, because I don't want to be herded about from nice table to very uncomfortable table on the apparent whim of a waiter - seriously poor! I may try it again if I can go back in and choose a table I actually want to sit in. If I can't sit somewhere comfy and relaxing, I'll turn and go elsewhere! So a mixed review. They let themselves down on service which meant I enjoyed my meal far less than I might otherwise! You get the impression it's all about customer turnover and 'my place my rules', but if that's how it is then they've lost my future custom. To be fair they're not alone in this kind of approach around Drummond St, but there are plenty of other options nearby who have a more relaxing attitude. Take your pick ... if it doesn't feel right when you first go into a place just head out the door. It's what we should have done.

This place has been on my bookmark list for a very long time and on Sunday I finally managed to cross it off that list! I came here for lunch with a couple of friends; when we entered the place at 12:45 it was already buzzing with customers that were eagerly plundering the large buffet. Let me say this: this place to me feel like the Indian version of a German youth hostel dining area. It's all very plain, the cutlery and plates are functional and the waiting staff is very efficient, but not overly friendly nor interested in you. All three of us went for the buffet and I liked pretty much everything. On my second helping I went for many more of the fresh salads, rather than the slightly oily curries (which were tasty nevertheless). I also ordered a sweet lassi, which was really nice and made me very happy. Last but not least, the desserts were super sweet, but really nice: I especially liked the carrot-coconut squares! All in all, a really nice place to have a decent meal for little money.

Drummond street is an London institution when it comes to Indian food. There are a number of established Indians restaurants that have been kicking it since the 80s, still value for money, and well worth a visit. We hit up Diwana and We all got the thaali. And it was Great Gujarati thaali. Great dhaal, good subsi. Authentic flavours. Puris were a bit dry, I don't how they dropped the ball there. Good portion sizes. Would recommend. The decor is straight forward study but comfy wooden furniture. We were served by the owner I presume and we had a good chat. Friendly sort. He had that clipped brusque manner in speech which could be construed as curt if you're not clued into it. It's a cultural thing, pay it no mind. We came in at about 5 pm and it was pretty quiet so we were served very quickly. I did not get to experience this (came too late in the day) but they have U.N.L.I.M.I.T.E.D. .T.H.A.L.I for £7 over lunch. Excellent! Will be back, next time I'm in London with time to kill at Euston.

How is this place not in health code violation? (1) No sneeze guard on buffet; (2) they demand 1 plate person, so you have to reuse your plate; and (3) no labels on any of the food. Also no dosa or typical southern indian food on the buffet. How do you not put dosa on a buffet!? The buffet is 6 varieties of potatoes and 6 of chana (chickpeas). 100% meh. I just witnessed some daft British lady put food back from her plate into the container on the buffet. WTF!??! She then proceeded to cough on her hand and then dive that hand into the papadums to rummage around for the ones she wanted. FORGET THIS PLACE! #gross #nasty #reservoir4illness If you go, rebel: take a new plate every time.

Opinion at end of main course: "The restaurant is 40 years old and it shows in the level of the spice. I have had Gujrati food from Gujratis and the level of flavour was for some reason disappointingly low compared to what I have had before." Considering this restaurant has catered London for so long it has lost some of the punch I presumed. So on the balance of it I thought - Good but not something I'd bring my friends to. 3 stars. But that was before I had their Bhel Puri. If I was qualified enough to declare this was the "best bhel puri in london" I would. But I probably haven't tried it all yet. That 1 dish adds a star to the score. The quantity was large and the taste even larger ;) but sadly only the bhel puri. So net-net - 4 stars and a return visit for either the lunch or the bhel puris.

Having discovered the delights of South Indian vegetarian food some years ago, a friend suggested this place to me. Our first trip was to the buffet on a Saturday lunchtime, which was an eye opener. All you can eat, all veggie, all great and under a tenner! Since then I've also been there in the evenings, when the a la carte menu is available - it is a bit more expensive, but overall you'll still eat for under £15. The decor is basic - it is more of a cafe than a restaurant - and old fashioned at that. Cutlery is also basic (cheap metal implements) and water comes in metal beakers too. Service is also a bit haphazard, and the main downer is that on one trip there it took rather long to get (and pay) the bill, which always upsets my other half. But the big plus is the food - very authentic, very spicy, and lots of it. As you might guess, it is not a well kept secret, and you may have to queue when they are busy, and it is usually packed inside.

