Search "Indian restaurant Edmonton" and you'll get pages of options — but a search ranking can't tell you whose naan comes out of a real tandoor or whose curries are built from scratch. After roughly 40 years of cooking for this city, we know exactly what to look for. Here's an honest checklist for finding truly authentic Indian food in Edmonton.

Look for a Real Tandoor — and Naan Baked to Order

The fastest way to judge an Indian kitchen is the bread. A tandoor — the traditional clay oven that reaches searing temperatures — is what gives naan its blistered, chewy-crisp character and gives tandoori meats their signature char. If the garlic naan arrives hot, puffed, and brushed with butter minutes after you order it, you're in the right place.

Reheated or pre-made bread is the giveaway of a kitchen cutting corners. Naan is meant to be your utensil for every curry on the table, so a restaurant that bakes it fresh to order is telling you something about how seriously it takes everything else.

Range Matters: North Indian, South Indian & Indo-Chinese

India is a continent's worth of cuisines, and the best Indian restaurants reflect that. A menu limited to a handful of generic curries suggests a kitchen working from shortcuts; a menu that moves confidently from creamy North Indian gravies to South Indian specialties to the wok-fired world of Indo-Chinese cooking suggests real depth.

At New Asian Village, our menu spans all of it: North Indian classics like Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani, tandoori dishes straight from the clay oven, South Indian flavours, and Indo-Chinese favourites like Chilli Chicken — crispy chicken tossed in a bold chilli sauce that regulars swear by. Vegetarians are never an afterthought either, with dishes like Palak Paneer and Vegetarian Korma holding their own against anything on the meat side of the menu.

Spice Flexibility Is a Sign of a Scratch Kitchen

Here's a detail most diners overlook: ask whether the kitchen can make your curry mild, medium, or hot. A restaurant working from pre-made sauce bases often can't — the heat is locked in before your order arrives. A kitchen building each dish from scratch can dial the spice to your table, which means a mild butter chicken for the kids and a hot beef korma for the heat-seeker can come from the same kitchen at the same time.

Every curry at New Asian Village is available mild, medium, or hot. Tell your server how you like it, and that's how it arrives. If you're new to Indian food, start medium — it's where the balance of flavour and warmth sits for most dishes — and adjust from there on your next visit.

Skip the Search — Taste for Yourself

Four decades of Edmonton diners can't be wrong. Order Butter Chicken, tandoori, and Indo-Chinese favourites online from New Asian Village for pickup or delivery.

Order Online Now

Buffet or À La Carte? Pick the Right Format for the Occasion

Neither format is "better" — they serve different nights out. A buffet is unbeatable for groups, first-timers, and big appetites: everyone samples widely, nobody debates the order, and the vegetarian at the table has as many choices as everyone else. À la carte wins for date nights, dishes cooked to your exact spice level, and going deep on a signature plate like Prawn Butter Masala or Chicken Tikka Masala.

The best answer is a restaurant that offers both. Our West Edmonton location runs a full all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch and dinner, seven days a week — complete with a soft-serve ice cream dispenser for dessert — while the à la carte menu is always available too.

Family-Run History Beats Trendy Every Time

New Indian restaurants open in Edmonton every year, and plenty are good. But there's no substitute for a kitchen that has been refining the same recipes for decades. New Asian Village has been an Edmonton institution for roughly 40 years, and today three sisters each run their own location — including Sonia Devangodi at our West Edmonton restaurant. That family thread means consistency: the butter chicken you loved five years ago is the butter chicken you'll get tonight.

Longevity is also the most honest review a restaurant can have. Edmonton diners have kept a full dining room here across four decades — through new food trends, new neighbourhoods, and a lot of new competition. When a family keeps a kitchen running that long, it's because the food keeps earning the next visit.

Our Three Edmonton-Area Locations

Once you know what to look for, here's where to find it. New Asian Village serves the Edmonton area from three family-run locations:

  • New Asian Village West Edmonton — 17507 100 Ave NW, Edmonton, AB T5S 2B8. Open 7 days, 11:30 AM – 10:00 PM. Phone (780) 488-6666. Home of the all-you-can-eat lunch and dinner buffet, minutes from Callingwood, Terra Losa, and The Hamptons. Order online from West Edmonton.
  • New Asian Village Sherwood Park — 10A Main Blvd #200, Sherwood Park, AB T8A 3W8. Open Mon–Sat 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM, Sun 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM. Phone (780) 464-6662. A full à la carte experience with the same scratch kitchen and tandoor. Order online from Sherwood Park.
  • New Asian Village South — 9308 34 Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB T6E 5T5. Open Mon–Fri 11:30 AM – 12:00 AM, Sat–Sun 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM. Phone (780) 463-9997. A large lunch and dinner buffet plus the full menu, with Bikaner sweets made fresh daily — and the kitchen runs until midnight.

All three offer dine-in, takeout, delivery, and a full bar, plus catering for weddings, parties, and corporate events. Planning a visit? Reserve a table and come taste why Edmonton keeps choosing us.