Indian
- Aarzu, Freehold, NJ
- Abhiruchi, North Brunswick, NJ
- Aroma Palace, Montclair, NJ
- Brick Lane Curry House, Montclair, NJ
- Burger Walla, Newark, NJ
- Calcutta Chinese, Edison, NJ
- Dosa Grill, North Brunswick, NJ
- Jassi Sweets, Iselin, NJ
- Ming, Edison, NJ
- Rasoi II, Iselin, NJ
- Sapthagiri, Jersey City, NJ
- Swagath Gourmet, Edison, NJ
Favorites
Worth a Visit
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On My List to Try
- Aamantran Indian Cuisine, Toms River, NJ
- Afghan Kabab & Grill, Hamilton, NJ
- Ali Babba Sweets & Restaurant, Iselin, NJ
- Anjappar Chettinad, North Brunswick, NJ
- Bay Leaf, South Orange, NJ
- Bengali Sweet House, Jersey City, NJ
- Bhoj, Elmwood Park, NJ
- Bollywood Grill, Parsippany, NJ
- Bollywood Tadka, East Brunswick, NJ
- Bombay Gardens, East Brunswick, NJ
- Bombay Grill, North Brunswick, NJ
- Chand Palace, Parsippany, NJ
- Chowpatty, Iselin, NJ
- Cinnamon, Morris Plains, NJ
- Clove, Phillipsburg, NJ
- Coriander, Edison, NJ
- Deccan Spice, Jersey City, NJ
- Delhi Garden, Edison, NJ
- Desi Food Galaxy, Somerset, NJ
- Dhoom, Secaucus, NJ
- Dimple's Bombay Talk, Iselin, NJ
- Dosa Express, Iselin, NJ
- Dosa Hut, Jersey City, NJ
- Eggmania, Jersey City, NJ
- Haldi Chowk, Parlin, NJ
- Hoysala, Somerset, NJ
- Indian Aroma, Rockaway, NJ
- Indiya, Collingswood, NJ
- Kalluri Corner, Princeton, NJ
- Kochi, East Windsor, NJ
- Malabar House, North Brunswick, NJ
- Mantra, Paramus, NJ
- Moghul, Edison, NJ
- Moghul Express, Edison, NJ
- Myilai Masala, Hamilton, NJ
- Namaste, Edgewater, NJ
- New India Palace, Rahway, NJ
- Nimit Palace, Vorhees, NJ
- Nirvana Indian Kitchen, Allendale, NJ
- Pakvaan Desi Spice, Edison, NJ
- Palace of Asia, Cherry Hill, NJ
- Paratha Hut, Franklin Park, NJ
- Persis Biryani & Indian Grill, Picataway, NJ
- Pooja, Warren Township, NJ
- Punjabi Rasoi, Somerset, NJ
- Rajbhog Cafe, Cherry Hill, NJ
- Saffron, East Hanover, NJ
- Shakthi, Parsippany, NJ
- Shalimar, Iselin, NJ
- Sigri Indian BBQ, Newark, NJ
- Spice Melange, Metuchen, NJ
- Spice Zone, Edison, NJ
- Sri Dosa Place, Iselin, NJ
- Sri Ganesh’s Dosa House, Parsippany, NJ
- Sunshine Palace, Iselin, NJ
- Talk of the Town, Iselin, NJ
- Tandoori Chef, Hackensack, NJ
- Udipi Cafe, Franklin Park, NJ
- Volga, Iselin, NJ
- Zaika BBQ & Grill, Edison, NJ
- iSpice, North Brunswick, NJ
Indian
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Indian
New Jersey is home to the third-largest Indian population in the United States. I can’t begin to do justice to New Jersey’s best Indian food. Travel the Iselin-Edison-North Brunswick corridor, especially Oak Tree Road just off the Parkway in Edison, and you’ll find plenty of Indian restaurants, markets and sweets shops.
Like “Chinese” food, “Indian” is the catch-all American description of many distinct regional cuisines (and often the shared historical cuisines of India’s South Asian neighbors – Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). Jersey diners can easily find North Indian, Punjabi, South Indian and even Indo-Chinese food; many Indian restaurant menus feature a variety of regional dishes. Indian cuisine is known for vegetarian (Aloo Gobi, Palak Paneer) and meat dishes cooked with intense spice mixes (Masalas), flatbreads (Roti, Paratha, Naan), marinated meats grilled in the Tandoor oven, and hearty rice Biryanis. I’m a big fan of all of the above. I’m just learning the regional origin of familiar Indian menu items – Tandoor, Naan, and Lassi (Punjab); Rogan Josh (Kashmir); Pakoras (Uttar Pradesh); Dosas, Sambar, and Idli (South India); andVindaloo (Goa).
One way to tell Jersey Indian restaurants apart (ditto for Thai restaurants), is whether the spice level of dishes has been reduced for (perceived) American tastes. Compare Mehndi in Morristown with Abhiruchi in North Brunswick and you will taste the difference.
Links
A One-day Snacker’s Guide to Edison, NJ, One of America’s Best Indian Food Destinations
The Best Indian Food In New York Is Actually in New Jersey
Flavors of India
Day Trip: Edison and Iselin, New Jersey
Indian Restaurants Rt 27 Franklin Park NJ to Somerset NJ
Indian Restaurants, Snacks – Sweets: Oak Tree Road, Edison NJ to Iselin NJ
New Jersey Indian Restaurants Reviews
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Definitely try Sukh Sagar on 1347 Stelton Road, Piscataway. It’s all vegetarian, and has a different buffet every lunch. Food’s always fresh.