My family has been going to Diwana since long before I was born, but we've finally had enough. Diwana is not entirely without merit: the food is delicious, and incredibly cheap! The bhel puri (~$4) is just awesome, and it's kept us coming back for decades, even as this place's service got worse and worse. But after my recent experience at Diwana, I will never return. First, four of us arrived, and ordered some food. The waiter aggressively complained that we'd ordered an insufficient amount of food (but we ordered more than $40 worth!). I wish we'd walked out then, but it only gets worse... The food came out, and it was superb, as usual. It was during the payment that the real fiasco began: at Diwana, they include a standard "voluntary" 12.5% service fee on all orders. But---unlike other restaurants in London with that same service fee policy---they then include an option to add a tip on the bill. Sleezy, but whatever. Anyway, as my mother was paying, the waiter leaned over her and attempted to enter a 25% tip on her credit card in an extremely aggressive manner. He literally ***grabbed the payment machine from her hand*** and began to enter this tip amount. Not cool. Really not cool.

Insanely busy during the lunch hour! Been here 3 times, and I've only been in London for a month. So good, and surprisingly, I love meat (give me some of that chicken tikka masala...lamb roggan josh, why not?), but this place does perfectly fine with just veggies and tofu. AYCE for less than £7? Nothing to complain. Tucked away in a row of Indian restaurants, I found that this place had the biggest selection, and their kheer (rice pudding) had the perfect amount of sweetness. Not sure what's in that red broccoli/cauliflower dish, but that dish is pretty addicting...

Stuck in a corner, we waited and waited for everything. The bhel puri was almost certainly made well in advance, as evinced by the soggy crunchies. The "deluxe" rava dosa was a mismatch of bland favors, made soggy by the plates they put on top of it. The raita was sweet and looked like grayish mayonnaise. Our home is surrounded by Indian restaurants and we have never tasted anything like the "coconut chutney"--not in a good way. "I guess you're not used to this kind of food," said the patronizing waiter as he cleared the table. Actually, pal, I lived in Himachal Pradesh.

This is a restaurant that I have been happy to go to since a friend first suggested it in the early 1970's, just about fifty years ago. In mid-September I took my American cousins there. They went in while I was trying to find a parking place. They were refused service on the basis that they wouldn't be served until I arrived. They were made to move from table to table two or three times, told they couldn't sit here, there, wherever. Understandably they were dreadfully upset. My cousin called me and I stopped by to speak to a member of staff, was informed that they could not be served until everyone had arrived, they could not order starters on their own even if later we would all be ordering our main dishes. I asked if they could not be made to feel welcome, that they had been looking forward for a long time to coming here... this idiotic conversation went on for a while. I asked if it was possible to be more flexible, after all the restaurant was far from full. No it would be very busy. But eventually the member of staff agreed they could be allowed to order without waiting till I had found a parking place. I left only eventually to return shortly to find them cold because they had been parked at a drafty table near the open entrance door. The food in due course arrived. I shall refrain from comment as most of the meal was taken up by the stress they had been put through - they are not young and travel isn't easy at this age. However, they were happy with their choices. At the end, the waiter came with the bill, kept asking about whether a tip could go on the credit card, asked several times. I said clearly, No, it would not go on the card. - So you can leave cash, says he, again several times. On the basis of the distress, stress and misery this waiter had caused, along with his pulling faces about them to other colleagues, despite other customers making it clear to my cousins that they were appalled at the treatment they were being subjected to, I was not prepared for my cousins to leave a tip. I indicated that they should not. The waiter came to me and said, You've not left a tip. I agreed, Yes, we've not left a tip. Why? he asked. I responded, Because you have been very unpleasant. Frankly after this horror I am leaving a single star - leaving no stars isn't possible. It was five stars frightful in the staff behaviour department. I have never before seen such disrespect shown to customers - and I am horrified that any member of staff here believes that this is acceptable. It absolutely is not. This was a ghastly situation - in good faith to have suggested this restaurant to my cousins and then find that this resulted in one of the worst evenings possible for them. Awful.

Waited 15 minutes for a table on a Tuesday night. During which time found the service to be rude, confrontational and dismissive - quite an impressive feat! Walked out. Apparently the Pooris are great.

