The best Indian restaurants in Melbourne

Spice Mix sits on the busy intersection of Glenlyon Road and Lygon Street. It appears like any usual late-night Indian takeout venue, with a flashing neon open sign and a chalked-up A-frame sign out the front of a tram stop, but inside it tells a very different story. The sheer diversity of regional cuisines on offer makes it worth a visit alone – the owner is from Nepal and serves food not only from his home country, but from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and beyond – but the taste is also out of this world. Oh, and if you like spicy? This place will kindly crank it up if you ask. Spice Mix is a halal restaurant.

Order this: Goat vindaloo, chicken 65, dal makhni

From pop-up to fully fledged restaurant, Enter Via Laundry is kicking some serious subcontinental goals. Spoiler alert: you don’t enter via the laundry anymore. The success of Helly Raichura’s tiny at-home Box Hill restaurant has precipitated her move to more serious Carlton North digs, although the laneway entrance retains the enticing air of mystery (as does finding out the actual address only after booking). Boasting one of Melbourne’s most singular degustations, the focus changes seasonally – from seafood-centric Bengal to the cuisine of Kashmir, the meat-heavy northern region. At time of writing, you can indulge in a Kerala or Goa-influenced menu.

Order this: 9 courses (and snacks) set menu with matched wine pairing

If you know, you know: this colourful eatery in Belgrave is a haven for authentic Kerala-style cuisine and some of the best you can get in Melbourne (if not the best.)  Whether you hail from the land of spices itself or simply carry fond memories of travelling the beautiful subcontinent, any South Indian cravings you have will be swiftly satiated at this beloved establishment. Try the beef fry or Kerala parotta and tuck into some village-style curries if you're hungry enough, but in our opinion, the banana leaf thali set is where it's at!

Order this: Kerala leaf thali set

Ever since it started operating out of Rathdowne Street, Khabbay has gained a devoted following for its large range of marinated meats cooked over hot charcoal – from its grilled fish and chicken seekh kebab to its six different varieties of chicken boti kebab, soaked in a mixture of yogurt, aromatics and spices before they’re skewered and grilled to perfection. Its move to larger premises on Lygon Street has made it even more central for those who may find themselves dodging the advances of enthusiastic Italian restauranteurs on the way to a film at Nova or an ice cream at Pidapipo. If charcoal-grilled meats aren’t to your liking, there are plenty of other dishes you won’t typically find in Indian restaurants around Melbourne, from the cheesy handi (sliced strips of chicken cooked in a creamy, cheesy, spiced sauce) and beef nihari (a slow-cooked meat stew made with bones and marrow) to the lahori channe (a thick, flavour-filled chickpea curry hailing from the Pakistani city of Lahore). 

Order this: Grilled charcoal fish, goat karahi, BBQ supreme platter

If you find yourself in the CBD craving Indian comfort food, head straight for this popular eatery on King Street. As its website states, the menu here is focused mainly on Marathi food, with all the staples you'd expect to find in a Maharashtrian household. Think snacks like poha (flattened rice cooked with potatoes and peanuts, garnished with coconut and served with Indian pickle) and thalipeeth (multigrain savory pancakes served with white butter, curd and coconut chutney). You can also sink your teeth into cloud-soft vada pav rolls, samosas, wraps and, of course, delicious thali plates. There's also another location in Clayton if that's closer to you.

Order this: Indian chai, vada pav, dabeli and Bombay grilled sandwich.

Toddy Shop by Marthanden Hotel is the new kid to Fitzroy's block serving up authentic South Indian and Keralan food and day party vibes. The venue's name is inspired by the traditional toddy shops and coffee bars found all over South India, and it's chef Mischa Tropp's tribute to everything he loves about the region. Venture inside and you'll discover a buzzing 20-seater eatery and bar, complete with tunes on vinyl and a picture of Tropp's grandmother on the wall.

