Best Indian Restaurants in Mason (2026)

TL;DR

• 🍛 Mason and the Greater Cincinnati area have a solid range of Indian and South Asian dining options for the local Desi community.
• 🌶️ Shaan Indian Cuisine, Elephant Walk, and Brij Mohan are established Indian restaurants serving the region.
• 🥙 Kebab House Grill and Bakery brings Middle Eastern and Central Asian flavors with seven-day-a-week hours.
• 🛒 India Grocery handles home-cooking essentials for the community.
• 📍 Dining options spread across Mason, Clifton, Paxton, and nearby Cincinnati neighborhoods give residents real flexibility.

Mason, Ohio sits roughly 25 miles north of downtown Cincinnati, straddling Warren County and Hamilton County. Over the past two decades, the city has grown from a quiet suburb into a preferred destination for families drawn by strong school districts and proximity to corporate campuses, hospitals, and research facilities. Among those families, a meaningful Desi diaspora has taken root — many working at healthcare systems, technology companies, and universities in the Greater Cincinnati metro. The demand for authentic Indian food has followed, producing a cluster of Indian and South Asian dining options scattered across Mason and the broader city.

This guide covers Indian and South Asian-adjacent restaurants in the Mason-Cincinnati area using verified location data only.

The Restaurant Lineup

Kebab House Grill and Bakery

Kebab House Grill and Bakery at 7835 Cincinnati-Dayton Road is open Monday through Sunday, 10am to 10pm — one of the most convenient hour sets in the local dining landscape. The menu is Lebanese, Uzbek, and Middle Eastern in orientation: grilled meats, rice pilafs, flatbreads, and kebabs prepared in the tradition of Central and West Asian cooking. For members of the Desi community — particularly those from Pakistan, Afghanistan, or North India, where grilled meat and rice-based dishes are staples — the flavors here are a comfortable alternative. Reach them at +1-513-644-2080.

Brij Mohan

Brij Mohan at 11259 Reading Road is an Indian restaurant serving the northern Cincinnati corridor. The name signals a home-style sensibility — Brij Mohan is a devotional name for Lord Krishna — and the restaurant has built a following among Desi families in the area who prefer straightforward, familiar Indian cooking.

Elephant Walk

Elephant Walk is located at 170 West McMillan Avenue, in the University of Cincinnati area. Phone: +1-513-526-1555. As an Indian restaurant serving the university corridor, it draws a mix of students, faculty, and nearby residents. The McMillan Avenue location puts it within easy reach of the broader Clifton neighborhood cluster.

Namaste

Namaste at 2910 Short Vine Street serves the University Village and Clifton Heights area with Indian cuisine. Short Vine is a compact commercial strip near UC's campus, and Namaste occupies a spot that benefits from consistent foot traffic from the university and medical center communities.

Clifton Indian Restaurant and Bar

Clifton Indian Restaurant and Bar at 3215 Jefferson Avenue rounds out the Clifton cluster. Reachable at +1-513-376-9384, this restaurant serves Indian food with a bar menu — a combination that makes it a practical option for mixed groups that include both Indian food regulars and those new to the cuisine.

Shaan Indian Cuisine

Shaan Indian Cuisine at 3880 Paxton Avenue is a well-regarded Indian restaurant in the Cincinnati metro, reachable at +1-513-533-3100. The Paxton Avenue location sits in a different neighborhood pocket from the Clifton cluster, giving Mason residents an option that doesn't require crossing into the university district. A menu anchored in North Indian standards — tandoori dishes, curries, biryani, and bread — covers the core of what most Desi families are looking for on a weeknight.

Spice City

Spice City is an Indian restaurant in the area. The name suggests a spice-forward kitchen, and it adds another option to the Indian dining roster in the metro.

Chennai Kitchen

Chennai Kitchen is the primary South Indian option in the Mason-Cincinnati area. The name signals a Tamil Nadu focus — expect dosas, idlis, uttapam, sambar, and filter coffee alongside rice-based dishes. For Tamil families, Kerala households, and anyone whose palate runs South Indian, Chennai Kitchen fills a genuine gap in the regional dining picture that most North Indian menus do not address.

Grocery and Home Cooking

India Grocery

India Grocery serves the home-cooking needs of Mason's Indian diaspora with South Asian pantry essentials — dals, flours, spices, pickles, frozen goods, and specialty items that mainstream grocery chains don't carry. For families who do most of their South Asian cooking at home, a reliable Indian grocery is as essential as any restaurant.

Insider Tip: For festival cooking — Diwali mithai prep, Onam sadya ingredients, or biryani supplies for Eid — visit India Grocery at least one week before the festival. Specialty items like fresh curry leaves, specific dal varieties, chaat ingredients, and imported spice blends move fast in the days immediately before major observances. A mid-week trip the week before is safer than a last-minute Saturday run.

Practical Notes for Dining Out

Most Indian restaurant menus in the Greater Cincinnati area lean toward North Indian cooking: butter chicken, dal makhani, palak paneer, biryani, naan, and tandoori platters are the staples. For distinctly South Indian food — dosas, uttapam, rasam, and coconut-forward curries — Chennai Kitchen is the most relevant address.

Many of these restaurants offer weekday lunch buffet service, which allows sampling a wider range of dishes at a lower price point. Call ahead to confirm buffet hours and availability before making the trip, as schedules shift seasonally and can change without notice.

Families with vegetarian, vegan, or Jain dietary needs will generally find Indian restaurants accommodating. The menus already skew heavily vegetarian, and most kitchens can adapt dishes on request. Jain requirements — no root vegetables — are typically manageable with advance notice at the time of ordering.

FAQ

Are there Indian restaurants in Mason itself, or only in Cincinnati? Kebab House Grill and Bakery and Brij Mohan are in the Mason-to-Reading Road corridor. The Clifton cluster — Elephant Walk, Namaste, Clifton Indian Restaurant and Bar — is in Cincinnati proper, roughly 20-25 miles from Mason's center. Shaan Indian Cuisine on Paxton Avenue sits in between.

What are the hours for Kebab House Grill and Bakery? Monday through Sunday, 10am to 10pm.

Does Shaan Indian Cuisine take phone orders? Contact Shaan Indian Cuisine directly at +1-513-533-3100 to confirm current ordering options, hours, and availability for groups.

Where can I find South Indian food specifically? Chennai Kitchen is the primary South Indian option in the area. For a broader South Indian menu, the Clifton-area restaurants are worth a call to check their current offerings.

Where can I buy Indian groceries in Mason? India Grocery serves as the primary South Asian grocery resource for the community.

Is Clifton Indian Restaurant and Bar family-friendly? The restaurant serves Indian cuisine alongside a bar menu. Contact them at +1-513-376-9384 to ask about seating arrangements for families with children.

Bottom Line

The Indian dining scene around Mason, Ohio is distributed across a northern suburban corridor and the Clifton neighborhood in Cincinnati proper. Kebab House Grill and Bakery at 7835 Cincinnati-Dayton Road offers seven-day hours for Middle Eastern and Central Asian cooking. Shaan Indian Cuisine at 3880 Paxton Avenue and Elephant Walk at 170 West McMillan Avenue anchor the Indian restaurant options. Chennai Kitchen fills the South Indian gap, and Brij Mohan, Namaste, Clifton Indian Restaurant and Bar, and Spice City round out a scene that, while spread across the metro, gives Mason's Desi diaspora genuine options for both dining out and cooking at home. India Grocery ties it all together for the home cook.