London-inspired Indian restaurant just opened in Toronto

A brand new Indian restaurant inspired by the streets of London just opened its doors in Toronto. We may have some great Indian restaurants in Toronto, but London, England also has a great reputation for Indian food.

Punch has just opened inside a hotel in Toronto, offering a new opportunity to experience British-Indian fusion food.

It’s a restaurant where Mumbai chat-slaw is as at home on the menu as oysters, crudo and steak tartare, and where Scotch eggs and sausage rolls mingle with samosas.

“Meaning ‘five’ and pronounced ‘punch,’ the name carries a dual meaning,” reads the official Punch website.

“In the 17th century, punch became known as the world’s first cocktail; a blend of spirit, sugar, lemon, water, and spiced tea, originating from the Indian subcontinent before being carried to England by the East India Company.”

The sharing-style menu consists of small sharing plates, large sharing plates and sides.

Large sharing plates include options such as fish and chips, a butter chicken pot pie, grilled jumbo shrimp, a half roasted chicken, whole grilled sea bream, chicken biryani and lamb chops.

As for sides, there are options that include grilled cabbage with a curry leaf pesto and pub chips with hakka aioli.

There are also dishes that seem to defy both Indian and British traditions, such as Mussels Rassa with a sauce that blends British cider, coconut cream, ginger and cumin, and Celeriac Wellington, seemingly a veggie take on the classic British Beef Wellington (which is also on the menu).

A selection of signature cocktails makes up the backbone of the drinks list. Of course, there has to be a punch on the menu – the Punch Panch with dark rum, mango, pineapple, fresh lime and ginger. There’s also a remix of the classic British Pimm’s with jasmine tea, fresh lime, coconut, passionista and piri-piri.

“Punch is the spirit of modern London; alive, layered, and impossible to pin down. It carries the weight of its past with the urgency of its future and balances refinement that feels charged with imagination,” reads the official website for Punch.

“Indian culture runs through its bloodstream, a spiced fragrance woven into the city’s rhythm, infusing storytelling, craft, and comfort, with new vitality. At Punch, we bow to the traditions of Indian aunties and British mums. We follow guidelines, not recipes, creating something fresh, confident, and unexpected.”

Punch is now open inside the Le Germain hotel in Toronto.

1. Punch