Best Indian Restaurants in the USA: Indian food is cherished worldwide for its unique and timeless mixture of exotic, fragrant spices like curry, ginger, and cardamom and timeless delicacies like samosas, pakoras, masalas and paneer.
That’s why anywhere you go in America today, you can likely find at least one Indian restaurant. While this is fantastic for lovers of Indian food, it leaves one wondering which of all these are worth trying out. Which Indian restaurants among all there are to choose from are the best Indian restaurants in USA? And, why?
To answer these questions, we’ve put together this list of the best Indian restaurants in America state by state. Discover why each one is considered one of the top Indian restaurants in USA and its most popular dish as well as, of course, where to find it and how to get a table.
As you read through this list of the top Indian restaurants in USA, you’ll find that some are familar, famous Indian restaurants in USA; others you may have never heard of but still rank among the best Indian restaurants in America.
Arizona
1. Sher-E-Punjab
Location: 853 East Grant Rd, Tucson
Website: https://www.sherepunjabtucson.com/
Contact: 520-624-9393
Since opening in 1998, this family-owned-and-operated Indian restaurant has brought traditional Northern Pubjabi cooking to the American Southwest. Sher-E-Punjab offers a menu of authentic and familiar Indian dishes freshly homemade with the highest-quality ingredients sourced from local farmers markets. They include egg bhurji, mushroom chili, gulab jaman and paneer prantha. And, for those guests with more discriminating palates, you can order many of the dishes cooked to a variety of levels of spiciness.
Most popular dish: Bombay Bhaji
California
2. Badmaash
Location: 108 W. 2nd Street, Los Angeles
Website: https://www.badmaashla.com/
Contact: 213-221-7466
Chef Pawan Mahendro brings over 40 years of experience to this quirky gastropub whose name means “naughty” in Hindi. In an atmosphere with a pop-art motif, diners enjoy dishes served up with a bit of extra kitsch, including some Mumbai-street-food-inspired delights like gharwalla achaar, or Indian pickles, and machhi amritsari, or Punjabi fish-fry. #Badmasshla Faves include chili cheese naan, Badmaash broccolini and slow cooked beef short rib. These are all cooked and served alongside some of the most satiating traditional Indian selections, like “Good Ol’ Saag Paneer” and “Homestyle Punjabi ’Sabzi’.”
Most popular dish: Badmaash Fried Chicken
Rasa
Location: 209 Park Rd, Burlingame
Contact: 650-340-7272
With dishes known for their flair, like pumpkin kofta and fenugreek curry or prawn chutney with cucumbers, this local mainstay since 2014 brings delicacies its owners discovered on travels along India’s prestigious coast, combining ingredients and recipes from each region. And at Rasa, all ingredients are sustainably sourced.
Most popular dish: Bombay sliders
3. Vik’s Chaat Corner
Location: 2390 Fourth St, Berkeley
Website: https://vikschaat.com/
Contact: 510-644-4412
Known for more than just its chaat, Vik’s Chaat Corner delivers crispy, crunchy Indian delicacies replete with flavor, and it does so in a vast yet cozy repurposed warehouse. Besides a type of street food, “chaat” also means “to lick,” and that’s exactly what you’ll be doing to your chops when you dine here. The vast menu is filled with traditional Indian cuisine featuring South Indian classics. Mixed plates are big here, offering small samplings of a diversity of delicacies like different kinds of puri, pakoras, samosas and its popular cholle bhature (aka, “the big puffy thing.)
Most popular dish: The lunch menu
Colorado
4. Spice Room – Neighborhood Indian Bistro
Location: 3157 W 38th Ave. Denver
Website: https://denverspiceroom.com/
Contact: 303-455-3127
With a skilled team of both Nepali and Indian chefs, Spice Room is able to offer up an eclectic menu that combines the best of both influences in truly singular dishes, like the Shahi, or royal, paneer, a delectable cheese curry. Homemade family recipes inspire many of the dishes served here and are all prepared with the freshest ingredients and spices sourced directly. To help sate your appetite, the establishment encourages the sharing of plates. All meals can be tailored to each diner’s individual spice tolerance.
