Shamiana Chartwell is the Hamilton branch of one of New Zealand's most enduring Indian food stories. You'll find it in the food court at Westfield Chartwell — outlet FC-6, on the corner of Hukanui and Comrice Streets — where the group's Indian cooking is served food-court style: order at the counter, take a seat in the mall, or grab your meal to go.
The name behind the counter goes back a long way. Shamiana was founded in 1989 by Satish Shetty, who opened the first Shamiana Indian restaurant on Great North Road in New Lynn and spent a decade honing his skills and perfecting recipes before making the leap into shopping centre food courts — first at Lynn Mall, then Westfield Downtown and Manukau. By 2019 that leap of faith had grown into 50 stores across New Zealand and Australia, and today the Shamiana group employs more than 170 people on both sides of the Tasman. The Chartwell branch brings that four-decade story to Hamilton shoppers.
Like every Shamiana food court branch, this one is built for convenience. There's no booking and no waiting — just walk up, order and enjoy your meal in the Westfield Chartwell seating area, or take it home. If you'd rather not leave the house at all, the branch accepts delivery orders through Uber Eats and DoorDash.
The branch is looked after by Vijay and can be reached directly at [email protected], with general group enquiries going to [email protected]. As a food court outlet, its opening hours follow Westfield Chartwell's trading hours, so it's worth checking with the mall when planning a visit.
Shamiana Chartwell sits in the food court at Westfield Chartwell — outlet FC-6, right at the corner of Hukanui and Comrice Streets in Chartwell, Hamilton. It's part of the Shamiana group, one of New Zealand's longest-running Indian food names, and it serves the brand's Indian cooking in the most casual format there is: walk up, order at the counter, and eat in the mall's seating area or take your meal away.
The Chartwell branch is one chapter of a much bigger New Zealand story. Shamiana was founded in 1989, when Satish Shetty opened the first Shamiana Indian restaurant on Great North Road in New Lynn, in Auckland's west. There, he worked day and night honing his skills and perfecting the recipes the brand still leans on today.
The breakthrough came after a decade of what Satish freely describes as failures, struggles and small wins. An opportunity appeared to open a store in the newly refurbished Lynn Mall shopping centre food court, and Satish moved quickly — borrowing $150,000 from the bank to open the first Shamiana food court branch. The result and feedback were fantastic. Realising he was onto a good thing, he immediately signed leases for two more sites at Westfield Downtown and Manukau shopping centres — this time without the banks willing to lend, taking a leap of faith that he would find the money before the cheques were cashed.
It worked. By 2019 Satish had built an empire of 50 stores across New Zealand and Australia, and today the Shamiana group employs more than 170 people across both countries. Shamiana Chartwell is part of that legacy: the recipes and the food court formula that started in New Lynn, now served in Hamilton.
Being a food court outlet shapes everything about a visit to Shamiana Chartwell. There's no table booking, no waiting to be seated and no formal service. You order at the counter, and from there it's your choice: take a seat in the Westfield Chartwell food court and eat in, or take your meal with you. It's the same low-fuss format Satish embraced at Lynn Mall all those years ago, and the one that carried the brand from a single restaurant to a 50-store group.
The location makes it an easy stop in the middle of a shopping day. The outlet sits within the Westfield Chartwell complex at the junction of Hukanui and Comrice Streets, so whether you're in for the shops, errands or an afternoon out, a meal is steps away rather than a separate trip across town.
If you'd rather skip the mall altogether, Shamiana Chartwell takes delivery orders through Uber Eats and DoorDash. That means the same kitchen serving the Chartwell food court can bring dinner to your door — handy for busy weeknights, family meals at home, or anyone in the delivery zone who doesn't feel like driving.
The branch is managed by Vijay and has its own contact point: [email protected]. Enquiries for the wider group go through [email protected]. No phone line is published for the Chartwell branch, so email is the most reliable way to reach the team.
Because it operates from the food court, the branch's opening hours follow Westfield Chartwell's trading hours rather than being listed separately. If you're planning a visit early, late or on a public holiday, it's worth confirming the mall's hours first.
Shamiana Chartwell offers something you don't find every day in suburban Hamilton: a New Zealand Indian food story nearly four decades in the making, served quickly and without fuss in the heart of Chartwell's shopping centre — a thread running from Great North Road, New Lynn in 1989 to the Chartwell food court today.