Best Indian Curries in Sydney: Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Options
Beyond butter chicken, Sydney’s Indian kitchens turn out an enormous range of curries — bone-in goat simmered for hours, mustard-greens saag finished with butter, tangy South Indian sambar and coconut-based fish curry among them. These are the 10 highest-rated spots for a genuinely different curry, ranked by real Google ratings and reviews, with every photo verified to actually show the dish.
What Makes a Great Indian Curry?
A curry is really just a spiced gravy built to carry a protein or vegetable, but the details vary enormously by region and dish. North Indian curries typically start with a base of browned onion, ginger, garlic and tomato, cooked down until it splits from the oil, then layered with whole and ground spices — a goat or lamb curry might simmer for hours until the meat falls off the bone, while a paneer or vegetable curry cooks faster in a similar base. South Indian curries lean on a different foundation entirely: coconut, curry leaves, mustard seeds and tamarind, giving dishes like sambar or a Kerala fish curry a tangier, lighter character than their North Indian counterparts. Dairy also plays a defining role — a dal makhani or a saag finished with cream and butter reads as rich and mellow, while a Punjabi mustard-greens saag or a coconut-based curry stays sharper and more herbaceous. None of this makes one style more authentic than another; it just means the word “curry” covers a genuinely wide range of technique, and the best versions commit fully to whichever regional style they’re working in rather than blurring the two.
Urban Spices — Balmain
Urban Spices shares the top rating on this list at 4.9 stars, but pulls in more reviews than any other 4.9-star spot here — a Balmain curry house and cocktail bar where reviewers call the Anardhana Lamb, a rich pomegranate-spiced curry, one of the best Indian dishes they’ve had in Sydney, and where one regular named it their top three Indian restaurant in the city.
How We Picked These 10
- Distinct from our butter chicken guide. Sydney’s butter chicken specialists already have their own dedicated list, so every business here is included for a different curry — a handful also happen to make a good butter chicken, but that’s never the reason they’re on this page.
- Curry-specific reviews. We only included restaurants where recent Google reviews, menu highlights or a business’s own menu specifically call out the curry named below — not just general “great Indian food” comments.
- A genuine mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The list deliberately spans paneer, dal, sambar and vegetable-based curries alongside chicken, lamb, goat and fish, because that mix is how Sydney actually eats Indian food.
- Verified ratings and review counts pulled directly from each business’s Google Business Profile.
- Every photo checked by hand. We downloaded and visually confirmed each photo actually shows the named curry or the restaurant’s own real cooking — several otherwise strong candidates were dropped because their only available photos were a storefront, an unrelated dish or an obviously staged stock image.
- Sydney-wide coverage spanning the Inner West, North Shore, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney CBD, the Hills District and Western Sydney.
Top 10 Indian Curries in Sydney, Ranked
| # | Spot | Suburb | Curry | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urban Spices | Balmain | Anardhana Lamb | 4.9★ | 685 |
| 2 | The Funky Indian Restaurant | Crows Nest | Palak Paneer | 4.9★ | 322 |
| 3 | Dilli Delights Tiffin | Milsons Point | Sarson Ka Saag | 4.9★ | 90 |
| 4 | Grace of India Restaurant | Milsons Point | Goat Curry | 4.8★ | 4,129 |
| 5 | Nawaz Flavour of India | Glebe | Kadai Chicken | 4.6★ | 1,300 |
| 6 | Amaravathi | Bella Vista | Sambar | 4.5★ | 912 |
| 7 | Malabar South Indian Restaurant | Darlinghurst | Goan Fish Curry | 4.4★ | 2,036 |
| 8 | The Colonial British Indian Cuisine | Darlinghurst | Railway Goat Curry | 4.3★ | 1,390 |
| 9 | Pinky Ji | Sydney CBD | Lamb Rogan Josh | 4.3★ | 1,188 |
| 10 | Manna Cuisines | Westmead | Angamaly Mango Curry | 4.3★ | 363 |
The Full List, With Photos
1. Urban Spices — Balmain
Order the Anardhana Lamb — a rich, pomegranate-spiced lamb curry from a Balmain kitchen one reviewer named their top three Indian restaurant in Sydney.
2. The Funky Indian Restaurant — Crows Nest
Order the Palak Paneer — a silky pureed spinach curry that’s a Google menu highlight at this Crows Nest kitchen, where reviewers also rave about the lamb rogan josh.