Most popular dish: Cheese and jalapeño bread
District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)
5. & 6. Rasika
Location: 633 D St NW
Website: https://www.rasikarestaurant.com/
Contact: 202-637-1222
Offering the most in modern Indian cuisine in two D.C. locations–Rasika West End and Rasika Penn Quarter–this popular local eatery and tourist hotspot has delighted the appetite of even former President Barack Obama. Reading the Rasika menu is like reading no other Indian food menu before, with nouveau dishes like lobster pulao and apple jalebi beignets. Chef Vikram Sunderam earned a James Beard Award for inventions like these. The menu also features more varieties of seafood than your standard Indian restaurant.
Most popular dish: Scottish Tandoori Salmon
7. Indigo
Location: 243 K Street, NE
Website: https://www.indigowdc.com/
Contact: 202-544-4777
More than just an Indian restaurant, Indigo aims to be a gathering spot for family and friends. It’s therefore lacking in all pretensions with home-cooked food and generous portions. The recipes prepared here inside this unassuming yellow house have been passed down through generations of the Tandon family that owns the establishment. You can create your own meal here from a variety of classic Indian dishes and sides. Other dishes come paired with rice and Chana Masala or chickpeas topped with cilantro and raw spinach. Indigo is the closest you can get to visiting the home of a friend in D.C. who prepares you a homemade Indian meal.
Most popular dish: Indigo Signature Indirolls (chicken, lamb or vegetarian)
8. The Bombay Club
Location: 815 Connecticut Ave. NW
Website: https://www.bombayclubdc.com/
Contact: 202-659-3727
A high-end Indian restaurant that’s a popular lunchtime meeting spot for business people and politicians, The Bombay Club’s elite mystique belies an expansive menu of authentic Indian cuisine. And, don’t let the name fool you. The menu isn’t all Bombay (or Mumbai) dishes but dishes from throughout India’s gastronomically diverse regions, like Bengali fish curry, Nalli gosht, shrimp moilee and chicken asparagus rizzala. Starters to whet your appetite for these regional delights include Mulligatawny soup, crab koru roti, fish in banana leaf and duck shikampuri kebab. There’s an array of classic thalis served on a silver platter, including a club thali containing chicken, lamb, fish and palak. Vegetarians will also find plenty to enjoy here.
Most popular dish: Lobster Lababdar
Florida
9. Bombay Darbar
Location: 2901 Florida Ave, Miami
Website: https://bombaydarbar.com/
Contact: 305-444-7272
Nestled in the city’s Coconut Grove area, this quaint hideaway has only 34 seats, which means you need to get here early to enjoy all the authentic Indian food the menu offers. Bombay Darbar is known as much for its colorful cocktails and cozy atmosphere with Bollywood movies on the TV screens as for its food.
Most popular dish: Mango chicken curry
11. Sanaa
Location: 3701 W Osceola Pkwy, Kissimmee
Website: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani/sanaa/
Contact: 407-938-7400
Next time you’re in Walt Disney World, be sure to give this Animal Kingdom Lodge favorite a try. Uniquely combining African cooking with Indian ingredients and seasonings, the food here pairs distinctively well with Kenyan beers and South African wines. And, all this while you enjoy watching through the windows as animals roam about the savanna. While the salads, seafoods, meats and vegetarian dishes at Sanaa are a true treat to eat, the highlight of the menu is the fresh bread selection, served with nine accompaniments, ranging from spicy chile sambal and sweet mango chutney.