Order this: Porotta, okra theeyal, prawn moilee, literally any and all of the cocktails

Daughter in Law is part of restaurateur Jessi Singh’s conglomerate of Indian restaurants, building on Horn Please and Babu Ji. The only difference between this and his previous restaurants is that Daughter in Law is not steeped in any sense of authenticity; this restaurant is meant to break the rules and dabble in fusion. Reinvention and fusion can be dirty words, especially if the person reinventing and fusing has no foundations in the cuisine they’re playing with. But Singh was born in Punjab, raised in Australia and lived in America, and influences from his entire life can be seen in the food at Daughter in Law. There are ‘pots’ of curries, including a butterless butter chicken, half-lobsters baked in the tandoor, and snacks that would go great with a drink, like the Indian fried chicken dipped in mustard mayonnaise and the sticky-sweet-glazed and fried Colonel Tso’s cauliflower.

Order this: The 'Feed Me' menu

This multi-award winning restaurant in Moonee Ponds (with an additional location in St Kilda) is widely beloved for serving up some of the tastiest and most authentic tandoori and North Indian cuisine in Melbourne. It's also a truly special place to dine in, feeling like a cosy and comfortable restaurant with warm lighting and exeptional service – perfect for family occasions. 

Order this: Chilli angara chicken, shahi paneer, homemade kulfi ice cream

Tucked away in between Spencer and Flinders Streets and perennially packed, Delhi Streets may be named in honour of India’s capital, but its menu crisscrosses the subcontinent. South India is represented by the dosas (thin crisp pancakes made from fermented batter), while Mumbai’s famed pav bhaji (vegetable curry served with soft bread rolls) makes an appearance. Fusion dishes marry Western and Eastern influences, with the paneer pizza using India’s version of cottage cheese instead of mozzarella, and the chicken frankie wrap swapping the wheat tortillas of a classic burrito with naan. Either make a booking or show up early – the restaurant’s narrow confines is bustling any which day you visit it.

Order this: Pani puri, papri chaat, samosas, aloo tikki

For the uninitiated, Aangan is a 19-year-old, well-oiled machine serving multiregional Indian cuisine with chaat and biryani from the North, dosa, idli and sambar from the South, plus a range of fried noodles and rice, reflective of the neighbouring influences from further East. Footscray may be known as one of Melbourne’s main Vietnamese hubs, but if you keep heading west, you’ll find yourself in Little India. Against regular restaurant logic of shorter menus equating to all-around, excellent food, Aangan manages an 11-page tome where everything is cooked with precision and glancing over at your neighbour’s table could inspire food envy. Standouts include the chicken 65, the seekh kebab, any item from the chaat counter, the fish masala and the butter chicken.

Order this: Lamb vindaloo, butter naan, saffron rice

3 Idiots on Bridge Road is named as such because people thought husband and wife team Prathamesh ‘Pratt’ Bhoir and Satham ‘Satt’ Makkad were foolhardy to leave their comfortable careers to pursue their dream of opening a restaurant. Several years on, it seems as though they weren’t that foolhardy after all. 3 Idiots’ menu is expansive, eclectic and experimental. Forget chicken tandoori, meet TFC – tandoori fried chicken tossed with housemade Indian dukkah. The lightly spiced minced meat dish of kheema is rolled into golden rolls of pastry in a subcontinental twist on Moroccan cigars. This is not to say you won’t find your favourites as well. Butter chicken is 3 Idiots’ signature dish and Kashmiri shank is a 3 Idiots iteration of lamb rogan josh, with a six-hour braised lamb shank taking centre stage. Service is attentive and convivial, and the colourful, elegant décor is warm and inviting.

Order this: Kheema cigars, butter chicken, Champaran goat curry, rabri mousse with gulab jamun

This family-run restaurant in Moonee Ponds is one of the best places in Melbourne's west to indulge in rich and comforting North Indian cuisine. From the seekh kebabs to the kakdhai paneer, every carefully prepared dish here sings with authenticity, even garnering well-deserved praise from many Indians who frequent the premises. It's open until 11pm most nights, meaning you can pop in for a late-night feast and the service is always super accommodating. The dining space and ambience are beautifully curated, making it the perfect destination for a romantic date night, special occasion and all kinds of dinners in between. 

