York · 2026 city guide
York's compact centre has more regional depth than its size might suggest. Kerala and South Indian cooking are particularly strong, alongside broad regional Indian menus, Indian and Nepalese dishes, and a long-running city-centre curry house with worthwhile house specialities.
York city guide
The strongest choices stretch from Fossgate and Goodramgate to Tower Street, Bootham and Clarence Street, with each restaurant bringing a clear regional or stylistic identity.
Fossgate · City Centre
Kalpakavadi is one of York's clearest Kerala specialists, with a menu shaped by the state's coast, backwaters and meat dishes as much as its dosas and biryanis. Prawn curries with mango, spice-rich duck and slow-roasted beef make it a particularly strong choice for regional Indian cooking.
What to look for
Tower Street · City Centre
29 States builds its menu around the breadth of Indian regional cooking rather than a single state. That makes it useful for exploring everything from Rajasthani lamb to Bengali fish and Goan seafood, all from a central location opposite Clifford's Tower.
What to look for
Bootham · City Centre
TAAS combines Indian and Nepalese cooking in a small Bootham restaurant, with the Himalayan side of the menu providing its clearest identity. Momo and chhoila sit alongside familiar Indian curries, making it a useful choice for diners who want Nepalese dishes without losing the breadth of an Indian menu.
What to look for
Clarence Street · York
Coconut Lagoon has been serving South Indian food in York since 2013. Dosa is a particularly useful starting point, but the deeper Kerala character comes through in combinations such as duck curry with appam and the restaurant's seafood dishes.
What to look for
Goodramgate · City Centre
Bombay Spice is the most traditional curry-house choice among these five, but its chef's specialities make the strongest case for looking beyond the familiar standards. Seafood, fruit-led sauces and richer house dishes give the menu considerably more personality than the usual city-centre curry-house formula.
What to look for
Award-recognised restaurants
Separate from Curry House Guide's five recommendations above, these York restaurants have received recent recognition from third-party curry and hospitality awards.
2026 · Nation's Curry Awards
Walmgate · City Centre
Named Bar Curry Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 Nation's Curry Awards.
2025 · Asian Curry Awards
Fossgate · City Centre
Named Asian Restaurant of the Year for the North of England at the 2025 Asian Curry Awards.
Indian food in York
York is particularly strong for Kerala and South Indian cooking. Kalpakavadi leans into the seafood, duck and beef dishes of Kerala, while Coconut Lagoon makes dosa, appam and South Indian staples an equally important part of the picture.
29 States broadens the choice with regional dishes from across India, TAAS brings Indian and Nepalese cooking together, and Bombay Spice represents the city's more familiar curry-house tradition while still rewarding a closer look at its chef's specialities.
How we choose: Curry House Guide considers public reputation, review depth, current food-hygiene standards and what is distinctive about the food. Restaurants cannot pay to qualify for inclusion.
Selection and restaurant details last checked: November 2026.