Oudh 1722: Where to Eat in London

Lucknow, south of the river

Borough is an odd place to find a royal court. The streets here are railway arches, market stalls and old warehouse brick, a short walk south of London Bridge. Since May 2026 they have also held Oudh 1722, a restaurant built around the court cooking of Lucknow in northern India.

It arrived with a lot of attention. London’s food press called it one of the hottest openings of the year, and much of that comes down to who is cooking.

The chef who came down from Birmingham

Aktar Islam is the name to know. His Birmingham restaurant, Opheem, holds two Michelin stars and has spent years showing what Indian cooking can do at that level.

Oudh 1722 is his London debut, and that alone explains the interest. When a chef with two stars outside the capital opens his first place here, people who follow restaurants want in early.

What we can’t tell you yet is how the London room compares with Opheem in format or style. This guide sticks to what is confirmed: the chef, the neighbourhood and the cuisine. For the menu, go to the restaurant’s own published version rather than secondhand descriptions.

What the name is telling you

The name works as a short history lesson. “Oudh” is the old anglicised spelling of Awadh, the region of northern India whose capital became Lucknow.

The 1722 points to the start of the Nawabs of Awadh, the rulers whose courts gave this cuisine its reputation. Their kitchens were famous for refinement rather than heat: long, patient cooking, fragrant spice and meat cooked until it was meltingly soft.

So the restaurant names its subject in two words. You are eating in a lineage, and the name tells you which one.

Dum, kebabs and slow heat: the Awadhi tradition

Awadhi food is not the curry-house menu most London visitors grew up with. Its signature technique is dum, slow cooking in a pot sealed with dough so the steam and aroma stay inside.

The wider tradition is known for a handful of dishes:

• Lucknowi biryani, layered and cooked dum-style, lighter in spice than its southern cousins
• Galouti kebab, minced meat patties so soft they were famously made for a toothless nawab
• Kakori kebab, a fine-minced seekh kebab from a town near Lucknow
• Nihari, slow-cooked meat stew traditionally eaten in the morning
• Sheermal, a slightly sweet, saffron-tinted flatbread

These describe the cuisine, not a confirmed menu. A chef at Islam’s level will interpret the tradition in his own way, so check what Oudh 1722 is actually serving before you go in with your heart set on one dish.

Getting to Borough

Borough is one of the easiest parts of central London to reach. Two Underground stations cover it:

• London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee lines, plus National Rail services from Kent, Sussex and Gatwick)
• Borough (Northern line, Bank branch)

We weren’t given a confirmed street address, so look it up on the restaurant’s website or a map app before you set off. From the City, walking across London Bridge itself often beats changing trains, and the view down the Thames toward Tower Bridge comes free.

Buses run up Borough High Street constantly. Driving in is a poor idea: this side of the river sits inside the Congestion Charge zone and parking is scarce.

Getting a table at a new opening

A buzzy London opening has its own etiquette, and it starts with booking. Restaurants like this usually release tables online, often weeks ahead, so check the official website or booking page as soon as you know your dates.

A few habits that help:

• Set a reminder for release dates if the restaurant publishes them. Prime evening slots go first.
• Try early or late sittings and weekday lunches if they are offered. They are usually easier to get.
• Join any waitlist. Cancellations happen, especially for larger tables.
• Honour your booking or cancel properly. Many London restaurants take card details and charge for no-shows.

Paying is simple. London restaurants almost universally take cards and contactless, and many add a discretionary service charge to the bill. Read the bill before tipping on top, because you may already have paid it. If you have allergies, say so when you book. Kitchens working at this level would rather know before you arrive.

Hours at a new restaurant often change in its first year. Confirm opening times on the official channels on the day, not from an old article, this one included.

Before and after dinner in Borough

The neighbourhood is reason enough to arrive early. Borough Market, London’s best-known food market, is the area’s centre of gravity: covered halls under the railway, specialist produce stalls and a lot of people eating standing up.

Within a few minutes’ walk you also have:

• Southwark Cathedral, beside the market, with its Gothic interior and a churchyard to sit in
• The Shard, the glass spire above London Bridge station
• The Thames Path, west toward Shakespeare’s Globe and Tate Modern
• The George Inn, a galleried coaching inn on Borough High Street, owned by the National Trust

A walk along the river from Tate Modern to London Bridge is a good way to arrive with an appetite. It passes the Globe, the Golden Hinde replica and the cathedral, and leaves you in Borough with time to find the door.