The 18 Best Indian Restaurants in Montreal

Bombay Mahal in Parc-Ex has served Mumbai-style Indian cooking adapted for local palates since the early 2000s. Opened by owner Suresh from Gujarat—a state on India’s western coast—the restaurant honours Mumbai by its former name, Bombay, with “Mahal” meaning palace. The flavourful menu features aromatic curries, tandoor (clay oven) preparations, expertly seasoned dishes like butter chicken and biryani, and extensive vegetarian options. Colourful murals in the dining room impart a lively tone, while a BYOB policy keeps each meal at a wallet-friendly price.

Tula is a plant-based Indian restaurant in the Plateau offering brunch, lunch, and dinner service, with thali tasting platter options at brunch and lunch. The à la carte menu includes salads, classic curries, biryani, fusion dishes like poutine with vegan cheese and Indian-inspired sauces, and Pan-Asian dishes like General Tso’s vegan chicken. Inside is a mix of beige-toned wood, white walls, a plethora of plants, and wicker light fixtures—creating a warm, earthy, modern space reminiscent of the cuisine itself.

For over 20 years, Restaurant Gandhi has welcomed guests at its Old Montreal restaurant, where Chef Ali Monnaf serves a diverse menu of Indian specialties including clay oven-charred tandoori, fragrant curry, and spiced biryani, with popular dishes like vindaloo and onion bhaji—a crispy fritter that’s battered and fried. The dining room has soft lighting, crisp white tablecloths, bistro-style tables, and pastel yellow walls, while traditional Indian music plays softly in the background.

Known for authentic, flavourful dishes at affordable prices, Verdun’s Palais d’Ajit is modestly whipping up favourites like butter chicken and lamb curry, alongside thali platters and tiffin service—light-packed lunches that come in stacked stainless steel containers. The restaurant itself is rather unassuming, despite its orange exterior and a multicoloured lightbox sign that illuminates at night, but its food more than redeems the restaurant’s lack of curb appeal, as does its BYOB policy.

Daljit Kumar Mohan opened Pushap in 1986 as an Indian dessert and samosa shop in Côte-des-Neiges, where it has stood for over forty years. While the restaurant has since departed from its more focused menu, it still serves samosas and desserts as part of an all-vegetarian bill of fare. Breads cooked in the tandoor, soups, light meals, and lentil curries are staples, and prices remain incredibly affordable, with thalis coming in at just $8.75 or $10.50.

Meetha began on Instagram in 2020, with the ice cream shop’s founders, Aakruti and Deexit, offering pickup from their house or delivering their product straight to customers’ doors. Not much later, in mid-2021, the crèmerie’s storefront opened in Parc-Ex. Though this spot is, clearly, not a restaurant, Meetha’s commitment to incorporating classic Indian flavours into ice cream and desserts warranted a spot on our list of Indian restaurants. A constantly rotating soft-serve swirl headlines Meetha’s daily menu, with scoops staying consistent and including flavours like gulab jamun, a traditional Indian dessert of fried dough balls soaked in warm sugar syrup; Parle-G, an Indian biscuit typically paired with chai; and mango rasmalai.

Le Super Qualité is a snack bar and restaurant that prepares a focused list of South Indian small plates and main dishes at its location on Bélanger. Dahi batata puri, Marathi salad, and fried chicken with a homemade masala are three of the five snack options. For mains, pav bhaji—bread rolls with a spicy vegetable mash—masala dosa, veg thali, and a chicken biryani complete the menu. Whether you’re there for a light bite and a cocktail, or for a full meal, the snack bar’s bright blue room and retro-inspired kitchen counter (with cheeky, tiffin-style tin pendant lights) remain equally welcoming.

At Saint-Henri’s Rasoï, fresh ingredients, traditional cuisine, and a cozy but eclectic atmosphere are the standard. The Indian tapas restaurant has exposed brick walls, hot pink, yellow, and purple ceiling murals with a psychedelic effect, and a carved Ganesh-style elephant deity, amongst other oddities. Despite its alternative look, the menu’s flavours remain fairly authentic. Dishes like pani puri, chicken tikka, and chana samosa chaat take up the appetizers section, while plates like chana masala, chicken vindaloo, and dal makhani occupy the main course section.

At Rendez-vous, chef-owner Chakradhar Chandel cooks up authentic, aromatic Indian food from the Saint-Denis Street kitchen. Garlic naan, paneer lababdar, dahi ke kebab, and mutton rarah are a range of dishes all served in a casual bistro setting with black leather booths and chairs and Turkish mosaic pendant lights hanging above. Though Rendez-vous is known across the island for many reasons, the foremost might be its Sunday afternoon Mighty Thali special. Inspired by the legendary Maharaja Thali of Rajasthan, the platter comes with vegetarian or non-vegetarian options and includes a mix of dishes, naan, chutney, and desserts.

