15 Best Indian Restaurants In NYC, Ranked

Desi Galli in Kips Bay is ranked at the bottom of our list, but it is still a highly recommended spot in NYC. This is a fantastic place for lunch, especially if you enjoy sharing. 

The vibe here is fast-casual, with a mix-and-match menu and brisk counter service. Choose from a huge range of Indian street food dishes, including kathi rolls, masala fries, vegan pani puri, and a rather epic mango lassi.

This isn't a place to linger over your food. It's cozy yet compact, with seating for 22. If you're rushing back to the office or need a bite to eat before you get on with your day, why not grab takeout?

Desi Galli is rated 3.9 out of 5 stars on Google, with over 320 reviews. Reviewers recommend various dishes, with one reviewer calling the masala fries "total perfection." Another reviewer said, "I like their kathi roll, chats, and pav bhaji."

Vatan is designed to look like an Indian village. You can sit inside or grab a table outside under the banyan tree or on the balcony.This is a Murray Hill institution that's been open for decades, and with over 850 Yelp reviews and a 4-star rating, it's easy to see why it's made it onto our list. The cuisine here is authentic Gujarati: three courses of vegetarian, kosher, all-you-can-eat food, offering excellent value for money. Each course includes around 8 to 10 small dishes to try. The Okra Masala, Channa Masala, and Kadhi all come highly recommended.

Make sure you bring your appetite when you come here. One Yelp reviewer mentioned the food, service, and decor, saying, "Food and service was excellent. One piece of advice: don't eat anything all day, and come hungry! The decor, I believe, is designed after a small Indian village, with a Banyan tree, Ganesh, and a blue sky above. Overall, a delightful place to eat delicious food!"

Another Yelp reviewer spoke highly of the appetizer thali: "We started with the appetizer thali which included many different items including samosa, ragda pattice, channa, bhajis, and our favorite dahi puri topped with sev. The appetizers were very flavorful and the condiments which they provided were also very tasty."

It's well worth traveling to Long Island City for the food at Adda, earning it a well-deserved 11th place on our list. Opened in 2018, the restaurant's name means a place where people hang out, and that's exactly what it is: A great spot to relax and enjoy traditional Indian food in eclectic, cozy surroundings.

Order the Lucknow Dum Biryani from the menu with tender slow-cooked goat, try the Keema Pao with ground lamb and cloves, or sample the Malvani Fish Curry with kokum, turmeric, and coconut. Or order from the Thoda Barri Grill, section of the menu for clay-oven baked delights, including prawns, fish, chicken, and paneer.

Adda earns a 4.5-star rating on Trip Advisor. One TripAdvisor reviewer seems to be a loyal patron of the restaurant, commenting, "Back again. All good: Butter chicken, Pappano fish, cauliflower, the mango Lasse, goat, butter nan. Every dish was spicy."

Adda has also received glowing reviews from publications including the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Time Out New York. The latter awarded the restaurant four stars, with reviewer Jake Cohen writing, "The wonderful display of elevated yet approachable Indian cooking was matched only by the attentive and convivial service I received from start to finish. Looks like the spice is right at this homey hot spot."

Sister restaurant to Chote Miya in Chelsea Market, Gupshup is one of the best Indian restaurants you'll visit in NYC. It gets busy here, so reservations are recommended.

In addition to the obvious draw of the delicious food, the vibe here is relaxed and cheerful thanks to bright, colorful, hand-painted wall art. The Bombay Brunch is to die for, with small plates perfect for sharing — or enjoying solo — like the Paneer Cheese Roll, Tandoori Cauliflower, and Mutton Seekh Kebab, plus classics like the Paratha Omelette or Magic Masala Fries.

Later in the day, the dinner menu features regularly changing seasonal specials, meaning even regular diners get the opportunity to try something new. Sample dishes include Nalli Nihari, slow-cooked lamb shank in a yogurt-based gravy, The Sizzler sharing platter of grilled meats, and spicy Indo-Chinese Mirchi Wala Chicken.

Gupshup earns a respectable 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor, with one reviewer lavishing praise, "What an amazing meal. The best butter chicken I've had outside Delhi." Another reviewer said, "Our favorite dishes were the paneer rolls, the butter chicken wings, and the Himalayan morels, but really anything you order is going to be delicious."

This restaurant's playful, creative menu is inspired by several regions of India, with some Moroccan and Middle-Eastern influences thrown in for good measure.

