19 Excellent Global Curries to Try in NYC

Singh’s Roti Shop
Alex Staniloff

Though it traces its origin from the Indian subcontinent, the dishes now known as curry — a loosely defined food — have been replicated, remixed, and regaled across the globe. Curries have taken on a life of their own, acting as a living, evolving document chronicling the historic migration of South Asian ingredients (and peoples) — with “curry” dishes appearing in spice-forward cuisines from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia.

It can be hard to nail down specific parameters for what can be considered curry, but a reasonable requirement might be the use of Indian spices, including variants of a yellow spice blend made of turmeric, coriander, cumin. Whatever your preferred style — whether that’s the gravy-style Japanese curry or the curry-spiced goat stews of Jamaica — there’s a world of curries worth getting to know right here in New York.

Al-Aqsa Restaurant

2107 Starling Ave
Bronx, NY 10462

Al-Aqsa has been catering to the sizable Bangladeshi community in the Bronx since 2009. Here, owner Zakir Hasnat’s large restaurant and banquet hall spotlights modern riffs on classic Bengali foods. Among these are excellent takes on traditional South Asian curry chicken and curry goat, as well as dal gosh, a stew of slow-cooked lentils and peas. For a smaller bite, there are also samosa puffs filed with curried meats or vegetables.

Himalayan Yak

72-20 Roosevelt Ave
Jackson Heights, NY 11372

This casual Jackson Heights restaurant, which spotlights a wide variety of Tibetan and Nepalese dishes, offers one of the city’s most well-known takes on khasi ko masu, or Nepali goat curry with fall-off-the-bone meat shellacked in a fragrant brown sauce. Order it with white rice or the complete thali platter, which also includes dipping sauces and vegetables.

Yuka Y./Yelp

SriPraPhai

64-13 39th Ave
Woodside, NY 11377

Owner Sripraphai Tipmanee has blessed New York with her hyper-traditional Thai fare since the mid-1990s. At the two locations of her namesake restaurant, Tipmanee continues to draw crowds, particularly for her famed green and penang curries. The latter, a spicy, red-sauced number served with beef, is a particular standout for heat seekers. Coconut rice is a must.

Rochelle A./Yelp

Renee's

69-14 Roosevelt Ave
Woodside, NY 11377

The Philippines’ answer to curry is kare kare, a sweeter, peanut-based version of the dish typically prepared with various cuts of beef. Known primarily in the Central Luzon province of Pampanga, the soul-warming dish appears at this Woodside standby in very traditional form: made with oxtail and tripe in a peanut sauce, and served with a side of pungent shrimp-paste condiment.

Jeanna L./Yelp

Junoon

27 W 24th St
New York, NY 10010

It’s hard to choose a dish at Junoon, partly because the menu changes often and varies from lunch to dinner, and from the main dining room to the smaller Patiala room. Depending on where and when diners have chosen to sit, choices include a contemporary version of bone-in Shahi lamb shank, presenting the slow-cooked meat in a creamy, spice-heavy curry, and a not-to-be-missed lal mas, the traditional goat curry of India’s Rajasthan state. Here, it comes in classic form with red chile sauce, garlic, coriander, and a garam masala spice blend.

Taste Good

8218 45th Ave
Elmhurst, NY 11373

This Elmhurst Malaysian-Singaporean favorite showcases Singapore’s famed curry noodle soup, laksa, which arrives as a bright coconut curry with rice noodle, shrimp, fish cake, tofu, and shredded chicken. For non-soup options, try the roti canai, a variation of Indian paratha with curry dipping sauce common in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. These are simple comfort foods at their finest.

Rose C./Yelp

Thaimee Table

99 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10003

Model-turned-chef Hong Thaimee — known for her modern takes on northern Thai cusine — turns out an excellent interpretation of khao soi noodle soup at her eponymous East Village shop. Here, the Chiang Mai, Thailand coconut curry comes with the traditional egg noodles but can be tailored to by protein: crispy meatballs, seasonal vegetables, or the chef’s flavor of the week.

Curry-ya

214 E 10th St
New York, NY 10003

Japanese curry has become a New York staple that bridges fast-casual and fine dining alike. At this homegrown, counter-only chain with four Manhattan locations, find excellent but straightforward takes on the saucy comfort dish with customizable proteins, ranging from Berkshire pork katsu to hamburger steak. The restaurant’s calling card, however, is its signature baked curry — an oven-fired rendition topped with a baked egg and melted cheddar cheese, then served in a warm cast-iron dish.

Miss Lily's

132 W Houston St
New York, NY 10012

Curry made its way to the Caribbean by way of indentured workers brought in from India and has become a part of the culinary fabric of countries like Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. At this Jamaican kitchen favored by New York’s fashion elite, a traditional oxtail and goat curry is seasoned with scotch bonnet peppers and jerk spices. Soak up the fragrant stew with fixings of Irish potatoes, roti, and jasmine rice.

