Diwana Bhel Poori House

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.

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.

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. :)

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.

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.

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.

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.