Best Indian Restaurants in San Francisco (2026)

TL;DR

• 🍛 San Francisco's Indian restaurant scene spreads across the Richmond, Mission, Fillmore, Civic Center, and West Portal — no single enclave, strong options everywhere
• Ocean Indian Cuisine on Geary Boulevard is open seven days a week, 10 AM to 10 PM, making it the most accessible anchor in the Richmond
• The Mission District packs the highest density: Udupi Palace, Curry Up Now, Apna Chulha, Aaha Indian Cuisine, and more within walking distance
• 🌶️ Shalimar on Jones Street is the go-to for Pakistani-Indian karahi in the Tenderloin; Viva Goa on Lombard brings Goan coastal cooking to the Marina
• Hours vary more than you'd expect — Mehfil Indian Restaurant and Shalimar are weekday lunch-only spots, so plan accordingly

Indian Restaurants Across SF's Neighborhoods

San Francisco's Indian dining community is spread across the city rather than concentrated in a single enclave. That geographic scatter means good Indian food turns up in almost every major neighborhood, from the far western avenues to downtown's lunch corridors. This guide covers addresses by neighborhood so you can find a meal without backtracking across town.

Richmond District and Western Neighborhoods

The Richmond District holds one of the city's most reliable clusters of South Asian dining, centered on Geary Boulevard and the nearby Irving and Clement Street corridors.

Ocean Indian Cuisine at 6127 Geary Boulevard is the neighborhood's most consistently available option — open Monday through Sunday, 10 AM to 10 PM. Few Indian restaurants in SF match that schedule, which makes it a practical choice for early lunches, late dinners, or weekday flexibility.

On the Sunset side, Masala Dosa at 1375 9th Avenue has settled into neighborhood-staple status for South Indian cooking. The menu focuses on dosas in various forms with chutneys and sambhar, making it a reliable choice for vegetarian diners. A few blocks away on the same side of the park, Keeva at 908 Clement Street offers a neighborhood-feel Indian dining experience on the Inner Richmond's main commercial strip.

Sunset Indian Cuisine at 642 Irving Street lists Indian and Himalayan cuisine together — a common pairing in the Bay Area that reflects the blended South Asian community along the western avenues. And Gurung Kitchen at 1033 Irving Street focuses specifically on Nepali-inflected cooking, distinct in approach from the subcontinental Indian menus around it.

The Mission District: Highest Density

The Mission is where the count of Indian restaurants runs highest. Several sit within easy walking distance of each other along Valencia Street and its cross streets.

Udupi Palace at 1007 Valencia Street is the neighborhood's long-standing vegetarian South Indian anchor. The name is practically shorthand for affordable dosas and uttapam in this part of the city — it has been feeding the Mission's South Asian community for years. Just up the street, Apna Chulha at 550 Valencia Street takes a homestyle approach, while Curry Up Now at 659 Valencia Street channels Indian flavors into a street-food format that includes burritos and bowls alongside more traditional preparations.

Aaha Indian Cuisine at 3316 17th Street is another Mission option worth noting, as is Indian Oven at 233 Fillmore Street — technically at the Fillmore border — a long-established restaurant with a traditional North Indian menu that has served the neighborhood for years.

Zante Pizza & Indian Cuisine at 3489 Mission Street is genuinely unusual: an Indian-inflected pizza operation that has been an SF curiosity for decades. It runs Monday through Saturday, 11 AM to 11 PM, giving it one of the widest evening windows in this category.

Dancing Yak at 280 Valencia Street is worth including even though it focuses on Nepali and Tibetan food rather than subcontinental Indian cuisine — a completely different meal from what most of its neighbors offer.

For the southern Mission, Namaste Indian Cuisine at 2848 23rd Street covers Indian and Nepali cooking for residents below 24th Street.

Civic Center, Tenderloin, and Polk Street

The Tenderloin and Civic Center zone holds some of the city's most utilitarian Indian dining — spots built around a lunch crowd that comes and goes on a tight schedule.

