Correction (1 October 2026): an earlier version of this page listed eight “Indian” restaurants in St Kilda that we could not find anywhere, at addresses we could not match to the suburb, with invented prices, seat counts and “insider tips”, and it claimed we had visited them. It has been rewritten from scratch. Every venue below was checked against its own website or ordering page and a second, independent source on 1 October 2026.
St Kilda’s Indian kitchens sit on streets everyone already knows: Grey Street, Fitzroy Street, Barkly Street by the National Theatre, and St Kilda Road itself. The range is wider than the handful of names suggests, from a dining room with its own wine list to a street-snack menu that opens with an “Under $20” section.
Community context: at the 2021 Census, 466 of St Kilda’s 19,490 residents (2.4 per cent) were born in India, the fifth most common country of birth after Australia, England, New Zealand and Ireland. That share is below the Victorian figure of 4.0 per cent, so rather than a single precinct this guide reads each menu on its own terms and explains the dishes in a line as it goes.
Every price below was copied from the venue’s own menu or ordering page on 1 October 2026. Online prices can differ from the counter, and menus change, so give them a squiz before you head out.
The quick picks
| If you’re after | Head to | Start with | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| A sit-down dinner on Grey Street | Babu Ji | Kerala fish curry | $27 |
| Street snacks and a feed under $20 | Mukka St Kilda | Pani puri | $14.90 |
| Biryani to take home | Amrapali Indian Cuisine | Chicken biryani | $29.90 |
| Indian fine dining and a wine list | SAAQI | Old Delhi chole bhature | No prices online |
| Pure vegetarian, just over in St Kilda East | Gopi Ka Chatka | Ask for the menu | No prices online |
Babu Ji — The George Building, 4-6 Grey St, St Kilda VIC 3182
A dining room in The George Building on Grey Street whose own menu marks nearly every curry gluten free and flags the vegan dishes. The dish it calls “our all-time favorite” is the Kerala fish curry ($27), blue grenadier pan-seared and finished in turmeric and coconut milk, the gentle, coconut-rich style of India’s south-west coast. On the menu: dal makhani ($20) is black lentils slow-cooked for 12 hours with ginger, garlic and garam masala; butter chicken ($26) uses free-range thigh fillets; and the papdi chat ($20), crisp wafers under yoghurt and chutneys, is billed as “the motherland’s version of nachos & salsa”. Naan starts at $6, and the contact page lists takeaway seven days from 11:30am.
Start with: the Kerala fish curry, $27, with a $6 naan.
Mukka St Kilda — 16 Fitzroy St, St Kilda VIC 3182
Mukka’s own site calls this its “second ever location”; the other venue on its site is on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. The St Kilda ordering page opens with an “Under $20 Menu”. On the menu: pani puri ($14.90), hollow fried shells you fill with spiced water and eat in one bite, and its own description lists the other names it goes by, phuchka and gup chup among them; thatte idli ($17.90), a flat steamed rice cake topped with gunpowder spice and ghee; aloo parantha ($15.90), a layered flatbread with potato sabji, pickle and yoghurt. Samosa chaat is $22.00 and a four-piece chicken tikka from the tandoor is $26.90. For one hungry person, the non-veg “Isolation thali” (one meat curry, one veg curry, rice and naan or roti) is $29.00.
Start with: pani puri, $14.90.
Amrapali Indian Cuisine — 278-280 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda VIC 3182
On St Kilda Road itself. Its own site lists dine-in, takeaway, catering and online ordering, a 10 km delivery radius, and lunch and dinner seven days. It describes the food as North and South Indian. On the menu: biryani is a whole section, “The Biryani Experience”: chicken biryani is $29.90 and goat biryani $32.90, rice and meat layered with saffron and cooked together so the grains take on the spice. Butter chicken makhani is $34.90 on the ordering page, garlic naan $7.90, and onion bhaji, onion fritters in chickpea-flour batter, $14.90.
Start with: the chicken biryani, $29.90.