Most popular dish: Potjie Inspired
12. Ghee Indian Kitchen
Location: 8965 SW 72nd Pl, Kendall
Website: https://www.gheemiami.com/
Contact: 305-968-1850
Situated in the Miami suburbs, this acclaimed restaurant features the culinary gifts of Chef Niven Patel, with most of the produce in the dishes harvested fresh from his own homestead farm. That makes everything on the menu taste as fresh and flavorful as can be, like the smoked lamb neck served with a broth of tomato, cardamom and black-eyed peas or the pizza-like ghost pepper cheddar naan. He also serves up the freshest local fish in classic Indian fashion, such as turmeric-marinated, then cooked in a zesty sauce of coconut curry. He combines influences playfully in familiar Indian food dishes given a new twist, such as a yellowfin tuna bhel, made with puffed rice, tuna, avocado and cilantro. For his work, Patel was honored in Food & Wine as 2020’s Best New Chef.
Most popular dish: Three-course, family-style tasting menu
Georgia
13. & 14. Tabla Indian Restaurant
Location: (Midtown) 77 12th street NE #2, Atlanta; (Buckhead) 3005 Peachtree Rd #400, Atlanta
Website: https://tablaatlanta.com/
Contact: (Midtown) 404-464-8571; (Buckhead) 470-410-2021
Tabla puts a modern twist on the classic, traditional Indian restaurant, all under the visionary guidance of restaurateur Sandeep Kthary and his hand-selected team of expert chefs. Choose from a variety of small plates and large plates as well as curries, veggie dishes, roti and sides. Large plates include lal mass lamb shank, paneer pasanda, nargisi kofta and goat bhuna; small plates include jodhpur mirchi pakora, tandoori octopus, Brussels sprouts bhel and kurkuri bhindi. The bar at Tabla is also revered for pairing dishes with the perfect signature cocktails, giving classic cocktails an Indian twist, like the Chai Old Fashion. You can even choose the atmosphere in which you dine, with a chic lounge and a tranquil dining hall to choose from in its Midtown location alone.
Most popular dish: Parda biryani
Illinois
15. Cumin, Chicago
Location: 1414 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago
Website: https://cumin-chicago.com/
Contact: 773-342-1414
Located in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, this nouveau establishment is the creation of Sanjeev and Rajesh Karmacharya, two brothers from Nepal, who aim to bring premiere Indian and Nepalese cuisine to the city.
Most popular dish: Namche Bazar Ko Sekuwa
Massachusetts
16. Punjabi Dhaba
Location: 225 Hampshire St, Cambridge
Website: https://punjabidhaba.co/
Contact: 617-547-8272
A dhaba is a truckers’ roadside food stall, which just about describes how Punjabi Dhaba comes across. From the casual atmosphere to the surprisingly addictive no-frills, authentic Punjabi fare, this unassuming cult bastion has attracted college students and professors, hipsters and Indian families alike for over 18 years. And, all the food served here, from the tandoori chicken to the shahi paneer, is served in prodigious portions.
Most popular dish: All the appetizers – vegetable samosa, chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, saag paneer, mixed vegetable pakora and mango lassi
17. Himalayan Bistro
Location: 1735 Centre St, West Roxbury
Website: https://www.himalayanbistro.net/
Contact: 617-325-3500
Delivering both Indian and Nepali cuisine at affordable prices, Boston’s Himalayan Bistro is a popular local lunch spot with a variety of appetizers (hot and cold,) salads, rice specialties, tandoori, breads and more. There are prefixed Special House of Dinner meals (vegetarian and non-vegetarian) for one or two diners. Himalayan Bistro is also a popular source for local Indian food delivery.
Most popular dish: Goa shrimp curry
Nevada
18. Pure Indian Cuisine
Location: 1405 Sunset Rd, Las Vegas
Website: http://www.pureindiancuisinevegasnv.com/
Contact: 702-897-5555
While surrounded by the extravagance and excess of Las Vegas, it can sometimes bring comfort to enjoy timelessly familiar foods and flavors. That’s what Pure Indian Cuisine brings to every dish it serves, bringing Indian comfort food to the sophisticated palate. The menu contains the simplest, most classic Indian dishes, but don’t let that simplicity fool you. Each dish is infused with a multitude of flavors and fragrances. In addition to standard Indian restaurant fare like curries, masalas, tandooris and paneer, Pure Indian Cuisine also serves a selection of Indo-Chinese dishes like hakka noodles, lamb chili pepper and vegetable Manchurian.
