Fourteen Edinburgh Indian restaurants I'd actually send you to, from Dishoom's Bombay-cafe glamour to a £10.55 curry at a 1979 Southside institution, with exact prices, real opening hours and one honest catch at each.
If you only have one Indian meal in Edinburgh, book Dishoom on St Andrew Square for the Bombay-cafe atmosphere and the bacon naan roll, or Khushi's on Forrest Road if you'd rather eat somewhere with real history: it has been trading since 1947 and is Scotland's oldest Indian restaurant. Beyond those two, this is my pick of fourteen genuinely open, currently trading Indian restaurants across the city, each with an exact price, real hours and one honest drawback, not a vague band and a stock photo.
The scene splits usefully into four groups. There's Bombay-cafe glamour and ambitious newcomers (Dishoom, Yaduvanshi, Britannia Spice). There are the old-school institutions that have earned decades of trust (Khushi's and Kalpna, the vegetarian specialist). There's cheap, fast, no-nonsense curry: Kebab Mahal, Mother India's Cafe, Tuk Tuk and The Pakora Bar. And there's the specialty end: South Indian dosas at Chennai's Marina, a Nepalese-and-Indian fusion menu at Gurkha, the UK chain Mowgli, and Indian Lounge's classic Punjabi curries, reviewed honestly warts and all.
I've also dropped what didn't check out. Suruchi's Nicolson Street site is now a different restaurant entirely, and a well-loved 30-year favourite, Kismot, is currently closed after flood damage with no reopening date, so neither made the numbered list below (more on that at the end). If you're building a full day around one of these meals, my things to do in Edinburgh guide has the rest of it, and if you want every cuisine in the city, not just Indian, start with the best restaurants in Edinburgh.
Dishoom is the one to book if you want the full Bombay-cafe experience: an Art Deco room on St Andrew Square, ceiling fans, bottomless chai, and a menu built around the Irani cafes of 1960s Bombay. The bacon naan roll (£11.70) is the dish people fly here for, all crispy bacon, cream cheese and tomato-chilli jam folded into a fresh naan, and the black daal that simmers for 24 hours is the other order to know about.
The catch is the wait. Small evening tables are walk-in only, and the queue regularly runs 30 to 90 minutes at dinner and weekends, though the room turns fast once you're seated and service is genuinely quick. Book ahead for daytime meals or a group of six or more after 6pm, and if you can't, go for breakfast on a weekday instead.
Book ahead for daytime tables or evening groups of six or more; smaller evening tables are walk-in only and the queue is real, 30 to 90 minutes at dinner and weekends.
Yaduvanshi is the newest serious contender in the city, opened in October 2024 by hotelier Sonu Yadav two minutes from Waverley Station, and it positions itself as premium Indian dining rather than a curry-house evening out. The £14.95 three-course express lunch (Monday to Saturday, midday to 2pm) is the smart way in, and the vegan and vegetarian dishes are clearly marked across the menu, onion bhaji, aubergine fritters and a dal tadka among them.
Being this new, it doesn't have the decade of reviews the older places on this list do, so treat it as a genuine discovery rather than a sure thing, and book if you're going for dinner. Its location, a short walk from Calton Hill and the station, makes it an easy first or last meal of a trip to Edinburgh.
Opened October 2024, a two-minute walk from Waverley Station, so it's an easy first or last meal of a trip. Book the £14.95 express lunch if you're on a schedule.
Britannia Spice occupies a former whisky bond on the Leith waterfront, opened in 2000, and it's the natural stop if you're already down by the Royal Yacht Britannia or Ocean Terminal. The Chicken Tikka Massalam (£13.95) is the reliable order, and the Britannia Mix Tandoori sharing platter (£19.95) is built for two people who want to try several things at once.
I won't oversell this one. Ratings sit in a solid but not spectacular 3.4 to 4.2 range depending on the platform, and one listing's hours conflict with the official site's stated Tuesday to Saturday, 5pm to 10:30pm window, so call ahead if you're making a special trip. Go for the setting and the tandoori platter rather than expecting a life-changing curry.
Trading since 2000 in a former whisky bond on the Leith waterfront, a short walk from the Royal Yacht Britannia. Ratings sit in the solid-not-spectacular 3.4 to 4.2 range across platforms, so go for the setting and the tandoori sharing platter rather than expecting a life-changing curry.
Khushi's has more history than any other restaurant on this list: founded in 1947 as the Lothian Restaurant by Mr Khushi, it's Scotland's oldest Indian restaurant, still run by the founder's sons. The Classic Butter Chicken (£15.95) is the dish to start with, and the £39.95 tasting menu is worth it if you want the kitchen's range in one sitting.
It has moved more than once, a 2008 fire destroyed the original Victoria Street site, and it's now on Forrest Road, its third Edinburgh address, having relocated from Antigua Street around 2025. Ignore any older map pin or review that sends you elsewhere, and call ahead since exact closing times aren't published.
