Curry Leaf is the neighborhood favorite of Russian Hill. It’s an Indian and Pakistani restaurant firing a big tandoori grill and serving halal meats. That means beef, lamb, and chicken kebabs, as well as lamb chops and chicken legs. But the chef’s favorite is the bengan bharta, or mashed eggplant, which is simmered down in a garlicky tomato sauce.

Viva Goa is the Marina's go-to Indian takeout spot, serving the neighborhood all the curries, tandoori, and naan it could desire. The restaurant specializes in Goan cuisine, which features a lot of seafood, coconut, and kokum, and is heavily influenced by Portugal, which ruled the area for 450 years. The region's most popular dish is vindaloo (spicy red curry), and that's the order, alongside prawn curry.

Pakwan is usually an excellent no-frills destination for anyone seeking a night out in the Tenderloin, and these days it’s just as satisfying delivered to the comfort of your couch. The generous portions leave ample room for leftover biryani lunches.

Rooh serves modern Indian cuisine in a polished setting, an environment one might expect from India’s Good Times Restaurants hospitality group. This location in SoMa was the company's first outpost in the U.S., and they have a second location in Palo Alto as well, keeping the inventive cocktails and rich curries coming for the tech elite. Prepare for dazzling dishes, from buttery and golden saffron brioche to ultra glossy short ribs enriched with bone marrow.

This quiet spot on Market was dubbed the “most interesting Indian restaurant in San Francisco” and serves a broad menu of Indian fare with a few Nepali specialities mixed in. Explore non-traditional entrees including grilled shrimp in Indo-Chinese Schezwan sauce and Northwest salmon cooked in a coconut and green mango curry.

Traveling to the end of the city to order an extra large Tikka Masala chicken pizza, for the high price of $36.50, is an experience well worth the expense. The Bay Area claims to be the source of the Indian pizza, and in an age of fusion (however that word lands for you) it’s pleasant to find a dish that rings of novelty while also tasting, you know, good. Bonus? Feel free to pick up a biryani, salad, or even pasta while you’re at this Judah Avenue staple.

This South Indian vegetarian institution in the Mission hits all the right spots. There are giant masala dosas, spicy curries, and sweet chutneys a plenty, all sans meat. The best part: They’ll fill you up without breaking the bank.

Heena Patel, a graduate of San Francisco’s food incubator La Cocina, channels flavors from her native Gujarat at this cheeky restaurant in the Dogpatch’s Minnesota Street Project gallery space. Her regional, vegetarian, and deeply personal dishes won her the Eater Award for Restaurant of the Year in 2019. Since reopening in summer 2021, Patel has dropped meat from the menu, which takes diners through four cities in western Indian.

What started as popular food truck DUM (whose chicken biryani is the stuff of legend) later landed a permanent location on 24th Street and established a new name and identity as Ritu (Hindi for seasons). Chef Rupam Bhagat channels his upbringing in Mumbai, and biryani remains a highlight, but don’t miss California twists like kale chaat (with yogurt, tamarind, and “Mumbai trail mix”), great kebabs, or a family-style four-course menu for $55 per person. 

Tilak Gurung managed to reverse the usual trajectory for Bay Area chefs. After cooking for big tech cafeterias like Apple and Dropbox (where he says he served Justin Timberlake and the prime minister of Singapore, in that order), he opened his own restaurant at the top of Mission. He’s serving satisfying curries and tandoori to Bernal Heights, but also dahi puri chaat, those crispy street snacks, fully loaded with yogurt, tamarind, mint, and sprouts.