Most popular dish: Lamb coconut
New Jersey
19. IndeBlue
Location: 65 Barclay Farms Shopping Center, Cherry Hill
Website: https://www.indebluerestaurant.com/
Contact: 856-230-4633
Bring your own booze (BYOB) to this modern Indian eatery that, in addition to dinners, offers a daily brunch. All the dishes blend modern cuisine with Indian flavors and ingredients, from appetizers like the mango pork spring roll, “butter chicken” poutine and grilled paneer shashlik to the entrees like samundri biryani, mirch masala, kesar pista korma and dal makhani.
Most popular dish: Family style tasting menu (soup, salad or chaat, two appetizers, two entrees, breads, chutneys and dessert sampler)
20. Karaikudi
Location: 1671 Oak Tree Road, Edison
Website: https://www.facebook.com/Karaikudi-Chettinad-USA-770668496392032/
Contact: 732-516-0020
If you like spicy Indian food, get yourself to Karaikudi for some of the hottest Indian dishes you’ve ever eaten. With a menu featuring the fiery delicacies of southern India’s Chettinad region, the focus is more on meat dishes than vegetarian or vegan dishes, though you can find all three here. The restaurant is set in one of the towns with the largest population of Indians, who enjoy frequenting the local favorite for its fish curry and nandu masala.
Most popular dish: Pepper chicken
New York
21. Junoon
Location: 27 W 24th St, New York
Website: https://www.junoonnyc.com/
Contact: 212-490-2100
After eating at this Indian eatery with a family atmosphere and French service, you’ll understand why it goes by the name it does, translating in Urdu to “obsession.” You’ll be obsessed with Chef Akshay Bhardwaj’s cutting-edge creations.
Most popular dish: Lasooni palak
22. Tamarind
Location: 99 Hudson St, New York
Website: https://tamarindtribeca.com/
Contact: 212-775-9000
This Tribeca hotspot claims to be the “finest Indian restaurant in NYC,” and it may well be the case. From the grandiose interior to the Indian dishes meticulously prepared with a contemporary touch, it’s hard not to feel like Indian royalty here. Guests can even watch their food prepared in a display kitchen. Tamarind’s team of chefs, in addition to its waitstaff, represent the broad culinary and cultural diversity of India’s ethnic regions, all of which comes through in the food.
Most popular dish: Lobster Masala
23. Babu Ji
Location: 22 E 13th St, New York City
Website: http://www.babujinyc.com/
Contact: 212-951-1082
Its name translating to the self-appointed eyes and ears of a neighborhood, aka the “mayor of the block,” Babu Ji is renowned far and wide for its paradoxical combination of flavors, at once both balanced and contrasting. Everything on the menu at Babu Ji hits the palate with intensity and boldness.
Most popular dish: Pork vindaloo dumplings
24. Dil-e Punjab Deli
Location: 170 9th Ave, New York City
Website: https://www.dilepunjabdelinyc.com/
Contact: 212-647-9428
Don’t let the fact that this Indian food is served deli-style fool you into thinking it’s anything less than authentic and delicious. The menu features mouth-watering vegetarian and vegan dishes that pop with only the freshest herbs and spices.
