New Indian Restaurants in Wellington (September 2026)

TL;DR

• Wellington's Indian dining options now span Lambton Quay, Strathmore Park, Cuba Mall, and Northland Road
• Muthu's in Strathmore Park is open seven days a week and runs until 9 pm most nights
• Planet Spice and Higher Taste Hare Krishna serve the CBD lunch crowd on weekdays
• Delhi7 Indian Restaurant And Bar adds a bar licence to North Indian dining on Northland Road 🍻
• South Indian cooking is available at The Curry Pot on Riddiford Street

Wellington's Indian Dining Landscape

Wellington's Indian and Desi community has a dining map that stretches from the CBD to the eastern suburbs, and the past year has added enough new faces to the roster that keeping track requires a proper update. This guide covers what is currently open, what is useful to know before making a trip, and how the city's different neighbourhoods each contribute something distinct to the overall picture.

The city's geography shapes where the restaurants cluster. Lambton Quay and Cuba Mall attract foot traffic from office workers and students. The eastern suburbs — particularly Strathmore Park — have their own kitchen anchors serving resident families. The area around Riddiford Street in Newtown has quietly become a second centre for Indian food. And Northland Road, further out, has its own destination.

Weekday Lunch: The CBD Options

For Wellington's Desi professional eating lunch during a workday, two spots stand out.

Planet Spice runs from Monday to Friday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. The focused lunch-only model keeps the kitchen operating at full attention during service hours. Contact details: hello@planetspice.co.nz, +64 4 389 8345. If you work near the waterfront or in the CBD office district, this address is worth knowing.

Higher Taste Hare Krishna at 138a Lambton Quay opens Mondays from 10 am to 3 pm. The kitchen runs on Hare Krishna principles, meaning the food is fully vegetarian — no meat, no eggs — and the approach is oriented around accessibility rather than fine dining. Contact: info@highertaste.co.nz, +64 4 472 2234. For Desi vegetarians in Wellington who find most Indian menus weighted heavily toward meat, this is a practical option.

Insider Tip: Higher Taste Hare Krishna at 138a Lambton Quay is open on Mondays only. If you plan to visit, that is your sole window during the working week — Tuesday through Sunday, the doors are closed.

Evening and Weekend Dining

Muthu's at 504 Broadway, Strathmore Park, runs the most consistent hours of any Indian restaurant in the eastern suburbs. Monday: noon to 9 pm. Tuesday: 2 pm to 9 pm. Wednesday through Sunday: noon to 9 pm. For Indian and Desi families in Strathmore Park and surrounding areas, this is the most reliable option for a sit-down dinner without travelling into the CBD. Reach them at eat@muthus.co.nz.

Delhi7 Indian Restaurant And Bar at 66 Northland Road distinguishes itself by holding a bar licence alongside the Indian menu. Lunch service runs Tuesday to Friday, 11:30 am to 2 pm. Dinner runs Tuesday through Sunday, 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm. On weekends, service starts at 10:30 am. Monday is closed. Phone: +64 4 475 3929. For Desi diners who want to pair a drink with their meal, Delhi7 is the clearest option on Wellington's current map.

Mughlai Mer-curries at 2/248 operates evenings only, Monday through Wednesday, 6 pm to 10 pm. The name signals the kitchen's focus: Mughlai cooking draws from the culinary traditions of North India's medieval royal courts — slow braises, nut-enriched sauces, fragrant rice preparations. The limited opening days mean planning is essential. Phone: +64 4 382 8554.

Across the Suburbs

Monsoon Poon at 12 Blair Street, Te Aro, takes a pan-Asian approach, with Indian dishes sharing the menu alongside food from across South and Southeast Asia. It has a settled place in Wellington's dining scene and draws both Indian diners and those curious about the broader regional spectrum. Contact: wellington@monsoonpoon.co.nz.

Little India at 115 Cuba Mall sits on one of Wellington's busiest pedestrian strips. The menu covers North Indian cooking — curries, breads, tandoor preparations — and the Cuba Mall location gives it strong visibility and footfall.

The Curry Pot at 14 Riddiford Street focuses specifically on South Indian cooking. Dosas, idlis, rice plates, sambhar: the style of cooking that dominates Tamil Nadu and Kerala but remains underrepresented in Wellington. For Indian diners tired of menus that lean exclusively North, this is the address to know. Phone: +64 4 389 5454.

Indian Sweets and Snacks at 176 Riddiford Street fills a niche that restaurant kitchens rarely address directly: the mithai and snack category. Barfi, chakli, samosas, ladoo — the food Wellington's Indian community knows from home but rarely finds in a single dedicated shop. For Diwali season or just a weekend craving, 176 Riddiford is the practical answer.

Hillside Kitchen & Cellar at 241 Tinakori Road lists both Indian and broader Asian cuisines, making it one of a small number of Wellington spots where Indian dishes appear outside a dedicated Indian-kitchen context. Phone: +64 4 473 7140.

Swagat India is another Indian kitchen currently operating in the city, rounding out a roster that now covers most needs across the Wellington metro.

Spice Paradise at 39 Vivian Street draws a mixed crowd of students and working adults from the Te Aro area.

How the Scene Fits Together

Wellington's Indian dining landscape is more distributed than concentrated. There is no single Indian restaurant strip the way Auckland has Sandringham Road. Instead, the city's Desi community eats across a set of neighbourhood anchors — Muthu's and its extended evening hours in the east, the Riddiford Street cluster in Newtown, the CBD lunchtime kitchens near Lambton Quay.

What remains underserved: late-night options are almost nonexistent across the board. South Indian food has better coverage than before thanks to The Curry Pot, but the gap is still noticeable. What has improved is eastern suburbs coverage, where Muthu's seven-day schedule has become a genuine community fixture.

FAQ

What is the most convenient Indian restaurant in Wellington for families in the eastern suburbs? Muthu's at 504 Broadway, Strathmore Park offers seven-day service with evening hours until 9 pm most nights, making it the most accessible option for Desi families east of the CBD.

Where can vegetarians in Wellington's Indian community find dedicated vegetarian food? Higher Taste Hare Krishna at 138a Lambton Quay is fully vegetarian and open Mondays. Several other restaurants on this list, including Spice Paradise and Muthu's, carry substantial vegetarian sections.

Is there South Indian food available in Wellington? Yes. The Curry Pot at 14 Riddiford Street focuses specifically on South Indian cooking and is the most clearly dedicated South Indian kitchen currently operating in the city.

Where can I buy Indian sweets and snacks to take home? Indian Sweets and Snacks at 176 Riddiford Street is a dedicated shop for mithai and Indian snack foods.

Which Wellington Indian restaurants are open on weekends? Delhi7 Indian Restaurant And Bar opens at 10:30 am on weekends with both lunch and dinner service. Muthu's runs Wednesday through Sunday with standard noon-to-9 pm hours.

Bottom Line

Wellington's Indian dining scene in September 2026 covers more ground than it did a few years ago, both geographically and in terms of cooking styles. Desi residents in the eastern suburbs have Muthu's as a reliable anchor. CBD workers have two weekday lunch options in Higher Taste Hare Krishna and Planet Spice. Diners wanting a drink alongside their meal have Delhi7. South Indian food — still hard to find in the city — is available at The Curry Pot. Wellington does not have Auckland's depth, but for the Indian and Desi community that calls it home, it now has enough to eat well across the week.