Review: Dhaba India ★★★★★
If you want to find an Indian restaurant in Tokyo, throw a rock. You’ll hit one. It’s no exaggeration that there’s almost one Indian restaurant per block. Indian food is everywhere here, but sadly must places are cheap imitation of the real thing. Most are banking on low lunch prices and extras, like unlimited naan and/or rice to bring in the salary men. Most times, we’ve walked away disappointed in the quality, vowing never to return.
Forget all that. Dhaba India is the real deal. Dare we say it; they are the best Indian restaurant in the Tokyo area and it isn’t just the taste and quality that make Dhaba India the best around. It’s also their consistency. We’ve been dining there for almost a decade, and never once have they faltered. Quite the opposite, as they have consistently gotten better over the year.
Another thing that makes Dhaba India a treat to visit is that they specialize in Southern India food, which is a bit rare in Japan. It’s far more common to find Nepalese people masquerading as Indians, hawking northern style food. These places are hard to suss out, as they usually are called something like Everest. Southern Indian food is quite a little bit different. It’s more tropical, with a heavier influence on coconut flavors and more vegetarian options. There are also radically different menu items to choose from, like dosa. A dosa is flat, thin bread that wrapped with filling, much like a crepe. Don’t miss out getting a dosa if you visit. You won’t be disappointed. We usually get one to share as an appetizer.
If it’s dinner time, you NEED to make a reservation. We have randomly stopped in, trying to snag a cancellation, but that usually ends in disappointment.
One Minor Complaint
One thing we’ve noted over the years; the chefs don’t make the food spicy enough even when you request them to. You have to beat them over the head by telling them you don’t want “Japanese spicy” but rather “Indian spicy.” Still it’s an uphill battle. I told them the last time I was there I’d send my curry back if it wasn’t spicy. They finally got it and made my curry spicy.
Finding Dhaba India
Though it’s technically located in Ginza, Dhaba India is just a short walk from Tokyo station. As well, this place is no secret. Every locals that knows good Indian food know this place, so getting a table can be cumbersome. There are no reservations at lunch time, even on the weekends, so be prepared to wait. On a weekend, that could mean up to an hour. Make sure to check in with the staff when you arrive, as if there are too many people, they will start turning people away. If you want to ensure that you get a chance to eat there, better show up around 11:30am.
English Spoken!
The staff is mostly Indian, so you can expect a good level of English to be spoken. The menus are in Japanese and English, so ordering should be fairly easy. The lunch specials are unfortunately not written in English. However, the staff would mostly likely be happy to translate for you.
While you’re here, why not check out some of other REVIEWS or TRAVEL WRITE UPS from around the world.
Contact & General Information
Price: Mid-Range
Hours: Mon-Fri, 11:15am-2:30pm & 5:30pm-9:30pm/Sat-Sun 11:30am-2:30pm & 5:30pm-9pm
Website: None
Telephone: 03-3272-7160
Location: Google
I agree that it’s hard to find decent Indian food in Japan. I’m glad there’s at least one good restaurant in Tokyo. And yes, they never make it spicy enough to taste right!
Hey, thanks for the comment. There are just so many Indian restaurants in Japan, so the law of averages says most are going to be subpar.
Certainly, I understand why they don’t make it spicy. It would kill the average Japanese person.