Most popular dish: Combo Dinner Box (rice, three vegetables and sweet saffron rice or one roti)
25. Indian Accent
Location: 123 W 56th St, New York
Website: https://indianaccent.com/newyork/
Contact: 212-842-8070
A New Delhi mainstay brought to New York, Indian Accent brings authenticity of Indian dining to a new level. Opening in America in 2016, Indian Accent promised and delivered Indian food like New York, and the U.S., had not yet seen it. Chef Manish Mehrotra brings to the U.S. unique Indian culinary innovations like soy keema with quail egg instead of the traditional minced lamb or saag paneer served with chili butter or pulled, crisped jackfruit. What’s more, everything about the restaurant is elegant and immaculate, from the decor to the plating. The menu contains traditional dishes made new and original as only a chef steeped in classic Indian cooking can do, from keema appetizers to desserts like makhan malai with saffron whipped cream.
Most popular dish: The tasting menu
26. Adda Indian Canteen
Location: 31-31 Thomson Avenue, Long Island City
Website: https://www.addanyc.com/
Contact: 718.433.3888
In the heart of Queens is the only Indian restaurant on this list to refer to itself as a “canteen;” it’s appropriate, then, that the name its creators restaurateur-innovators Roni Mazumdar and Chintan Pandya gave it translates to “a place where people hang out.” In that vein, Adda offers a spate of halka phulka, or snacks; thoda bhari, or clay-oven grilled dishes; pet puja, or curries and biryani; and all the breads and sides you could want. Numerous acclaimed magazines, from Bon Appetit to New York Magazine have lauded it for its novel spins on traditional Indian flavors and ingredients like its fried bheja goat brains seasoned with chilis, ginger, pao and red onion or its lucknowi dum biryani rice with goat meat and saffron.
Most popular dish: Dahi batata puri and crispy, spherical stuffed shells with tamarind, potato, yogurt and mint chutney
North Carolina
27. Saffron Indian Cuisine
Location: 2135-B, Ayrsley Town Blvd, Charlotte
Website: https://saffron-cuisine.com/
Contact: 980-297-7722
Since opening in 2018, Saffron Indian Cuisine has brought to Charlotte Sunil Handa’s 35 years of cooking experience, from learning at his mother’s heels in their family kitchen in his early years to working as a chef in several five-star hotels in New Delhi. Prior to opening Saffron Indian Cuisine, Sunil owned and ran dining spots in Orange and San Diego Counties in California. All this is to say that the food here is expertly prepared, representing various regions of India and, in each case, balancing the herbs and spices just right to deliver the perfect alchemy of scents and flavors. The menu includes avant garde dishes served with basmati rice, shorba soups, tandooris, Shakahari Pakwan vegetarian dishes and Bahar-E-Murg curries, among other mouth-watering categories. Then, finish it off with one of Saffron’s tasty Mishthan Bhandar Indian desserts. And it’s all served in a warm and welcoming environment.
Most popular dish: Saffron Special – Maharaja Maharani Dinner for Two (dine-in only)
28. & 29. Chai Pani
Location: 22 Battery Park Ave, Asheville
Website: https://www.chaipani.com/asheville
Contact: 828-254-4003
In 2022, Chai Pani received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant, no doubt because of its artful combination of comfort and creativity in the dining experience it offers. Its name translating to Tea and Water, the Chai Pani menu presents the inventions of Chef Meherwan Irani, a five-time James Beard Award nominee, including a unique selection of chaat and Indian street food like aloo tikki chaat and matchstick okra fries; Indian sandwiches and wraps like kheema pav (aka sloppy jai) and crispy masala fish roll; uttapam like mixed vegetable and tomato and cheese uttapam; thalis like butter chicken and saag paneer; along with equally unique and classic Indian salads, bowls, desserts and sides. In addition to its main location in Asheville, incidentally, there’s also a second Chai Pani in Decatur, Georgia.
