Much like its physical landmass, India’s cuisine is overwhelmingly expansive. A unique cultural blend of Portuguese and Konkani influences is found in Goan cooking, as well as border-crossing dishes made in the North and a wide range of varieties in between. Within Austin’s relatively small city limits, a wealth of restaurants, food trucks, and bodega kitchens provide takes on curries, biryani, and anything prepared in a tandoor. The scene has grown so much that it can feel impossible to narrow down, but these spots cook up some of the best Indian in Austin.
In this update, Shallots, Pav Bhaji Express, and Sivestar join the list. Bombay Dhaba and Saffron Indian & Nepalese Cuisine rotate out.
For more regional fare from the greater Asian continent, scope out Austin’s best bets for halal, Southeast Asian food, Chinese, dim sum, Thai, Korean barbecue, and sushi, as well as a guide to the spiciest foods and restaurants found in the city.
Mandi with chicken tandori at Rock N Grill. | Rock N Grill
1702 N Mays St Suite A, Round Rock, TX 78664, USA
(512) 660-5373
At this Round Rock restaurant, find Southern and Northern Indian food, including goat and mutton dishes to pakoras (fritters), spicy fried fish to tandoori (grilled meats), paneer entrees, and dosas (savory thin South Asian pancakes basically). The menu covers practically every corner of cuisines found in the country, and even offers unique drinks inspired by places beyond India’s borders, like the Irani Chai, made with a black tea from Iran and mixed with boiled milk and sugars for a distinctively different and delicious taste. Expect plenty of tables should you go to dine in, or rock out and order in with Uber Eats and Doordash.
Curries and more at Suprabhat. | Suprabhat
9225 W Parmer Ln Suite 108, Austin, TX 78717, USA
(512) 996-9499
Suprabhat in Davis Spring focuses on vegetarian dishes from across India. There are plenty of chaats, such as chopped samosas, along with idlis (thick rice cakes) topped with chutneys, and so many dosas. There’s also a section dedicated to Jain cuisines, where the dishes are made without onions and garlic. While the restaurant offers online orders to-go or for takeout with UberEats — although selecting that option means missing out on the kitschy dining space that is themed to an Indian village.
Crispy bursting pani puri at Bombay Street Food. | Bombay Street Food
13775 Research Blvd, Austin, TX 78729, USA
(737) 333-2425
With food trucks in both Anderson Mill and Cedar Park, Bombay Street Food is all about Indian snacks. From the crispy bursting pani puri (crispy hallowed balls filled with chutney, spices, potatoes, and chickpeas), the flavorful ragda chaat (potato patties topped with chutneys) and vada pavs (deep-fried potato sandwiches), to the samosa chaats (chunks of samosas topped with chickpeas and chutneys), the menu goes the distance in importing over beloved street food dishes. Both locations have limited seating, with the Cedar Park truck offering covered picnic tables and Anderson Mill’s truck having a few tables as well, it is also easy enough to sample the street food without having to set foot outside through DoorDash.
Sangam Chettinad Indian Cuisine
Chili ppaneer from Sangam Chettinad Indian Cuisine. | Sangam Chettinad Indian Cuisine
6001 W Parmer Ln #140, Austin, TX 78727, USA
(512) 770-1104
While the Milwood restaurant offers dishes from the entire country of India, its specialties lean more towards Southern Indian, especially Chettinad cuisine from the Tamil Nadu state. The breakfast menu includes egg dosas, idiyappam (rice noodles) paired with coconut milk, and potato masalas. The lunch and dinner menus are more expansive, with entrees such as mutton chops, tangy fish curries, boiled egg masalas, idlis, dosas, and halwa (a pudding-ish dessert). You can grab any mealtime dish to go or have it delivered on Uber Eats and Doordash, but consider coming into Sangam, getting a table, and sampling a few margaritas from the bar before ordering some masala.