I love this place. They technically don't deserve 5 stars as the service is atrocious at worst and clumsy at best. The reminder that service is not included also always winds me up. However - the food and price makes the above completely irrelevant to be honest. I've been for the buffet and an evening meal. Both are incredible. The Thali's are amazing. The choice of fresh vegetable and vegetarian dishes at the buffet - also amazing. I'd find it hard to believe anyone couldn't enjoy the food here. Bravo Diwana.

Horrible service!!! Warning: Do not have the Masala Chai, it is water with some spices and milk in it. Waiters are very moody and very rude. Food is good but not great. Won't recommend to anyone.

Summary based on one lunch: --went in thinking I was going to get a simple thali. The waiter told me that the buffet was a better deal. For some reason I still thought I wanted the thali, but the waiter took a paint by numbers approach and basically told me the buffet had more variety and was cheaper. Sold. --helpful service --decent food --cheap Recommended in this area. I had stopped by the Indian YMCA, but it wasn't open for lunch yet. It turned out to be more expensive and, based on their posted menu, had less variety. Recommended in this area.

I just love the vegetarian lunch buffet here. It's the real deal. I'm not a vegetarian but love good vegetarian food. Multiple tasty salads, chapattis and pappadoms, several different hot dishes with paneer, daal, veg curries, crunchy, battered pakoras, spicy chick peas, cooling raita. All excellent and delicious and while probably quite sinful if you ate every day, it's definitely not too oily or salty. Whatever combination you add to your plate, it's always good and works together. I especially like the combination of flavours and textures that makes for a great meal. Each dish has it's own distinct flavours and spices. Wonderful. Afterwards, you can sample some great Indian deserts. Gulab jamun and little squares of other tasty Indian sweets and fruits. What a treat. Great value at £6.95 for an excellent and filling lunch. They have plenty of good menu items too for the evening, especially the behl poori / chaat snack disches with puffed rice, yoghurt and tamarind sauces. The interior is quite basic and cramped but it's the food you go for here. Quick tip: The Ravi Shankar restaurant about 2 doors down is equally as good. I alternate between the two... It has to be 5 stars for me for the combination of excellent food and great value lunch.

Diwana is my fav. place to eat simple Indian food. After reading good reviews abt the place I walked in craving for Indian street (chat) food. And it was authentic. As a full proof chat-loving Indian I hereby certify this place AWESOME I tried the dahi bhale chat and then had many portions of masala dosa and idlis. Felt just like home. Even my carnivorous frd cud appreciate the simple vege meals 3-4 days later I cudnt resist another visit and walked in the middle if the day. To my surprise there was a large spread of colorful indian grub- buffet going on. All u can eat. And rasgullas. And it's sooo inexpensive Staff is friendly. One guys not. Wudnt gimme a bowl Uve got to try it on a chilled out evening/afternoon Not apt for a formal meal. Try the fresh OJ

Where can you get a dosa after 11 at night? This place. My friend and I were looking for vegetarian Indian after an event at the Wellcome Collection and stopped in. They told us they were out of food. We asked where we could get just a dosa, and he told us to wait right there. 2 minutes later, we were seated and ordering, and 10 minutes later had some awesomely delicious dosas with probably the best coconut chutney I've had.

Right, I'll say from the start- the waiters are super abrupt, and looks like often rude at times in others reviews, and, the chairs will quite possibly make you want to see a chiropractor. It's not super authentic, but the is great, and pretty cheap. I loved the talis, the coconut chutneys, bhel puri, a decent lassi, and their infamous dosas are pretty great. My vegetarian friend was super happy too. Also, it's BYOB, so it's easy enough to grab a bottle of wine down the road, attempt to get comfy, and munch some lovely stuff.

This review is mostly for Indians starved of authentic Indian food that has a kick to it. If you aren't one of those, definitely go to this place. Right! For the desis- I might be a little too critical for someone who stuffed her face at this joint, but the food was disappointingly bland. That said the quality of the food was good. We were the only Indians here at lunch time & it was packed (that set off the first alarm). They had decent 'patra' or 'aloochi wadi' & also had 'aloo kadi'. Both these things are a little hard to come by in buffets. The 'kheer' & 'chana chaat' were good & so was the 'aloo palak' & 'gobhi manchurian'. The 'chapatis' were dry & there were about 5 different kinds of salads with avocado in them (huh?) Definitely worth a try to see if this is up your alley. Couldn't see the kitchen, didn't use the bathroom. The staff were polite but not Masala Zone friendly.

