Taste of Delhi is an Indian restaurant on Hardy Street in Nelson Central, serving traditional, flavoured and authentic Indian cuisine. The kitchen is led by Chef Deepchand, owner and co-founder, who brings more than 20 years of hospitality experience from hotels and restaurants across India, Jamaica and New Zealand, working alongside chef Shishpal Singh and cook Vikesh Singh.
The menu is designed to capture the authentic flavours of India's diverse regions. Spices are blended in traditional ways so that each dish keeps its own distinct taste, running from tandoor classics and appetisers like Samosa and the Platter for Two to mains such as Butter Chicken, Mango Chicken, Lamb Chops Masala, Vegetable Korma and Mixed Vegetable Curry. Vegetarian dishes, desserts like Mango Kulfi and Gulab Jamun, and drinks from Mango Lassi to Amstel Light round things out.
Open seven days with lunch and dinner sittings, Taste of Delhi also offers lunch specials, welcomes private occasions and events, and keeps things easy — book a table online or order for pickup or delivery. The team's aim, in their own words, is quick, efficient and excellent service, and a memorable experience for you and your family.
Taste of Delhi brings the flavours of India to Hardy Street, right in the heart of Nelson Central. It is a restaurant built around a simple promise: traditional, flavoured and authentic Indian cuisine, cooked with care and served with warmth. The kitchen is led by owner and co-founder Chef Deepchand, with chef Shishpal Singh and cook Vikesh Singh alongside him.
Deepchand's route to Nelson covers a lot of ground. He spent more than 20 years in the hospitality industry cooking traditional Indian cuisine in bigger hotels and restaurants across India, Jamaica and New Zealand before opening his own place — a restaurant meant to represent the authentic flavours of different parts of India. That experience shows on the plate: the menu is thoughtfully curated to capture the essence of India's diverse regions, from tandoor-cooked classics to home-style curries.
The team blends its spices in traditional ways, and they are particular about it. Their flavours don't overlap, they say — each dish gets its own distinct taste rather than a one-size-fits-all heat. For the chefs, cooking is an art that starts with respecting the ingredients; every recipe is infused with heart.
Quality and value sit alongside the cooking. Taste of Delhi talks about serving diners with care to build long-term relationships, keeping good food affordable, and delivering quick, efficient, excellent service — the sort of place meant for you and your family, whether you're settling in for dinner or collecting a takeaway.
Butter Chicken is the headline act and a clear customer favourite: half tandoori, half curry-cooked chicken brought together with crushed nuts, cream and spices in a tomato-flavoured gravy. Mango Chicken is its sweeter-natured cousin, with boneless chicken simmered in mango pulp, cream and spices. For something heartier, the Lamb Chops Masala — flagged as the chef's special — pairs lamb chops with an onion and tomato base sauce, finely diced capsicum and spices.
Vegetarians are well looked after. Vegetable Korma mixes vegetables through a creamy sauce, garnished with nuts and cream, while Mixed Vegetable Curry — commonly eaten in Indian homes, as the menu notes — cooks seasonal vegetables in a tomato and onion gravy.
Start the meal properly: a golden Samosa filled with mashed potatoes, peas and cumin seeds; Murg Malai Tikka, boneless chicken marinated in cashew nut paste and roasted in the clay oven; or Tandoori Chicken, marinated overnight in ginger, garlic and yogurt. Torn between them? The Platter for Two, the chef's recommendation, combines a few vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetisers in one go.
Drinks run from the popular Mango Lassi and a lemon, lime and bitters to Amstel Light and Lindauer Brut for those after alcohol, plus an unfiltered, non-alcoholic apple cider. Finish the way many regulars do: Mango Kulfi, an Indian mango ice cream made with mango pulp, condensed milk and pistachios, or Gulab Jamun, creamed milk dumplings flavoured with green cardamom and rose water.
Taste of Delhi opens seven days a week, with lunch served from 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM and dinner from 4:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Lunch specials make a midweek meal easy, and the team also hosts private occasions and events. Booking a table online takes only moments, or you can call +64 3-922-9599 to reserve.
Prefer to eat at home? Order online and your food can be picked up or delivered to your door — the same kitchen, the same spice blends, just your couch instead of Hardy Street.
Twenty years of hospitality experience, a team that cooks because it genuinely cares about the food and the people enjoying it, and a menu built to capture the essence of India's regions: that's what waits at Taste of Delhi. Their invitation is a simple one — savor the essence of India in every bite.