RFK Cuisine · Indian · Chicago
Best Indian Restaurants in Chicago 2026
Michelin to Devon Avenue · Chicago · 8 rooms ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 27, 2026 · Updated June 27, 2026
Devon Avenue has fed Chicago's South Asian appetite since the 1970s, a mile of sari shops, sweet counters and tandoor kitchens in West Ridge — but the city's first Michelin star for Indian cooking did not arrive until autumn 2023, won by a River North tasting room that costs more than a whole evening on Devon. That gap is the story of Indian food in Chicago right now: a fine-dining tier finally getting its due, a new wave of Bib Gourmand kitchens reinventing the canon, and the old immigrant classics thinning out but still cooking the real thing. These are the eight Chicago Indian rooms worth the spend in 2026 — ranked on the cooking, the room and what the bill buys, with the dish to order and how to book at each.
1.Indienne
Chicago's only Michelin-starred Indian room and Sujan Sarkar's tasting tour de force; book Indienne for a special occasion with patience.
Indienne, at 217 West Huron Street in River North, is where chef Sujan Sarkar won Chicago's first Michelin star for Indian cooking in autumn 2023 — and held it through the 2024 and 2025 guides. Sarkar, who came up through French kitchens before building a progressive Indian one, runs a tasting menu that moves from refined street-food snacks through tandoor courses to a butter chicken treated with the seriousness of a French sauce. The room is dim, intimate and pitched at the occasion rather than the everyday. The menu is USD 145 for the non-vegetarian path and USD 135 vegetarian, with a wine pairing on top. For a milestone dinner where Indian flavour gets the fine-dining frame, this is the city's answer. Book by ticket on Tock several weeks ahead.
Reserve on Tock; the full tasting menu, the butter chicken course, the wine pairing if the night allows.
2.Nadu
Sujan Sarkar's casual second act in Lincoln Park; book Nadu for the benne masala dosa at a fraction of Indienne's bill.
Nadu, at 2518 North Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, is the à la carte restaurant Sarkar opened in 2025 to cook the regional Indian food his tasting room cannot — and it took a Michelin Bib Gourmand in its first year. The benne masala dosa, a Bangalore-style crepe of poha-rice batter at USD 18, is the dish people come back for; the butter chicken at USD 28 shows the same hand as Indienne for a third of the outlay. The room is bright and casual, built for a weeknight rather than an event. Plan on roughly USD 45 to USD 60 a head. For Sarkar's cooking without the ticket and the wait, this is the smarter booking. Reserve on OpenTable; note it closes early in the week.
Reserve on OpenTable; the benne masala dosa, the butter chicken, a plate of the day's regional special.
3.Superkhana International
Logan Square's Indian-American original from Yamada and Shah; book Superkhana for the butter chicken calzone and a loud, fun room.
Superkhana International, at 3059 West Diversey Avenue in Logan Square, is the Bib Gourmand room where chefs Yoshi Yamada and Zeeshan Shah cook a deliberately mongrel Indian-American menu that takes the canon somewhere new. The butter chicken calzone — naan dough folded around tikka, butter-chicken sauce and cheese, then brushed with ghee — is the signature and the internet-famous one, but the chaats, the roti and the rotating specials are the reason regulars fill the loud, mural-painted room. It is invention with a straight face rather than a gimmick. Expect around USD 40 to USD 55 a head. For Indian food that argues with itself in the best way, book it on Resy a few days out.
Reserve on Resy; the butter chicken calzone, the chaat of the day, a stack of buttered roti.
4.Thattu
The city's only serious Keralan kitchen, now a full restaurant in Avondale; book Thattu for appam and an Onam feast on a banana leaf.
Thattu, at 2601 West Fletcher Street in Avondale, began as a pop-up and a Politan Row stall before chef Margaret Pak and co-owner Vinod Kalathil gave it a permanent dining room in 2023 — the rare Chicago kitchen cooking the food of Kerala rather than the north. Lace-edged appam with stew, Kerala fish curry and the banana-leaf Onam Sadhya feast are the dishes that landed it on national best-of lists. The room is small, warm and run with obvious care. Plan on roughly USD 40 to USD 55 a head. For a corner of South Indian cooking almost no one else in the city attempts, this is the one. Reserve on OpenTable; it is closed Monday and Tuesday, so plan around it.