Shalimar at 532 Jones Street is the most prominent Pakistani-Indian restaurant in SF, known for its karahi and halal preparations. Hours run Monday through Friday, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM for the lunch service — a narrow window that catches people off guard. The food is hearty, affordable, and direct.

Spice of India at 448 Larkin Street occupies the same general neighborhood with a more traditional Indian menu, giving the Civic Center area two South Asian options in close proximity.

Himalayan Cuisine at 1412 Polk Street brings Indian and Nepali cooking to the Polk Street corridor, a stretch that doesn't have many South Asian options otherwise.

For the downtown financial district, Mehfil Indian Restaurant at 88 2nd Street operates Monday through Friday, 11 AM to 3 PM — aimed squarely at the office lunch crowd. The window is narrow, but the location on 2nd Street makes it the most central option for workers in SoMa and the Financial District.

West Portal, Marina, and Beyond

Clay Oven at 385 West Portal Avenue is the neighborhood's Indian representative in the quiet West Portal commercial strip — a practical sit-down choice for families in the western neighborhoods who don't want to cross town.

Viva Goa at 2420 Lombard Street brings Goan coastal cooking to the Marina District. Goan cuisine has its own distinct character — fish curries, vindaloo, and Portuguese-influenced preparations — and it separates Viva Goa clearly from the North Indian-dominant options found elsewhere in the city.

Five Rivers Indian Cuisine rounds out the city's Indian restaurant landscape as another community staple, though specific address details were not available for this guide.

Insider Tip: SF's Indian restaurants thin out significantly in SoMa, the Haight, and Noe Valley. If you're in those neighborhoods, Zante Pizza & Indian Cuisine on Mission Street offers the longest Saturday evening window and can serve as a useful fallback. For lunch specifically, Mehfil Indian Restaurant and Shalimar both close by 2:30–3 PM, so an early table or a takeout order before 2 PM is safer than arriving at 2:15.

A Note on Fusion Options

Two spots in the Clement Street and Chestnut Street areas appear in the neighborhood dining landscape: B Star at 127 Clement Street is an Asian-Burmese-Thai fusion restaurant, and World Wrapps at 2105 Chestnut Street offers Mexican, Indian, and Asian wraps in a fast-casual format. Neither is a primary Indian restaurant, but both appear in conversations about diverse neighborhood eating along those corridors.

FAQ

Which Indian restaurant in San Francisco has the most flexible hours? Ocean Indian Cuisine at 6127 Geary Boulevard is open Monday through Sunday, 10 AM to 10 PM — the widest schedule among the city's Indian restaurants in this guide.

Where can I find South Indian vegetarian food in SF? Masala Dosa at 1375 9th Avenue and Udupi Palace at 1007 Valencia Street both specialize in South Indian vegetarian cooking, including dosas, idli, uttapam, and sambhar.

What is the best Pakistani-Indian restaurant in San Francisco? Shalimar at 532 Jones Street is the most established Pakistani-Indian option, known for its karahi and halal preparations. Note its hours: Monday through Friday, 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

Are there Nepali or Himalayan restaurants in SF? Several spots offer Himalayan or Nepali cuisine: Gurung Kitchen on Irving Street, Dancing Yak on Valencia Street, Himalayan Cuisine on Polk Street, Namaste Indian Cuisine on 23rd Street, and Sunset Indian Cuisine on Irving Street all have Nepali or Himalayan items on their menus.

What makes Viva Goa different from other Indian restaurants in SF? Viva Goa on Lombard Street focuses on Goan coastal cuisine — a regional style distinct from North or South Indian cooking, with Portuguese-influenced preparations, fish curries, and vindaloo as signature dishes.

Bottom Line

San Francisco's Indian dining is geographically spread but genuinely varied. For South Indian vegetarian, the Sunset and Mission corridors are the strongest zones. For North Indian and Pakistani, the Tenderloin and Civic Center deliver solid lunch options. The Richmond gives you the most flexible all-day schedule with Ocean Indian Cuisine. The Mission packs the highest density of Indian restaurants in the city — and when you add Goan at Viva Goa and Nepali at Dancing Yak and Gurung Kitchen, the full range of South Asian cooking across SF is broader than most cities its size.