Bukhara Indian Eatery and Bar brings authentic Indian flavours to Long Bay, a beautiful coastal suburb on Auckland's North Shore. The kitchen works from traditional recipes and locally sourced ingredients, turning out hearty curries, sizzling tandoori dishes and freshly baked naan in a warm, inviting setting.
The stylish, family-friendly space includes a full-service bar, making it as suited to a casual weeknight dinner as to a special celebration. The menu stretches from the creamy Butter Chicken and the spicier Lamb Rogan Josh to vegetarian delights and vegan options, so there is something for every palate at the table.
Dine in, take away, or order online — and with Long Bay Beach just minutes away, it is an easy stop before or after time on the coast. Genuine Indian hospitality, aromatic spices and a relaxing ambiance round out the experience.
On the coastal edge of Auckland's North Shore, minutes from the sand at Long Bay Beach, Bukhara Indian Eatery and Bar has made itself the local answer to a proper curry night. The Long Bay restaurant pairs authentic Indian flavours with a modern approach to dining — a warm, inviting room where hearty curries, sizzling tandoori dishes and freshly baked naan arrive at tables set for anything from a quick weeknight meal to a long celebration.
The kitchen's approach is simple: traditional recipes, cooked with care and built on locally sourced ingredients. The result is food the team describes as rich in taste and full of soul — curries layered with aromatic spice, breads pulled hot from the oven, and plates that carry the vibrant colours of Indian cooking without losing sight of what modern diners expect.
Long Bay itself shapes the experience. The restaurant sits in one of Auckland's scenic coastal suburbs, and the team leans into it — a relaxed stop that suits the rhythm of a beachside neighbourhood, whether that means an early family dinner or a slower evening with friends.
The menu is organised the way regulars like to order: entrees to start, generous mains to share, a dedicated biryani section, and desserts to finish. Tandoori dishes sizzle their way out of the kitchen, and the naan is baked fresh — the ideal tool for the most important job at any Indian table, scooping up the last of the sauce. Indian dining is built for sharing, and the structure encourages it: a table might mix a couple of curries, a tandoori plate and breads, letting everyone taste across the menu.
Certain dishes have become calling cards. The Butter Chicken is the creamy, comforting classic, and a natural entry point for first-time visitors. The Lamb Rogan Josh answers for those who like more heat — a spicier, deeply aromatic take on the lamb curry tradition. Around them sits a wider lineup that gives vegetarian diners real choice, with dedicated vegetarian delights and vegan options so the whole table is covered. If you are ordering for a mixed group, that combination is the point: something creamy, something fiery, something from the tandoor, and bread to go around.
The dining space is stylish but deliberately family-friendly, with a full-service bar anchoring the room. That mix is a big part of Bukhara's appeal: it is relaxed enough for a casual midweek dinner, and polished enough — with drinks from the bar and plates meant for sharing — to host birthdays, work dinners and special celebrations without anyone feeling out of place.
Service leans into genuine Indian hospitality. Dishes are meant to arrive in colour and aroma as much as in flavour, and the ambiance stays on the relaxing side of lively. It is the kind of room where a two-curry order can quietly become a three-curry order.
Practicalities are straightforward. Bukhara serves dinner from 4:00pm on Mondays and Tuesdays, and from midday Wednesday through Sunday, until 10:00pm each night. If you would rather eat at home, the full menu is available for takeaway and online ordering, so Butter Chicken and fresh naan can just as easily be a sofa night as a table night. Questions and reservations can be handled by phone on +64 9 971 1100.
Perched in Long Bay and only minutes from the beach, the restaurant makes an easy anchor for a day on the coast — lunch after a morning walk, or an early dinner before the drive home. For locals in Torbay, Long Bay and the surrounding bays, it is a close-to-home destination for memorable Indian cuisine. Dine in, take away, or order online: either way, the promise is the same — aromatic spices, generous plates and the kind of welcome that turns first visits into regular ones.