Fantastic lunch buffet. The selection is unique (tofu almost makes it a bit fusion), broad (they have at least 12-15 dishes to choose from), and fresh (the restaurant was packed by 12:25 - there is certainly enough churn to keep the food frequently replaced. Current price (April 2014) was £6.95 / person. Highly recommended!

So worth £7!! We were lucky it wasn't too crowded when we went. My favorite was the red tofu dish and the rice with curry over it. What sucks is that they don't put name tags over the food so me and my friends had no idea what we were eating. Honestly, we were so hungry though we didn't care. I liked the rice pudding for dessert; all the other unknown desserts I didn't really care for. The food is good and we all came out with the biggest food coma.

My decision to give this place a 5-star rating stems both from my desperation for Indian food and the fact that Diwana Bhel really is just that good. The bottom line is that my meal was great and that I'm definitely coming back! I came for dinner (the place was busy for a Tuesday) and ordered the Rava Deluxe Dosa (basically a Rava Masala Dosa), and I was very happy with it. The sambar was nice and spicy! The two chutneys tasted very fresh. I'll definitely be back for more. One thing I don't like: you can't order any appetizers or drinks or chaat unless you've ordered them alongside a main dish. As I love to make a meal out of a few appetizers, this annoyed me. I might have ordered some chaat alongside my dosa, but the food would have been too much! A money-making scheme, to be sure. I prefer restaurants to be less in my face about the fact that they're trying to squeeze as much money out of me as possible. Tip: They don't like to seat you unless your whole party is at the restaurant.

I met up with a friend here for lunch. Since I'm just around the corner and he's near Euston, it seemed like a reasonable choice. It's quite a small restaurant though, so just be prepared for that! We looked at the menu, but all the lunch mains are around £7. And at lunch, there's a buffet for £7, so it seemed like the obvious choice! So buffet it is! There's a huge selection of food available on the buffet, so it's really easy just to go nuts. However, since it's lunch, I try to be reasonable, so I just went for tiny spoons of the things I wanted (although I did go back for tiny spoons of a few more things as well). For me the highlights were the fried chilis. They were freaking amazing. Some of the curries are nice as well. And it's all vegetarian, so you can at least delude yourself into thinking you're eating healthy. There's also a bit of dessert including fruit, gulab jamun (YUM) and some other weird gelatinous things (which were also tasty). The service is a bit awful though, which is why I only give it three stars. I mean, it took about ten minutes for our drink to arrive. And all we ordered was a diet coke. And another table got really annoyed when they were ignored for awhile. Since the majority of people were only getting the buffet, there's not really an excuse for the service, is there?

Special place for me :) Very cozy wooden tables. Every body may not fit. Food has super flavors with interesting combinations. I doubt I have ever had coconut as a part of an Indian meal, but this was a delightful surprise. I am not sure what it was that had coconut in it, but whatever it was, it was delicious. I also enjoyed the unique dosa combination. They turn up the music loud when it is time for you to go. . .took us a minute to figure that one out.

Great value Indian vegetarian food in pleasant if basic surroundings. Ideal for a quick meal and convenently located near Euston Station. Delxue Dosa is a must.

What a dark horse! This restaurant is nestled away on a quiet street near Euston station. I met a friend coming in from out of town and we decided to have dinner here. The prices are incredible for the portion sizes and quality of food. Being half Indian, I know what good Indian street food should taste like, and this did not disappoint. We had the Bhel Puri, Dahi puri, paneer dosa and Channa masala. The food came out quick and tasted great. My only critique was that it took awhile for us to get the check, and when we were paying the server immediately selected 25% gratuity as he handed us the card machine. It was presumptive on his part seeing as the service was average at best due to the busy nature of the restaurant and few staff present. However, all in all, I would recommend this restaurant to lovers of Indian vegetarian snack food!

Had a giant dosa that seemed too perfect to be real. It was very real though. I nearly ate it all and it wasn't easy to walk back to Bloomsbury. A friend used to eat here many years ago and had great memories of it. She told me to check it out and I was not disappointed. Nice staff, great prices, memorable atmosphere.

Yes, I am a fan of this Indian Veggie restaurant, it is Indian Street food at it's best! Authentic, cheap, great value for money, tasty & BYO drinks. Decor is not fancy - it's all about the food! Dosa's and Thali's are authentic and satisfying. There is absolutely nothing I do not like about this place. Conveniently located behind Euston Station. If you like what I have described, get yourself down there.

