A selection of Indian restaurants by The American Bazaar.
AB Wire
WASHINGTON, DC: The past four decades have seen an explosive growth in the number of Indian restaurants across the United States. A sharp increase in the Indian American population and popularity of Indian cuisine globally, has contributed to this phenomenon.
The American Bazaar takes a look at some of the finest Indian restaurants in 10 of America’s largest metropolitan areas.
New York City
Tulsi
With 55-seat dining room and 15-seat bar/ lounge depicting India and its vibrant culture, Tulsi offers some of the best regional Indian cuisines made under the leadership of chef Eric MacCarthy. Some of the popular recipes of Tulsi are fragrant curries, veg-special, and mouthwatering tandoor-grilled meat and seafood.
Those who visit Tulsi also have an option to savor the seven-course Chef’s Tasting Menu, which also include Chef’s Vegetarian Tasting Menu and bar snacks along with hand-prepared cocktails.
Tamarind Tribeca
Tamarind Tribeca, which recently shifted to downtown venue, Tamarind TriBeCa, 99 Hudson Street at Franklin Street, is a 11,000 square foot, spacious restaurant with a seating capacity of 175 people, arranged on two different levels. The first floor has the dining room, bar and cocktail lounge whereas the second floor, a 1,500 square foot mezzanine, gives a more modern and stylish look to the establishment.
Avtar Walia, the owner of the hotel has teamed up with a skilled team of chefs who are specialists in cuisines from different regions of India and produce new dishes and special recipes for their guests.
Junoon
Junoon, located on 27 West 24th St, New York, is a modern Indian restaurant from restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj. The restaurant has a collection of authentic Indian cuisines which reflect chef Vikas Khann’s true love for food. The menu include a variety of Indian regional favorites such as Tandoor (Clay Oven), Sigri (Open Fire Pit), Patthar (Stone Cooking), Tawa (Cast Iron Cooking) and Handi (Pot Cooking).
Los Angeles
Addi’s Tandoor
Addi’s Tandoor, which is touted as the best Indian restaurant in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange county region, had topped the survey conducted by Zagat in 2006, 2009 and 2012 for excellence and perfection in food. Gurbachchan Singh, chef and owner of Addi Decosta, guarantees his guests that all cuisines in the restaurantare prepared using the finest of herbs and spices with no added artificial flavors or taste boosters.
Chicago
Cumin
Cumin is a Nepalese/Indian restaurant located in the center of Chicago’s Wicker Park. The hotel has a splendid list of both Indian and Nepalese dishes on its menu. Cumin also offers lunch buffet, dine-in, take-out, delivery and catering services. Some of their popular dishes include Chicken Makhani, Parvate Aalu Tama Ra Bodi, Aaluko Achar, Palungoko Saag and Chicken Jalfreizi.
Vermillion
Vermillion is a luxurious restaurant located in 10 W Hubbard St.. The restaurant has a wide range of Indian and Latin fusion cuisines in addition to the sub-continental dishes. The ambience of the hotel, set in sleek and modern style, makes Vermillion a perfect eatery for the lovers of Indian-Latin flavors & regional Indian fare.
Dallas
Mughlai Restaurant
Mughlai Restaurant located in 5301 Alpha Rd #14, Dallas, is an authentic Indianrestaurant, specializing in north Indian cuisine. The restaurant has a seating capacity for 122 people with separate private dining room that can accommodate 26 guests. This restaurant is a must visit destination for foodies who love having delicious Indian curries, lentils and great lunch buffet. D Magazine has rated Mughlai Restaurant as one of the highly recommended Indian restaurants in Dallas.
Indian Palace
Indian Palace restaurant located in Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex is one of the oldest Indian hotels in Dallas area, serving the area since 1985. It has a variety of Indian cuisines that provide a whole new experience for gourmands to taste and smell the fragrant, zesty and warm spices of India. The skills of excellent chefs in Indian Palace coupled are sure to give your taste-buds a real treat. Indian Palace use only fresh, natural ingredients and the menu includes many gluten-free and vegan selections.
Houston
Kiran’s
Kiran’s Restaurant & Bar located at 4100 Westheimer Rd. is a “dream come true†of Kiran Verma, who has crafted an awe-inspiring restaurant for food lovers who like Indian tastes and the country’s hospitality added with French-sophistication and American informality. Some of the featured dishes in Kiran’s menu include sea bass, lobster, lamb and an array of the chef’s own light and flavorful sauces and fresh fruit chutneys in addition to wine and other beverages.
Indika
Indika is a well-known restaurant for innovative Indian dishes & handcrafted cocktails in modern, airy environs located at 516 Westheimer Rd.. Some of the top rated dishes include lamb shank, saffron scallops, Kashmiri chicken, cauliflower paneer kofta, mango chutney chicken, black bean biryani and a host of samosas made out of sweet potatoes, crabs etc.
Philadelphia
Tashan
Tashan, located at 77 S. Broad Street, offers an exciting small plate menu based on genuine Indian flavors with wide ranging global culinary influences. According to the official website of Tashan, the restaurant “reflects this global cultural wellspring in a dining and lounge destination that is the first of its kind in Philadelphia, the US and possibly the World.†Munish Narula, a former investment banker and a Wharton MBA is the founder and president of Tiffin Indian cuisine.
Indeblue
Indeblue restaurant and bar located near to the Pennsylvania Convention Center serves chef Ramola’s mouthwatering menu and four courses. The hotel offers wine pairing and draft craft beer flights that compliment the chef’s tasty menu. Visitors can enjoy live sitar and tabla every Tuesday evening and during Sunday brunch. Some of the Indeblue specials include traditional Indian breakfast and lunch items as well as omelets, French toast and wraps.