Best Indian, Chinese and thai fusion food in an upscale ambiance
Thanks for the tip.
Kailash is by far the best Indian food in NJ. They haven there for 17 years and with food and service like this it’s easy to see why.
Sounds good – I’m always looking to add the best South Jersey ethnic food to the map. AC Casino restaurants would be a separate category though, since EthnicNJ focuses mostly on family-owned places.
Royal Albert’s Palace at the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City has the most extensive, menu. The food is excellant! The service is top notch! South Jersey area has phenomenal ethnic restaurants. I’m surprised that this website doesn’t feature more of the South Jersey region…???
I have and nothing stood out. My favorite Essex County Indian restaurants are Aroma Palace and Brick Lane Curry House in Montclair.
Have you tried Sona in Maplewood?
Nice list! I like Urban Spice on Oak Tree Road. Their weekend grand buffet is worth trying. Authentic taste and pleasant service. http://urbanspice.com/contactUs.html
Also one of the nicest restaurants for Indian street food is Mithaas in Edison. Its got amazing chaats, chana bhatura, pav bhaji and even makki ki roti with sarson ka saag! Trendy ambience too.
Guys i am looking for an indian street in New York something like Oak Tree Road any ideas….?
Thanks for the tip. Looks good for South Indian vegetarian. Just added Udipi to my list of places to try.
Udipi on 27 is wonderful.
Glad you enjoyed Aroma Palace. Brick Lane Curry House is also worth a visit next time you’re in Montclair.
Thanks for recommending Aroma Palace in Montclair. My wife and I just came back from dinner. We were very impressed. We’ve been looking for a nice Indian restaurant to serve as our “go-to” since we moved to Bergen county from NYC about a year ago, and have been disappointed with our experiences until this evening. We’ve heard that Edison has some great places but frankly that is a little too far from where we are. We will definitely go back to Aroma Palace soon and it will be in our rotation of ethnic restaurants going forward.
As far as the food…we ordered the vegetarian combination plate, mulligatawny soup, lamb vindaloo, palak paneer, chicken korma and garlic nan. They were all great. The naan and the palak paneer were some of the best we’ve ever had. The paneer was especially impressive. Most places the cheese overwhelms the entire dish but at Aroma we could really taste the spinach distinctly from the cheese. The vindaloo and the korma were also excellent (fyi, the waiter asked from a scale of 1-10 how spicy we would prefer each dish; I asked for a 7 on the vindaloo and when I had it I thought it could be a little spicier, but I tend to enjoy very spicy foods). I also recommend the soup highly.
There was only 1 waiter but he was very knowledgeable and friendly and kept things moving very quickly. We thought it would be more crowded on a Saturday night but that wasn’t the case. Really not a problem for us because we hate waiting anyway.
Nice list!
Completley agree with you on Abhiruchi in North Brunswick . Ambience it does not have.. but in terms of authentic cusine and good prices, it is among the best.
Of course, the standard Palace of Asia is still awesome. Out in here in South Jersey, we still consider Palace of Asia the best around.. it is closer to the Taj standard of New Delhi cooking.
Thanks for the tip. Which is your favorite among the three?
Hey you guys ever tried dimple fast food and dimples Bombaytalk if not I would recommend you try they ate the best and popular among the Indians . Also dimples khasiyat also is amazing with 99 kinda of parathas . If you have not tried these 3 then you have not been to a good restaurant .
Raj
My family is from South India and the most authentic restaurant I’ve eaten in is Anjapar in North Brunswick on route 130. Many of the dishes served here seemed to come out of my own mother’s kitchen and take me back to eating in my house growing up. You’ll find items not commonly found in most other indian restaurants and the flavors have not been watered down for American tastes.
Been doing Indian food since the first one opened up on Inman Ave, Colonia over 30 years ago (Taj Mahal, since burned down and no longer a restaurant).
One of my wife’s favorite is Raagini on Rt 22 East in Mountainside. It is definitely pricey, but has been generally consistent over the years. Try the Hayward 5000 beer with the food.
Second favorite is Spice Melange on Main Street in Metuchen. It is BYO, so I bring my own Hayard, Taj Mahal of Kingfisher beer to enjoy with my fav, Chicken Tandoori.
The Oak Tree Road section of Iselin is teeming with places I would like to try, although I have been disappointed at the few I’ve tried. So many choices!
Chowpatty is now on the map. Thanks!
What about chowpatty on Oak Tree Road in Iselin? It’s essentially a sit down SE Indian chat shop with dosa’s the size of a 4 year old child. It’s worth the 50 minute drive from Bergen County to get there.
Thanks, I’ve added Ali Babba to the map. I was just in London, but didn’t have a chance to try any curry shops.
I usually go to the Ali Babba Sweets on Oak Tree in Iselin because the girl speaks pretty good English and you can watch them prepare your food at the counter. I go there mostly because the Desi Galaxy food court next door was destroyed by fire over the summer.
I wonder if there are any British-style curry restaurants in New Jersey? They are usually Bangladeshi and the food is sauce-based curries. Perhaps the Ali Babba comes as close as I’ll get, especially because when I asked her what she calls the goat curry, she said “Goat Curry.”