Best Indian in Manhattan
From Semma's Michelin star to Curry Hill thalis, the Manhattan Indian restaurants worth crossing town for, ranked by people who eat here.
Your pick lands here
The map
Walk this listThe map loads as you scroll closer
The list
- 1West Village · $$$ · 14 St (1 2 3 F L M) · 60 Greenwich Ave
A Tamil Nadu kitchen in the West Village from the Unapologetic Foods team, cooking village recipes you almost never see on a menu here. It became the first Indian restaurant in NYC to win a Michelin star and was named the city's No. 1 restaurant by the Times in 2025.
Chef Vijay Kumar treats rural South Indian cooking as fine dining without sanding off a single rough, thrilling edge.
Book the moment reservations drop 30 days out, and treat the gunpowder dosa and any goat dish as non-negotiable.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 2Lower East Side · $$$ · Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 119 Delancey St (Essex Market, Store 34)
The Unapologetic Foods flagship inside Essex Market, built around provincial Indian dishes that rarely leave their home regions. Chef Chintan Pandya won a James Beard Award and the place stays on nearly every best-of-NYC list.
It cooks like it has something to prove, all bold offal, bone, and heat with zero apology.
Come with a group so you can split the goat and the whole fish, and order the champaran-style mutton.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 3Flatiron · $$$ · 23 St (F M) · 19 W 24th St
A Flatiron fine-dining room that held a Michelin star for eight straight years. Refined regional Indian cooking and tasting menus from restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj.
Proof that white-tablecloth Indian can be precise without ever going bland.
The tandoori lamb chops justify the splurge, and a table away from the bar makes for a quieter meal.
Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo: Transpoman, CC BY-SA 4.0 - 4Midtown · $$$ · 57 St (M) · 123 W 56th St
The NYC outpost of the acclaimed New Delhi original, in Midtown. Modern reinterpretations of Indian classics served tasting-menu style.
The blue cheese naan alone rewires what you thought naan could do.
Go for the tasting menu with wine pairings, which is where the kitchen shows off.
@indianaccentnyc ↗Indian Accent
From @indianaccentnyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 5Tribeca · $$$ · Franklin St (1) · 99 Hudson St
A soaring Tribeca dining room from Michelin-recognized restaurateur Avtar Walia. Elevated North Indian cooking around an open tandoor kitchen.
Special-occasion polish with cooking serious enough to back up the room.
The tandoori duck breast is the signature, and lunch is a gentler way to try the place.
@tamarindtribecanyc ↗Tamarind Tribeca
From @tamarindtribecanyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 6Curry Hill · $$$ · 28 St (6) · 104 Lexington Ave
A Curry Hill regional kitchen from restaurateur Hemant Mathur spanning Punjab, Kashmir, and the coast. Expect kori gassi and bone-in goat curries, not just the greatest hits.
The menu wanders far past butter chicken into dishes most Manhattan Indian spots never attempt.
Skip the obvious and order the Kashmiri and coastal plates, where it separates from the pack.
From @sahibnyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 7Midtown East · $$$ · Lexington Av/53 St (6 E F) · 232 E 58th St
An old-school East Side dining room with a 26-year run, a two-star Times review, and Michelin recognition. Coastal and North Indian classics built on house-made spice blends.
A rare Manhattan Indian veteran that never coasted on its reputation.
The weekend lunch spread is one of the better-value Indian meals in Midtown.
@cholanyc ↗Chola
Loads from Instagram
From @cholanyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 8Curry Hill · $$$ · 28 St (6) · 116 Lexington Ave
The NYC branch of the storied 1964 Chennai chain, in Curry Hill. Fiery Chettinad cooking from crab masala to fresh parotta.
Genuinely hot, deeply savory South Indian food that does not flinch for American palates.
Order the Chettinad chicken and a parotta, and tell them you want it at real spice level.
- 9Curry Hill · $$$ · 28 St (6) · 409 3rd Ave
An all-you-can-eat Gujarati thali restaurant styled like an Indian village, going since 1996. Vegetarian, vegan, and kosher regional home cooking from Gujarat.
A parade of little steel bowls that keeps coming until you surrender, and it is a joy.
Go hungry and pace yourself, because the fixed-price thali is genuinely unlimited.
From @vatannyc on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.
- 10Union Square · $$$ · 14 St-Union Sq (4 5 6 L N Q R W) · 124 E 14th St (Time Out Market Union Square)
A fast-casual kebab counter from the Dhamaka and Semma team, inside Time Out Market Union Square. Flame-grilled chicken, goat, and bison kebabs inspired by Delhi's night markets.
Unapologetic Foods pedigree at counter prices, with real char and real spice.
The seekh kebab platter is the play, and going off-peak beats the food-hall lunch crush.
@kebabwala ↗Kebabwala
From @kebabwala on Instagram, shown through Instagram's own embed player.