Best Indian Restaurants in Amsterdam (2026)

TL;DR

• 🌿 Amsterdam's Indian restaurant scene is more varied than most visitors expect, with choices ranging from neighbourhood curry houses to South Indian specialists and Indian-Nepalese crossovers
• 🍽 Surya on Ceintuurbaan and Chadni Chowk on Admiraal De Ruijterweg are two of the most established names, each anchoring a distinct part of the city
• 📍 Indian Junction in Uithoorn, Ashoka on Spuistraat, and Mirchi each fill different geographic and culinary gaps across the Amsterdam area
• 🫙 Beyond the standard curry-house format, options like Dosa, Punjabi Dhaba, and Swaadee reflect the real breadth of the subcontinent's food cultures
• 🗺 The scene is distributed across the city's boroughs rather than concentrated in one strip, so matching restaurant to neighbourhood matters

A City-Wide Scene, Not a Single District

Amsterdam does not have a single "curry mile" or concentrated South Asian dining corridor. The city's Indian restaurants are spread across the boroughs — from the Jordaan area and the city centre to De Pijp, the western ring, and further out to Uithoorn. This distribution can feel scattered on first encounter, but it also means good Indian food is rarely far from wherever you happen to be based.

The most established names have been building their reputations for years. Surya (147-H Ceintuurbaan, phone +31 20 676 7985, email info@suryarestaurant.nl) anchors the De Pijp neighbourhood with a menu that combines Indian and Nepalese cuisine — two food cultures that share significant overlap in spicing and technique. De Pijp is already a destination dining neighbourhood, and Surya fits naturally into that character. The restaurant draws both the Dutch dining public and Amsterdam's South Asian diaspora, and its longevity in a competitive market says something about the consistency of its kitchen.

Chadni Chowk (464-472 Admiraal De Ruijterweg, phone +31 20 775 9050) takes its name from the famous market district in Old Delhi — an immediate signal of North Indian identity. The Admiraal De Ruijterweg address places it in the western Bos en Lommer / Westerpark area, a multicultural neighbourhood with a genuine appetite for authentic subcontinental cooking. The menu leans toward the spiced gravies, tandoor preparations, and bread-forward accompaniments of the Delhi table.

Central Amsterdam and the Inner Neighbourhoods

For visitors based around the city centre or the museum quarter, several options keep Indian food accessible without a cross-city journey.

Ashoka (54D Spuistraat) occupies a central address — Spuistraat connects the Dam square area to the Spui — making it the most convenient option for tourists whose schedule does not allow for a neighbourhood excursion. The central location means foot traffic and casual walk-in dining rather than a destination reservation experience.

Mirchi (phone +31 20 3626166) is another inner-city option worth tracking. The name — meaning "chilli" in Hindi and Urdu — signals a kitchen with some confidence about spicing, which is not always a given at restaurants calibrated for a Dutch palate.

Curry Queen (Haarlemmerdijk) sits on one of the more lively streets in the Jordaan-adjacent western strip, popular with locals rather than tourists. Indian food on the Haarlemmerdijk occupies a neighbourhood dining role, which generally translates to more consistent quality and a higher proportion of repeat customers.

Insider Tip: Amsterdam restaurants tend to run smaller and busier than equivalents in London or New York. For any of the established names — particularly Surya or Chadni Chowk — calling ahead on a Friday or Saturday evening is worth the two-minute phone call. Walk-in dining at well-known spots on weekends can mean a significant wait or a turned-away table, especially during summer when tourist numbers are high.

Beyond the Classic Curry House

Part of what makes Amsterdam's Indian scene interesting in 2026 is the presence of restaurants that do not fit the standard curry-house template.

Indian Junction (5 Cort van der Lindenplein, phone +31 297 785 757) is located in Uithoorn, south of Amsterdam proper. For visitors or residents in the South Amsterdam or Amstelveen corridor, this fills a genuine geographic gap and operates as a neighbourhood anchor rather than a city-centre destination. The address on Cort van der Lindenplein puts it in a residential context that shapes both its atmosphere and its menu.

Dosa specialises in South Indian food — a cuisine centred on rice, lentil, and fermented-batter preparations (idli, dosa, uttapam) that differ substantially from the cream-sauce North Indian dishes many Europeans associate with "Indian food" by default. A dedicated dosa restaurant in Amsterdam is a relatively uncommon find, and it fills a real gap for diners who know this food from home or who want to move beyond the standard menu.

Punjabi Dhaba brings the dhaba tradition — roadside restaurant, home-style portions, robust Punjabi flavours — to Amsterdam. The word "dhaba" carries specific cultural weight: it implies unpretentious, filling cooking rather than a curated dining experience. Swaadee extends the South Asian range further by pairing Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine, reflecting the community overlap between these two food cultures in a diaspora context.

For those who want North Indian in a more formal setting, New Delhi Restaurant and Moti Mahal (named after a famous restaurant lineage in Delhi) both cover familiar territory with their own approaches. Annapurna carries an Indian-Nepalese menu alongside Surya, reflecting the Nepali community's presence within the wider South Asian diaspora in the Netherlands. India Port (53 Amstelzijde) and Indian Hut (387 Oosteinderweg) extend the reach of the scene further into the Amsterdam ring.

FAQ

Q: Is there a neighbourhood in Amsterdam where Indian restaurants are concentrated? No single district dominates. De Pijp (Surya), Bos en Lommer/West (Chadni Chowk), the city centre (Ashoka on Spuistraat), and Haarlemmerdijk (Curry Queen) all have options. Use the neighbourhood you are based in as the natural starting point.

Q: Are there vegetarian or vegan-friendly Indian restaurants in Amsterdam? Indian cuisine is structurally vegetarian-forward — most menus carry substantial vegetarian sections. Dosa's South Indian focus is largely plant-based by default. Confirm specific dietary requirements with each restaurant before visiting.

Q: How can I contact Surya for reservations? Surya's listed email is info@suryarestaurant.nl and their phone is +31 20 676 7985.

Q: Is Indian Junction inside Amsterdam? No. Indian Junction is in Uithoorn (5 Cort van der Lindenplein), south of the city — closer to Amstelveen and the South Amsterdam ring. It requires a short drive or transit connection from the city centre.

Q: What is Chadni Chowk known for? The name references Old Delhi's famous market district, signalling a North Indian focus. Expect tandoor-cooked dishes, spiced gravies, and bread-forward accompaniments in the Delhi tradition.

Bottom Line

Amsterdam's Indian restaurant landscape in 2026 rewards advance research more than most cities, because the scene is distributed rather than clustered. The practical approach is matching the restaurant to your neighbourhood: for long-standing reputation, Surya and Chadni Chowk are the anchor names. For central convenience, Ashoka on Spuistraat delivers. For South Indian food in a city where it remains relatively uncommon, Dosa is the obvious choice. The full picture — from Punjabi Dhaba's home-style cooking to Swaadee's Indian-Sri Lankan crossover to Annapurna's Nepalese dimension — shows a scene that reflects the actual diversity of the subcontinent rather than a simplified export version of it.