The Best Indian and South Asian Restaurants in Los Angeles

Los Angeles’s South Asian restaurants — Bangladeshi, Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan — span across the South Bay, the San Fernando Valley, and nearly everywhere in between. The restaurants celebrated on this list prepare filling biryanis laden

with meat and aromatic spices, crispy dosas with warm potatoes and spicy chutney, abundant thalis that boast an array of regional dishes, and other beloved specialties from the subcontinent. While some serve more traditional offerings, others offer Los Angeles-specific interpretations of regional dishes, taking a cross-cultural lens to expand the definition of what makes a dish South Asian.

This map aims to represent more restaurants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Given that Artesia’s Pioneer Boulevard remains a hub for Indian dining, we’ve curated a standalone collection of its best restaurants. Here are the best South Asian restaurants in Los Angeles. 

New this update: Anarbagh, Brick Lane, and Khan Saab join the map.

Anarbagh Indian Cuisine

22721 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA, 91364, US

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Open since 1989, Woodland Hills’ Anarbagh is a Valley Indian institution. Founded by brothers Zohir Uddin and Matab Ahmed, the restaurant serves chicken and lamb tikka from the tandoori clay oven, along with lamb-crowned biryani, blistered naan, and crispy samosas stuffed with potatoes and peas. The menu also includes plenty of vegetarian options, including sag dal and aloo gobi. Between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., Anarbagh offers daily lunch specials served with rice or naan and soup.

Baja Subs Market & Deli

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8801 Reseda Boulevard, Suite A, Northridge, CA 91324, USA

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Owners Premil Jayasinghe and his wife Koshalie have been running Baja Subs since 2016. While the original owners served mostly Mexican food, the Jayasinghes have slowly expanded Baja’s Sri Lankan menu over the last four years, offering some of the most remarkable Sri Lankan food in Los Angeles. Some of the most popular dishes include the kottu roti with lamb curry, egg hoppers, and chicken biryani. And among it all, there are standard convenience store offerings like packets of ibuprofen, bags of chips, canned sodas, and even cigarette packs.

Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen

115 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90401, United States

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Santa Monica’s Pakistani restaurant, Khan Saab Desi Craft Kitchen, sits one block away from the ocean. South Asian restaurants are hard to find on the Westside, with most competing destinations in the South Bay or Artesia (the original location is in Fullerton, with another in Hawaiian Gardens). Chef Imran Ali Mookhi keeps the halal menu fresh by adding new dishes that lean Pakistani, Indian, or even Afghani, like the classic eggplant baingan, chock-full of ginger, Roma tomatoes, and coriander. After topping it with garlic yogurt, chile oil, and micro radishes, sop the sauce up with naan. The team also developed one of the region’s most robust non-alcoholic happy hours, with dazzling bites and mocktails by co-founder Ahmad Hosseini, whose unexpected, playful flavor combinations are a welcome sight.

Fitoor

1755 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA, 90401, US

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Santa Monica’s sleek Fitoor already feels like it has a meaningful presence in Los Angeles’s South Asian dining scene as a compelling option for contemporary Indian food. Chef Surya Kumar and team offer classic dishes alongside more modern riffs like the avocado burrata cheese chaat or the roasted rainbow gajar, which features charred carrots alongside goat cheese and corn espuma. The menu also emphasizes regional specialties like Peshawari lamb seekh kebab, which pulls from northern Pakistani culinary tradition; the coastal flame scallops, which are a modern rendition of Sri Lankan fish curry; Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, a central Indian specialty; and the seasonal moilee, which offers vegan diners a Kerala-style option. The creative craft cocktails and dark, moody interiors make any dinner feel more like a special occasion.

Badmaash Venice

1600 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice, California 90291, United States

Acclaimed modern Indian restaurant Badmaash has expanded with a new location on Abbot Kinney. Taking over the former Yours, Truly and Piccolo space, which it previously used in a delivery capacity for the last year, the restaurant serves a menu of familiar classics, its zingy chicken tikka poutine and spiced lamb burger, alongside newer dishes like steak frites and hamachi crudo. The Venice Badmaash also introduces a lineup of beverages from Steve LaFountain, who previously worked with Horses, Little Prince in Santa Monica, and Cliff’s Edge in Silver Lake, including natural wines alongside cocktails like the Badmaash dirty martini with olive oil–washed Grey Goose, a mezcal margarita, and a bourbon-based date jam cocktail. Settle in for dinner at the warmly-lit bar, or cozy up in a cave-like backroom that is, in part, a nod to the temples of India tucked into rock outcroppings.

Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine

10855 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90034, US

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Located on Venice Boulevard in Palms, Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine is a casual spot that serves dishes with Nepali and Tibetan influence. The space is comfortable and homey, with dark wood tones and walls painted in warm tones. Founder Tara Gurung Black has been serving Angelenos since 2007, using locally grown produce seasoned with mountain-grown Nepali herbs. There are steamed momos stuffed with chicken, mutton, or vegetables and dipped in tomato achaar; yak chili with a ginger, garlic, onion, and tomato gravy base; and a Sherpa’s stew with vegetables and noodles, available vegetarian or with chicken or yak meat.

Mayura Indian Restaurant

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10406 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232, USA

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Long a favorite of the late restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, this strip mall gem features cuisine from Kerala, India, which melds a thousand years of influence from its numerous trading partners. The menu features towering masala dosas, pitch-perfect chutneys, and fluffy biryani plates. Bring a group to share the Southern Indian feast.

Annapurna Cuisine

10200 Venice Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232, USA

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Annapurna’s vegetarian South Indian dishes draw crowds to a Culver City retail mall where the small team slings dosa, uttapam, idli, and vada, all served with steaming hot sambar. The rava dosa is especially crispy and made even more flavorful with a side of molagapodi — powdered, roasted lentils and spices, sometimes known as gunpowder. The restaurant also offers delicious navaratan korma with mixed vegetables in a flavorful sauce and topped with dried fruits and cashews, and its Bombay-style pav bhaji is a sleeper hit.

Al Watan Halal Tandoori Restaurant

13619 S. Inglewood Avenue, Hawthorne, CA 90250, USA

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In business for more than 30 years, this halal Indian Pakistani restaurant is one of the most respected in the South Bay. Chef Mohammed Mumtaz prepares traditional dishes like lamb korma, haleem, nehari, and goat karahi stir-fried with onions and tomatoes. Keep an eye out for new menu options, as Mumtaz regularly offers new recipes.

Zam Zam Market

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13649 S. Inglewood Avenue, Hawthorne, CA 90250, USA

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This humble market and takeout restaurant has a smaller but excellent array of mostly Pakistani dishes, starting with flavor-packed biryani. Chicken tikka, beef kabab, and plush naan are also on the compact menu, along with chicken karahi. Weekends bring some specials like lamb pulao. Call in to order ahead, and take home a packet of dried lentils from the attached market. Just under 20 minutes from Los Angeles International Airport, Zam Zam has become a popular first meal back for travelers returning home to Los Angeles.

Al-Noor Restaurant

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15112 S. Inglewood Avenue, Lawndale, CA 90260, USA

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A 10-minute drive from Los Angeles International Airport, Al-Noor is the spot to refuel after a day of traveling. This family-run gem in Lawndale offers great takes on all the Pakistani and Indian halal favorites, like nehari, haleem, and lamb korma. Adventurous eaters will appreciate the goat paya or magaz — goat hoof or lamb brain served with a masala-laden gravy.

Quality of Bombay

15333 Hawthorne Boulevard, Lawndale, CA 90260, USA

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This unassuming strip mall in Lawndale could be the best Indian food in the South Bay. Preorder online for the smoothest service, where the kitchen will prepare intensely spiced dal makhani, complex channa masala with plump garbanzo beans, and some of the most immediately delicious butter chicken in Los Angeles. The palak paneer is another winner, with nicely sized paneer cubes settled into a thick paste of cooked spinach. The restaurant itself is more utilitarian than a place to enjoy a lengthy meal, so it’s best to take things to-go.

Bombay Curry & Pizzeria

14617 Crenshaw Boulevard, Gardena, California 90249

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Though Pijja Palace always gets the most attention for combining Indian with pizza, a Gardena spot’s been holding down a similar approach three years before it became popular in Los Angeles. Bombay Curry & Pizzeria’s tandoori tikka pizza and paneer tikka pizzas are delicious, as is the chicken biryani. Don’t forget to try their version of the popular Indian dessert gulab jamun.

Famous Tandoori

1817 CA-1, Lomita, CA 90717, USA

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This hidden gem in Lomita serves a solid mix of Pakistani and Indian classics. The vibes are comfortable and unassuming, though not necessarily the kind of place for a celebratory dinner. The malai kofta is the menu highlight: vegetarian potato-and-paneer balls swimming in a creamy gravy, served with fluffy and flavorful biryani. The chicken 65 is a crowd favorite — tender, juicy, and spicy chicken that is fried until crispy.