3. Dilli Delights Tiffin — Milsons Point
Order the Sarson Ka Saag — a mustard-greens curry finished with a pat of butter, from a tiny food-court tiffin stall reviewers describe as tasting genuinely home-cooked.
4. Grace of India Restaurant — Milsons Point
Order the Goat Curry — bone-in goat simmered low and slow, the single most-mentioned dish in reviews at this 30-year-old Milsons Point institution.
5. Nawaz Flavour of India — Glebe
Order the Kadai Chicken — a thick capsicum-and-onion gravy that’s one of two dishes, alongside saag paneer, reviewers single out most at this Glebe Point Road regular.
6. Amaravathi — Bella Vista
Order the Sambar — the tangy, tamarind-and-lentil curry that comes standard with dosa and biryani at this Andhra-style Bella Vista kitchen.
7. Malabar South Indian Restaurant — Darlinghurst
Order the Goan Fish Curry — ling fillet in a mild green chilli and coconut curry lifted with kokum, listed as a signature dish at this Darlinghurst South Indian specialist.
8. The Colonial British Indian Cuisine — Darlinghurst
Order the Railway Goat Curry — slow-cooked goat on the bone with browned onions and cassia bark, named after the dish British-era Indian Railways once served on trains.
9. Pinky Ji — Sydney CBD
Order the Lamb Rogan Josh — diced lamb cooked in mustard oil with Kashmiri chillies, one of the most-mentioned dishes in Google reviews at this York Street thali specialist.
10. Manna Cuisines — Westmead
Order the Angamaly Mango Curry — a tangy, coconut-based Kerala curry made with raw mango, listed as a menu highlight at this Westmead Kerala kitchen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between North Indian and South Indian curries?
North Indian curries typically build from a browned onion, ginger, garlic and tomato base, finished with ground spices and often cream or butter — think goat curry, rogan josh or dal makhani. South Indian curries lean on coconut, curry leaves, mustard seeds and tamarind instead, giving dishes like sambar or a Kerala fish curry a tangier, lighter profile with less dairy. Neither is more authentic than the other; they’re simply different regional traditions, and several spots on this list — Amaravathi and Manna Cuisines among them — specialise specifically in the South Indian style.
Is Indian curry in Sydney always spicy?
No. Spice level varies enormously by dish and kitchen, and most Sydney restaurants will adjust heat on request. Creamier curries like dal makhani or a butter-finished saag tend to be milder, while dishes built on Kashmiri chillies or a South Indian tempering of mustard seeds and dried chillies — like the lamb rogan josh or railway goat curry on this list — usually carry more heat. If you’re unsure, ask the kitchen before ordering rather than assuming.
What are some good vegetarian curries to try beyond palak paneer and dal makhani?
Plenty. Sambar (a tangy South Indian lentil and vegetable curry, on this list at Amaravathi), sarson ka saag (a Punjabi mustard-greens curry finished with butter, at Dilli Delights Tiffin) and Kerala-style mango curry (a tangy, coconut-based curry made with raw mango, at Manna Cuisines) are all genuinely different from the paneer-and-dal curries most menus lead with, and none of them rely on meat or fish.
How much does a curry cost in Sydney?
Most restaurants on this list price a single curry between $15 and $37, with vegetarian curries generally sitting at the lower end and slow-cooked goat, lamb shank or seafood curries at the higher end. Rice or naan is usually ordered separately, and a handful of the more upmarket kitchens here — Urban Spices and The Funky Indian Restaurant among them — run closer to $30–$40 for their signature dishes.
Can these curries be delivered or ordered as takeaway?
Most can. Nearly every restaurant on this list offers takeaway, and most also deliver directly or through platforms like Uber Eats and DoorDash — Dilli Delights Tiffin is a takeaway-first tiffin stall rather than a sit-down restaurant. Curries generally travel well since the gravy holds its texture, though it’s worth asking for rice and naan in separate containers so they don’t go soggy in transit.
Looking for more home-cooked Indian options near you? Browse the full tiffin and meal-delivery directory to find providers by suburb, cuisine and service type.
Ratings, review counts and review context were sourced from each business’s Google Business Profile at the time of writing and may have changed since. This list is independently compiled and not sponsored by any business named above.
