Haldiram's first UK outlet opens in London to long queues and mixed reviews

Haldiram's opened its first UK restaurant this week at Leicester Square in London. A video of the queue on opening day went viral within hours, showing a line stretching down the street. The clip, posted by Instagram account views.we.explore, carried a caption joking that every desi had the same weekend plan. Haldiram's replied to the post itself: "Delhi called. Leicester Square answered."

The 110-seat restaurant is in one of central London's busiest tourist areas. The location was deliberate. The brand is trying to move from being a name people know through grocery store shelves to one they recognise as a standalone restaurant.

Riya Agarwal, 24, from the founding family, is reported to have driven the expansion. She studied in London for around a decade and made the case internally that rising interest in Indian food in Britain made this the right time to open a flagship rather than continue selling only through distributors.

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Prices are roughly seven times what they are in India

A plate of pani puri that costs around ₹75 in India is priced at £6.50 in London, close to ₹830. Pav bhaji is £9.90, about ₹1,270. Garlic naan is £5, roughly ₹640. The markup tracks with London rents and import costs, but it's the first thing most people comment on when converting the menu back to rupees.

The London menu is also smaller than what regular customers know from Haldiram's outlets in India. It's a curated selection rather than the full range, and the restaurant is positioned as premium casual dining rather than the budget, family-restaurant identity the brand has in India.

Reactions online are split

Not all of the response has been celebratory. Some comments questioned the quality and freshness of the food compared with the packaged and frozen products already sold in Indian grocery stores across the UK, arguing the new outlet wasn't necessary. Others who visited said it didn't match what they were used to back home.

At the same time, a large part of the reaction has come from the diaspora treating the opening as more than a restaurant launch. For many, it was less about the food and more about not having to explain a dish or translate a craving for anyone else in the queue.

Haldiram's was founded in 1937 by Ganga Bhishen Agarwal as a small sweet shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan. It has since grown into one of India's most recognised food brands, with a presence in multiple countries. The London opening is one of its most visible moves yet, and the reaction this week suggests the brand's next challenge isn't demand; it's pricing.