Sydney’s best Indian restaurant revealed
Sydney’s ‘Little India’ is filled with authentic, hidden gem eateries. Find out where Sydney’s best Indian restaurants are here.
Confidential
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When it comes to Indian cuisine, it appears people can’t get enough.
According to online reservation service OpenTable, between the months of January and September this year, there was a 51 percent increase in diners at Indian cuisine restaurants than in 2024.
Such is the demand for Indian cuisine that restaurant owner Ketan Patel has opened his three fine-dining Indian restaurants in the space of three years, all in diverse locations.
Patel opened The Grand Palace first in the CBD in 2021, before opening his second location at Mona Vale in January 2023 and then Terrigal in July 2023.
“Sooner or later it had to happen, if you look at the popularity of Indian food in places like the UK, Australia was lagging behind but it’s fastly catching up,” Patel said.
Patel added that the increase in restaurants offering a diverse range of Indian food, whether that be dishes specific to a region or food trucks blending Indian food with other cuisines, have also made the cuisine more popular.
“People have more choice when it comes to Indian food. And it’s not those from Indian backgrounds who want it. It’s everyone.”
From hidden gems in Harris Park to fine diners in the CBD, these curry houses hit the mark.
PINKY JI, SYDNEY
Another member of restaurateur and chef Jessi Singh’s family (Daughter in Law, Don’t Tell Aunty) is Pinky Ji. The bold eatery adds a much-needed splash of colour to its York Street location. Step inside for a technicolour dream of plush red velvet furniture and neon lighting with garlands of flowers strung up from the ceiling. The menu features the ‘inauthentic’ Indian food for which Singh is known. Top orders include the kingfish ceviche with a rich coconut cream sauce, and lamb chops with smoked horseradish which are cooked hard and fast in the tandoor oven. Start with an Indian-inspired cocktail or grab yourself a craft beer from the self-serve bar fridge.
89 York St, Sydney; pinkyji.com.au.
DOSA HUT, HARRIS PARK
It’s in the heart of “Little India” so you know it’s going to be good. But they also have franchises around Sydney including Brighton Le Sands, Dural and Liverpool. And obviously, they focus on Dosa’s (an Indian savoury crepe).
69 Wigram St, Harris Park NSW 2150
SPICED BY BILLUS, BARANGAROO
Spiced by Billus brings authentic and colourful Indian cuisine to Barangaroo. Introduced to the city after the huge success of their flagship eatery in Harris Park, the new CBD outpost offers a more decadent dining experience with a sleek fit-out, but the same delicious homestyle Indian food. Highlights include the banquet menu for under $40, unctuous chicken tikka masala cooked in a clay oven, and endless garlic naan.
Wulugul Walk, 7/33 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo South, Sydney; spicedbybillus.com.au.
DERREL’S, CAMPERDOWN
Derrel’s is a new-ish Indian eatery from Public Hospitality Group, the team from The Lady Hampshire hotel, which it shares a wall with on Parramatta Road. The eatery takes its inspiration from the Anglo-Indian restaurants and takeaways that are a mandatory part of a night out in London, with chip butties slathered in butter chicken gravy, neon-red and blackened chook thighs, and just about anything you want wrapped in a naan.
89 Parramatta Rd, Camperdown.
DON’T TELL AUNTY, SURRY HILLS
Expect an explosion of colours, sounds and flavours at Jessi Singh’s Bollywood-inspired Indian restaurant, Don’t Tell Aunty. The menu celebrates rule-breaking, with dishes that span the Indian Subcontinent with some pretty out-there influences from Australia and America as well. Some of the Singh signatures include an Indian take on nachos and Aussie lamb chops with raita and mint chutney. Leave the six-pack at home, the drinks list has been stocked with an impressive selection of natural-leaning wines, selected by winemaker and sommelier Rajat Parr, which sit alongside colourful Bollywood-inspired cocktails that will have you dancing on the table.
414 Bourke St, Surry Hills; donttellaunty.com.au.
MANJIT’S WHARF
What more could you ask for than a sparkling water view while tucking into some of the best tandoori in town? Manjit’s caters to tables of all sizes and serves up delicious Indian flavours in the form of authentic curry and tandoori. The must-try dish is ‘kaju ki sabzi’ a signature side of cashew nuts sauteed with mixed spices and served with caramelised onion that goes with everything. It’s also a great spot for a cocktail, try a ‘sharabi lassi’, a boozy mango and passionfruit lassi, an ‘Indian summer’ which combines fresh strawberries with lychee, vodka and lime, or a ‘Mumbai’, a blend of whisky, bitters and sweet vermouth.
