Finding the best Indian restaurants in Palmerston North depends on what you are after on the night, whether that is a South Indian dosa, a Punjabi curry cooked to a family recipe, or a takeaway order of butter chicken and garlic naan. Indian restaurants in Palmerston North run from dining rooms on The Square and Broadway Avenue to a suburban kitchen out at Fitzherbert, and between them cover dine-in, takeaway, catering and BYO wine. Arranged Marriage and Little India are two of the kitchens listed below.
1Arranged Marriage
Arranged Marriage serves South Indian cooking from Kerala at 32B The Square, in the middle of Palmerston North, and has been trading in the city since 2015. The kitchen is led by a chef from Kerala and works from traditional recipes, so the menu leans on dosas, idlis, coconut curries and coastal seafood rather than the North Indian dishes more commonly found locally. It suits diners who want to try South Indian food, and there is a drinks list of traditional refreshments alongside wine and beer.
Services
- Dosa, idli and vada from the South Indian entree menu
- Kerala style coconut curries and coastal fish curry
- Biryani
- Dine-in lunch and dinner service, Tuesday to Sunday
- Online ordering and table reservations
Highlights
- Kitchen led by a chef from Kerala, cooking to preserved traditional recipes
- Trading in Palmerston North since 2015
- Own ordering app published on both the App Store and Google Play
- Grew out of the founders’ original New Plymouth restaurant, Kathakali
Location & Contact
Name: Arranged Marriage
Address: 32B The Square, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 351 6300
Website: arrangedmarriage.co.nz
2Namaste Bharat
Namaste Bharat is a North Indian restaurant and takeaway at 61 The Square in Palmerston North Central. It runs separate lunch, dinner, takeaway and drinks menus, takes table bookings through the site, and caters events away from the restaurant. It suits people eating in the city centre, groups booking a table ahead, and anyone organising food for a function.
Services
- Dine-in lunch service
- Dine-in dinner service
- Takeaway
- Online ordering with a chosen pickup date and time slot
- Catering for weddings, parties and corporate events
Highlights
- North Indian cooking is the kitchen’s stated focus
- Four separate menus, for lunch, dinner, takeaway and drinks, rather than one list
- Catering menus are built to order around the event
Location & Contact
Name: Namaste Bharat
Address: 61 The Square, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North 4410
Phone: 06 354 7898
Website: namastebharat.co.nz
3Indian Summer Palmerston North
Indian Summer sits in the Summerhill shopping complex at 194/200 Ruapehu Drive in Fitzherbert, on the southern side of Palmerston North. Shiv and his team run a menu that mixes traditional and modern Indian dishes, built on fresh herbs and spices, in a pared back dining room. It is open seven days for dinner and Tuesday to Friday for lunch, which makes it workable for both a weekday lunch and a private function.
Services
- Dine-in lunch and dinner service
- Takeaway
- Online ordering
- Catering for private functions, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and Christmas parties
- Bar service with a wine list and imported and New Zealand beers
Highlights
- BYO on wine, with house wine and beer also available in the restaurant
- Open seven days for dinner and Tuesday to Friday for lunch
- Dishes can be prepared separately without nuts on request
- Sits in the Summerhill shopping complex in Fitzherbert rather than the city centre
Location & Contact
Name: Indian Summer Palmerston North
Address: 194/200 Ruapehu Drive, Fitzherbert, Palmerston North 4410
Phone: 06 355 8098
Website: indiansummerhill.co.nz
4Little India Palmerston North
Little India’s Palmerston North restaurant is at 157 Broadway Avenue in Palmerston North Central, among a run of other dining options. The kitchen cooks the food of North India and the Punjab from recipes handed down by the founders’ grandmother, Premjit Kaur Gill, who trained every head chef in the group in her own kitchen in Chandigarh. Harry and the team take large tables for an occasion as readily as a dinner for two.
Services
- Dine-in North Indian and Punjabi menu
- Takeaway and delivery
- Online ordering
- Table reservations
- Gift vouchers
Highlights
- Family owned since 1991, started in Dunedin by Sukhi and Joanna Gill
- Head chefs trained personally by Premjit Kaur Gill in Chandigarh
- Fully licensed, and BYO on wine only
- Loyalty app that handles bookings, orders, points and specials in one place
- The family has published its own cookbook
Location & Contact
Name: Little India Palmerston North
Address: 157 Broadway Avenue, Palmerston North Central, Palmerston North 4410
Phone: 06 355 1313
Website: littleindia.co.nz/location/palmerston-north
5Star of India Palmerston North
Star of India is an Indian kitchen in central Palmerston North run by its owner, Hira Rana, geared mainly to takeaway. The menu is broad, taking in beef, chicken, lamb, goat, seafood and vegetarian curries alongside biryani, tandoori entrees and a long list of Indian breads, with every price published online. It suits people ordering dinner to collect rather than looking for a night out.
