Indian Tadka Matamata is a family-run Indian restaurant and bar on Tainui Street, in the heart of Matamata. The kitchen is led by Chef Balvir Singh Rawat, who comes from the mountains of Uttarakhand in Northern India and brings more than 30 years of experience cooking authentic Indian cuisine — over 20 of them in some of the finest Indian restaurants across New Zealand. He opened the restaurant with his son Birendra Rawat, a hospitality graduate from India who moved to New Zealand in 2017, with a shared vision of celebrating India's diverse culinary traditions in every dish.
The family's story began in Opunake, South Taranaki, where they served loyal patrons from 2018 to 2021 before moving to Matamata in 2022. The restaurant takes its name from the tadka — the art of tempering, where spices like cumin, mustard seeds and chillies sizzle in hot oil or ghee, blooming into fragrance and transforming a dish in seconds. That same care shows in the prep: the garam masala is homemade, the hot sauce is a house signature, the best cuts of meat are hand-picked from local butchers, and produce is fresh, seasonal and home-grown where possible.
The dining room is a warm, welcoming space with beautiful Indian decor, suited to intimate dinners, family gatherings and celebrations. Guests can dine in or take away, with delivery also available through Delivereasy. The restaurant is fully licensed, pouring local craft beers, award-winning local wines and other spirits. Regulars have rewarded the effort with a 4.8-star rating across more than 210 Google reviews, praising everything from the tikka masala to the hospitality itself.
Step onto Tainui Street and you'll find one of Matamata's most-loved dining rooms: Indian Tadka, a family-run Indian restaurant and bar holding a 4.8-star rating from more than 200 Google reviewers. But the story begins long before Matamata, in the mountain state of Uttarakhand in Northern India, where chef Balvir Singh Rawat grew up among the food traditions he now cooks every day.
Chef Balvir brings more than 30 years of experience to the kitchen, including over two decades spent in some of the finest Indian restaurants across New Zealand. In 2018 he opened his own place with his son Birendra Rawat, a hospitality graduate who had joined him in New Zealand the year before. The family's first restaurant served the South Taranaki town of Opunake from 2018 to 2021; in 2022 they carried their pans east to Matamata, where the restaurant has become a fixture for locals and travellers alike.
The restaurant's name is its philosophy. In Indian cooking, the tadka — tempering — is the moment cumin, mustard seeds and chillies hit hot oil or ghee and bloom into fragrance, transforming simple ingredients into something soulful in a matter of seconds. It's an approach that runs through the whole menu: spices layered with intention, cooked with patience, and served with warmth.
That patience shows in the prep work. The garam masala is blended in-house, the hot sauce is a house signature, cuts of meat are hand-picked from local butchers, and vegetables are fresh, seasonal and, where possible, home-grown.
The curries anchor the menu. Guests repeatedly point to the chicken tikka masala — one reviewer calls it simply the best she's ever had — while the chicken korma and goat curry come up again and again as favourites. The butter chicken and butter paneer cater to those who like it creamy; the dal makhani wins over lentil lovers; and the mixed seafood offers something from the ocean alongside the classics. From the tandoor side of the kitchen, chicken tikka and malai tikka feature among the chef's specialities.
Don't skip the breads and rice. Garlic naan is the undisputed default — "get the garlic naan, of course," one diner advises — chocolate naan makes a playful sweet finish, and regulars suggest swapping your rice for jeera rice for a little extra variety.
The dining room is elegant and welcoming, adorned with beautiful Indian decor, and reviewers consistently mention how clean and well looked after it is. This is a space built for intimate dinners, family gatherings and celebrations — one host credits the team with rallying around a last-minute wedding lunch for 22 guests, with the staff joining in the celebration themselves.
It's also fully licensed, an easy-to-miss touch for a small-town curry house: expect a selection of local craft beers, award-winning local wines and other spirits, a natural match for the spiced dishes coming out of the kitchen.
Indian Tadka Matamata sits at 2 Tainui Street, right in town — handy for Hobbiton-bound visitors, and one reviewer stopped in after the movie set on the drive back to Rotorua. Service runs Tuesday to Sunday in two sittings, with lunch from 11:30am to 2:00pm and dinner from 5:00pm to 9:00pm; Mondays the kitchen rests. Book a table online or by phone, order takeaway through the website, or get delivery via Delivereasy. A loyalty program rewards regulars, and promotions run from time to time.
Whether you're a curry devotee or new to Indian food, the team is happy to guide you — as one visitor put it, the owner was glad to recommend things to try. That blend of top-notch hospitality and honest, spiced-from-scratch cooking is exactly what the Rawat family set out to share when they opened their doors, and it's why Matamata keeps coming back.