Washington DC
Rasika
Rasika group of restaurants located at 633 D St, NW Washington, DC, and 1190 New Hampshire Ave, NW Washington, DC, has a wide range of Indian culinary dishes. Some of the highlighted dishes include Tawa (Griddle), Sigri (open Barbeque), Tandoori and regional dishes. Rasika has a temperature controlled wine cellar, offer small plates and a modern lounge.
The Bombay Club
The Bombay Club located at 815 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington, DC prepares some of the best Indian food, making use of quality ingredients to create a perfect harmony of aroma and taste. Some of the most ordered items at Bombay Club are Parsi Fare, Goan Specialties, Moghlai Specialties and Coastal Cuisine. Guests can also enjoy dining in a soothing atmosphere set by the sound of live piano music.
Miami
Imlee
Imlee, located at 12663 S Dixie Hwy., is an authentic Indian eatery with an array of dishes listed in the menu that range from Indian breads to tandoor-oven items. Some of the recommended dishes include chicken tikka and naan with raisin and onion. The place gives a true Indian feel with interiors painted in sunset shades; and Indian artifacts arranged in the most picturesque style.
Atlanta
Panahar Bangladeshi Cuisine
Panahar Bangladeshi Cuisine is an Indian restaurant offering Bangladeshi fare, with a host of vegetarian options & lunch buffet. The best of Bangladeshi cuisine, which is similar to Indian, is served in Panahar.
Himalayan Spice
Himalayan Spice, located in 2773 Clairmont Road is an authentic Nepalese/Indianrestaurant. Chefs Sujit and Dilip are serving up Momo, Chau-Chau and some mysterious, but terrific Khukri Rum alongside traditional Indian fare. The restauranthas a separate banquet hall with projector and sound system which can be used for private parties, office meetings and special functions.
Boston
Mela Indian Restaurant
Mela Indian Restaurant, located at 578 Tremont St., has several classic non-vegetarian curries prepared largely using the south Indian style, famous for its Madras, Goa and Kerala fare. They also have hot tandoor dishes like mahi mahi tikka, mixed grill, and almost a dozen tasty Indian breads. Adding to the friendly staffers, the ambience created in a modern space using traditional details make Mela one of the most visited Indian restaurants in Boston.
Punjab
Punjab, located at Massachusetts Avenue, has a long list of North Indian recipes, with some of the finest herbs and spices used by Punjabis since generations. Punjab guarantees its guests the best dishes prepared by the best chefs without compromising on standards. The restaurant is designed in traditional Punjabi s
8 Comments
hi
this bala from India i would like to work in usa but am not getting the position .i have three year experience in five star hotel if you have any vacancy please contact me it useful in my career please update me something in to me
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Glad to hear these Indian restaurants are striving to place Indian food among the top choices of where to dine out. These cities are examples of a growing cultural mix and represent a great springboard for this type of business.
I wonder if some of them could encourage take out with a drive thru window. A concept that’s so well embraced and steeped in American culture and popular among foodies.
Just a thought.
This list covers only 40% of Indian food and also listed only costly restaurants.I see mostly North Indian type restaurants here.Indian food tastes best at Mid size restaurants as the focus will be on food instead of surroundings.
List should also include restaurants serving foods of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Maharashtra and Karnataka States.
Many of the restaurants listed may have some varieties of south and central India but the taste, looks, feel and flavour will be bad as the cooks are from north India and bangladesh and not trained on cooking south indian foods.
Good list for North Indian and Bangla type food. This article needs definite update …..
You my dear friend have inferiority complex and are very very ignorant in this subject matter!! When you can clearly categorize South Indian Food based off different States – Kerala,Tamil, Andra, etc. you simply put North Indian Food in one category. I hope you realize North Indian Food also varies from state to state – Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, UP (Awadhi), MP, Kashmir (Wazwan), etc. And each place has its specialization in food.
And not sure where you got the knowledge of Bangladeshi cuisine. That’s influenced by Bengali cuisine, and not nexessarliy ‘North Indian Food’ as stated by you.
The “DESI” aka ABCD (American Born Confused Desi) cooks are a confused bunch. Talk about confused, there was another man over 400 years ago-Christoforo Colombo-he also didn’t know where he was going, when he got there, he didn’t know where he was, and when he got back, he didn’t know where he had been. He did it all with money borrowed from Queen Isabella. DESI cooks borrow money from the investors.
When you don’t know what you are doing call the cuisine Con “Fusion” and they get away by confessing their sins twice a day. As far as the food critics, these are free loaders of the society. They will give glorious reviews, as long as the food is free. They also taste every item in the menu and waste most of the food, since they are not paying their hard earned money like the rest of mere mortals do. Hence you don’t really see real people in these establishments. .
These places are not known for authentic Indian cooking nor authentic cooks. Authentic cooks are not into fusion cooking. Most of them are not cooks by tradition but copy-cats. The American chefs have no clue about Indian food. They experiment with the cuisine that was perfected over four hundred years ago that you cannot reproduce by a “reduction technique” The Fusion cuisine is more embellishments than authenticity, that caters to the bland American palate (like the bread with onion and raisins !) A real foodie will neither frequent or recommend them.
Second that!! Well said!!
Lousy list!!!. Looks like this author of the post hasn’t tasted Indian food!!!. Most of the restaurants mentioned above are a fusion & certainly not authentic Indian cuisine!. How come a Bangladeshi restaurant be a part of Indian cuisine?!. In that case Pakistani restaurants should have also been mentioned!. Besides most of the restaurants mentioned above are either Punjabi or Mughlai!!. Looks like the author doesn’t know about India & their cuisine!.