Founded 1947 as the Lothian Restaurant, this is Scotland's oldest Indian restaurant, still run by the founder's sons. It's on its third address, having moved to Forrest Road around 2025, so ignore any older listing that sends you to Antigua Street.
Kalpna has been Edinburgh's vegetarian Indian institution since 1975, on St Patrick Square in the Southside, drawing on Gujarati, Punjabi and South Indian cooking. The thalis (£19.95 to £25.95) are the way to eat here properly, a full spread rather than one dish, and the weekday lunch buffet (Monday to Saturday, midday to 2:30pm) is the low-stakes way to try it.
The honest catch: it is not wheelchair accessible, confirmed by multiple independent sources, so plan ahead if that matters to your group. Fifty years in, it's still the reference point for anyone who wants a serious vegetarian Indian meal in the city rather than a token dish on someone else's menu.
Edinburgh's vegetarian Indian institution since 1975, Gujarati, Punjabi and South Indian dishes with a proper thali. It is not wheelchair accessible, confirmed by multiple sources, so plan ahead if that matters to your group.
On Shandwick Place, on the tram line and five minutes' walk from Haymarket station, which makes it the most convenient restaurant on this list if you're arriving or leaving by train. It holds a 4.8 across more than two hundred reviews, which is a strong number for a stretch of road dominated by chains. The practical advantage is the hours: it's open from 9am most days and serves straight through rather than closing between lunch and dinner, so it solves the problem of wanting a proper meal at 4pm. For the classic curry-house experience in this part of town, it's the one I'd send someone to now.
It opens at 9am most days, which almost no Indian restaurant in Edinburgh does, so it's an option for an early meal before a train from Haymarket.
Strong and consistent scores for a restaurant on a busy commuter street, where the competition is mostly chains and takeaways.
Kebab Mahal is the cheapest genuinely good sit-down curry on this list: a halal Punjabi canteen on Nicolson Square that has been feeding the university crowd since 1979. The Chicken Curry is £10.55, a doner is £5.50, and the saag paneer and bhindi masala cover vegetarians well.
It's canteen-style on purpose: no table reservations, no alcohol, and minimal seating, so it's built for a fast, honest meal rather than lingering. Open daily from midday until midnight or later, latest on Friday and Saturday, and if you want a fast, no-frills curry near the university, this is it.
A halal Punjabi canteen on Nicolson Square, trading since 1979. No table reservations, no alcohol, minimal seating: this is a fast, cheap, excellent meal, not a sit-down occasion.
Mother India's Cafe does Indian food tapas-style, a genuine point of difference from every curry house on this list, near the National Museum of Scotland on Infirmary Street. Order three or four small plates per person; the prawns curry (£14.15) is the one to make sure is on the table, and the rest of the menu runs £0.95 to £14.15 a dish.
The catch with tapas format is the bill: it looks cheap dish by dish, but it climbs fast once you order enough to actually share, so it isn't the budget option it first appears. At 4.5 on TripAdvisor from 2,734 reviews, it's one of the most consistently well-reviewed Indian restaurants in the city.
Order tapas-style, three or four small plates per person, near the National Museum of Scotland. The format means the bill climbs once you order enough to share properly, so it isn't as cheap as it first looks.
Tuk Tuk does small-plate Indian street food in Tollcross, and its real point of difference is that it's genuinely BYOB with no corkage fee, rare in Edinburgh. Order three or four plates per person: the Butter Chicken (£9.75) and a Classic Naan (£3.45) are the reliable starting point, and the menu clearly marks vegan and gluten-free dishes.
It's consistently busy, so book ahead (a £5-per-head deposit applies) rather than risk a 20-minute wait as a walk-in. This is the Leven Street original; a second, newer branch on Drummond Street is the fallback if this one's full.
Small plates, three or four per person, and genuinely BYOB with no corkage fee, which is rare in this city. Bookings take a £5-per-head deposit and there's a second Edinburgh branch on Drummond Street if this one, the Leven Street original, is full.
The Pakora Bar is a family-run Punjabi street-food spot on Holyrood Road, five minutes from the bottom of the Royal Mile, built on the three founding brothers' mother's recipes with a Scottish twist. The haggis pakora is the dish that makes it, and Golgappa (£5.00) and Chole Bhatura (£12.00) round out a proper street-food spread.
There's no bathroom on site, which tells you what kind of place this is: a takeaway-plus-seating stop rather than a long, leisurely sit-down. At 4.9 on Yelp, admittedly from a smaller review count, it's one of the highest-rated Indian spots in the city, and it's closed Mondays.
Family-run Punjabi street food with a Scottish twist, the haggis pakora is the one to order, five minutes from the bottom of the Royal Mile. There's no bathroom on site, so treat it as a takeaway-plus-seating stop rather than a long sit-down.
Chennai's Marina is the city's best option for South Indian and Sri Lankan food, real dosas, Chettinad and Kerala dishes, and biryani cooked the dum way, on Clerk Street in Newington. The Dindugul Seeraga Samba Dum Biryani (£14.25) is the signature order, described on its own menu as one of the most loved dishes in Tamil Nadu, and the Butter Chicken (£11.45) is there if you want something more familiar.
