Bonoo brings the street-food energy of Mumbai and Delhi to Hampstead High Street, one beautifully spiced small plate at a time.
The wine list has been put together by someone who actually drinks wine with spiced food: it runs to lighter reds, orange wines, Alsatian whites, and Georgian natural wines that complement rather than fight with the flavours. Ask the staff to match a glass to your order; the recommendations are reliable.
The Best Dishes
Venison Keema Naan
The signature dish and the reason many regulars return. Minced venison, deeply spiced with cumin, chilli, and warming spices, is folded into tandoor-cooked naan bread and served with a cooling yoghurt dip and green coriander chutney. The combination of charred bread, rich game meat, and bright chutney is one of the best single plates in North London.
Tandoori Halloumi
A vegetarian option that competes with the meat dishes on flavour. Halloumi (Cypriot firm cheese) is marinated in a yoghurt and spice mixture, cooked in the tandoor, and served with a date and tamarind sauce that provides sweetness against the cheese's salt and the smokiness from the oven. Non-meat-eaters should not feel this is a compromise plate.
Lamb Chops
Small cutlet-sized lamb chops marinated overnight in a dry spice blend, cooked in the tandoor, and served with a herb chutney and lemon. If you have eaten lamb chops at a Punjabi grill in Whitechapel, these will read differently, gentler in spice, more precise in the charring, but they are excellent and one of the better versions in London above the grill-restaurant price point.
Butter Chicken Dumplings
An invention rather than a tradition: steamed dumplings filled with butter chicken masala, served in the remaining butter chicken sauce with fresh herbs. This dish reads as silly on the menu and lands as one of the evening's strongest. It is the clearest expression of Bonoo's proposition, take an Indian classic, apply an unexpected format, retain the flavour integrity.
Seasonal Specials
The kitchen changes the menu section of seasonal specials every 4-6 weeks. Recent seasons have included: a crab and coconut curry in summer, a slow-braised Herefordshire ox cheek with black cardamom and star anise in winter, and an asparagus and paneer preparation in spring that justifies a visit in its own right during the brief asparagus season (late April to mid-June).
If you visit once per season, you will encounter a meaningfully different menu each time. This is unusual for North London's Indian restaurants, most of which operate from a fixed menu all year.
Alicia Park, a food writer based in Kentish Town, reviewed Bonoo for a London food publication in 2024. "The venison keema naan is a plate I think about when I'm eating elsewhere," she said. "That's the test I apply to restaurant food, whether it occupies space in your memory when you're not there. Bonoo occupies a lot of space. The confidence of the cooking is rare; the kitchen clearly knows what it wants to do and does it without apology."
The Room
Bonoo occupies a single room on Hampstead High Street: approximately 45 covers, wooden floors, pendant lighting, walls hung with a rotating selection of work by local artists. The room is warm without being loud, conversation is possible at normal volume even when full, which is not always guaranteed in London's restaurant scene.
The open kitchen is visible from most tables; you can watch the tandoor being used throughout service. This transparency is appropriate for a kitchen whose technique is its argument.
The table spacing is reasonable for Hampstead's relatively high average cover size; two-person tables have enough room for six or seven small plates without the arrangement becoming cramped.
Wine and Drinks
The wine list changes seasonally and is shorter than many comparable restaurants, approximately 25 bottles, but curated carefully. The by-the-glass selection covers the key pairings: a dry Alsatian riesling for seafood and lighter vegetable plates; a gamay (Beaujolais or Loire Valley, depending on the season) for the lamb and venison; a white Burgundy for the richer cream-sauce preparations.
Cocktails are few but well-executed: a tamarind margarita and a cardamom Old Fashioned are the most ordered. The mocktail list, increasingly important in a North London dining scene where a significant proportion of the population does not drink, uses the same flavour logic as the cocktails and is not an afterthought.
Booking and When to Go
Tuesday to Thursday: Lunch (noon-3pm) is the quietest period, and walk-in availability is high. Dinner midweek is comfortable without booking if you arrive before 7pm.
Friday and Saturday: Dinner is fully booked most evenings by Thursday. Book 10-14 days ahead for weekend evenings; 4-5 days ahead for weekday evenings.
Sunday: Bonoo does a Sunday lunch menu with a slight change in emphasis, larger portions, a few slower-cooked dishes not available midweek, that is particularly good for groups. Book the same week.
Walk-ins: Possible at the bar (5 seats) for smaller groups midweek. Not reliable at weekends.
Online booking via the Bonoo website. Phone bookings available; staff answer during service hours.
The Neighbourhood Context
Bonoo sits in the most competitive restaurant block of Hampstead High Street, between Flask Walk and Heath Street. The immediate neighbours include a Carluccio's, a Côte Brasserie, and a pizza chain. The fact that Bonoo is consistently the most discussed restaurant on this stretch says something about the kitchen's confidence.
For visitors to Hampstead, the natural sequencing is: a walk on Hampstead Heath in the afternoon, ending near the South End Green entrance, a 10-minute walk brings you into the High Street and to Bonoo's door at a reasonable dinner time. This route also passes the Spaniards Inn at the Heath's northern fringe if a pre-dinner drink in a 500-year-old pub is the right mood.
Practical Information
Address: Hampstead High Street, NW3 (full address on website)
Nearest Tube: Hampstead (Northern line, Charing Cross branch), 3-minute walk
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, noon-3pm and 6pm-10:30pm. Closed Monday.
Average spend: £35-£45 per person including drinks
Dietary requirements: Extensive vegetarian and vegan options; halal chicken and lamb available on request; gluten-free options throughout the menu (confirm with staff)
Children: Welcome; the sharing format works well for families. A shorter-format "kids menu" available at weekend lunch.
Dogs: Not permitted inside; the neighbouring pavement is dog-friendly if you are taking away.
Bonoo represents the kind of restaurant that Hampstead, with its educated, well-travelled clientele and expectation of quality, supports well. The kitchen has a clear idea of what it wants to do and has been doing it with consistent skill since opening. For North London Indian food, it is the current standard.