Most popular dish: Three-way tie between Bombay chili cheese fries, tandoori chicken wings and sev papdi (a hybrid of nachos and mashed potatoes)
Ohio
30-36. Choolaah
Location: 27100 Chagrin Blvd, Orange Village
Website: https://choolaah.com/
Contact: 216-350-3136
One of the rare Indian food chains on this list, Choolaah offers family meals and Indian buffets that include everything your mouth and stomach could desire in Indian street food, from high-quality proteins to an array of masalas. Using only premium ingredients tracked “from farm to fork” and only humanely handled, family ranged and sustainably ranged animals, Choolah brings upscale dining to the fast-food diner. Design your own bowl or wrap or select one of the signature ones, like Perfect Balance Bowl or cauliflower and chickpea wrap. Then, add meats, fish, cheese, tofu and veggies to your taste, and choose your sides, like masala, daal, bread and rice. Or just snack on the Indian street food options like samosa chaat and pav bhaji. The place even makes its own fresh-cured paneer cheese. Choolah has another location in Boardman, Ohio and one coming soon to Ohio City, as well as Pennsylvania locations in East Liberty, Pittsburgh, North Fayette and King of Prussia and a location in Sterling, Virginia.
Most popular dish – Choolah bowl
37. Awadh India Restaurant
Location: 2584 Bethel Rd, Columbus
Website: https://www.awadhrestaurant.com/
Contact: 614-914-8884
At the Awadh India Restaurant, you’ll find a combination of traditional and innovative delights. The chef blends authentic and ancient subcontinental Indian flavors and traditions with a cutting edge. The environment is similarly juxtaposed between sophistication and casual comfort.
Most popular dish: Rarha style chicken, lamb or goat
Oregon
38. & 39. Bollywood Theater
Location: 2039 NE Alberta St, Portland
Website: https://www.bollywoodtheaterpdx.com/
Contact: 971-200-4711
Locals and tourists alike appreciate this consistently high-rated favorite. In addition to the Alberta St. location is another at 3010 Division Street, both featuring menus inspired by Mumbai culture. At both locations, former Chez Panisse chef Troy MacLarty brings the passion he found on a trip to India for local cuisine back home to America. The menu highlights traditional Indian specialties served with explosions of flavor. The atmosphere is endlessly relaxing and inviting. Sharing meals is popular here for exploring variety, with guests sampling the vada pav, bhel puri, grilled tikka bowl and pork vindaloo together. When you leave, you can even take home with you a trio of authentic Kerala spices sold as Bollywood Theater’s spices.
Most popular dish: Kati rolls
Tennessee
40. Taj Indian Restaurant
Location: 3943 Nolensville Pike, Nashville
Website: https://tajnashville.com/
Contact: 615-750-3490
Taj Indian Restaurant does what every good restaurant in music city does–it infuses it with a bit of southern charm. If you’ve never tried Indian food cooked southern style (or southern food cooked Indian style,) you haven’t explored either type of cuisine to its fullest potential. That’s what’s made Taj a favorite hangout among locals and tourists alike. It’s particularly renowned for its seafood dishes, as evidenced by the most popular dish below.
Most popular dish: Fish vindaloo
Texas
41. G’raj Mahal Cafe and Lounge
Location: 73 Rainey Street, Austin
Website: https://grajmahalaustin.com/
Contact: 512-480-2255
The atmosphere is as much of the appeal at G’raj Mahal as the food, and both will whisk you away to old-world India presented with a modern, quirky flair. Set in a funkily renovated old home with a roomy, wooden deck and cozy indoor seating, the cafe serves both traditional and original dishes blending the best of India and America, and the lounge provides premium beverages, social camaraderie and live music.
Most popular dish: Malabar lamb with coconut and onion
42. Indika
Location: 516 Westheimer Rd, Houston
Website: https://www.facebook.com/indikausa/
Contact: 713-524-2170
Arguably the best Indian restaurant in Houston, a city packed with them, and one of the best in the state, Indika combines North Indian, modern Indian and Silk Road cuisine in one diverse menu. New culinary inventions like layered biryani sit alongside traditional favorites like tikka masala.
