New Indian Restaurants in Medan (September 2026)

TL;DR

• 🍛 Medan's Indian restaurant scene is growing, with three standout spots to know
• 🌶️ Spice of India brings dedicated South Indian cuisine to Medan Barat
• 🥘 Martabak Sabass and Cahaya Baru anchor an Indian food cluster on Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro
• 🌍 Medan hosts one of Indonesia's oldest and most established Indian diaspora communities
• 📍 Visit desi.net/medan for the full local Indian community directory

Medan's Indian Dining Heritage

Medan is Indonesia's third-largest city and one of the most ethnically diverse urban centers in Southeast Asia. For centuries, South Asian traders, laborers, and settlers arrived on Sumatra's northeastern coast and built communities that have shaped the city's culture, architecture, and — crucially — its food. The Tamil Muslim community, in particular, left a culinary imprint on Medan that runs far deeper than most visitors realize.

Walk through any neighborhood in Medan and you will encounter the legacy of Indian cooking in everyday street food. Martabak, the stuffed flatbread whose name and technique trace directly to South Asian origins, is sold from carts and kiosks throughout the city. Roti canai, murtabak, and various curry-based soups are standard fare at neighborhood warungs. Indian cooking is not exotic in Medan — it is part of the baseline.

Against that backdrop, dedicated Indian restaurants represent something more specific: community institutions where the Indian diaspora can gather, celebrate, and share food that reflects the full range of South Asian culinary tradition rather than just the dishes that have crossed over into Indonesian cooking at large.

Three Indian Restaurants Currently Listed in Medan

The Desi.Net directory currently features three Indian restaurants in Medan, each occupying a distinct position in the city's dining landscape.

Spice of India is the most prominently positioned of the three. Located at Jl. Putri Hijau Villa Green Garden Blok D No. 1, Silalas, Medan Barat, this restaurant specializes in South Indian cuisine — the rice plates, sambar, rasam, dosas, and tamarind-forward preparations that are central to Tamil cooking. South Indian food has particular resonance in Medan given the city's large Tamil community, and a restaurant dedicated specifically to this regional tradition fills a meaningful gap in the local dining scene. Spice of India can be reached at 087775626189 for reservations or to confirm current hours before your visit.

Martabak Sabass occupies a spot on Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro, the street that has quietly become a reference point for Indian-leaning dining in Medan. The restaurant's name foregrounds martabak, the egg-stuffed flatbread whose Indian origins are well documented, and its menu focuses on Indian cuisine more broadly. The name Sabass — a word of Arabic and Urdu origin meaning "bravo" or "well done" — gestures toward the South Asian cultural connections that inform the kitchen.

Cahaya Baru, also on Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro, completes the cluster. The name translates to "New Light" in Indonesian, which reads as both a straightforward restaurant name and a statement of intent: something new and worthwhile in the established Indian dining landscape of the city. Like Martabak Sabass, it serves Indian cuisine in a setting that reflects Medan's particular version of South Asian community life.

Insider Tip: If you are planning to explore the Indian restaurant scene in one outing, Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro is worth treating as your base. Martabak Sabass and Cahaya Baru are both on this street, and the surrounding area has additional Indian-influenced food options that make for a rewarding afternoon of eating.

What Indian Food in Medan Tastes Like

Indian cuisine in Medan has always been shaped by the city's multicultural context. The Tamil Muslim influence means that halal preparation is standard at most Indian eateries here, which also makes them accessible to Medan's large Muslim majority population. Spicing tends toward the aromatic rather than the aggressively hot, though South Indian preparations like rasam can carry a genuine punch.

The presence of both South Indian and general Indian menus among the current listings reflects the community's diversity. Tamil cooking — rice-centered, tamarind-tangy, lentil-rich — differs substantially from the wheat-bread-and-butter-chicken style associated with North Indian restaurant cooking in Western countries. For anyone accustomed to one tradition encountering the other, Medan's Indian restaurants offer a useful education.

The Diaspora Context

The Indian community in Medan is not a recent transplant. Tamil workers arrived during the Dutch colonial period to work on Sumatra's tobacco and rubber plantations, and many stayed. Their descendants now include established business families, traders in the city's textile districts, and professionals across every sector. The community has maintained temples, cultural organizations, and a distinct social life alongside — and intertwined with — Medan's larger multicultural fabric.

For this community, Indian restaurants are not just places to eat. They are venues for festival gatherings, post-puja meals, business lunches with visiting relatives from India or Malaysia, and the ordinary pleasures of food that tastes like home. The three restaurants currently listed on Desi.Net serve this community while also welcoming the wider Medan public that has grown up eating Indian-influenced food and remains curious about the source.

Finding More

The restaurant listings above represent the verified entries on Desi.Net at time of publication. The Medan directory covers restaurants, temples, cultural organizations, and community services — a full picture of what the Indian community in this city looks like today. For the most current listings, including any new restaurants that have been added since this piece was written, desi.net/medan is the place to check.

FAQ

Q: Is Indian food widely available in Medan beyond these three restaurants? A: Indian culinary influence is everywhere in Medan's food scene — martabak, roti canai, and various curry preparations appear throughout the city. But dedicated Indian restaurants offering full menus are less common, which makes the three current listings particularly valuable for anyone seeking the full South Asian dining experience.

Q: What type of Indian cuisine does Spice of India serve? A: Spice of India specializes in South Indian cuisine — the style associated with Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and neighboring states. This means rice-based dishes, lentil preparations, tamarind-flavored sauces, and flatbreads like dosa and idli.

Q: Are the restaurants on Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro easy to find? A: Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro is a known street in central Medan. Both Martabak Sabass and Cahaya Baru are listed at this address. Confirming exact addresses through Desi.Net or a local maps application before visiting is recommended.

Q: Is Indian food in Medan typically halal? A: Given Medan's large Muslim majority and the Tamil Muslim heritage of much of the city's Indian community, halal preparation is standard at most Indian establishments. Visitors with dietary requirements should confirm directly with the restaurant.

Q: How do I contact Spice of India? A: The listed phone number for Spice of India is 087775626189.

Bottom Line

Medan's Indian restaurant scene is small but significant. Spice of India, Martabak Sabass, and Cahaya Baru each serve a community whose culinary roots in this city run centuries deep. Whether you are part of Medan's Indian diaspora or a visitor curious about authentic South Asian cooking in an Indonesian context, these restaurants are worth seeking out. Check desi.net/medan to stay current with the directory as it grows.