Haldiram’s London Debut Sparks Viral Queues as Indians Flock for Pani Puri and Chole Bhature
Haldiram’s, the iconic Indian snacks and sweets brand that has been a household name for generations, has finally opened its first full-service restaurant in the United Kingdom. Located at 19-20 Irving Street just off Leicester Square in central London, the outlet launched in late June 2026 and quickly became one of the most talked-about food openings of the year among the Indian diaspora. Within days, videos of long queues snaking outside the restaurant flooded social media, with one particularly viral Instagram clip declaring that “every Indian here had the same weekend plan.”
The scenes were strikingly familiar to anyone who has visited a popular Haldiram’s outlet in Delhi, Mumbai or any major Indian city on a weekend. Scores of people, predominantly from the Indian and South Asian community but also including curious locals and tourists, stood patiently in orderly lines. Many had come specifically for the classics: crisp pani puri filled with spiced potato and tangy water, and the ever-popular chole bhature — fluffy, deep-fried bread paired with spicy chickpea curry. The brand’s official response to one of the viral posts captured the moment perfectly: “Delhi called. Leicester Square answered.”
From Bikaner Sweet Shop to Global Brand
Haldiram’s story began in 1937 when Ganga Bhishen Agarwal opened a modest confectionery and desserts shop in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Over nearly nine decades the family-run business expanded into one of India’s largest food brands, known for its namkeen, mithai, and later a chain of restaurants. Today the company has a presence in more than 80 countries through packaged products and operates hundreds of restaurants, primarily across North India.
In the UK, Haldiram’s has long been available on supermarket shelves and in ethnic grocery stores. Packaged snacks and sweets have been exported to Britain since the 1990s. In 2018 the company took a bigger step by establishing a production facility in Southall, west London, to manufacture dairy-based sweets and other products for the British and European markets. The Leicester Square restaurant marks the first time the brand has offered a full dining experience on British soil.
The London project is being led by Rhea Agarwal, a third-generation member of the founding family and commercial director for the UK and EU. Still in her mid-20s, Agarwal has spoken about balancing the weight of family legacy with the freedom to shape something new. “I’m still able to carry my family’s legacy,” she has said, “but create something from scratch.” The restaurant format in London differs from the faster-paced quick-service model common in India. It is positioned as a more polished casual-dining space that aims to attract both nostalgic diaspora customers and a broader London audience discovering Indian street food for the first time.
A Space Designed for Nostalgia and Discovery
The 3,000-square-foot restaurant seats around 120 diners indoors, with an additional 20 heated outdoor seats. Interiors draw inspiration from Rajasthan while incorporating contemporary touches. Grand arches, botanical-patterned wallpaper, block-print upholstery, lime-washed plaster walls and terrazzo tabletops create a warm, tactile atmosphere. One wall displays jars of namkeen alongside a reproduction of the signage from the original 1937 Bikaner shop. The design team has tried to evoke a sense of place without turning the restaurant into a museum piece. “We’ve sort of tried to recreate the look of Bikaner in this store, with certain modern elements,” Agarwal explained. “We want people to feel nostalgic when they look at it.”
A dedicated retail section features a traditional sweets counter and shelves stocked with packaged Haldiram’s products for takeaway, allowing customers to take a taste of the brand home. The restaurant is alcohol-free. The drinks list focuses on Indian classics such as masala chai, sweet and salted lassi, shikanji (spiced lemonade) and aam panna (raw mango drink), alongside a few coffee options.
Menu Highlights and Premium Pricing
The opening menu concentrates on North Indian favourites and chaat, deliberately keeping the selection tighter than the extensive offerings found in Indian outlets. Signature dishes include chole bhature, pav bhaji, raj kachori, pani puri, papdi chaat, aloo tikki, and dahi bhalla. Newer or adapted items aimed at British diners include sweet potato bites, spinach pakora and onion bhaji. Fusion desserts such as a tiramisu inspired by shahi tukda and gajar halwa spring rolls served with ice cream have also been introduced. South Indian and Indo-Chinese sections are planned for later phases.
Prices reflect London’s higher operating costs and a premium positioning. Pani puri is priced at £6.50, papdi chaat and several other chaat items at £7.50, chole bhature at £11.50, pav bhaji at £9.90, and raj kachori at £9.90. Rice and dal combinations sit around £10.50, while breads such as garlic naan cost £5. These figures are several times higher than equivalent dishes in India, where a plate of pani puri might cost the equivalent of less than a pound and chole bhature a few pounds. The difference has sparked lively debate online, with some customers accepting the markup as inevitable in central London and others questioning whether the experience fully justifies the cost.
Viral Moment and Mixed Reactions
The long queues and social media videos turned the opening into a cultural moment for the Indian community in the UK. The viral clip shared by the account views.we.explore captured the excitement perfectly and was widely circulated across Instagram, X and Indian news platforms. Comments ranged from pure delight (“Chole bhature madness”) to gentle teasing about Indians’ legendary reluctance to stand in line suddenly vanishing for Haldiram’s. Some users joked that the orderly British queue culture had finally met its match with desi enthusiasm.
Not every reaction was purely celebratory. A few early visitors reported operational teething problems. On opening day the restaurant faced fire alarms, a temporary billing system failure and longer-than-expected waits as staff adapted to the volume of customers. Haldiram’s publicly acknowledged the challenges, thanking guests for their patience and confirming that systems were being strengthened. Some diners felt the food quality or portion sizes did not fully match the hype or the price tag, while others insisted the taste brought genuine comfort and nostalgia that no home-cooked version or supermarket packet could replicate.
Broader Significance
For many in the Indian diaspora, the arrival of Haldiram’s represents more than another restaurant opening. Packaged products have long been available, but a physical space offering freshly prepared street food and restaurant-style classics fills a different emotional need. It offers a familiar environment where the flavours, the presentation and even the slight chaos of a busy service feel like home. At the same time, the central London location and carefully curated menu signal an ambition to move beyond the diaspora market and introduce a wider audience to authentic regional Indian food.
The company has indicated that further UK expansion is under consideration, with possible future sites in areas of high South Asian population density such as Harrow and Southall. The Leicester Square restaurant is intended as a flagship that tests the full-service casual format before scaling. Rhea Agarwal has described London as an exciting step toward making Haldiram’s a household name beyond India.
Whether the initial frenzy settles into steady popularity will depend on consistent quality, operational smoothness and the ability to balance nostalgia with accessibility for new customers. For now, the queues outside Irving Street have made one thing clear: more than eighty years after a small sweet shop opened in Bikaner, Haldiram’s still holds a powerful pull. In the heart of London’s West End, Indians and food lovers are lining up for the same simple pleasure that has defined the brand for generations — a plate of pani puri, a serving of chole bhature, and the comforting taste of home.
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