Indian Restaurants in Wilmington DE
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Bawarchi Godavari India Palace India Grille |
Palace of Asia Star of India Scrumptious Trader Joe's |
Wegmans Zaikka Indian Grill |
When we moved to Delaware in the late 1990s, there were no more than four or five Indian restaurants in the entire state.
Today, there are 14 Indian restaurants in Delaware (not including the Hindu Temple Canteen in Hockessin, which is open only during the weekends).
Wilmington has the maximum number of Indian restaurants (seven) followed by Newark with five and the state capital Dover with two.
 India Grille Wilmington
Fake Indian Restaurant
3456 Naamans RoadWilmington, DE 19810 |
 Zaikka Indian Grill
Crappy, Cold Indian Food
209 North Market StWilmington, DE 19801 |
The high number of Indian restaurants in Wilmington is likely due to the presence of pharma companies like AstraZeneca, Noramco, DuPont and Merck, banks like Chase and several law firms in the area. After all, attorneys, bankers and pharmaceutical researchers too have to eat, don't they?
Indian restaurants in Delaware serve mainly North Indian fare like Tandoori Chicken, Dal Makhani, Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan bread etc.
Surprisingly none of the big malls, Christiana Mall, Dover Mall or Concord Mall, have an Indian restaurant. Are the rents that high in these malls?
Unfortunately, growth in the number of Indian restaurants has not been accompanied by a boost in quality and service.
 Palace of Asia
Awful Indian Food
3421 Kirkwood HighwayWilmington, DE 19808 |
 Star of India Wilmington
Decent Enough
1710 A Newport Gap PikeWilmington, DE 19808 |
Gone Baby, Gone
In the last 14 years, a dozen Indian restaurants including a few prominent ones like Nirvana, Cafe Chettinad, Panghat, Taste of India, Taj Palace, Mazza, Himalaya Newark, Himalaya Wilmington, Lazzat, Indian Paradise, Jalsaa, Bombay Palace and India House have closed.Some like Cafe Chettinad started off with a bang but couldn't sustain the momentum while others like Indian Paradise closed because the owners decided to retire.
The recession has hit the Indian restaurants hard because Indian food is a discretionary purchase for Americans, not a must-have.