Noya Kitchen

4204 W 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90020, US

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Koreatown’s Noya Kitchen has been offering halal Bangladeshi cuisine since 2020. Owner Sharmin Qureshi aimed to bring Bangladeshi flavors to American comfort foods as she crafted the menu. There is fried chicken, served as wings, tenders, or in sandwiches, alongside fuchka, chicken biryani, and even shrimp fried rice. For those with a sweet tooth, Qureshi also offers bright pink falooda made with rose milk, tapioca pearls, coconut jelly, banana, and ice cream. Diners can order at the counter and enjoy their meal in Noya Kitchen’s casual dining room, complete with imagery celebrating different Los Angeles neighborhoods.

Biriyani Kabob House

3525 W 3rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020, USA

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Nestled in a small area slightly north of Koreatown is Little Bangladesh’s small but mighty collection of restaurants. Biriyani Kabob House offers dishes with influences from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. Expect some of the best lamb biryani in town, made with fluffy basmati rice and tender chunks of lamb. In addition to seven other types of biryani, the menu also has classics like chicken tikka masala, karahi, kebabs, and channa masala. The portions are large, and the curries come with naan fresh out of the tandoori oven.

Pijja Palace

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2711 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA

As one of Los Angeles’s hottest restaurants, Pijja Palace is an Indian sports bar that attracts big crowds almost every night. Opened by restaurateur Avish Naran, who melds comfort flavors of Italian American standards with the bold, spice-laden ingredients of Indian cuisine, the results are imaginative and fun at every turn. Its unexpected combination results in stunning malai rigatoni pasta, verdant saag pizza, garam masala-crusted wings, and Indian-inspired cocktails. The nearly dozen televisions are not intrusive, the diners are happy to be there, the food is exciting, and reservations are highly recommended.

All India Cafe

316 North Brand Boulevard, Glendale, CA, 91203

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Pasadena’s longtime Indian specialist opened its Glendale location in 2018. All India is a family-owned, full-service spot that consistently churns out dishes from northern and southern India. There are masala dosa, samosas, biryanis, and tandoori dishes in a colorful and cheery interior on the always-busy Brand Boulevard. There’s a third location in Arcadia, and all locations offer delivery and takeout via ChowNow.

Brick Lane Los Angeles

1331 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, California 90021, United States

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Acclaimed chef Sanjay Rawat, formerly of Kahani at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, is behind the Arts District’s new modern Indian destination Brick Lane. Named after East London’s iconic street, the restaurant blends California influence with classic Indian flavors in dishes such as kulcha flatbread with soft brie and gooseberry chutney and smoked butter chicken. Celeriac chapli kebabs emerge from live fire alongside a flank steak kebab paired with mint hummus and pickled onions. Diners can complement meals with one of Rawat’s breads like sourdough naan or tandoori roti. Drinks include a jaggery Old Fashioned along with a wine list curated by Rustic Canyon Family’s wine director, Kathryn Coker.

Namaste Spiceland

821 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360, USA

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With locations in Pasadena, Santa Clarita, and Thousand Oaks, Namaste Spiceland is a one-stop shop for groceries and dining. Simply stock up on rice, lentils, and frozen staples, then stay for lunch or dinner. Crowd favorites include South Indian dishes, especially the dosas, and the Bombay street food selection, which includes spicy vada pav, chaat, and pav bhaji. The trick is to order the chaat first to avoid grocery shopping on an empty stomach, and grab pantry staples for the month before leaving.

Kamal Palace

6374 Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA 90803, USA

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Finding Kamal Palace, located in a lower section of the Long Beach Marina, is a bit of an obstacle course. Go down the stairs and toward the rear structure to find this friendly, family-operated restaurant near the ocean. Once inside, there’s a fairly open banquet-style dining room with regal curtains that’s good for larger groups or those looking to have a more palatial (as its name suggests) Indian meal. The vegetable malai has ample coconut, and an extra order of naan helps to sop up the remaining butter chicken gravy.

Bhanu Indian Cuisine & Market

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7246 Rosemead Boulevard, San Gabriel, CA 91775, USA

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This San Gabriel Valley stalwart has been comforting residents with chicken tikka masala, coconut fish curry, and lamb curry since 2011. Located on the bustling corner of Huntington and Rosemead boulevards, Bhanu doubles as a grocery store, so peruse the shelves for staple goods before or after one’s meal.