Flavors of India in Toyonaka, Osaka
Enjoy exquisite flavors of India at a newly opened restaurant, Indian owned and operated, just a few minutes from Toyonaka Hankyu station in Toyonaka City, Osaka.
Suryodaya opened their doors to the public in May this year. They are located 5 to 10 minutes from the station, depending on how fast you walk and if you stop along the way window-shopping. The walk is easy and there are only a few turns along the way so it is not confusing. Some places I’ve visited are like walking through a maze. So rest assured, you won’t get lost going there or returning to the station, something you need to think about especially if you drink a lot of alcohol.
Suryodaya has two floors with an upstairs area that seats about 10 to 15 people; great for parties and privacy. Downstairs seats between 30 to 40 people, but don’t quote me on that. The décor, like most Indian restaurants, is dark and colorful. But most people don’t go to an Indian restaurant for the décor. It’s all about the food!
I have eaten at the restaurant two times now. Each time, I ate upstairs where it was nice and quiet and away from other guests. I was able to lean back against the wall, Japanese style on a tatami, and enjoy my food and drink. On my second visit, I was blessed with two cute young college girls who ended up speaking to me in English the whole time. They were both majoring in English at university. One looked Japanese, but turned out to be from China.
The first time I visited the restaurant I had tandoori chicken and fish, mutton curry, garlic and herb nan, beer and a lassi to top it off. The tandoori chicken and fish were accompanied with grilled sliced vegetables cooked with Indian herbs and spices, very nice! The chicken was a whole leg and the fish was about the size of a piece of fillet mignon. The mutton curry was not the normal portion of curry most see at Indian restaurants. It was about the size of two curries in one and beautifully garnished. As for the nan, I can’t say enough about it. And while I’m raving about sizes, I might add that the nan is not the normal size either. It was quite large and cut into about 4 pieces, sprinkled with herbs and spices and very colorful. Delicious!
The second time I had a large portion of chicken masala garnished with herbs, tandoori chicken - you can never get too much tandoori chicken - keema nan, beer and a mango lassi for dessert.
If you want even more food, then go for their all-you-can-eat lunch or dinner. Both are very reasonably priced, in my opinion. I compare their all you can eat menu with most other restaurants and it’s about the same, if not cheaper. Much less than shabu shabu in downtown Umeda.
I highly recommend this restaurant. Go by yourself, take a friend or have a small party upstairs or downstairs. The staff and owners are very friendly, and they might even let you reserve the restaurant if you wanted to have a large party. The food is the best Indian I’ve had in the Kansai area and is very artistically arranged to boot. Go and you won’t be disappointed. It’s great all around!
Visit their website to see more menu items and a map!
Read more about the author of this post: Kyle Yates is an American English teacher living and working in the Kansai area since 1996. Read more from this author
Kansai Gaijin