Diwana Bhel Poori

I have been a regular diner at this Drummond Street institution since I came to London in 1983. The bare wooden tables and cramped booth seating have barely changed over that time, though recently they have added some new pictures on the walls, and there were even flowers on some of the tables. The main attraction here is the selection of snacks, such as bhel poori, sev poori and more, as well as dosas (Indian rice pancakes).

I have always been a fan of the bhel poori here (£5.95). This is a Gujarati street food that probably originated in Mumbai, a blend of puffed rice, tamarind chutney, spicy green chutney, sev (crispy, spiced noodles made from gram flour) and vegetables such as diced potatoes and onions. This tangy dish has a lovely balance of flavours and textures, and is particularly well-made here. Some versions can be too dry, but here there is plenty of chutney used (14/20). I also like the aloo papri chaat (£5.25), another blend of textures and tastes. In this case, there were crispy wafers (papri), chickpeas, yoghurt, cubes of potato, and a mix of different chutneys (tamarind, green and garlic), along with spices and a little fresh coriander (13/20).

This restaurant makes good vegetable samosas (£5.50). The version here uses filo pastry rather than the style of traditional fried Punjabi or Bengali samosas, which use shortcrust pastry and are more flaky. The version here has a filling of peas, potatoes and spices, and the crisp casing works nicely as a contrasting texture with the vegetable filling (13/20). Bhajia mix is a simple dish of vegetable pieces wrapped in gram flavour with spices and then deep-fried, served with both spicy tomato chutney and mint chutney (13/20). 

We also tried a masala dosa (£9). Last month I was on holiday in India, so to be honest I was a little spoiled by the excellent, freshly made breakfast dosas where I was staying. The Diwana version is not quite as crisp as the ones I had become used to in India, but this was nice enough, and there was a generous filling of potatoes and onion with spices and coconut chutney. There was also a pleasant sambal, a lentil stew flavoured with coconut and spices, on the side (just about 13/20).

This was another lovely meal, the bill coming to just £26 each with lassi to drink (there is no alcohol licence at this restaurant, though you can bring in beer or wine at no charge). This seems to me almost absurdly good value these days.

Further reviews: 10th Aug 2025 | 19th Aug 2024 | 27th Jun 2024 | 11th Nov 2023 | 10th May 2016 | 25th Jul 2013