Murgh malai tikka at Murgh Malai Tikka | New Sitara Indian Cuisine
1779 Wells Branch Pkwy Suite 102, Austin, TX 78728, USA
(512) 358-6283
The Wells Branch restaurant serves great Indian food for lunch and dinner with an Indian buffet. New Sitara’s tempting dishes will make it difficult to avoid second and third helpings. There is so much to sample, including Goan shrimp, all sorts of tandoori proteins from paneer to chicken wings, biryanis, and rasmalai (a cheese-based sweet). While a buffet is best experienced in person, you can semi-attempt one at home by having its dishes delivered or taken to-go, but unless you have enough serving trays, why not go in person?
12221 Riata Trace Pkwy, Austin, TX, 78727, US
(512) 638-5029
Elegant Indian dining has found a home in North Austin at Shallots. Chef Vinod Kumar, formerly at Michelin-starred Semma, brings a farm-to-table style modern Indian experience to further spice up the local scene with dishes like wild-caught atlantic red snapper moilee and pasture-raised goat biryani. Each plate is like a work of art, and that thankfully carries beyond the visual into a depth of flavor that hits both spice and seasoning.
Bombay Express
13000 N Interstate 35, Austin, TX 78753, USA
(512) 491-5055
In far north Austin, this vegetarian and vegan restaurant serves up daily specials with both Northern — aloo (potato) parathas, puri bhaji puris paired with potatoes — and Southern regional fare, like many dosas. Inside, Bombay Express’s plain interior keeps the focus of each visit on the vibrant flavors coming out of the kitchen. Opt for the thalis — essentially meals — where diners can order two curries with rice, dal, snacks, and salad in their dining room or have it at home via delivery or to-go.
Bombay to Kathmandu Kitchen and Curry Pizza
6700 Middle Fiskville Rd 406, Austin, TX, 78752, US
(512) 344-9679
Now in Highland, Bombay to Kathmandu serves great Indian and Nepalese dishes. Momos, kormas, and thalis, plus some fusion like french fry chaat with chutney, yogurt, and chickpeas, can all be seen served around its dining room along with the signature dish: curry pizzas. Chicken makhani, paneer and chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and lamb vindaloo all top crispy pie crusts for a spiced-up slice of pizza. While there’s plenty of room inside, why not order a curry pizza to go or delivered by Uber Eats or Doordash to shake up your pizza delivery routine?
5000 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX, 78756, US
(737) 386-0486
This Indian vegetarian food truck in Allandale South teases gym goers at neighboring Austin Simply Fit. Dosa Shack is all about dosas, from original styles with fillings such as potatoes and onions or cottage cheese, as well as uttapam, chaat, and sandwiches like its paneer spinach melt. Beyond the dosas, diners can grab a table on the fake grass atop the parking lot asphalt and sample samosa nachos with a side of peri peri mayo or satisfy their sweet tooth with a rose caramel or triple chocolate doffles (waffle bites made with dosa batter on sticks). Skip the wait and order online, or have your dose of dosa delivered by Uber Eats, Favor and Doordash.
2819 Guadalupe Street, Austin, Texas 78705
(737) 770-9351
Mousam Spice House, with locations at North Campus, South Austin, and North Austin, is perfect for anyone looking for South Asian foods with a touch of Mexican style. There are burritos stuffed with paneer and chicken, tacos with paneer or chicken, and Chicken 65 that’s deep-fried, spiced and served with a house chutney. There are also classic curries, dal, momos, and samosas alongside Indo-Chinese dishes like gobi chicken Manchurian, deep-fried chicken in soy sauce, and chow mein with paneer, for a wide geographic range of flavors — all found in this food truck at a gas station. While you could snack as you fill your tank, it’s a better idea and experience to order it to go or delivered via Uber Eats, Postmates, and Doordash.