Most popular dish: Silken kabobs
43. Kalachandjis
Location: 5430 Gurley Ave, Dallas
Website: https://www.kalachandjis.com/
Contact: 214-821-1048
This self-styled gourmet Indian vegetarian food restaurant known for being Dallas’s oldest vegetarian buffet offers complete lunch and dinner buffet menus diverse and comprehensive enough to satiate any palate. Its kitchen boasts using only the finest ingredients available and no meat, eggs, fish, garlic or onions in its dishes. It uses no frozen or canned vegetables and uses only expeller-pressed coconut oil in cooking and cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil in its salad dressings and turbinado sugar in its tamarind tea and extensive dessert selection. The only difference between the mostly vegan dishes and the scattered vegetarian dishes is the inclusion or exclusion of dairy. Alongside Indian food favorites like dal and pakoras, you’ll also find distinctly non-Indian items on the menu, like jambalaya or lasagna.
Most popular dish: Warm cinnamon and raisin bread
Virginia
44. Lehja
Location: 11800 West Broad street Suite 910, Richmond
Website: http://www.lehja.com/
Contact: 804-364-1111
Forbes names Lehja “one of the finest Indian restaurants in America,” and the establishment is the winner of multiple restaurant industry awards. Placing a premium on style, the restaurant offers an inviting space to enjoy both traditional and modern Indian dishes among a relaxing 1970s-California-inspired decor. With four different dining rooms to enjoy, you can experience a different one each visit. There’s also a social lounge and bar and an outdoor dining area around a naked flame fire pit. All this isn’t to overshadow the food, however, prepared by Chef Sandeep “Sunny” Baweja, a James Beard Award semi-finalist. Far from simply offering “Americanized” Indian food, however, there are also traditional dishes served with a creative modern twist, like Chesapeake Bay blue crabs seasoned with turmeric, ginger, pink Tellicherry pepper served with asparagus and scallions or the tender, pulled duck à la Pondicherry seasoned with cumin, fenugreek, garlic, onions and curry leaves. For the truly daring, there’s the spicy firecracker chicken tikka marinated in ghost peppers. And, on the weekends, there’s a whole other brunch menu to enjoy.
Most popular dish: Kulfi
Washington
45. Annapurna Cafe
Location: 1833 Broadway, Seattle
Website: https://annapurnacafe.com/
Contact: 206-320-7770
Dimly lit and set in a basement, it may be hard to believe the food served at Annapurna Cafe is hands-down some of the finest Indian cuisine in the city. In addition to Indian food, the menu features traditional dishes from Tibet and Nepal.
Most popular dish: Slow-cooked lamb curry
Nationwide
46-50+. Saravanaa Bhavan
Location: 12 locations across New York, New Jersey, California and Texas
Website: https://www.saravanaabhavan.us/
Contact: Visit website to find the phone number for each location.
A list of the best Indian restaurants in USA can’t be complete without this stand-out, international Indian food chain with 81 locations worldwide. Boasting global Indian vegetarian cuisine for every time of day, the breakfasts at Saravanaa Bhavan are as beloved as their dinners, with the likes of hot dosa pancakes with sambar and chutney and savory idly cakes. Rounding out the extensive menu of traditional Indian delicacies are a variety of dosas, uthappams, thalis and breads to complement them. The desserts here are also particularly amazing–like gulab jamun (cheese and milk balls soaked in rose water and syrup) and badam halwa (ground almond cooked with butter and honey)–so be sure to leave room. And, of course, as a fast-food chain, technically speaking, the atmosphere is the utmost casual and laid back.
Most popular dish: Saravanaa Special (of course) – mixed vegetarian dish platter
FAQs
Without a doubt, New York has the best Indian restaurants on the east coast and California has the best Indian restaurants on the west coast.
The list above of the top Indian restaurants in the USA includes cafes, delis, diners, fast-food chains and elite, high-end establishments. At these eateries, you’ll find a blend of traditional Indian cuisine and modern or American cuisine, many with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, others exclusively vegetarian.
The most famous Indian restaurant in the U.S. is probably Indian Accent in New York City, an offshoot of the New Delhi restaurant of the same name honored as number one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
