Diners' Choice: Indian restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area

OpenTable

Updated September 05, 2024

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Indian cuisine in San Francisco Bay Area? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Roti Indian Bistro - San Francisco

4.9

4.9 (1441)

$30 and under

Indian

Forest Hill / West Portal

About the restaurant

ROTI Indian Bistro marries casual, contemporary styling to classic Indian cuisine. The chefs take diners on a culinary tour of India, offering a taste of the North in the Tandoori meat dishes and hints of the South in the vegetarian curries. Fresh breads are available from the tandoor, a mesquite- fired clay oven unique to Indian cooking. Traditional freshly house roasted Indian spices to create a diverse fresh, menu. ROTI prides itself on the dining experience - at this popular new addition to the vibrant West Portal neighborhood, refined customer service from the attentive staff and fabulous food have established a higher standard of dining for the area.

Top review

robertvip

Dined on Sep 25, 2024

The owner was great! Thank you for your service today

Yeti Indian Cuisine Restaurant

4.6

4.6 (437)

$30 and under

Indian

Glen Ellen

About the restaurant

Our creative menu is a Nepalese-Indian fusion of both cultures. Our kitchen draws the best from Sonoma County by bringing you fresh seasonal produce meats & seafood. We offer traditional appetizers, curries, tandoori and a number of vegetarian dishes. We have international and local beers in addition to our extensive wine list.

Top review

Carolvip

Dined on Sep 20, 2024

Only reason why we couldn't give this a 5-star rating is because (for the second week in a row!) they were out of the two Indian beers on the menu! The chicken tikka masala was a hit.

Rasoi

4.8

4.8 (322)

$30 and under

Indian

Burlingame

About the restaurant

Rasoi is the next generation in the Aslam family’s vision to delight the Bay Area with their unique, award-winning Northern Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Sprung from master chef Mohammed Aslam’s widely celebrated flagship restaurant Aslam’s Rasoi in San Francisco’s Mission District, this creative collaboration by Mr. Aslam’s sons integrates the much beloved family-friendly Rasoi (Kitchen) concept into a contemporary restaurant and chill lounge setting on the peninsula. Executive Chef Asif Aslam performs magic in the kitchen by putting his own signature on a well-curated staple of mouth-watering family recipes. Drawing from his diverse experiences at his dad’s restaurant and as personal chef for a host of distinguished Bay Area personalities, one of the region’s most talented young restaurateurs enjoys nothing more than to enhance his culinary genes with the kinds of subtle accents known to elicit spontaneous “oohs.”

Top review

Nicolevip

Dined on Sep 15, 2024

We love Rasoi. Our favorite place to get Indian food in the peninsula.

Namaste Indian Cuisine - Palo Alto

4.6

4.6 (27)

$31 to $50

Indian

Palo Alto

About the restaurant

Namaste ! Since our inception in Monterrey in 2011, our passion for authentic Indian flavors has expanded to Santa Cruz and Los Gatos. Now, with a remarkable 12-year journey, we proudly find ourselves in Palo Alto.
Let our enchanting aromas transport you to a unique culinary adventure. Explore our diverse menu crafted with over two decades of expertise. Choose from succulent tandoori, fluffy naan, fragrant biryani, or vibrant curried entrees. Complement your selection with carefully curated wines and beers harmonizing with Indian spices.
Experience upscale casual dining with 50 and 24 al fresco seating options, providing a perfect setting to savor every layer of flavor in a vibrant ambiance. Namaste Indian Cuisine prioritizes inclusivity, offering a diverse menu with Halal dishes and tempting vegan options. We warmly welcome food enthusiasts of all kinds to immerse in this captivating culinary journey. Allow your curiosity to guide you and uncover delightful surprises that await.

Top review

Ashok

Dined on Aug 24, 2024

Outstanding food and service! Outstanding food and service!

Ajanta Restaurant

4.7

4.7 (1113)

$30 and under

Indian

Berkeley

About the restaurant

Ajanta features regional dishes from all over India, offered through a menu that changes every month. We feature organic chicken and vegetables. When possible, we use local and sustainable products. All seafood is sustainable, obtained from Monterey Fish Market. All meats are hormone- and antibiotic-free.

Ajanta has been voted best Indian restaurant in the entire San Francisco Bay Area by Zagat Guide from 2009-2014. We were also voted best Indian restaurant in the Bay Area A-List contest from 2009-2011 and 2013. In addition, we have received top reviews in several publications, including the East Bay Express, Diablo Magazine, and the Contra Costa Times. We are also included in Michelin Guide.

Our elegant dining hall features art inspired from the famous Ajanta caves in India.

Top review

Nitin

Dined on Sep 22, 2024

It was a wonderful experience. All the foods were super tasteful and had some real sense of Indian food. Chicken Pakora, Lamb Chop, Chicken Chaat, Chicken Wings, And none other than Pinot Noir Wine. All of them are so fresh and organic. Even wine is fresh and smooth. They have well maintained wine stocks you can see from your table. Overall a great experience with my wife and my infant son.