Fish Cheeks

55 Bond St
New York, NY 10012

Chef-brothers Chat and Ohm Suansilphong — who cut their chops at Bangkok’s Nahm — amp up regional specialties from across Thailand, from gaeng tai plaa, a Southern curry of offal fish, chicken liver confit, and smashed shrimp, to the Chinese-inspired goong aob woonsen, glass noodles topped with baked shrimp and pork belly. While the menu changes periodically, one dish stays on for its star power among fans: the coconut crab curry, a dish with ample lumps of crustacean, made fragrant with betel leaves.

The Bombay Bread Bar

195 Spring St
New York, NY 10012

Mumbai-born chef Floyd Cardoz rebooted his acclaimed Paowalla as this more casual kitchen focusing on traditional Indian breads like naan, kulcha, and paratha. The accessible menu skews towards crowdpleasers, like a dip-friendly lamb haleem curry with mint, lentils, and crack wheat. Those who prefer seafood have a strong candidate in the halibut caldin curry, a mild, turmeric-laced coconut stew with cauliflower that traces its origins to the state of Goa.

Baar Baar

13 E 1st St
New York, NY 10003

Indian tapas are the focus of this modern gastro-bar from chef Sujan Sarkar, who is known for his use of molecular gastronomy techniques in traditional Indian fare. While there are just a few curries on the menu, a favorite is the heartier monkfish and seafood Alleppey curry with sunchoke and fennel oil, which nods to the coastal bounty of India’s tropical southern state, Kerala.

The MasalaWala

1547, 179 Essex St
New York, NY 10002

At this cozy, family-owned Indian canteen with two locations in Manhattan and Queens, find an extensive menu of South Asian favorites like samosas and tandoori chicken. Though the restaurant has a sizable selection of stellar vegetarian items, meat eaters would be wise to consider the exceptional lamb rogan josh, which has chunks of slow-cooked, melt-in-your-mouth lamb sitting in a thick, spicy Kashmiri-style curry.

Allene T./Yelp

Uncle Boons

7 Spring St
New York, NY 10012

Husband-wife chef duo Ann Redding and Matt Danzer’s Nolita flagship has become one of New York’s most critically acclaimed destinations for upmarket Thai fare. Several curry-accented dishes appear on the menu, including the Northern-style curry noodle dish khao soi and the tod mun appetizer, which features zucchini flower stuffed with red curry fish. Of these, however, the standout is the hoi tak — plump snails soaked in herbaceous green curry with a crown of crispy garlic and fresh herbs.

Singh's Roti Shop & Bar

13118 Liberty Ave
South Richmond Hill, NY 11419

Find ample portions of doubles sandwiches, curry plates, other roti dishes — including the beloved split-pea-filled dahl puri — at this Carribean canteen in Ozone Park. Protein variations for the curry range from pelau (Trinidadian pigeon peas with meat and coconut milk) to oxtail, conch, and duck. In addition to curries, the menu offers West Indianized Chinese dishes such as chor sue pork and chicken in tomato sauce.

Alex Staniloff

A&A Bake Doubles and Roti

1337 Fulton St
Brooklyn, NY 11216

Doubles is a favorite street food in Trinidad and Tobago that sandwiches a curried filling — typically chickpeas or a protein — between two baras, or rounds of fried dough. This longtime Bed-Stuy neighborhood cornerstone is known for its consistently crispy-chewy bread and savory, spicy filling, also called curry channa. Alternative fillings include flaked cod, or “salt fish,” as well as smoked herring.

Angie W./Yelp

Gloria's

764 Nostrand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11216

At this more than 20-year-old pan-Caribbean mainstay, curries range from boneless chicken to shrimp and goat. Served as a thick gravy rather than a stew, the mix-and-match curry platters come with your choice of rice, red beans, and macaroni pie — a solid slab of baked macaroni and cheese. Also on offer are Trinidadian doubles, or fried-bread sandwiches with curried chickpea channa.

Leonard F./Yelp

Parlay

4024 8th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11232

Billed as a brunch café and casual sandwich shop, this new American Sunset Park joint turns out weekend staples — poached eggs, a fried chicken sandwich — along with a standout Malaysian chicken curry served with hot roti bread. True to Malaysian form, the curry is runnier and more soup-like than its South Asian counterparts, though still made with coconut milk.

Vivian T./Yelp

Dosa Garden

323 Victory Blvd
Staten Island, NY 10301

New York’s southernmost borough Staten Island is now home to some of the city’s best south Indian and Sri Lankan fare. While the titular dosas, or fermented batter pancakes, are the focus at this slightly more upscale Tompkinsville establishment, diners would be remiss to skip over a selection of traditional mutton-based curries, including a hot-and-sour vindaloo with potatoes and the milder, creamier coconut-based korma.

Rob J./Yelp

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