If you live down the coast, you’ll find a second outpost in northern Wollongong suburb Corrimal. 49 Lime St, King Street Wharf, Sydney; manjits.com.au.
CHATKAZZ, HARRIS PARK
Get your South Indian street food fix at this bustling eatery in Harris Park. The menu includes more than 200 snack foods, all of them vegetarian and many you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in Sydney. Expect all the roadside specials, from vada pav – a hot buttered roll filled with spicy fried potato balls – to the paper-thin dosa stuffed with chilli and cheese. The lively diner has been decked out in mismatched tiles and bright poster art that matches the colours and vibrancy of the food. Finish on a (sugar) high with the tooth-achingly sweet jalebi spirals or gulab jamun balls in syrup.
Shop. 4-6/14-20 Station St East, Harris Park; chatkazz.com.au.
DELHI ‘O’ DELHI, NEWTOWN
For nearly two decades, Delhi ‘O’ Delhi on Erskineville Road has been serving a vibrant, complex, and delicious interpretation of Indian dishes. Loyal to no particular region, the menu is a blend of traditional northern-style dishes, street snacks from the south, and more than a few inspirations drawn from the Inner West. Yes, you will leave with your belt a bit tighter but you’ll also leave with flavours zipping on your tongue and without the heaviness of a stodgy takeaway.
3 Erskineville Rd, Newtown; delhiodelhi.com.au.
URBAN TADKA, TERREY HILLS
On a beautifully landscaped estate in Terrey Hills, Urban Tadka offers a sophisticated Indian dining experience that is reminiscent of a trip to the day spa. Visiting Urban Tadka for the first time can be quite mind-blowing, realising that some of the best Indian cuisine in Australia is hiding in the sprawling leafy North Shore of Sydney. Avoid food envy, it makes sense to try a few dishes.
321 Mona Vale Rd, Terrey Hills; urbantadka.com.au.
FLYOVER FRITTERIE, REDFERN
Inspired by India’s famed street food carts, Flyover Fritterie focuses on the classic subcontinental snack of pakora and chai. From the fritter family there’s onion, lentil and spinach, tofu, paneer, whole green chillies and sabudana vada, stuffed with potatoes and tapioca pearls. Dip each crunchy cake in the sweet-hot mint and tamarind chutney. The traditional accompaniment is masala chai, expertly made here from Assam black tea with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves, with freshly squeezed ginger juice for extra kick. Fresh chutneys are also available to take away so you can spice up your meals at home.
88 Regent St, Redfern; flyoverfritterie.com.au.
THE SPICE ROOM, SYDNEY
Not your usual curry house, The Spice Room transforms Indian streetfood classics into an elegant sit-down affair. Head chef Darbyan Singh’s menu narrows in on the northwest region of India with Peshawari plates like the hand-pressed lamb seekh kebab cooked in the tandoori oven and the fragrant chicken biryani with spiced rice. The menu lets you choose your own adventure or for a feast fit for a sultan, there’s the grand emperor’s banquet.
The Quay Building, 2 Phillip St, Sydney; thespiceroom.com.au.
ABHI’S, NORTH STRATHFIELD
One of Sydney’s longest-running Indian restaurants is also one of its best. Since 1990, Abhi’s in North Strathfield has been whipping up staunchly traditional South Indian dishes (with an occasional surprise like the salt and pepper squid-esque Chatpata with tamarind and ginger sauce) with no sign of slowing down.
163 Concord Rd, North Strathfield; abhisindian.com.au.
FAHEEM FAST FOOD, ENMORE
This is a late-night Indian and Pakistani institution in the inner-west. The brightly lit diner serves all the favourites – think tandoori chicken, spicy fish tikka, beef korma and Kashmiri naan – and is always busy with a diverse crowd, from families and hipster groups to taxi drivers on their dinner break.
194-196 Enmore Rd, Enmore.
INDIAN HOME DINER, PADDINGTON
This cult, late night Indian kebab shop on Oxford Street in Paddington is famous for its garlic cheese naan kebab, with potato, cheese and a curry of your choice.
86 Oxford St, Paddington.
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