“Extra Makhan please?”
Chinese, Continental, Japanese, and Italian Restaurants. These are the restaurants you often visit with your friends. They love these cuisines. But you? You need your Desi flavours. One of the downsides to staying away from home is missing the authentic mouth-watering flavours of India. As much as you can try to replicate recipes in your own way, you still miss the authentic tastes that originate from the Indian spices and salts. So does that mean you continue to miss the tasty food and miss out on all the extra flavours?
Here are the top 7 Desi Indian Restaurants in Melbourne
1. Delhi Streets:
If you want to feel a Desi vibe along with your Desi food, Delhi Streets is the restaurant to visit. Home to walls that are plastered with posters of your favourite Indian cricketers and Bollywood movies, Delhi Streets is sure to make you feel like you’re back in India.
As the name suggests, the restaurant is all about street food. Their menu consists of yummy chaats that you find on the roadside streets of Connaught Place and Chandni Chowk such as Bhelpuri, papri chaat, and pani puri. They serve scrumptious dosas with coconut chutney and are well-known for their Maharaja’s Thali. The icing on the cake in this case are the sugar-soaked gulab jamuns that will not disappoint you.
2. Tonka:
If you’re looking to experience Indian flavours in a modern setting accompanied by a tasty wine collection, we suggest that Tonka is the place to go. The restaurant takes advance bookings but is also accommodating to those who couldn’t get one by serving them in a separate section of the restaurant. With distressed modern interiors, Tonka elevates your desi dining experience.
Tonka is well known for its wide variety of bar snacks like soft shell crab pakora or even an Indian version of tuna tartar. Interesting right? They are also very well known for their tandoori dishes and Goan fish curries. You can access more details on the Desipedia App.
3. ISH
If you’re looking to go to a cosy restaurant and treat yourself to authentic Indian flavours, ISH should be your first choice among the Indian restaurants in Australia. They serve tasty indian food made with authentic spices and a whole lot of desi love. They also serve delicious cocktails, beer and a selected range of Indian Whiskeys.
ISH is known to have quick service. The speed, however, never takes away from the flavour. If you miss home food, they serve the best Rajma Chawal in Melbourne. While they stick to simple dishes like lamb cutlets and sambar, their flavours are as desi as they can be. If you want a taste of heaven, you must try their pink Lassi.
4. Horn Please
Horn Please creates a wide range of Indian food, right from Chaats to curries and Indian-flavoured ice creams. Horn Plasse has a desi ambiance with Indian writings and proverbs on the walls accompanied by Indian portraits.
Horn Please has a choice of 7 curries, of which 3 are vegetarian. HornPlease has catered to the challenge of finding vegetarian Indian food. They serve buttery naans and rich premium basmati rice. Their stand-out dish is the mouth watering creamy Dahl. Horn Please is known to not have extremely spicy food. So if you ever want to take your friends to taste Desi food, this is the location for you.
5. Babu Ji
As their restaurant quote says, “It’s not just rice and curry”, Babu ji established exactly that. If you want to try Indian flavours that are rare to find, this is the place to visit.
At Babu JI, they make their own paneer, a classic Indian ingredient. Their famous dishes consist of Palak Paneer and Lamb Chops. But the real winner is the Pani Puri. Their crispy puris stuffed flavoured mashed potato and chickpeas are filled with the tasty spicy pani you crave. This dish will take you right back to the streets of India!
6. Daughter In Law
If you want to travel back to the 60s and 70s in India, Daughter in Law does just that. With pink blush walls, the restaurant screens old indian bollywood movies. The restaurant also transports you back in time by playing the music of that era- Disco.
Kadhi, a famous yoghurt based turmeric curry is the most ordered dish at the Daughter In Laws. Another must have is their tandoor ribs served with raita, the famous yoghourt chutney. Most importantly, if you want your alcohol to have a desi taste, Daughter In law serves cocktails that do just that. They contain spices, mangoes and chillies. Just what any Indian beverage contains.
7. Curry Cafe
The key to your desi heart is through butter and spices in your stomach. Curry Cafe takes this quote seriously. As their name suggests, Curry Cafe specialises in Indian curries. But what sets them apart from the rest?
At Curry Cafe, the chefs use only spices that are sourced whole and green. They make their curries in an Indian vessel named Kadai. This highlights the flavours and spices in the curry. They also produce their own paneer, which is said to be soft and fresh, just like we Desi’s like it.
We are not as far away from Home than we think we are. You deserve to treat yourself to some buttery mouth-smacking spicy Indian food in Australia. Download the Desipedia App today to find Indian Desi Restaurants near you.