From Edison's Little India to Morris County's chef-owned kitchens
New Jersey is quietly one of the best states in America for Indian food. With one of the country's largest Indian-American communities, NJ supports everything from street-snack counters and dosa specialists to white-tablecloth Mughlai dining — and the scene breaks down into three distinct regions worth knowing.
The Oak Tree Road corridor through Edison and Iselin is the East Coast's densest stretch of Indian dining — more than 50 restaurants, sweet shops, and chaat houses in a few miles. This is where you go for regional deep cuts: Hyderabadi biryani houses, Gujarati thalis, South Indian dosa halls, and late-night street food. The trade-off is distance (about 45 minutes from Morris County) and weekend crowds that come with the fame.
Jersey City's India Square along Newark Avenue packs vegetarian South Indian spots, Indo-Chinese kitchens, and bustling sweet shops into a walkable few blocks — with a view of Manhattan thrown in. It's a brilliant food-crawl neighborhood if you're city-side. Like Edison, it rewards adventurous ordering and patience with parking.
The suburban third of NJ's Indian food story is different by design: chef-owned neighborhood kitchens where the owner knows the regulars and the menu is cooked, not assembled. This is our world. Sonny's Indian Kitchen opened in downtown Chatham in 2020 — mid-pandemic, on the strength of takeout alone — and has grown into one of the area's most-loved restaurants: a 4.9★ Google rating across 1342+ reviews, coverage in the local press as one of NJ's best Indian restaurants, and a dining room that runs on BYOB.
What the suburbs lack in dosa-hall variety they repay in consistency and care: our butter chicken is built the original Delhi way, the biryani is layered and slow-steamed rather than mixed, and the naan comes out of the tandoor minutes before it hits your table. If you're in Morris, Union, or Essex County, that beats a 45-minute drive to Oak Tree Road on a Tuesday night — and we deliver across nine towns.
Wherever you end up eating, four orders reveal everything. Butter chicken tests balance — sweet, tangy, and rich should arrive in that order. Biryani tests technique — grains separate, aroma unmistakable. Naan tests the tandoor — blistered and chewy, never floppy. And a slow dish like dal makhani tests patience — you can taste the hours. A restaurant that lands all four is worth your loyalty; we built our kitchen to pass that test nightly.
The big Edison banquet caterers own the mega-wedding market, but for gatherings of 10 to 200+ across Morris County — home Diwali parties, office lunches, graduation celebrations — Sonny's catering brings restaurant-grade food with custom menus, vegetarian and vegan coverage, and halal meat by default. Our portions guide shows exactly how much to order.
What people ask most about New Jersey's Indian food scene.
Edison — especially the Oak Tree Road corridor, often called "Little India" — has the highest concentration, with more than 50 Indian restaurants. Jersey City’s India Square is the other major hub.
It depends on what you’re looking for: Edison and Jersey City offer the widest regional variety, while suburban towns like Chatham are known for chef-owned kitchens. Sonny’s Indian Kitchen in Chatham holds a 4.9-star Google rating across 1,300+ reviews and has been named among the best Indian restaurants in NJ.
Yes — many of New Jersey’s best Indian restaurants are BYOB, which keeps dinner affordable. Sonny’s Indian Kitchen in Chatham is fully BYOB: bring your favorite bottle and we provide the glasses.
Downtown Chatham is home to Sonny’s Indian Kitchen at 225 Main St, serving dine-in, takeout, and delivery across Chatham, Madison, Florham Park, Summit, and greater Morris County, plus catering for events.
Order the butter chicken (balance test), a biryani (technique test), fresh naan (tandoor test), and one vegetarian entree like dal makhani (patience test). If all four impress, you’ve found a keeper.
4.9★ Indian cooking in downtown Chatham — dine in (BYOB), take out, or get delivery across Morris County.