How Southall, Wembley and Whitechapel made London mine

Nobody tells you about the specific loneliness of the first few weeks in halls. It's quieter than you'd expect. It's eating a meal that doesn't quite taste right and not knowing why. 

I'm Indian. I grew up surrounded by a particular kind of sensory chaos; noise, colour, food that actually has an opinion. London, for all its greatness, initially felt like it was missing all of that. Halls is lovely, but it is also very beige.

Then I found my London.

Southall: The One That Actually Winded Me 🥹

I did not expect to step off the Elizabeth line at Southall and immediately feel like I was somewhere else. Southall Broadway is chaotic and brilliant, saree shops next to sweet shops next to grocery stores stocking every brand I grew up with.

What to eat:

• Rita's Chilli Chaat Corner on The Broadway: tiny, canteen-style, always packed. The samosa chaat and pani puri are some of the best you'll find in London. 
• Delhi Wala: chole bhature, jalebi, pav bhaji. Order the gajar ka halwa if it's on.
• Saravanaa Bhavan: if you're South Indian and missing a proper masala dosa, this is the one.

What to buy: Quality Foods (47–61 South Road) for groceries such as spices, atta, dal, pickles, all significantly cheaper than anything in Zone 1. Panji Sweets for mithai, especially around festival season.

What to do: Walk the Broadway end to end. Buy something. Eat it on the street. That is genuinely the whole point.

📍 Elizabeth line to Southall ~30 mins from central London

Wembley: Louder, Bigger, and All on Ealing Road 🍛

Ealing Road in Wembley is one of those streets that just gets on with it. No performance, no tourism, just an excellent South Asian neighbourhood doing its thing.

What to eat:

• Sakonis (127–129 Ealing Road): a Gujarati vegetarian institution. Been running since the mid-80s. Go for the chilli paneer and the Indo-Chinese dishes ordered fresh off the menu rather than from the buffet.
• Asher's: cash-only, canteen-feel Gujarati spot. The thali comes with five ghee-smothered rotis, two vegetable curries, samosas, lassi, and yoghurt. The curries change hourly.
• Trader Wembley food court: easy to walk past, worth going in. Dosa Street does a brilliant masala dosa; Anda House does everything with an egg in it, Gujarati-spiced.

What to buy: Farsan, Haldiram's, fresh snacks, South Indian groceries. Stock up here if you cook at home.

📍 Metropolitan or Jubilee line to Wembley Park

Whitechapel & Brick Lane: East London's Banglatown 🧆

Brick Lane is technically famous for curry houses, but the real find is the smaller, unassuming spots around Whitechapel that serve proper Bangladeshi food, not the tourist version.

What to eat:

• Nanna Biriyani (Whitechapel High Street): kacchi biryani, Dhaka style, with slow-cooked lamb, fried potato, and a boiled egg. The aloo bokhara chutney on the side is essential.
• Amar Gaon (Brick Lane): counter-service, homestyle curries, chicken roast, hilsa with plain rice. Also does a good mango lassi.
• Graam Bangla (68 Brick Lane): cosy, served on traditional earthenware, genuinely beautiful. Great for when you want to actually sit and eat slowly.
• Kolapata (222 Whitechapel Road): go for the fuska or a kacchi biryani. A favourite for Bangladeshis and non-Bangladeshis alike.

What to buy: Rajmahal Sweets on Brick Lane for chomchom and kalojaam to take away. The grocery shops around Whitechapel High Street are also solid for South Asian staples.

What to do: Walk Brick Lane on a weekend morning. Go into the shops. Eat something standing up. The Whitechapel Gallery is free and genuinely good, a nice way to round off the afternoon.

📍 District or Hammersmith & City line to Whitechapel

A Few Things to Keep in Your Room 💌

If you want to make halls feel more like home without a full day trip, here's a small list of things worth tracking down on your first visit to any of these neighbourhoods:

• Your comfort snack: whatever it is. Mine is Banana Chips. Keep a stash.
• A decent spice kit: even if your halls kitchen is basic, having the right spices changes everything about cooking for yourself.
• Something pretty and small: a string of lights, a small figurine, a postcard from a market. Something that makes your room feel like home.

The moment London started feeling like home was, somewhat embarrassingly, on a street in Southall sharing a plate of pani puri with my friends and absolutely nowhere to be. But that was it. 💗