Services
- Curry mains across beef, chicken, lamb, goat and seafood
- Biryani and rice dishes
- Tandoori entrees, pakora and mixed platters
- Naan, kulcha, roti and paratha
- Online ordering with pickup or delivery
Highlights
- Owner operated, with the menu credited to owner Hira Rana
- Full menu and prices published online, including a separate vegetarian section
- Lunch service Monday to Saturday and dinner seven nights
Location & Contact
Name: Star of India Palmerston North
Address: Palmerston North
Phone: 06 353 5653
Website: starofindiapalmy.co.nz
Indian Restaurants in Palmerston North at a Glance
| Business | Based in | Highlight |
|---|---|---|
| Arranged Marriage | Palmerston North | Kitchen led by a chef from Kerala |
| Namaste Bharat | Palmerston North Central | North Indian cooking is the kitchen's stated focus |
| Indian Summer Palmerston North | Fitzherbert | BYO on wine, with house wine and beer also available in the restaurant |
| Little India Palmerston North | Palmerston North Central | Family owned since 1991, started in Dunedin by Sukhi and Joanna Gill |
| Star of India Palmerston North | Palmerston North | Owner operated, with the menu credited to owner Hira Rana |
How to Choose the Right Indian Restaurant in Palmerston North
- Decide between North and South Indian first. A kitchen built around dosas, idlis and coconut curries cooks a different menu from one built around butter chicken, rogan josh and tandoori.
- Check whether you want a dining room or a collection counter. Some kitchens in the city are set up for a long sit-down meal, others are geared to takeaway and online orders.
- Look at the drinks arrangement before you book. Fully licensed, BYO wine only, and no licence at all are all common, and the difference matters if you are bringing a bottle.
- If you are feeding a group, ask about catering and large tables rather than assuming. Function catering and a table for twelve are separate things and not every kitchen does both.
- Match the location to the trip. Central Palmerston North suits an evening in town, while a suburban site like Fitzherbert is easier if you are driving and want parking at the door.
Frequently Asked Questions About Palmerston North Indian Restaurants
What kinds of Indian food can you get in Palmerston North?
Both of the main regional styles are cooked here. North Indian and Punjabi kitchens work with tandoor breads, butter chicken, rogan josh, korma and vindaloo, while a South Indian kitchen leans on dosa, idli, sambar, coconut curries and coastal fish dishes. Biryani, paneer dishes and vegetarian curries turn up on most menus regardless of region.
Which parts of Palmerston North have an Indian restaurant?
Most of them are in Palmerston North Central, clustered around The Square and Broadway Avenue, which puts them within a short walk of the city centre and its parking buildings. Away from the centre, Fitzherbert has a kitchen in the Summerhill shopping complex on Ruapehu Drive, which is the easier option if you are coming from the southern side of the city or from Massey. If you are searching for an Indian restaurant near a particular suburb, it is worth checking the delivery radius as well as the address, since several of the kitchens deliver further than they sit.
Do Palmerston North Indian restaurants do takeaway and delivery?
Takeaway is standard, and most kitchens in the city run online ordering through their own site. Delivery is less uniform: some handle it in house, others only offer pickup, and some run delivery through a third-party platform instead. The reliable way to tell is the ordering page on the restaurant’s own website, which will show pickup and delivery as separate options at checkout.
Can you BYO wine at an Indian restaurant in Palmerston North?
Often, yes, but the arrangement varies. Some restaurants are fully licensed and also allow BYO on wine only, meaning you can bring a bottle of wine but not beer or spirits. Corkage may apply. Ring ahead if you are planning to bring your own, because the rule is set restaurant by restaurant rather than across the city.
What is the difference between a North Indian and a South Indian menu?
North Indian cooking uses more wheat, dairy and tandoor work, which is where naan, paneer, tandoori chicken and cream-based curries come from. South Indian cooking uses more rice, lentils and coconut, which gives you dosa, idli, vada, sambar and lighter coastal fish curries. Neither is spicier by default, and most kitchens will adjust the heat level on request.
Can a Palmerston North Indian restaurant cater a party or a wedding?
Several do, covering weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, corporate events and Christmas functions, usually with the menu built around the size and style of the event. Catering is normally arranged directly with the restaurant rather than through an online form alone, and popular dates go early. Give as much notice as you can, and confirm whether the price covers delivery, service and equipment.
How do I check a restaurant’s food safety grading?
Food businesses in New Zealand operate under the Food Act and are verified against a registered food control plan. Palmerston North City Council registers and verifies most food premises in the city and publishes the grading results, so its food premises pages are the place to look, and the Ministry for Primary Industries explains what the grades mean and how verification works. You can also ask to see the certificate, which restaurants are required to display. Details for the city are on the Palmerston North City Council site.
Are there vegetarian and vegan options?
Vegetarian cooking is central to Indian food, so the menus here carry full vegetarian sections rather than a token dish or two, built around paneer, lentils, chickpeas, potato and seasonal vegetables. Vegan is more variable, because ghee, cream and yoghurt are used widely in North Indian curries, though South Indian dosa and sambar dishes are often naturally dairy free. Say so when you order and the kitchen can usually point you to the right part of the menu.
How We Chose the Best Indian Restaurants in Palmerston North
Every business in this guide was found by searching for indian restaurants in Palmerston North, then checked against its own website. Names, addresses and phone numbers are taken from the business’s own site rather than a directory feed, so what you see here is what they publish themselves. We also check that each one is actually based in or genuinely serving Palmerston North, rather than a national operator running a local landing page. A business with no website of its own is not listed, because there is no primary source to verify it against.