If you’re looking for local Indian cuisine, you’ll find many options in the Salt Lake City area. The hardest part is simply knowing which ones offer the most authentic food and delightful dining experiences. We’ve rounded up a few local favorites so you’ll know where to go to celebrate your next great car purchase.
Saffron Valley
Saffron Valley offers a wide selection of gourmet Indian dishes. They’re prepared for you with the greatest of care and artfully presented. You can start with shareable plates, such as samosas, pakoras, and dosas. If you enjoy curry, you’ll love the create-your-own curry corner. Start with your favorite curry recipe. The menu includes tikka masala, saag, coconut korma, vindaloo, and cheinad. Add your choice of chicken, shrimp, lamb, goat, fish, paneer, or vegetables. Finally, select a spice level from mild, medium, hot, or fire.
If you prefer a ready-made option, you can also order from the signature lineup of curries, kebabs, and biryanis. Make sure you save room for dessert. Saffron Valley offers an inspired lineup of Indian treats, including the simmered carrot dessert known as gajar halwa, sweet deep-fried gulab jamun balls, frozen kulfi, cheesy rasmalai, and rice pudding.
Locations: Sugar House – 479 E. 2100 S., Salt Lake City | Downtown – 26 E. St., Salt Lake City.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Friday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
Mumbai House
Mumbai House gets rave reviews for its delicious dishes, attentive staff, and fast service. Locals make it their go-to, and visitors who are in town for a limited time report hitting Mumbai House multiple times during their stay. The menu includes an abundance of vegetarian and vegan options, making this an easy pick for nearly any diet. One of the most distinctive features of Mumbai House is the drink menu. You’ll find lassis, Indian chai tea, Indian coffee, Mumbai lime, and mango lemonade. The restaurant also has a selection of soft drinks, beer, and wine.
The entrees and Mumbai House include a wide selection of chicken, lamb, seafood, and vegan dishes, such as tandoori, curries, and vindaloo. From the mango chicken to the lamb coconut kurma, there are several intriguing flavors to sample. The garlic naan regularly gets rave reviews. You can finish your meal with Indian ice cream, rice pudding, or gulab jamun.
Location: 2731 E. Parleys Way, Salt Lake City.
Hours: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Himalayan Kitchen
Himalayan Kitchen serves Nepalese and Indian cuisine that’s deeply authentic and carefully prepared from scratch. With sizzling Tandoori grills, fresh ingredients, and Nepali chefs in the kitchen, you’re guaranteed an unforgettable dining experience. Himalayan Kitchen makes midday meals easy with their go-to lunch specials available from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. These meals include vegetable pakora, three curries, and rice or naan, along with your choice of entree. Options include butter chicken, curry chicken, lamb vindaloo, lamb saag, and more.
For dinner, you’ll want to settle in for a multi-course meal to fully appreciate everything that Himalayan Kitchen has to offer. Appetizers include samosa, pakora, onion bhaji, and more. The Tandoori specialties are a must-taste here, served with your preferred level of spice and a side of rice or naan. The menu also includes an abundance of curries, vindaloo, butter chicken, and prawn saag, among other options. If you’re interested in the distinctive Himalayan dishes, you can try specialties such as momos, noodle soup, chili, and daal.
Finish up with a sweet treat like Indian ice cream, rice pudding, gulab jamun, or carrot haluwa. Himalayan Kitchen validates parking at 324 South Parking Garage, so make sure you tell the parking attendant that you’re dining at Himalayan to save yourself this expense.
Location: 360 S. State St., Salt Lake City.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
Kathmandu Grill
If you want to sample a little of everything, there’s no better place than Kathmandu Grill. You can enjoy a full lunch buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. You can order from an impressively diverse menu with plenty of vegan and vegetarian options for dinner.
Kathmandu offers an abundance of curries featuring chicken, lamb, prawns, goat, fish, soya nuggets, or mixed vegetables. Favorites such as butter chicken, lamb shish kebab, saag paneer, and aloo tikka masala are readily available alongside more distinctive dishes, such as sweet and spicy Everest chicken curry and deep-fried prawn chili. Kathmandu Grill even has a kids menu with options like boneless chicken tikka bites and a pakora platter. Finish up with mango pudding, rice pudding, gulab jamun, or rasmalai.
Location: 212 S. 700 E., Suite D, Salt Lake City.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Star of India
Star of India carefully caters to each diner’s individual preferences, with spice levels ranging from very mild to very hot. As an appetizer, you can start with pakoras, samosas, or spicy lentil papad wafers. Traditional dal soup, saag shorba, and Indian mulligatawny pair perfectly with Indian salads and classic breads, such as naan, deep-fried puri, and whole wheat roti.
The entrees include all the classics, such as chicken tikka masala, shrimp vindaloo, lamb coconut curry, and tandoori meats served with rice. The biryani dishes come with raita and can feature your choice of chicken, lamb, shrimp, goat, or fresh vegetables cooked in exotic spices and garnished with fresh coriander. The dessert menu includes kheer, gulab jaman, rasmalai, and Indian ice cream.
Location: 1659 W. North Temple, Salt Lake City.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Do you know of a stellar Indian restaurant that we missed? Contact our team at Bountiful Mazda and let us know so we can update our recommendations.
Image by Esperanza Doronila | Licensed with Unsplash License
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