Best Indian Restaurants in Perth (2026)

TL;DR 🍛

• 🌶️ Perth has a genuinely diverse Indian food scene, from contemporary dining to neighbourhood curry houses spread across Northbridge, Fremantle, and the suburbs
• 🥗 Sauma and Mela Indian anchor the William Street corridor in Northbridge — the easiest starting point for Indian dining in the city
• 🎬 Bollywood Stories, 2 Fat Indians, and The Kauphy Place each bring distinct personalities to the table
• 🙏 Govindas Hare Krishna Food in Northbridge offers a vegetarian experience grounded in tradition at genuinely accessible prices
• 🧡 Lal Qila stands out as one of the few restaurants doing both Indian and Pakistani cuisine — a wider menu than most

Perth's Indian Restaurant Scene

Perth's relationship with Indian food has deepened considerably over the past decade. The city hosts a substantial South Asian community — a mix of Indian, Nepalese, Sri Lankan, and Pakistani families — and the restaurant landscape has responded. What you find today is not a single strip of identical curry houses but a varied set of kitchens scattered from Northbridge through to the southern suburbs, each with a different approach to the food.

The cluster around William Street in Northbridge remains the easiest entry point. Sauma, at the northern end of the street, takes a contemporary approach to Indian cuisine — the kind of place where the plating has been considered and the menu reflects how South Asian food has been moving globally for the past decade. Mela Indian, a few doors along, has built its reputation on a reliable lunch trade, keeping the menu focused and the kitchen consistent. Between those two anchors, the strip rewards exploration.

Restaurants Worth Knowing

Sauma sits at the contemporary end of Perth's Indian food spectrum. The kitchen works with familiar Indian ingredients and technique, but presents them in a format suited to a modern dining room. It runs a dinner service from Thursday through Sunday and opens for lunch from Thursday onward. Worth booking ahead.

Mela Indian holds down the daytime trade on William Street with a straightforward approach to North Indian cooking. Dal, curry, rice — done well and served quickly. It draws a lunch crowd for good reason.

Delhi 6 carries a name that references one of Delhi's most storied neighbourhoods and the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. The restaurant has built a following in Perth for staying close to that reference point — the kind of Indian food that feels like it comes from somewhere specific.

Lal Qila in Morley opens for dinner Tuesday through Sunday and runs an Indian-Pakistani menu that is among the more explicit acknowledgements in Perth's dining scene that South Asian cuisine does not stop at India's western border. Karachi-inflected dishes sit alongside North Indian classics, and the menu is wider for it.

2 Fat Indians on Beaufort Street runs dinner seven days. The name is deliberately irreverent in a way the cooking is not — the kitchen takes the food seriously.

Little Magic Momo brings Nepalese cuisine into the conversation. Momos — the dumplings that have crossed from Kathmandu into every significant diaspora kitchen — are the centrepiece, and the restaurant has found a following that extends well beyond the Nepalese community. It is the kind of place that reminds you South Asian food is a region, not a single country.

Bollywood Stories in Cambridge has the widest name recognition among Perth's Indian community. It functions as a social venue as much as a restaurant, which is part of its appeal.

Saroor in South Fremantle runs dinner Monday through Thursday and extends hours on weekends. The kitchen focuses on North Indian food with the kind of consistency that builds a regular clientele.

Nine Marys Indian Restaurant on Hay Street has been part of Perth's central dining landscape long enough to have regulars who remember when the area had almost no Indian dining at all. It holds steady.

Govindas Hare Krishna Food on William Street is a Perth institution for anyone looking for vegetarian food that is both affordable and genuinely non-commercial in its intent. The Hare Krishna food philosophy — prasadam, food prepared as devotion — means the cooking is grounded in something beyond the commercial transaction. Whether or not you share that framework, the result is usually excellent vegetarian cooking at prices that undercut almost everything else on the street.

The Darbar in South Fremantle, Copper Chimney and Chutney Mary's along South Terrace, and Mother India round out the landscape with neighbourhood options that serve their local communities reliably.

The Kauphy Place in Lynwood, Milan Indian Restaurant in South Fremantle, Haweli Indian Restaurant in Karrinyup, and Samrat Indian Restaurant further south each fill the suburban role — the local Indian restaurant that doesn't need to compete for reviews because its regulars already know where it is.

Balti Indian restaurant, Spicy Affair, Zab Curry House in Como, and Jewel of the Park extend the footprint into corners of the city that the Northbridge-focused conversation typically misses.

Insider Tip: If you are making a Fremantle/South Perth circuit, Saroor and The Darbar are close enough to compare in a single evening. The two kitchens represent quite different approaches to North Indian cooking, and regulars have strong opinions about which one is getting it right. Neither is a bad answer.

What to Expect Across the Scene

Perth's Indian dining landscape skews toward North Indian and Punjabi cooking — butter chicken, biryani, dal makhani, and tandoor dishes feature across most menus. Lal Qila and Delhi 6 bring Pakistani and Old Delhi influences. Little Magic Momo adds Nepalese texture. Govindas Hare Krishna Food is the pure vegetarian outlier.

The southern suburbs — Fremantle, South Fremantle, Como, Lynwood — have a different feel from Northbridge. The Northbridge strip is busy and competitive; the suburban locations tend to feel more local and less sceney. Both have their place depending on the kind of meal you want.

FAQ

Is Perth's Indian food scene comparable to Sydney or Melbourne? It is smaller in absolute numbers, but the scene is genuine and has grown substantially over the past decade. Several Perth restaurants would hold up in any Australian city.

Where is the main cluster of Indian restaurants in Perth? Northbridge, particularly the William Street corridor, is the densest cluster. Sauma, Mela Indian, Delhi 6, and Govindas Hare Krishna Food are all within walking distance of each other.

Are there vegetarian-only Indian restaurants in Perth? Govindas Hare Krishna Food is the most established vegetarian option. Several others offer strong vegetarian menus, particularly in the North Indian category.

Does Perth have Pakistani food? Lal Qila specifically offers both Indian and Pakistani cuisine and is the clearest example. Other restaurants carry dishes that cross the border without foregrounding it.

Is there Nepalese food in Perth? Little Magic Momo is the dedicated Nepalese option and has found a following well beyond the Nepalese community.

Bottom Line

Perth has the restaurants to make Indian food a regular part of life rather than a special occasion. Sauma and Mela Indian anchor the Northbridge corridor; Lal Qila, Saroor, and The Darbar offer suburban alternatives with real cooking behind them. Little Magic Momo and Govindas Hare Krishna Food fill distinct niches the broader scene would be poorer without. The full Perth Desi directory — including these restaurants and the wider South Asian community — is on Desi.Net.