Shaaz is a local Indian chain, with one restaurant in Montreal and four in Ontario. Its menu is expansive, boasting a long list of traditional chicken, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian dishes, curries, kheema, biryanis, and its signature mandi (a popular meat and rice dish). Beyond its authentic Indian offerings, Shaaz also has a separate section of Hakka rice and noodles, Chinese appetizers, and fusion mandi—all served in a colourful dining room with blue walls, red velvet booths, and yellow velvet chairs.

Photographs of the Taj Mahal, animals native to India, and desert dunes line the walls of Dosa Pointe, a restaurant in Parc-Ex. That about sums up the restaurant’s decor, but it barely touches upon the flavours and stories within which the food is rooted. Founded by immigrant Sanjay Verma and his family, Dosa Pointe brings the authentic dosa of Hyderabad to Jean Talon Street, along with several other dishes with Indo-Chinese influence. On the savoury side, Verma’s kheema dosa is a favourite, as is the manchurian; for sweeter flavours, the mango lassi and gulab jamun excel.

Though Restaurant Kuljit is tucked within a Saint-Laurent strip mall, outfitted with fluorescent lighting, simple black chairs, and wood-laminate tables, its food is anything but modest. The family-owned spot specializes in a variety of traditional vegetarian and non-vegetarian North Indian dishes, sporting an extensive menu of appetizers, main dishes, and breads. It’s BYOB, but it does offer some non-alcoholic drink options, like mango lassi, Indian tea, and mango shakes.

Chez Devi is a downtown Montreal restaurant that’s been preparing authentic Indian cuisine with fresh ingredients for over 20 years. Traditional meat dishes are complemented by an array of vegetarian, vegan, and halal options on the menu—tandoori chicken, lamb korma, and paneer tikka masala, to name a few. On weekends, an all-you-can-eat Indian buffet and a brunch buffet take over the space, but Monday through Thursday, it also has an all-you-can-eat menu option for $34.95.

Owner Vinod Kapoor opened Le Taj in 1985, aiming to cultivate an upscale atmosphere where Indian cuisine could be enjoyed on white tablecloths, amid decor reverent of his native country (Kapoor was previously an Indian art and antique dealer and collector), and paired with fine wine to boot. Kapoor can still be seen walking through the dining room, still in its original space downtown. From Tuesday to Sunday, Le Taj serves a lunch buffet service, and dinner remains à la carte daily, with an optional table d’hôte at $65 per person. You’ll find traditional plates like pakora, tandoori chicken, lamb vindaloo, and aloo gobi, alongside a well-curated wine list chosen to complement the richness of the spices.

Lakshana’s is Montreal’s first restaurant to serve authentic fare from Chettinad—a town in South India’s Tamil Nadu state. Curries, dosas, and biryanis are the restaurant’s forte, made using a range of masalas, including turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, cloves, and more. Its two locations in Côte-des-Neiges and downtown have similar offerings, but the CDN menu leans broader, with lamb curries, tandoor, naan, and thali combos, with slightly lower prices, while the downtown location has a narrower set of appetizers like chilli paneer, chilli chicken, and chicken pakora.

Darbar is a family-run Punjabi restaurant on Saint-Laurent that brings classic North Indian food to an upscale-casual environment. Moody lighting defines the atmosphere, while Chef Simar Singh redefines Indian cooking in the kitchen. Singh cooks up three seasonal menus a year—fall/winter, spring, and summer—keeping each dish fresh in both concept and ingredients. No matter what you order, whether aloo gobi or shrimp tandoori, the plate will arrive as a work of artistry and passion.

Rutba’s exposed brick wall and natural lighting—complete with wicker chandeliers and hanging plants—are perhaps among the draws to this Plateau Indian restaurant, but the food is really what brings locals back time and time again. Large portions of tender lamb curry, a crispy and tangy samosa chaat, and a creamy dal makhani showcase the kind of home-style flavour-forward character that’s signature to Indian cooking. Pair anything with a warm garlic naan, and it’s easy to see why Rutba has become a neighbourhood favourite.

At Bawarchi, Hyderabadi Indian cuisine is on the menu. Combos come with a main dish of your choice (dal tadka, butter chicken, chana masala, mutton ghee roast), rice, butter naan, and a soft drink, while various vegetable, chicken, seafood, and lamb appetizers are available, along with biryanis, curries, tandoori, and Indo-Chinese dishes. The restaurant’s downtown storefront creates a casual but stylish atmosphere to enjoy your food, with sage green leather booths, wood-panelled walls and ceilings, and globe pendant lights.