The chain runs three Edinburgh branches, and a fourth, at Jocks Lodge, closed recently, so I'm not carrying over any reviews or ratings from that address to this one. If dosas and South Indian flavours are what you're after rather than another North Indian curry house, this is the stop.
The city's best South Indian and Sri Lankan option, real dosas and Chettinad and Kerala specialties rather than a generic curry-house menu. This is the Clerk Street branch; the chain's fourth Edinburgh site (Jocks Lodge) recently closed, so don't confuse the two.
Gurkha Bar & Restaurant on Brougham Place is genuinely a Nepalese and Indian fusion menu, momos and thukpa alongside familiar curry-house staples, so go in expecting a hybrid rather than a purely Indian meal. The two-course set menu is £13.95 per person, and it's consistently well reviewed on TheFork, from over 200 diners.
It's a short walk south of Tollcross, and the vegetarian and vegan selection is genuinely extensive rather than an afterthought. If you want to try Nepalese cooking alongside the Indian dishes you already know, this is the easiest way into both in one sitting.
Nepalese and Indian fusion, momos and thukpa alongside familiar curry-house dishes, and consistently well reviewed on TheFork. Worth knowing it's genuinely a hybrid menu, not a purely Indian one, before you book.
Mowgli is a UK-wide small chain, not an independent, but the Edinburgh branch earns its place: a striking Grade I listed former bank on Hanover Street, open since April 2023. It runs on sharing plates, the Mother Butter Chicken (£10.50) and the chicken biryani (£17.00) are the ones people come back for, and the format suits a group who want to try several dishes rather than commit to one main.
One practical note: the entrance requires a stair-lift, so it isn't step-free, ask staff to operate it if that affects you. At 4.2 on TripAdvisor from 383 reviews, it's a reliable, if not the most original, sharing-plates option in the New Town.
A UK-wide chain, not an independent, in a striking Grade I listed former bank on Hanover Street. The entrance needs a stair-lift, so it isn't step-free; ask staff to operate it if that affects you.
Indian Lounge has been on Rose Street since 1983, doing classic Punjabi curries with in-house-ground spices and a proper halal, gluten-free-friendly menu. The £22.00 non-vegetarian set dinner for one is generously portioned, and individual curries start from £7.25.
I'd rather tell you the truth than smooth it over: reviews genuinely split between people who call it the best Indian food they've had in Edinburgh and others who found the food inconsistent and the service slow with larger groups. It's central and it's cheap for the portion size, so it's worth trying, just go with tempered expectations rather than the five-star claims you'll see elsewhere.
Classic Punjabi curries on Rose Street, trading since 1983. I'm being straight with you: reviews genuinely split between people who call it the best Indian meal they've had and others who found it inconsistent, so go with tempered expectations rather than the marketing.
Bombay-cafe glamour and ambitious newcomers: Dishoom for the atmosphere and the breakfast, Yaduvanshi for a newer, more formal tasting-menu style meal near Waverley, Britannia Spice if you're already down in Leith. These are the ones to book ahead for.
Old-school institutions: Khushi's (1947) and Kalpna (1975, vegetarian) have decades of trust behind them. Go here for a proper sit-down meal with real history rather than a trend.
Cheap and fast: Kebab Mahal is the best-value curry in the centre, Mother India's Cafe and Tuk Tuk do it tapas-style, and The Pakora Bar is Punjabi street food with a Scottish twist. None of these take you more than 20 minutes to eat well and cheaply.
Specialties: Chennai's Marina for South Indian dosas and biryani, Gurkha for a genuine Nepalese-Indian fusion menu, Mowgli if you want a reliable UK-chain sharing-plates format, and Indian Lounge for classic Punjabi curries, reviewed honestly, split reviews and all.
Booking: Dishoom, Yaduvanshi, Khushi's, Kalpna, Tuk Tuk, The Pakora Bar, Gurkha, Mowgli and Indian Lounge all take reservations, and it's worth using them at weekends. Kebab Mahal, Mother India's Cafe and Chennai's Marina are walk-in. Britannia Spice has an OpenTable listing.
Budget: Kebab Mahal (curries from £10.55) and Tuk Tuk's small plates (£3.45-£9.75 each) are the cheapest proper meals. Khushi's tasting menu (£39.95) and Kalpna's thalis (up to £25.95) sit at the top end. Most sit-down mains across the list fall somewhere between £10 and £16.
One honest note on freshness: this list is current as of August 2026, and the scene moves. Suruchi's old Nicolson Street site, once known for its Scots-poet menu translations, is now a different restaurant entirely, and a genuinely beloved 30-year favourite, Kismot on St Leonard's Street, is currently closed with no reopening date after flooding from an upstairs neighbour, per its own website's notice. Neither made the numbered list above because I won't send you somewhere that might not be open when you arrive, but both are worth checking on if you're a regular.
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