Everyone said how good it was before we went, and none of them were even vegetarian! So that's a pretty good sign. (cue foreshadowing music) We all got a thali, and number 1 was vegan so that was great for me. I'm not sure if this was an off night or what. We did come an hour before closing. This was seriously the worst Indian food I've ever eaten. Bland, boring... how can Indian food have no flavor?! We all had nearly the same thing. My group found it average, but it was well below that. I just.... no. Sorry! Never recommending you or going back!

Ganapati on Saturday, Bhel Poori House on Sunday. I have some serious Southern Indian craving. Whilst Bhel Poori is the slightly less glamourous of the two (the restaurant front looks somewhat 70s and the interior hasn't been updated that recently), it's not in an awkward location and it's pretty cheap. It also managed to be pretty full on a Sunday evening. Impressive. My generous portion of bhel poori starter (£4) arrived very promptly (service is very efficient, albeit not exuding a whole lot of love and affection) - I'd only had it once before at the Brick Lane market, but this was really good. Sweet-but-slightly-tangy sauce, potato, and the crunch of the noodly bits and crispy fried bready things (excuse my techical language). This was followed up by a long dosa (£7), filled with a potato mix and served with coconut chutney (cocochutney?), and a couple of other curry sauces. Whilst decent - especially with the sauces - I thought the filling was a bit on the bland side. Still, it was filling, and I did like the accompaniments. This is a great place for a quick-and-cheap-and-easy-and-filling lunch/dinner (I'd be tempted to do it for breakfast. How I miss roti canai...). Sure, it's not a world-beater, but it's a lot more interesting than your standard curry house and worth going for the bhel poori alone. I'm usually fairly sceptical of buffets too, but this one could tempt me to the dark side...

3.5 stars which I rounded down to 3, instead of up to 4. I don't know; maybe I'm a little cranky today? But, truly, it was - as the Yelp guide insists for 3 stars - "A-OK". Have only ever had dosa here. Which, honestly, is fine because...DOSA ARE MAGICAL. They're totally reasonable - the fancy extra-stuffed-with-goodness-ones run you roughly 7GBP. Come on a long metal plate (love it), rolled up and hot, with fillings (my fave: paneer and spinach) and some additional "gear". Some lentil-y stuff. Some coconut cream-y stuff. Some spicier stuff. Sorry I can't be more precise; they all taste good, if that's of help. 3 little things: 1. the wooden booths are fairly small and structured; there's not much flexibility with solid wood. I fit, but I think some of my taller friends would find the seats really uncomfortable. Just a watch-out 2. I still love it, but the food is really salty for my tastes. 3. I find the drinks by far the weakest link and the least reasonable "bang for buck". The tea isn't strong, the purportedly fresh passion fruit juice had a tang to it that made me question that claim, and around the 2.50 point they were definitely not worth 1/3 of the magnificent dosa platter. Bottom line: when I'm craving a dosa, Diwana always comes to mind; it's solid, well-located, I've never had issues with efficiency of food arriving to table, and it's reasonable. That said, if I were on the other side of the city, I'd also be willing to give some other options a try. And would not go on a date here with a hella-tall guy who wanted to lean back and relax while eating (wooden benches are prohibitive). Yelp note: I don't know if this applies to all times of day, but if you go early the corkage is a big fat wallet-saving 0$! So, y'know...do that. The guy next to me was getting down, hardcore, on some brews along with his bhel poori.

Heard a lot of good things about this place and wanted to try it out since we were in the area and were craving a nice vegetarian meal. The location is great because it's just like a couple of minutes walk from the train station. The interior was simple and a bit worn, but still cozy and nice with an all around wooden theme. It felt a bit like an Indian diner sitting by the booth. It's a bit narrow and crammed by the booths, so if you're very tall or wide, you might actually not be so comfortable sitting here. It was not even noon and the place was already busy and almost all tables taken. Service was fast. We had just a light meal here, so can not speak for the full menu. My alu gobi was OK, nothing special, it didn't have anything like an edge to it. The portion size was allright though. I ordered chapati and puri with my meal and they were a bit of a disappointment. Both breads were tiny and the puri just fell into thin crumbs the moment you touched it. It's just a bread, so no big loss, but kind of felt like paying for nothing actually. I don't agree with other reviews saying how cheap the prices are here. I've been to a lot of all vegetarian restaurants that are cheaper. I would not call this place over priced, but for what it is, the prices could be slightly lower. Oh well, it is London after all. I must admit I have had better vegetarian food. But would still be willing to give this restaurant another try, because I'm still really not understing all the hype about this place.