The curry queso, made with tomato masala and tadka. | Electric Gravy
1050 East 11th Street, Suite 100, Austin, Texas 78702
(512) 904-0000
Sisters with Chinese-American cuisine cooking neighbor Old Thousand, Electric Gravy is what would happen if a Mumbai bar suddenly found itself on East Eleventh. Before indulging in a curry like the Goan-style pork vindaloo with its spicy and tangy curry sauce, take a chip and dip it in the curry queso, made of tomato masala, tadka, and, of course, cheese, to experience the remix of expectations for flavors at a sit-down Indian restaurant. The space inside is a playful, technicolor bar with Bollywood posters and curtains made from a rainbow of different fabrics. Facing the street, grab a table on their covered patio while sipping a dirty chai espresso martini in the shade. Electric Gravy is also available to-go, or delivered by Uber Eats, Postmates, Favor, and Doordash.
1614 E 7th St, Austin, TX 78702, USA
(512) 350-2919
Indian food with influences from Texas and Mexico can be found at this East Austin restaurant. Look for spicy curries, paneer quesadillas, keema (ground lamb) enchiladas, and South Asian tacos with fillings like chicken Tandoori and lamb masala. The fusion approach carries over into the margarita menu with a curried version, a cardamon one, and a pomegranate option. There is another location on South Congress and a Bee Cave location, and all have a playful and colorful design. While the South Congress spot is more of a typical outlet in a strip mall and only has seats inside the vibrant restaurant, the one on East 7th is host to both a well-sized and shaded patio, along with tables inside. Anyone uninterested in dining out can always pick up an order to-go or have it delivered by Favor.
30 N Interstate 35, Austin, TX, 78701, US
(737) 230-3573
While we still miss G’raj Mahal, these savory saviors of late nights on Rainey deliver fantastic Mumbai-style street food just a few blocks south — the multi-truck setup of Pav Bhaji Express sits in the shadow of the funky rounded Holiday Inn. Come early or order in late some vada pav, a deep fried potato inside a bread bun, or the namesake Pav Bhaji with spiced and mashed vegetable curry (bhaji) served with soft and buttered bread rolls (pav).
7101 W Highway 71, Austin, TX, 78735, US
(512) 215-9155
Sivestar is the local Indian answer to Chipotle, blending Mexican and Indian food to make flavorful fusion in Oak Hill. While there are plenty of more traditional dishes, the reason to go is to get a burrito, taco, or bowl stuffed with the likes of lamb barbacoa or curry chicken. With house-made tortillas freshly pressed for each order, Sivestar is proof that tasteful things happen when cuisines come together.
3601 W William Cannon Dr #450, Austin, TX 78749, USA
(512) 608-4013
Southcross Plaza’s South Asian restaurant is centered on tandoori of all sorts, where spiced items are cooked in a special clay oven, including lamb, goat, shrimp, paneer, chicken, and pomplet — a type of fish cooked bone-in. There are also more general pan-Indian dishes like samosas, koftas, aloo gobi, curries, and some Indo-Chinese specialties cooked up and served in this bar-meets-biryani restaurant. For those looking to indulge from home, you can order to-go and have it delivered by Uber Eats and Doordash.
Asiana Indian Cuisine
801 E William Cannon Dr, #205, Austin, TX 78745, USA
(512) 445-3435
This Far South Austin spot serves up some of the best not-to-be-missed South and North Indian dishes inside an unassuming strip mall parallel to I-35. From vegetable samosas, gobi manchurian (cauliflower florets cooked with soya sauce), to tandoori meats and sweet or salty lassis (a blended drink of yogurt, ice, water and spices), Asiana focuses on the vibrant flavors and hosts a simple dining space inside the restaurant, while also providing pickup via Clover and delivery by Uber Eats, Doordash, and Postmates.
9900 S Interstate 35 Ste P900, Austin, TX, 78748, US
(512) 599-4025
Jaipur Palace is named after the capital of the state of Rajasthan, and serves a variety of regional dishes in Southpark Meadows. The menu highlights include tandoori gobi (cauliflower grilled in a tandoor), parathas and stuffed kulcha bread, biryanis, and a sweet and savory mango chicken dish. With a small patio with picnic tables out front and a well-appointed interior with cascade blue walls holding up unique pieces of art, Jaipur Palace brings a sense of taste to the strip mall in more ways than one. For a taste at home, order to-go, or have it delivered by Uber Eats, Doordash, or Favor.