Reserve on OpenTable; the appam and stew, the Kerala fish curry, the Onam Sadhya when it runs.
5.Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine
The white-tablecloth North Indian standby near the Mag Mile; book Gaylord for tandoori and a proper sit-down curry downtown.
Gaylord, now at 100 East Walton Street in the Gold Coast after years on Clark Street, is the downtown white-tablecloth option — a branch of an Indian dining brand that opened its first US room in 1972 and still cooks the Mughlai and Punjabi canon to a reliable standard. Tandoori meats, rogan josh, dal makhani and fresh naan from the clay oven are the order; the room is formal in a slightly dated, comforting way that suits a business lunch or an older crowd. It is not reinventing anything, and does not pretend to. Expect around USD 35 to USD 55 a head. For a classic North Indian dinner within walking distance of the Mag Mile, book it on OpenTable; it is closed Monday.
Reserve on OpenTable; the mixed tandoori grill, the dal makhani, garlic naan and a mango lassi.
6.Sabri Nihari
Devon Avenue's beef-nihari anchor since 1996; go to Sabri Nihari for the slow-cooked stew the place is named for.
Sabri Nihari, at 2502 West Devon Avenue in West Ridge, has been the steady heart of the Devon strip since 1996, a halal Pakistani-Indian kitchen that earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2017 and still cooks the dish on its sign better than anyone nearby. Nihari — beef shank simmered overnight into a spiced, slow-collapsing stew, eaten with naan and a squeeze of lemon — is the order; the karahi, the haleem and the seekh kebabs round out a long menu. The room is plain and family-busy rather than designed, which is exactly right. A full meal runs roughly USD 20 to USD 30 a head. For the real Devon Avenue experience, walk in and order the nihari before it sells through.
Walk in; the beef nihari, a chicken karahi to share, fresh naan and a side of haleem.
7.Udupi Palace
Devon's 1993 vegetarian dosa house; go to Udupi Palace for a metre-long masala dosa and a thali that needs no meat.
Udupi Palace, at 2543 West Devon Avenue, has cooked pure-vegetarian South Indian food on the strip since 1993 and remains the dosa benchmark in a city where good ones are scarce. The masala dosa — a crisp, fermented rice-and-lentil crepe wrapped around spiced potato, served with sambar and coconut chutney — is the order, alongside idli, uttapam and a vegetable thali that proves a meatless Indian meal can be the most satisfying one on the block. The room is fluorescent and functional, the food the entire point. A full meal is roughly USD 20 to USD 30 a head. For dosas and a thali done by a kitchen that has made them for three decades, this is it. Walk in, or book a weekend table for a group.
Walk in; the masala dosa, a plate of idli, the vegetable thali, a filter coffee to finish.
8.Vajra
Wicker Park's Himalayan-Indian wildcard from Min Thapa; go to Vajra for momos and a thali with a Nepalese accent.
Vajra, now at 2039 West North Avenue in a converted Wicker Park bathhouse, is chef Min Thapa's Himalayan-Indian kitchen — a former Michelin Bib Gourmand (2021 and 2022) that bridges Nepalese and North Indian cooking in a part of the city short on either. The momos, steamed or fried dumplings with a tomato-sesame achar, are the entry point; the thalis, the goat curry and the Himalayan specials are where it gets interesting. The space, with its tiled former-bathhouse bones, is one of the more atmospheric Indian rooms in the city. Plan on roughly USD 30 to USD 45 a head. For Indian cooking with a Nepalese accent and a room with a past, book it; it tends to open for dinner only.
Reserve direct or walk in; the momos, the goat curry, a Himalayan thali and a Sherpa stew.
How Chicago eats Indian
Chicago's Indian food lives on two maps that rarely overlap. The first is Devon Avenue in West Ridge, the immigrant high street where Sabri Nihari, Udupi Palace and the surviving sweet shops cook the Pakistani, Gujarati and South Indian food of the families who built the strip from the 1970s. The second is the new fine-casual and fine-dining wave downtown and on the North and Northwest sides — Indienne in River North, Nadu in Lincoln Park, Superkhana in Logan Square, Thattu in Avondale — where chefs trained in other cuisines are rebuilding Indian cooking for a wider audience. The through-line is that the best of both still cook to a knowing crowd, which is why the standard has held even as individual rooms have closed.
Practically, Devon is a daytime-and-early-evening, walk-in, cash-friendly experience best done hungry and across two or three stops; the new-wave rooms want reservations and run on a restaurant-week rhythm of midweek closures. The starred and Bib rooms book out for weekends, so plan Indienne and Thattu ahead and leave the Devon crawl for a spontaneous afternoon. For the wider city, the full Chicago dining guide maps every neighbourhood, and the global picture is in our best Indian restaurants worldwide pillar.
Where not to look for it
Closed, or not what they were — check before you go
Several Devon Avenue names have shut. Hema's Kitchen, Viceroy of India and Mysore Woodlands have all closed in the past two years, and Mango Pickle, the Edgewater Bib Gourmand, served its last in February 2026. If a year-old listicle sends you to one of those, it is out of date — anchor a Devon trip on Sabri Nihari and Udupi Palace, which are still open.
The Loop lunch-buffet "Indian" aimed at office crowds. The steam-table buffets around the Loop trade on convenience and a low price, not on cooking, and the food sits for hours. For a similar spend and far better cooking, ride to Devon for a fresh thali, or book Nadu or Superkhana for a proper midweek dinner instead.
Frequently asked
What is the best Indian restaurant in Chicago?
Indienne in River North is the city's most decorated Indian room — chef Sujan Sarkar won Chicago's first Michelin star for Indian cooking in 2023 and held it through 2025, with a progressive tasting menu at USD 145. For a more casual showcase of the same kitchen's range, Sarkar's second restaurant Nadu in Lincoln Park took a Bib Gourmand in 2025. For Indian-American invention, Superkhana International in Logan Square is the other Bib Gourmand. Choose Indienne for the occasion, Nadu or Superkhana for the everyday.
Where is the best Indian food on Devon Avenue?
Devon Avenue in West Ridge is still the heart of Chicago's South Asian dining, though several old names have closed. The survivors worth the trip are Sabri Nihari, open since 1996 for slow-cooked beef nihari, and Udupi Palace, a 1993 South Indian vegetarian institution known for its dosas. Both sit within a few blocks on West Devon. Hema's Kitchen, Viceroy of India and Mysore Woodlands have all closed, so check before you drive out.
Does Chicago have a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant?
Yes. Indienne, at 217 West Huron Street in River North, became Chicago's first Indian restaurant to win a Michelin star in autumn 2023 and retained one star in the 2024 and 2025 guides. Chef Sujan Sarkar, who trained in French technique before building a progressive Indian kitchen, runs a tasting menu at USD 145 for the non-vegetarian option and USD 135 for vegetarian. It is the only Indian star in the city; the next tier is the Bib Gourmands at Nadu and Superkhana International.
How much does Indian food cost in Chicago?
It spans a wide range. Indienne is a fixed tasting menu at USD 135 to USD 145 before a wine pairing. Nadu and Superkhana are mid-range, with most plates in the high teens to high twenties — Nadu's benne masala dosa is USD 18 and its butter chicken USD 28. The Devon Avenue classics — Sabri Nihari, Udupi Palace — and Vajra in Wicker Park are the value tier, where a full meal runs roughly USD 20 to USD 30 a head. Lunch buffets and thalis on Devon are cheaper still.
Do you need to book Indian restaurants in Chicago?
Only at the top. Indienne sells its tasting menu by ticket on Tock and books out weeks ahead for weekends. Nadu and Superkhana take reservations on OpenTable and Resy and fill on weekend nights; both close early in the week, so check the calendar. Thattu in Avondale is closed Monday and Tuesday and worth booking. The Devon Avenue classics, Vajra and the casual rooms are largely walk-in. For a special occasion, lock Indienne first and build the rest of the trip around it.
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Browse the full Chicago dining guide, compare the global picks in the best Indian restaurants worldwide, see how the city's French rooms rank in the best French restaurants in Chicago, book a tasting menu to impress clients, mark a birthday or anniversary at Indienne, or open the full RFK cuisine index.
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