New Indian Restaurants in Melbourne (June 2026)

Melbourne's South Asian food scene never really sleeps — but right now it feels like the whole community is eating well and eating differently. Whether you've just landed from Delhi, grown up in Dandenong, or you're a second-gen Malayali quietly homesick for proper fish curry, there's something genuinely new worth knowing about. Here's your community-first guide to the freshest Indian and Desi openings making noise across Melbourne this June.

TL;DR

• 🍛 Malabar (Kerala) cuisine finally has a Melbourne-dedicated home at Malabar Tales
• 🏙️ The CBD just got a polished new Indian diner at Curry Vault on Bank Place
• 🍚 Hyderabadi biryani lovers, Marhaba Biryani is worth bookmarking right now
• 🌶️ South Indian classics done properly — Sri Dwaraka has two Melbourne locations
• ☕ Snacky, casual Indo-chai vibes at Maska Chaska on Whitehorse Road

Why Melbourne's Indian Food Scene Is Having a Moment

For years, Melbourne's Indian dining landscape followed a familiar script: butter chicken, naan, maybe a decent dosa on a good day. That script is being rewritten. A new generation of South Asian operators — many of them community members who grew up here or arrived in the last decade — are opening places that reflect how Desis actually eat: regional, specific, and deeply personal.

This isn't just good news for foodies. For Melbourne's South Asian diaspora, every new regional restaurant is a small act of cultural preservation. A Hyderabadi biryani made with dum-cooked rice, a Malabar-style prawn curry with coconut and kudampuli — these aren't just meals, they're memory on a plate.

The CBD & Inner City: Something New Downtown

Curry Vault has set up at 18–20 Bank Place in the heart of the CBD — a part of the city that's historically been more wine bars than dal makhani. Bank Place is a quiet, laneway-adjacent strip, which makes it a genuinely interesting spot for a proper Indian sit-down. Check their website at curryvault.com.au for the latest menu and hours before you head in.

Also in the city's orbit, Villas at 488 Bourke Street runs a tight, focused schedule — lunch Monday to Friday from 11 am to 3 pm, and dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 5 pm to 10 pm. That lunch window is a solid reminder that not every great Indian meal needs to be a long weekend affair. Grab it on a work break.

Delhi Streets operates out of 22 Katherine Place and keeps a consistent split-shift week — lunch and dinner Monday through Friday, with dinner-only on Saturdays. It's a helpful option if you're navigating the inner city during the week.

Regional Cuisines Getting the Spotlight

This is where things get exciting for the diaspora. Malabar Tales is a dedicated Kerala-focused restaurant — Malabar cuisine, to be precise, which draws from the northern coastal belt of Kerala and carries strong influences from Arab and Mappila culinary traditions. Think appam, stews, seafood preparations with raw coconut, and the kind of depth that comes from spice blends you won't find in a generic Indian restaurant. Visit malabartales.com.au for location and booking details.

Sri Dwaraka brings authentic South Indian cooking to Melbourne with two locations — one in Clayton (03 8524 0791) and another reachable via 03 8652 9277. South Indian food done with integrity — idli, sambar, rasam, proper filter coffee culture — is still genuinely hard to find outside the suburbs where the Tamil and Telugu communities have settled. Sri Dwaraka is a name to keep saved in your phone. Their website is sridwaraka.com.au.

For those with roots in Hyderabad or a serious devotion to biryani as an art form, Marhaba Biryani is squarely focused on Hyderabadi-style cooking. The dum biryani tradition — slow-cooked, layered, sealed — is one of the most technically demanding dishes in Indian cuisine, and it deserves a venue that takes it seriously. Find them at marhababiryanii.com.au.

Neighbourhood Gems Worth the Drive

Not everything worth eating is in the CBD. Maska Chaska at 128 Whitehorse Road brings casual Indian snack and chai culture to the eastern suburbs — call them on +61 416 826 869 or browse maskachaska.au. If you grew up eating pav bhaji at a roadside stall or hunting for good samosas outside of Diwali season, this kind of spot fills a real gap.

Camberwell Curry House at 509 Riversdale Road is a neighbourhood Indian in one of Melbourne's more established middle-ring suburbs. The website is camberwellcurryhouse.com.au. Camberwell has a quiet but loyal South Asian residential community, and a local curry house that's truly local — walkable, familiar, part of the suburb's fabric — matters differently than a destination restaurant.

