San Francisco Food Guide: Indian Restaurant Edition
A local’s guide to the most flavorful, authentic Indian spots across San Francisco—from street-style chaats to rich, regional curries.
ROOH SF
Meaning soul or spirit, ROOH brings the spirit of India to San Francisco through the restaurant experience. It is a Michelin Guide-featured progressive Indian restaurant and cocktail bar serving Indian food with an innovative spin, located in San Francisco’s South Beach neighborhood. Bold industrial decor and an oversized colorful mural set the tone with a fun and engaging vibe. ROOH’s cuisine is approachable, but with a twist. Everything is made using the highest quality ingredients. Go for a meal of delicious small plates, starting with the papadam and chickpea crisps accompanied by assorted chutneys, potato tikki (crispy potato cakes topped with yogurt and fresh mint), chili garlic crab, and butter chicken kulcha. For large plates, try the paneer pinwheel, vegetable kofta, and butter chicken. And of course, saffron rice and naan for sides. Don’t skip on their unique desserts like a cashew praline cake paired with phirni mousse and thaindai ice cream.
Curry Leaf
A contemporary Indian Pakistani halal restaurant offering traditional Indian cooking, including tandoori dishes, in a casual and comfortable atmosphere where you can enjoy family-style dishes (though most people order takeout here). Started in 2014 located in North Beach, Little Italy neighborhood funnily, it is down Columbus Avenue and always draws a crowd. Prices are reasonable and the food is quick, hearty, and convenient. The menu includes something for everyone, with lots of vegetarian options like vegetable samosa, palak paneer, chana masala, and chef favorite roasted eggplant mashed and sautéed with onions, garlic and simmered in tomato sauce. For the meat eaters, classics like chicken tikka masala, chicken curry, chicken tandoor skewers, and lamb curry are menu standouts. Naan bread is baked fresh in the clay oven with different styles like garlic or onion.
Copra
An tribute to the cultural ties between the food of South India and Northwestern Sri Lanka by Chef Srijith Gopinathan and Ayesha Thapar, Copra’s menu features dishes Chef Sri enjoyed as a child from street carts, carnivals, weddings, festivals, seafood barbecues, and shacks on the beach from his hometown Kerala. Food is prepared based on family traditions, with recipes passed on by chef’s grandmother, mother, mother-in-law, and aunts. Located on the corner of Fillmore and Post streets near Japantown, it is a stunning tropical oasis serving well-spiced Southern Indian chutneys and curries. The word “copra” actually stands for the dried coconut kernel used to extract coconut oil — Coconut is the cornerstone of Indian and Srilankan coastal cuisine. The menu starts with Kadi, which literally translates to “bites,” and moves into smaller plates, labeled “Little,” spanning everything from chutney palette for the table and fried chicken to rasam poori (passion fruit mint refreshing poppers in a sprouted chickpea shell) and slow-cooked octopus. On the more hearty side of the menu, large plates include Dindigul-style chicken biryani, Mysore masala dosa with tomato and coconut chutneys, and slow-braised lamb shoulder in Chettinad spices. Chef also recommends the black cod pollichathu, a dish he enjoyed on special occasions back home in India. The restaurant is decorated eclectically and brings about a fun ambiance. A 30-foot bar offers a cocktail program starring South Indian ingredients including coconut, yogurt, and tamarind. A clarified lassi punch made with a buttermilk and yogurt wash is particularly special, along with a number of drinks made with Arrack, a spirit made with either coconut flowers or sugarcane popular in Kerala.
Tiya
A modern New Indian restaurant in San Francisco’s Marina District by acclaimed chef brothers Sujan and Pujan Sarkar, Tiya reimagines Indian cuisine through a bold and contemporary lens. Combining the rich traditions of India with California’s seasonal produce, it is an innovative dining destination showcasing the Sarkar brothers’ passion for culinary artistry, hospitality, and storytelling. The elegant room is sophisticated with a beautiful bar pouring unique cocktails named in honor of San Francisco neighborhoods, like the Marina (rum, mango, coconut, pistachio, lassi) and the Chinatown (vodka, fennel, green apple, lychee, calpico, five spice, citrus). Try their tasting menu at $105 per person, starting with canapés and yogurt chat, plus two additional courses like scallop balchao with uni malai curry and crab cutlet with Bengal mustard curry, plus accompaniments like Kerala chicken wing, garlic naan, and saffron rice. Dessert options are fun and unique, including a spin on tres leches cake with saffron syrup and raspberry compote. They also offer a vegan tasting menu at $95 per person for 3 courses plus a dessert, with options like cauliflower pakoda, mushroom momo, jackfruit taco a la plancha, and tandoori avocado.
Besharam
Chef-driven restaurant by Chef Heena, Besharam is a reflection and homage to her journey and struggles that brought her here. Tucked inside Minnesota Street Project, a modern art gallery space in San Francisco’s Dogpatch district, this Indian restaurant features regional Gujarati cuisine. Besharam roughly translates to “shameless,” which fits Heena’s bold interpretation of the flavors and dishes from her childhood in India, reshaped by California influence. The menu is plant-based, rooted in the traditional dishes and techniques from chef’s mother and aunt during her upbringing and localized through seasonal California ingredients. The wine list and beverage menu are thoughtfully created to complement the menu with cocktails drawing inspiration from the kitchen spice cabinet. Chef Heena’s fearless style has won her accolades from Eater San Francisco as the Restaurant of the Year in 2019. Some menu highlights include maska paneer, 5 different chutney types like mint cilantro and tamarind date, 7 different pickle varieties, malai koftas, plant-based lamb meatballs, and cheesy garlic naan. They also offer a tasting menu at $85 per person with all of their favorite menu items.
Amber India
Located in the heart of downtown San Francisco next to the Four Seasons Hotel, Amber India offers a diverse, high-end menu of modern and regional Indian dishes plus a lunch buffet for $32/person (Monday through Friday, 11:30AM-2:30PM) in a polished space designed by Michael Layne. An elegant lounge overlooking the busy Market Street as you enter the restaurant with a large dining room in the back. The first restaurant to introduce “Butter Chicken” over thirty years ago, Amber India has become a Bay Area legacy, paving the way for elevated Indian cuisine. The first location opened in Mountain View in 1994, named Best Indian Restaurant in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle within weeks of opening. The menu includes chaats, starters like popcorn soup and samosa, tandoori oven specialties like chicken tikka, lamb seekh kebab, and saffron tiger prawns, as well as plenty of vegetarian options like saag paneer and vegetable korma.