Indian Restaurants in Saint Augustine

At Bombay Grille, diners can nosh on à la carte plates of Indian classics or dive into the weekend brunch buffet, complete with unlimited champagne. Regardless of the meal's style, however, the dishes run the gamut from chicken tikka masala in a tangy cream-based tomato sauce to assorted biryanis and tandoori shrimp, grilled in a traditional clay oven.

With an arsenal of seasonings and an artist’s touch, Flavors' chefs refute the common conception that all Indian food is spicy. Though many of their chicken, lamb, and seafood specialties hold the bite of fresh chilies and blended spices, a wide variety carry the more delicate flavors of rich cream, tangy tomato sauce, and mild curry. All their dishes have one thing in common, though: they all follow the outline of centuries-old recipes from across India while taking on contemporary flair and innovations.

Beyond the kitchen lies an elegant dining room, where knowledgeable servers refill glasses of fine wine and explain unfamiliar dishes to curious customers—detailing preparation techniques, listing ingredients, and demonstrating how to pronounce their names in Klingon. Come lunchtime, the lengthy buffet fills with freshly made platters of Indian dishes, enabling guests to sample a wide variety of tandoori meats, curries, and traditional dishes. Before taking their leave, diners linger over the last sips of mango lassi at linen-clothed tabletops and cushy green booths, surrounded by the vibrant artwork of local artist Neelima Gole.

The raspberry-colored walls, stained-glass lamps, and mosaic-tiled floors of Layla’s of San Marco transport guests to a Middle Eastern oasis filled with the succulent scent of lamb roasting in spicy sauces. Servers present a lunch buffet as fully stocked as a cornucopia on moving day, featuring fare such as falafel sandwiches, shawarma wraps, and buffalo wings to accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions.

Dinner entrees—such as charbroiled lamb kebabs, shrimp mediterrania, and seasoned tilapia in a garlic wine sauce—arrive on steaming-hot platters with sides of rice and a small salad. A lineup of hookahs puffs out aromatic smoke in a variety of individual or blended flavors, which can be filtered through a choice of water, soda, juice, merlot, or vodka. As bartenders mix drinks at the fully stocked exposed bar, Middle Eastern music guides a house belly dancer through the ranks of mingling patrons to fully immerse guests in a Mediterranean ambiance.

The menu at Aavtar Indian Cuisine keeps going and going: 10 lamb dishes, seven pilafs, six tandoori delicacies, and page after page of chicken, vegetarian dishes, fish, and chutneys. Naan sails out of the restaurant's clay oven stuffed with potatoes or topped with garlic and cilantro. It then meets up at the table with tandoori shrimp, chicken tikka kebab, and homemade mango ice cream.

Owner Parvesh fulfilled his childhood dream of stuffing the community with delightful Indian dishes when he opened Urban Curry - Indian Grill. In the kitchen, halal meats soak in spiced curries and cook inside a clay oven heated with natural charcoal. Chef Raj also stuffs homemade cottage cheese inside naan or the open hands of hungry passerby, and coats shrimp with biryani’s long grain rice, herbs, nuts, and raisins.