Friends India in Glenview is a fully licensed BYO Indian restaurant on Ohaupo Road in Hamilton, serving authentic North Indian and Punjabi cuisine alongside tandoori specialties, South Indian dosas and Indo-Chinese favourites. The team's mission is simple: delicious, high-quality Indian food at affordable prices, served with the warm, friendly hospitality that makes every guest feel at home.
The menu stretches past 100 dishes, from creamy butter chicken and rich chicken korma to chole bhature, Amritsari thali, sizzling paneer tikka and dosas made from fermented lentil and rice flour. Vegetarian diners are well catered for, and every dish is prepared with authentic spices, fresh herbs and traditional cooking techniques.
Open seven days a week for lunch (11:30am–3pm) and dinner (4pm–9pm), the Glenview restaurant offers dine-in, takeaway and online ordering, plus catering for special events. It is one of two Friends India restaurants in Hamilton, alongside a sister branch on Gordonton Road. Regulars praise the friendly service, tender meat and tasty sauces — and above all, a butter chicken many call the best in town.
Friends India's Glenview restaurant sits at Shop No. 4, Glenview Shopping Centre on Ohaupo Road in southern Hamilton, and it has quietly become one of the city's go-to spots for authentic Indian dining. It is a fully licensed BYO restaurant — bring your own bottle — and it opens seven days a week, for lunch from 11:30am to 3pm and dinner from 4pm to 9pm. Friends India also has a sister restaurant on Gordonton Road in Huntington, but the Glenview kitchen has a loyal following of its own.
The team's philosophy is straightforward: delicious, high-quality Indian food at affordable prices, served with the kind of warm, friendly hospitality that makes every guest feel at home. That belief shows in the details — fresh herbs, quality ingredients and authentic spices, with dishes prepared using traditional cooking techniques. Great food, the owners like to say, brings people together.
Friends India's menu runs to more than 100 dishes, inspired by the diverse culinary traditions of India — above all the rich, aromatic food of North India and Punjab. The curry list covers the beloved classics: butter chicken made with chicken tikka in a creamy tomato and cashew gravy; chicken korma in a rich, nutty cashew and cream sauce; chicken jalfrezi with stir-fried peppers, tomatoes and onions; chicken madras in a coconut-based gravy; and Punjabi-style chicken curry built on onion, tomato and freshly ground spices. Chicken saag and chicken do pyaaza round out the list.
Vegetarians are well looked after, with paneer starring in dishes like paneer tikka achari, chilli paneer and paneer fingers, alongside vegetable pakodas, harabara kebab and veg Manchurian. The Punjabi menu brings street-food heartiness with chole bhature — chana masala paired with fried bhature — samose choley, dahi bhalla and a generous Amritsari thali that finishes with gulab jamun.
There is more beyond the North Indian core. A South Indian section turns out crisp dosas made from fermented lentil and rice flour, plain or stuffed with onion, masala potatoes, egg, lamb mince or shredded chicken, while the Indo-Chinese list covers hakka noodles, Manchurian, chilli chicken and fried rice.
The clay oven does the heavy lifting here. Tandoori chicken is marinated in a yoghurt-based sauce with lemon and spices before it hits the tandoor, while chicken tikka, malai tikka and paneer tikka arrive sizzling with mint chutney. For sharers there are platters: a tandoori mixed platter of chicken tikka, fish pakoda, lamb seekh kebab and malai tikka, or the aptly named Friends mixed platter for two, combining samosas, onion bhaji, seekh kebab and chicken tikka. Tandoori prawns come straight from the clay oven, and Chicken 65 — boneless chicken marinated through spices and deep fried — is a spicy appetiser favourite.
Flexibility is part of the appeal. Dine in with your own wine or beer, order takeaway from the Glenview menu, or order online for a fast, secure pickup. Planning something bigger? Friends India caters for special events, and tables can be reserved in advance — handy for family dinners and celebrations.
Reviews paint a consistent picture. Google reviewers rate the restaurant highly across more than 411 reviews, and the butter chicken earns particular devotion — one regular calls it the best butter chicken in Hamilton. Others single out friendly, attentive service at the front desk, tender meat and tasty sauces, and takeaway that is, in one reviewer's words, “brilliant”.
Whether it is a family dinner, a catch-up with friends, a quick takeaway or a special occasion, Friends India Glenview aims to send every guest home happy — with the rich, aromatic taste of India on the table and genuine Punjabi hospitality behind it.