Order this: Tandoor gobi, tadka daal, chicken Madras

Around since 2018 and occupying prime position on Gertrude Street, Ish contributes to Melbourne's mod-Indian food wave with a menu that borrows from regions across South Asia – Kerala, Bombay, Bengal, Kashmir – and collates the old with the new. Expect to see lamb seekh kebab and samosa chaat sitting alongside the more fusion-flavoured roti duck tacos and cauliflower curried hummus, while the curry / mains are refreshingly devoid of your usual suspects. Yes, you’ll find butter chicken and it’s indeed one of Ish’s most popular dishes, but you’ll also encounter moilees, coconut-rich seafood stews from Kerala, and Kashmiri dum aloo, a yoghurt-based curry peppered with fried potato dumplings. 

Order this: The Indian Elixir cocktail, vada pav, aged basmati and turmeric rice, palak paneer, duck tacos

Office workers in and around Melbourne Central are spoilt for choice when it comes to their daily lunch offerings, but Chilli India has been sating their appetites since 2008, having since expanded to Docklands, Epping and Preston. Tables packed into the unobtrusive laneway, Menzies Place, are filled with patrons come midday every weekday and though you’ll find the usual suspects on Chilli India’s menu, it has a far more expansive South Indian repertoire than your average Melbourne Indian restaurant. Expect to find close to 20 varieties of dosa, a range of uthappams – thicker than the lacy, crepe-like dosa with toppings fried straight into the batter – and murtabaks and stuffed rotis. 

Order this: Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani (spicy), roti, mango lassi, Guntur chicken

'Masti’ means to have fun without any bad intentions in Hindi, and Fitzroy’s fave North Indian eatery by the same name is determined to embody this word. Owner and head chef Manpreet Sekhon opened the Fitzroy venue following the success of her Geelong venue Eastern Spice. Originally hailing from Bihar in eastern India, she later moved to Ludhiana, and eventually found herself working at a five-star hotel in Punjab where her dishes caught the attention of Indian celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor. Drawing upon her Punjabi heritage, she has said her dishes at Masti are a way to honour her late mother.

Order this: Paneer tikka, tandoori chicken, Amritsari fish, mango Margarita

One of the most beloved restaurants near Edinburgh Gardens, Horn Please brings to the table a fun and refreshing contemporary take on Indian food. Expect big, big flavour, colourful Instagrammable plates (the samosas are huge), and a generous selection of international beers to wash it all down. The restaurant manages to avoid being gimmicky thanks to the chef's serious culinary chops, and the food is so interesting you'll want to return again and again to try the whole menu. And how about this for value? On weekends, the restaurant offers the most popular bottomless brunch offer in Fitzroy North, which includes the chef's tasting menu and unlimited cocktails for just $69 a head.

Order this: Bottomless brunch

Stepping into the premises of a former Melbourne institution, The Press Club, Elchi had some rather large shoes to fill. But with executive chef Manpreet Sekhon’s experience and determination, those shoes are not only filled but overflowing, with glorious and alluring Indian fare. Sekhon has evolved her family recipes into modern masterpieces, such as the 24-karat gold chicken mussalam, and the crisp whole Amritsari fish. The lavish style isn't for everyone but if you're into that sort of thing, it's worth the splurge, and the photo opportunity. 

Order this: Roses are Red cocktail, 'not your average chicken tikka', lotus snap

Welcome to the alternate reality of Tonka, where chef Adam D’Sylva and partners have conclusively proven Indian food was ready for its fine dining close-up. Like thinking back to a pre-marriage equality Australia, it’s almost quaint to remember that when Tonka opened there were mutterings about the upwardly mobile aspirations of a cuisine beset by curry house sameness. But Tonka remains in a league of its own in going for the high-end jugular, showing no mercy in its $40-plus curries and winning the love of a city by making it worth the splash-out.

Ask an Indian expat in Melbourne where to find the best dosa in Melbourne and the answers may vary a little. You might hear Dosa Hut a few times, either the Footscray or CBD location, and Saravanaa Bhavan, a classic vegetarian chain restaurant famous for the street food snack. But while those spots are great, we have a very soft spot for Cha 'N' Dosa out in Braybrook. Sure, it's a bit of a drive away, but for some of the most delicious dosa, idli and chicken pulao in the state – it's well worth it. 

Order this: Masala dosa, bonda, idly sambar, raita