Broadway Masala

4.7

4.7 (497)

$30 and under

Indian

Redwood City

About the restaurant

Broadway Masala invites you try our ever evolving Indian cuisine along with personalized service and beautiful ambiance. Our menu is carefully crafted with fresh seasonal and local produce and offering the diversity of regional Indian fare.

Top review

Kolyan

Dined today

I’ve been here a few times. The food is always good. The service is excellent. It’s a great place to eat!

Amber India - Los Altos

4.7

4.7 (725)

$30 and under

Indian

Los Altos

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Amber India in Mountain View has earned the reputation of the best Indian Restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Inside the restaurant you’ll find that owner Vijay Bist strives to provide a cozy, relaxing, ‘walk back in time’ environment influenced by traditional Indian artwork and décor.

An extensive vegetarian and non-vegetarian North Indian menu explores the moghlai cuisine and tandoori cooking.

To complete a perfect dining experience, you will find an exceptional selection of cocktails, beers, fine wines and traditional Indian drinks along with friendly, courteous service.

Top review

Douglasvip

Dined 3 days ago

Great food as always. Monday night so I would expect quiet, but almost no one there. I hope that is not indicative.

The Essence - Walnut Creek

4.4

4.4 (35)

$30 and under

Indian

Walnut Creek

About the restaurant

The Essence Redefining Indian Food represents Indian food in all its eccentricity and diversity along with a high quality family dining experience. The Essence provides its guests a feel of traveling across India with all five senses and a plate. A beautiful extension is that the menu undergoes a change every two months with exciting add-ons. Also, whichever region The Essence makes its home, there is an adoption of the local cuisine by its menu.

Top review

Atulvip

Dined 6 days ago

Great experience overall. The food was distinctive and the ambience is that of the best Indian restaurants I’ve been to. I would absolutely recommend going here. A go to dish is the gobhi Manchurian. Basically Chinese spiced friend cauliflower.

Amber India - San Francisco

4.6

4.6 (2880)

$31 to $50

Indian

Downtown / Union Square

About the restaurant

Amber India Restaurant embodies the spirit and essence of fine Indian cuisine. Located in the heart of downtown San Francisco, Amber India Restaurant takes Indian cuisine to a new culinary level, while still holding true to its traditional nuances. Much like the ambiance within the restaurant, Amber India’s cuisine is a mix of modern style with traditional roots. The delectable cuisine, the well paired wines, and the exotic cocktails are sure to indulge anyone’s senses. The split-level three-story restaurant can easily accommodate 140 people, with a private dining room in the back for up to 25 people. With its vaulted ceilings, stylish décor, and a constant LED light show behind the bar, Amber India Restaurant is truly a feast for both the mouth as well as the eyes.

Top review

Travis

Dined 6 days ago

Fabulous brunch! You get to try so many different dishes, plus bottomless mimosas that are refilled before you can even finish a glass! Also brought a piece of ice cream cake for our friend’s bday, best food stop of our trip.

Pippal

4.5

4.5 (34)

$30 and under

Indian

Emeryville

About the restaurant

Pippal is a Culinary Adventure Through India. Pippal celebrates the country’s many diverse culinary regions, in a fast and casual environment.

Top review

Richardvip

Dined on Sep 16, 2024

Very interesting Indian food, a mixture of offerings from the North (Punjab, Rajasthan) and from the South. Our starters, gongura chicken and dahi vada (lentil fritters in a yogurt sauce with tamarind and mint chutney) were absolutely delicious. We could have chosen better for the main courses. The dungeness crab with Goan spices was slightly overcooked--roasting too long makes the crabmeat shrivel, dry out, and stick to the shell, though it makes the shell very easy to crack--but the southern Indian sauce with it was excellent. I was curious to try the beef asado, since this is a dish rarely found and then only in Catholic or Muslim areas of Indian. (Hindus tar and feather those they suspect of eating beef.) It was served on a puffy naan, like a beef pizza, and the Goan spices didn't manage to give it enough flavor (the beef also would have had a bit more taste if cooked slightly less), while the chewy puffy naan didn't have much either--the restaurant's thinner regul;ar chili naan was far better--though it was very good when dipped in the spicy sauce for the crab. We had to wait too long for our main dishes, for a reason not clear to me.I suspect that other main dishes are better and look forward to exploring more of the very creative menu. With the meal we drank an excellent and reasonably-priced Willamette Valley pinot noir. Service was knowledgeable , friendly, and efficient, particular our server Ressard, with whom we enjoyed talking. This restaurant is more upscale than most Indian restaurants, and prices are correspondingly higher. On this chilly evening the restaurant was a bit cold inside. It was also quite noisy at first, even though not jam-packed, very resonant because of the high ceiling and lack of sound-absorbing surfaces. I think it deserves a more upscale location than the Emery Bay shopping mall, as would befit its aspirations, and should have one that accommodates restrooms inside, instead of sending clients out to those of the mall.

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