Here’s where to get your curry fix in Durban and surrounds (a good curry is worth a drive), in no particular order and as recommended by locals and tested by me.
(Check out the June issue of Getaway magazine, on shelves now, for the full story as photographer Russell Smith and Sarah Duff eat their way through the nation’s curry capital).
1. Sunrise Chip ’n Ranch, Overport
Sunrise Chip ’n Ranch is where you head at two in the morning after a big night out to satiate your munchies with a double chip and cheese roti wrap. This hole-in- the-wall takeaway recently featured in a local movie, Attack of the Indian Werewolf, but it’s more famous for churning out tasty budget curries, rotis (locals’ favourites include bean and gravy), bunnies and briyanis.
Address and contact
89 Sparks Road, Overport, Tel 031 209 2020. (Capetonians can get a taste of Durbs’ famous rotis at the Sunrise branch in Main Road, Mowbray, Tel 021 689 3250).
2. Little Gujarat, Durban CBD
Little Gujarat in the CBD has vegetarian dishes you won’t find at many Indian restaurants in Durban. The food has Punjabi influences, but it’s the southern Indian masala dosas (rice flour pancakes) and paneer dosas that stand out. Finish with a burfi (a milky sweet flavoured with chocolate, pistachio or mango).
Address and contact
43 Dr Goonam Street, Tel 031 305 3148.
3. Gounden’s, Umbilo Road
Gounden’s daily specials include vegetable briyani, mince curry and chops chutney, but most popular are the spicy mutton bunnies, loaded with chunks of melt-in-your-mouth meat.
Address and contact
It used to be housed in a panel beaters, but it’s since moved to 520 Umbilo Road, Tel 031 205 5363.
4. Govindas, Chatsworth
A futuristic Hare Krishna temple is an unlikely spot for a meal, and it’s a little-known secret that its downstairs restaurant serves cheap and delicious vegetarian food. If you don’t like it hot, come here for mild curries (try the butternut and potato option). The onion pakoras (deep-fried in a spicy batter), paneer and corn katchories (dough dumplings), and puri patha are also delicious.
Address and contact
Sri Sri Radhanath Temple of Understanding, 50 Bhaktivedanta Swami Circle, Chatsworth, Tel 031 403 4600.
Photo: Russel Smith
5. House of Curries, Florida Road
With big-screen TVs and a vibey deck, this is the place to be for an after-work beer and curry. The plate of six mini-bunnies hits the spot after a pint or two, while the chip and cheese roti wraps, and prawn and chicken curry are also delicious. The chip chow – a large plate of chips topped with curry and covered in melted cheese – is perfect munchie food.
Address and contact
275 Florida Road, Tel 031 303 6067.
6. Capsicum Restaurant, Umgeni Road
Capsicum Restaurant in a faded heritage building at the Britannia Hotel is a firm favourite among locals and has achieved fabled status over the past 33 years. The most popular dishes include delicately spiced prawn curry, and the exotic bunnies (tripe or trotters). If you’ve had enough bunnies, try a curry-filled toasted sarmie instead.
Address and contact
1299 Umgeni Road, Tel 031 303 2266.
7. Patel’s Vegetarian Refreshment Room, Yusuf Dadoo Street
Tuck into tasty vegetable or bean bunnies at this small, informal restaurant in the CBD, which is almost a century old. The sweets are good too: try burfi and boomdhi (small golden balls made from lentil, cake and maize flours, which are fried, then submerged in syrup).
Address and contact
202 Yusuf Dadoo Street, Tel 031 306 1774.
Photo: Russel Smith
8. Vintage India, Lillian Ngoyi Road
Vintage India has been cooking up delectable north Indian curries for 15 years. Its claim to fame is the lamb rogan josh, said to be one of Durban’s best. The extensive menu also includes vindaloo made with a chilli paste imported from Kashmir, and la aziz (paneer and vegetables in a tomato and cashew gravy).
Address and contact
20 Lillian Ngoyi Road, Tel 031 309 1328. (It has branches in Cape Town and Joburg, Tel 021 462 5106 and 011 440 4550.)
9. Little India, Lillian Ngoyi Road
Little India specialises in southern Indian cuisine, with scrumptious masala dosas served with potato curry and zingy coconut and peanut chutney, and delicious homemade paneer. Other popular dishes are butter chicken and lamb rogan josh.
Address and contact
155 Lillian Ngoyi Road, Tel 031 201 1121.
10. Impulse by the Sea, Tinley Manor
Impulse by the Sea’s prawn curries are praised far and wide – and it’s easy to see why: made according to an old family recipe, a generous helping of meaty prawns is covered in a thick, flavourful tomato-based curry. The Natal lamb curry and bunnies in unusual round loafs score highly too.
Address and contact
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167 Sea View Drive, Tinley Manor, Tel 032 554 4626.
11. Seabelle, Tongaat
Seabelle, on the beach in Tongaat, is delightfully unpretentious, with so-tacky-it’s-cool decor (think statues draped in gaudy garlands and posters of dolphins in lurid colours). Décor aside, it’s known for its tangy prawn curry, alongside other seafood curries such as crayfish and crab.
Address and contact
62 South Beach Road, Desainagar, Tongaat, Tel 032 941 5551.
12. Ocean Terrace Restaurant, Umhlanga Rocks
Ocean Terrace Restaurant at the swanky Oyster Box hotel serves a top-quality daily curry buffet while you take in the seaside setting. Feast on 11 curries and an array of condiments, rice and breads.
Address and contact
2 Lighthouse Road, Umhlanga Rocks, Tel 031 514 5000.
Photo: Russel Smith
13. Thava Indian Restaurant, Ballito
The Thava Indian Restaurant in Ballito, in the four-star The Boathouse on the Beach, is well worth the drive. Serving traditional dishes cooked by four chefs from across India – Kashmir, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Kerala – the restaurant’s menu offers a diverse selection of vibrant meals. The airy restaurant opens up on to a terrace overlooking the Indian Ocean. Starters include fragrant dishes such as potato bonda (potato cubes cooked, seasoned and deep-fried in chickpea batter, for R30) and sesame crumbed prawns (R60), while mains include prawn curry (R125), tandoori paneer tikka (R55) and lamb rogan josh (R95). Thava is open Monday to Sunday, 7am to 10pm, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Address and contact
The Boathouse on the Beach, Tel 032 946 0300, thava.co.za
Photo: Teagan Cunniffe
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