Baazi means to bet; if there's one thing you can bet on here, it's being well-fed. Some eclectic offerings are on the menu, like butternut squash kofta, grilled mahi mahi in a coconut and mustard marinade, and Goat Laal Maas with Mathania chilies.

From over 65 reviews on Yelp, Baazi earns a solid four-star rating. One Yelp reviewer praised the service and the unusual flavors, saying, "The service was wonderful, very attentive without hovering. The food was delicious, definitely their own flavors and not the run-of-the-mill curries and vindaloos."

Another reviewer praised the Shrimp Balchao, calling it a "spicy coastal treat," and also mentioned the Tunday Ke Kebab, commenting, "This tender lamb patty, bursting with flavors of ginger, garlic, and black pepper, took me home. It aimed to replicate a famous kebab from Lucknow, India, and was 70% of the way there."

Opened in 2010, Junoon's name means passion, and it's one of the first Indian restaurants in the U.S. to hold a Michelin star. Though it no longer holds it — despite still being listed in the Michelin Guide — Junoon kept its Michelin star for an impressive eight years.

This is Indian fine dining in a truly intimate setting, great for special occasions or a romantic date. It's worth noting here that no children under ten years of age are permitted inside the restaurant, though families with younger children can dine in the outdoor dining area. Junoon also has a smart casual dress code, so leave your flip-flops and gym gear at home.

For dinner, choose from the three-course Prestige Menu for just under $100 or the six-course Chef's Tasting Menu for around $140, with optional paired wines. Sample dishes to try include the Eggplant Chaat with tamarind chutney, Ghost Chili Murgh Tikka with a coconut and carrot puree, and Truffle Duck Khichdi with confit duck served with truffles and lentils.

Junoon receives a 4.3-star rating on Google from over 2,900 reviews, with reviewers commenting on the service and guidance from the waitstaff. One reviewer praised the lunch dishes they ordered, saying, "The lunch was perfect, us being vegetarian, we started with Kurkure Bhindi and Paneer for appetizers. For mains, I had lasooni palak, and my fiance had mushroom & truffle khichdi (this was the best khichdi I had in a while)."

Saar Indian Bistro occupies the third place in our ranking, headed by Hemant Mathur, the first U.S. Indian Michelin chef. With a creative menu, excellent service, and surprisingly reasonable prices, there's no doubt that third place is well deserved.

Both the Prix Fixe lunch menu and Lunch Special offer excellent value for money. With the Prix Fixe menu, you can grab two or three courses for under $30, depending on whether you simply must have dessert. For busy days, the Lunch Special starts from around $14 for the veggie option, with dahl, veg, naan, and rice.

The extensive dinner menu is packed with inventive takes, such as the Beetroot Cutlets served with tangy tamarind aioli, Jackfruit Biryani, Lotus Root Kofta, and creamy Pistachio Chicken. TripAdvisor reviewers have earned the restaurant a 4.5-star rating, with one reviewer praising the entire experience: "Loved everything in Saar, from ambiance to food to their hospitality. Food hit the right spot, was so flavorful. Their cocktails are so unique and the presentation is just wow."

Finally, we're awarding first place to Dhamaka on NYC's Lower East Side. Chef Chintan Pandya won the James Beard Award for "Best Chef: New York State" in 2022, and, sampling the menu, it's easy to see why.

Dhamaka is all about Indian street food: Bold, bright, adventurous flavors and regional dishes not often found elsewhere. The food is pretty spicy, but with some great Indian-inspired cocktails on offer to quench your thirst, that's a good thing. Its worth noting here that reservations at Dhamaka can be hard to come by, so plan your visit well in advance to ensure you're not disappointed.

Dhamaka is listed in the Michelin Guide, and in Hindi, its name means explosion — a pretty apt description of how your taste buds will feel after a meal here. Dishes like Nagaland Pork and Kashmiri Gosht Chaamp with ghee and garam masala are packed with spice — for a real treat, order the Lasooni Lobster, a whole lobster cooked with black salt and roasted garlic. Or get the Rajasthani Khargosh, a whole slow-cooked rabbit marinated in a spicy yogurt.

One review on Yelp was full of praise for every dish, saying, "We got the methi paneer, papdi chaat, paneer tikka, and paratha. Everything was phenomenal!" Another reviewer commented on the fish and paneer, saying, "The grilled masala fish was to die for, it was fatty with the skin and with the appropriate amount of spice. I absolutely loved the marinade. Paneer tikka was out of this world. They make their own paneer so my friend and I made a deliberate effort to order paneer dishes."