FOOD & SHOPPING

7 Indian Restaurants You Must Dine at in Australia

Devika Khosla

Last updated: Mar 20, 2020

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When travelling to a foreign country, it’s inevitable that you’ll be hit with cravings of Indian food. After stuffing yourself with local food, your taste buds will want a taste of delights like daal makhani, dosa, pav bhaji and paneer tikka. If you’re in Australia and find yourself in this situation and need to satiate your appetite, you’re in luck. You may not be on home turf but worry not because the variety of Indian restaurants in Australia is plenty! Here are 7 Indian restaurants in Australia to choose from.

Melbourne

melbourne-restaurant

Gaylord Indian Restaurant
For an authentic Indian fare with the usual staples, Gaylord Indian Restaurant rarely disappoints in spite of its unlikely location of being in heart of Chinatown. The menu features both non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes including popular tandoori items like tandoori chicken, tandoori mixed vegetables and shish kebab. Other must-trys at Gaylord Indian Restaurant are malai kofta, palak paneer, butter chicken and fish masala. There’s also a fixed thali menu on offer featuring both North and South Indian food during lunch at Gaylord Indian Restaurant.

Location: 33 Spencer St, Docklands 3008 (Inside the Hotel Grand)
Meal for two: Under AUD 75
Website: : www.gaylords.com.au
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday: Breakfast : 6:30 AM to 10:30 AM | Lunch: 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM | Dinner: 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM
Walking Distances: Travel Lodge / Novotel / Pan Pasicfic / Crown Plaza / Holliday Inn / IBIS Styles / Oaks on Market / West WestInn / Intercontinential : 5 minutes Walk

Nirankar Restaurant
For over two decades, Nirankar Restaurant has been serving the finest Indian and Nepalese cuisines in a classic setting. Using traditional cooking techniques and ingredients, the menu is a combination of gravy and dry non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes. Main entrées include vegetable kadai, chana aloo masala, chicken pistachio korma and lamb saag. There are also Nirankar Signature Dishes like Burmese fish curry and Nepalese goat curry that especially standout. Freshly made naans, parathas and rice dishes make for perfect accompaniments to any meal at Nirankar Restaurant.

Location: 174 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Meal for two: Under AUD 50
Website: http://nirankar.com.au/
Opening Hours: Lunch: 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Mondays to Fridays); Dinner: 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. (Mondays to Saturdays); Sunday Closed
Walking Distances: Rydges Melbourne/Novotel Melbourne on Collins: 13 minutes; Mercure Welcome Melbourne/The Swanston Hotel Melbourne Grand Mercure: 5 minutes

Sydney

sydney

Surjit’s Indian Restaurant
A family-run establishment operational since 1985, Surjit’s Indian Restaurant serves North Indian and tandoori delicacies. Filled with rich flavours, appetisers, mains and sides feature on the menu. When dining at Surjit’s Indian Restaurant do try the tandoori paneer, chooza tikka, lamb rogan josh and daal makhani. End your meal on a sweet note with khoya kulfi. Surjit’s Indian Restaurant is a BYO (bring your own) wine only restaurant with a corkage of AUD 2.50 per person.

Location: 215 Parramatta Road, Annandale NSW 2038
Meal for two: Under AUD 50
Website: http://www.surjits.com.au/the_surjits.html
Opening Hours: 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (daily)
Walking Distances: Mercure Sydney and Metro Hotel on Pitt: 11 minutes: The Menzies Sydney/The Westin Sydney: 4 minutes

Zaaffran
Serving some of the finest Indian food in the city, Zaaffran is an elegant restaurant with an outdoor dining deck alongside the Darling Harbour. Offering great water views and even better food, the chefs pride themselves in creating dishes with hints of modern creativity using traditional Indian recipes so as not to lose the authenticity of the flavours. Start your dining experience with Chowpatty pav bhaji and sev papri chaat before moving to the mains that include Nizami karahi murgh, sookhi bhindi, Fort Kochi moilee and murgh makhani. An assortment of naans and parathas along with delicious Indian desserts like gulab jamun and farzi firangi phirnee are also served at Zaaffran.

Location: Harbourside Shopping Centre, 10 Darling Drive, Harbourside Centre, Darling Harbour, Sydney NSW 2000
Meal for two: Under AUD 75
Website: http://www.zaaffran.com/
Opening Hours: Lunch: 12:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (daily); Dinner: 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (Mondays to Thursdays) and 5:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m. (Fridays to Sundays)
Walking Distances: Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour/Ibis Sydney Darling Harbour: 4 minutes; Novotel Rockford Darling Harbour: 10 minutes

Cairns

marinades

Marinades
A welcoming ambience, attentive service and lip-smacking food are the main highlights at Marinades. Serving traditional North Indian food, the menu features starters like murgh bazaar kebab and paneer tikka, vegetarian mains like Navrattan korma and dum aloo Benarsi and non-vegetarian mains like murg malai, Bengali fish curry and mutton rogan josh. Biryanis and an assortment of rotis, naans and parathas are also served at Marinades where a delicious homely meal is guaranteed.

Location: 43 Spence Street, Cairns City QLD 4870
Meal for two: Under AUD 40
Website: http://marinadescairns.tumblr.com/
Opening Hours: Lunch: 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (Mondays to Fridays); Dinner: 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (daily)
Walking Distances: Rydges Plaza Cairns: 2 minutes; Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort/Shangri-La Hotel: 6 minutes; Holiday Inn Cairns Harbourside: 13 minutes

Tandoori Oven
A casual and cosy eatery, Tandoori Oven serves a wholesome Indian fare. The menu includes an array of appetisers, entrées, sides and desserts. Some menu favourites at Tandoori Oven are Afghani murgh, daal tadka, prawn curry and kadhai chicken. Non-vegetarian and vegetarian biryanis, Indian breads like garlic naan and masala kulcha and desserts like gulab jamun and kulfi. Tandoori Oven is a Halal restaurant.

Location: 33 Spence Street, Cairns City QLD 4870
Meal for two: Under AUD 35
Website: http://www.tandoorioven.net.au/
Opening Hours: Lunch: 11:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Mondays to Fridays); Dinner: 5:00 p.m. - 10 p.m. (daily)
Walking Distances: Rydges Plaza Cairns/Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort: 5 minutes; Shangri-La Hotel/Holiday Inn Cairns Harbourside: 10 minutes

Surfers Paradise

surfers paradise

Tandoori Place
For a home-cooked pan-regional style Indian fare, make your way to Tandoori Place. If you get hungry early in the day, drop in for their Breakfast menu that includes aloo purie, stuffed parathas and non-vegetarian and vegetarian pakoras. Over the weekends, you can enjoy South Indian staples like dosas idlis and vadas. The regular menu at Tandoori Place includes starters, mains, sides and desserts, all of which are prepared using traditional spices for authentic flavours.

Location: AEGEAN Building, 30 Laycock Street, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
Meal for two: Under AUD 35
Website: http://www.tandooriplace.menu/
Opening Hours: 11 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. (daily)
Walking Distances: Islander Resort Hotel/Hotel Grand Chancellor: 5 minutes; Trickett Gardens Holiday Inn: 9 minutes

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Comments

zoe jones | on 07 August 2018

Moti Mahal Indian Restaurant on Glenferrie Road in Malvern really knows India top dishes! Our skilled chefs work hard to cook some of the best Indian cuisine in the area and deliver it with a smile. To know more please visit at or call on (03) 9509 2931