Went for the buffet. If you are from India and are in dire need of Indian food... The place is fine... But otherwise, it's nothing special.

Price reasonably cheap, about 7£ but all protein & meat eaters be aware that in the price is just the veggie menu, that's not pretty clear so that you'd wish taste chicken, beef or lamb dishes you gonna pay more than 7£... It was good but thought better, nothing special. Price reasonably cheap, about 7£ but all protein & meat eaters be aware that in the price is just the veggie menu, that's not pretty clear so that you'd wish taste chicken, beef or lamb dishes you gonna pay more than 7£... It was good but thought better, nothing special.

The food and service are usually pretty good here but sadly not this time. I ordered the appetizer assortment and the samosa tasted as if it was on the verge of going off. The parata that came with the main course was hard and certainly didn't taste as if it was freshly made. This is not my typical experience at Diwana so perhaps they get sloppy near closing time. I got there pretty late.

Love this place! I come here pretty regularly with my husband or with friends - it's one of our favourite places to eat in London. The lunch buffet is the obvious draw at £6.95 for all you can eat (including a selection of fruits, pudding and Indian sweets for dessert). The buffet is usually pretty well-stocked and typically includes a couple salads, a couple types of rice, daal, saag aloo, a fairly wide selection of vegetarian curries, and a selection of sides - poppadoms, pickle, bhajis etc. If you miss the buffet and go at dinnertime, I'd highly recommend the thalis - excellent value for money and you get to taste a variety of dishes. The dosas are also some of the best in London, as is the bhel poori. Regarding the staff, I see some of the other reviews haven't been impressed with the service. In my experience, the service is consistently fast and cheerful, and the manager is really friendly and personable. The toilet is small and you have to be a bit of a contortionist to get in there. But given how great everything else is I'm willing to overlook that. Highly recommended for a low-key, casual meal.

If I could I would go to this place every day :) the joy of it being a veggie restaurant means I can eat any of the foods on offer without having to worry, although it does take a bit of getting used to when I've spent years choosing between the two veggie options in many restaurants, you always think "can I have this?". The food is lovely, the buffet is a good option and they always have a good selection of indian dishes and sweets. There are non alcholic drinks to choose from or you are able to bring your own alcohol which makes it a non expensive meal. The place is quite simple but the staff are always friendly and helpful whenever I have been (which is a fair few times!) If you are around the euston area I would definetly recommend checking it out! :)

Perhaps because it is vegetarian, this place ranks up there among the top ten Indian restaurants in London. There is a sumptuous buffet for lunch. Dinner menu has attractive dosas and thalis. The Diwana Thali is particularly good. Highly recommended for homesick Indian expats.

Quick, tasty Indian vegetarian food, in simple surroundings. I had Dahi Vada as a starter (small savoury cakes with yogurt, chutneys and spices on top) followed by Paneer Dosa (large pancake made with fermented batter folded over potatoes, cubes of soft cheese, onions and spices, served with coconut chutneys and sambha - a kind of vegetable curry sauce). The service was quick, and the food was absolutely delicious. I've eaten a lot of Indian food around London, and I rate this pretty highly.

This is a firm favourite with me! The old fashioned surroundings make it endearing. The food is delicious, nutritious and unusual. I'm a big fan of South Indian cuisine but there are things on this menu I've found nowhere else. This place has been here yonks. Yes, it shows, but I like that. Staff is friendly, food delicious and good value.

Are there no Brits reviewing this place other than me? I'll keep it brief. This place has been in existence since the '60's and it shows. While it may be a little run down and worse for wear, it still serves some of the best South Indian veggie food in the Western Hemisphere. No booze but the best Thali's around. If you're over 6ft tall, though, beware. The tables are "cramped" to put it mildly and it does get hot, sweaty and humid when it's busy and the weather starts to warm up around Euston. And if you have to visit the loos, mind your head as you descend to the depths on shiney, well-worn brick tiled stairs. All in all, you won't be disappointed with the food. I only wish there there was something half as good in Seattle. And that's a constant gripe for me...