Krishna Pait Pooja at 578 Barkly Street runs evenings only (Wednesday through Sunday, 5 pm to 8:30 pm) — the name translates roughly to 'the worship of filling the stomach,' which tells you everything about the philosophy. It's the kind of short-hours, soul-food operation that tends to develop a loyal following fast. Find details at krishnapaitpooja.com.au.

Swaad India's Zest at 271–275 Centre Road is open every day of the week for dinner (5 pm to 10 pm), which makes it one of the more consistently accessible options on this list. Call +61 3 8394 6943 or visit swaad.com.au.

The Docklands and Southbank Corridor

The Bourke Street corridor in Docklands and surrounds is quietly becoming a Desi dining strip. Sher Singh Docklands at 807–809 Bourke Street opens Tuesday through Friday from 4 pm to 10 pm (+61 451 984 484, shersingh.com.au). Biryani and Curries by Jannat is just around the corner at 764 Bourke Street, open Sunday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm (+61 451 299 151, jannat.com.au). Two serious biryani and curry options within walking distance of each other, plus Villas nearby — this stretch is worth knowing about.

💡 Desi Insider Tip: If you're exploring a new place for the first time, go for the dish that's hardest to fake. At a Malabar restaurant, order the fish curry. At a Hyderabadi biryani spot, skip the butter chicken entirely — if the biryani is properly dum-cooked with the right aged basmati, you'll know within two bites whether they mean it. Restaurants that specialise reveal themselves through their signature.

Also on the Radar

The Nawabi Taste at 223 Nelson Place opens Monday through Thursday from 4:30 pm to 9 pm (+61 422 555 749, thenawabitaste.com.au). The Nawabi tradition references the refined, Awadhi-influenced cuisine of old Lucknow — rich kormas, slow-braised meats, the kind of cooking that takes patience. Worth watching.

Mehek Indian Restaurant at 8 Main Street has been quietly serving the community — reach them on +61 3 9434 5209 or at mehek.com.au.

Babu Ji and Clove Chill and Grill (127 Gourlay Road, +61 3 8390 8486) round out a diverse spread of options across Melbourne's suburbs. Clove's website at clovechillandgrill.com.au has store and ordering details.

And for the Sri Lankan members of our community — yes, you belong here too. Hop & Spice Ascot Vale at 230 Union Road (+61 3 9454 1806, hopandspice.com.au) and Upali's at 248 Blackburn Road (+61 3 9887 6700, upalis.com, open daily 9 am to 5 pm) both represent the broader South Asian dining family Melbourne is lucky to have.

FAQ

Q: Are these restaurants new openings or just new to this list? A: This guide covers restaurants active and verified as of June 2026 — some may be recent openings, others newly prominent in the community. Always check the website or call ahead to confirm current hours and availability.

Q: Which of these is best for a vegetarian South Asian diet? A: Sri Dwaraka's South Indian menu and Krishna Pait Pooja are both strong options for vegetarian diners. Dosa Hut at 29–35 Lake Street (+61 3 8358 4460, dosahut.net.au) is also worth knowing for its South Indian vegetarian staples.

Q: I want Hyderabadi biryani specifically — where should I go? A: Marhaba Biryani and Biryani and Curries by Jannat (764 Bourke Street) are both focused on biryani and worth trying. Check their websites for current menus.

Q: Are any of these good for a weekday work lunch near the CBD? A: Villas (488 Bourke Street, lunch Monday–Friday 11 am–3 pm) and Delhi Streets (22 Katherine Place, lunch Monday–Friday) are both solid weekday lunch choices in or near the city.

Q: How do I find the most current hours before visiting? A: Hours listed here are based on available verified data but can change — always check the restaurant's website or call directly before making the trip.

The Bottom Line

Melbourne's Indian and South Asian restaurant scene in June 2026 is more regionally diverse, more community-rooted, and more worth exploring than it has ever been. Whether you're chasing Malabar seafood, proper dum biryani, South Indian filter coffee, or just a good snack and chai on a Tuesday evening, someone in this city has opened a place with you in mind.

This is your community feeding itself — and doing it with pride. Keep exploring, keep supporting local, and check back on Desi.Net for the latest updates, reviews, and community stories from Melbourne's South Asian world.