SAAQI — 173 Barkly St G01, St Kilda VIC 3182
If your search was “Indian fine dining St Kilda”, this is the one set up for it. SAAQI calls itself an Indian kitchen and bar, a few doors from the National Theatre, with a wine list it says is “built to carry spice rather than surrender to it”, and What’s On St Kilda describes it as “a refined Indian dining and wine experience”. On the menu: its own site names soft shell crab pakoras, wild jheenga (prawns) from the tandoor, lamb chops, saffron biryani, and Old Delhi chole bhature, spiced chickpeas with puffed fried bread, the street breakfast of Delhi. It opens Tuesday to Sunday, 5pm to 10pm, and is closed Mondays. The full menu sits on its booking platform rather than its own site, so no prices here.
Start with: the Old Delhi chole bhature.
Gopi Ka Chatka — 279 Carlisle St, St Kilda East VIC 3183
Just over the border in St Kilda East, on the Balaclava end of Carlisle Street, and the pick here for anyone who eats no meat: the Carlisle Street traders’ directory describes it as serving “pure Vegetarian Indian Food”. Its own site lists St Kilda as one branch alongside Hawthorn, Clayton and Clyde North, with hours of 12:30pm to 11pm. The “View Menu” link on its St Kilda page did not open a menu when we checked on 1 October 2026, so we have not printed any dishes or prices; ring ahead and ask.
Start with: a call on (03) 8529 2925 for the current menu.
Also in St Kilda
Buddha Culture, 109 Acland Street, is listed on its own website and in the Australian Good Food Guide as an Indian restaurant. Its site carries reviews and a booking link but no menu, so it sits here without dishes or prices.
Quick answers
What is the best Indian food in St Kilda?
It depends on the night. For a sit-down dinner, Babu Ji on Grey Street (Kerala fish curry $27). For Indian fine dining, SAAQI on Barkly Street. For street snacks under $20, Mukka St Kilda on Fitzroy Street (pani puri $14.90). For biryani to take home, Amrapali on St Kilda Road (chicken biryani $29.90). Prices from each venue’s own menu on 1 October 2026.
Is there Indian fine dining in St Kilda?
SAAQI, at 173 Barkly Street near the National Theatre, describes itself as an Indian kitchen and bar with a wine list and a bespoke cocktail programme, open Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm. Babu Ji on Grey Street takes bookings through its own website.
Where can I get Indian takeaway in St Kilda?
Amrapali Indian Cuisine (278-280 St Kilda Road) takes online orders for pickup or delivery within 10 km. Mukka St Kilda (16 Fitzroy Street) has its own ordering page, and Babu Ji (4-6 Grey Street) lists takeaway seven days from 11:30am.
Does Mukka have a restaurant in St Kilda?
Yes. Mukka St Kilda is at 16 Fitzroy Street, which Mukka’s own site calls its “second ever location”. Its ordering page opens with an Under $20 menu: pani puri $14.90, aloo parantha $15.90, thatte idli $17.90.
Is there a vegetarian Indian restaurant near St Kilda?
Gopi Ka Chatka, 279 Carlisle Street, St Kilda East, is described by the Carlisle Street traders’ directory as serving pure vegetarian Indian food. In St Kilda itself, Babu Ji’s menu marks its vegan dishes, including a pumpkin and chickpea curry.
How we checked
On 1 October 2026 we read each venue’s own website or online ordering page and copied every item and price exactly as printed: Babu Ji’s dine-in menu page, Mukka’s St Kilda ordering page (Square), and Amrapali’s ordering site. We confirmed each address at a second, independent source: the Australian Good Food Guide, What’s On St Kilda, First Table or the Carlisle Street traders’ directory. The Census figures are from the ABS 2021 QuickStats for St Kilda (Vic.). We did not use delivery-app prices, Google ratings or review counts. Several places that turn up in searches are not here because we could not reach a working website or menu of their own. Online ordering prices can differ from counter prices, and menus change. The photos are illustrative, from Unsplash: they show the kind of dish, not the venue’s own food.
Seen something out of date? Email [email protected] with the page link and what has changed, and we will check it again.
Sources
- Babu Ji: menu and contact page; address also at AGFG
- Mukka St Kilda: mukka.com.au/st-kilda and its ordering page; address also at AGFG
- Amrapali Indian Cuisine: amrapali.com.au and its ordering menu; address also at AGFG
- SAAQI: saaqi.com.au; also at What’s On St Kilda and First Table
- Gopi Ka Chatka: St Kilda branch page; also at the Carlisle Street directory
- Buddha Culture: buddhaculture.online and AGFG
- St Kilda population and country of birth: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats
