Restaurant in Nara, Japan
Bib Gourmand Indian. Easy to book, worth it.
Masala an TAKUMI is the most accessible Michelin-recognised restaurant in Nara, holding back-to-back Bib Gourmand awards in 2024 and 2025 at a ¥¥ price point. Chef Sanjay Dwivedi's Indian kitchen earns its credential in a city dominated by kaiseki and sushi. Easy to book, strong on value, and a genuinely different register for the Kansai food explorer.
If you are visiting Nara and want one meal that justifies the detour, Masala an TAKUMI is it — provided Indian cuisine sits comfortably in your itinerary. Chef Sanjay Dwivedi has earned back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, which in Nara's compact dining scene is a serious credential. At the ¥¥ price point, it is also one of the most accessible Michelin-recognised restaurants in the city. Book it. The decision question is not whether it is worth visiting — it is whether you want Indian food in Japan, and if that sits well with you, the answer is yes.
Masala an TAKUMI sits at 2281 Nakamachi in Nara's southern residential belt, away from the deer-park crowds and the tourist-facing izakayas. The address alone signals something: this is a restaurant built for people who are looking for it, not one that relies on foot traffic. Chef Sanjay Dwivedi operates here with a focused approach , Indian cuisine interpreted through the precision that the Michelin Bib Gourmand standard demands, which is exceptional value alongside consistent quality, not just cheap food done adequately.
The Bib Gourmand designation, awarded in both 2024 and 2025, is the clearest indicator of what you are getting: a kitchen that Michelin's inspectors consider to deliver quality beyond what its price tier would normally suggest. In Japan, where the Bib Gourmand pool is competitive and the inspectors are thorough, two consecutive years of recognition at a ¥¥ Indian restaurant in a secondary city is not an accident. It reflects a kitchen operating with consistency and ambition. For context, comparable Indian restaurants earning similar recognition elsewhere in the world , such as Trèsind Studio in Dubai or Opheem in Birmingham , tend to operate at significantly higher price points. Masala an TAKUMI's ¥¥ positioning makes its Michelin standing notable.
For the food-focused traveller moving through the Kansai region, Nara is often a half-day stop before or after Kyoto. The city's Michelin-recognised restaurant list is dominated by Japanese cuisine , kaiseki, sushi, and Japanese-French hybrids. Masala an TAKUMI is the outlier, and that outlier status is actually useful. If you have already committed to kaiseki at Wa Yamamura or are planning a multi-course Japanese evening, Masala an TAKUMI works as the counterpoint meal , a different register entirely, with the Michelin credential confirming it is not a consolation choice. Travellers exploring Nara's wider food scene can browse our full Nara restaurants guide for additional context.
The Google rating sits at 4.5 across 107 reviews, which for a specialist Indian restaurant in a Japanese regional city represents a genuinely engaged audience rather than tourist-volume noise. The review count is modest, which reinforces the sense that this is a restaurant with a real local and returning-visitor following rather than one inflated by passing trade.
On the practical side, booking here is rated as easy , the combination of a mid-range price tier, a non-central location, and a relatively small following means you are unlikely to face the weeks-long wait times of Nara's higher-end kaiseki rooms or sushi counters. That said, Michelin recognition does shift demand, and weekends and dinner slots will fill faster than weekday lunches. If you are planning a morning or weekend visit , which the brunch and breakfast format of this page flags as particularly relevant , Masala an TAKUMI's daytime service, where Indian cuisine naturally lends itself to lighter, spice-forward meal structures, is worth considering. The ¥¥ price point makes it a low-risk, high-upside choice for a weekend lunch between temple visits.
For food enthusiasts doing a broader Kansai circuit, the Nara Indian option fits neatly between a heavier kaiseki dinner in Kyoto , perhaps at Gion Sasaki , and the richer, more complex tasting menus available in Osaka, such as HAJIME. Within Nara itself, the restaurant sits alongside a small but genuinely interesting dining scene that also includes toi Inshokuten, Oryori Hanagaki, and Tsukumo. For everything beyond restaurants, our Nara hotels guide, Nara bars guide, Nara wineries guide, and Nara experiences guide cover the rest of the trip.
The explorer-type diner , someone who wants to understand a city's food culture at depth rather than tick obvious boxes , will find Masala an TAKUMI more interesting than its genre suggests. An Indian restaurant earning Michelin recognition in a Japanese city known for deer and ancient temples is a specific kind of story, and the food substantiates it. At ¥¥, with easy bookings and back-to-back Bib Gourmand awards, the risk is low and the upside is real.
See the comparison section below for how Masala an TAKUMI sits against Nara's other Michelin-recognised restaurants.
Masala an TAKUMI is located at 2281 Nakamachi, Nara, away from the central tourist zone. Booking is rated easy , no months-in-advance planning required, though weekend and dinner slots will move faster after two consecutive Bib Gourmand years. The price tier is ¥¥, making it one of the most accessible Michelin-recognised options in Nara. Hours and booking method are not confirmed in available data; check current details directly before visiting. The restaurant is led by Chef Sanjay Dwivedi. For broader trip planning, see our full Nara restaurants guide.
No dress code is confirmed in available data. At the ¥¥ price tier in a residential Nara address, smart-casual is a safe baseline , the kind of outfit you would wear to a well-regarded neighbourhood restaurant rather than a formal kaiseki room. If you are coming from temple-visiting during the day, tidy up slightly for an evening booking.
Yes, clearly. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmand awards at a ¥¥ price point is the definition of worth-it: Michelin's inspectors are specifically certifying that the quality exceeds what the price would lead you to expect. Compared to the ¥¥¥ options in Nara , kaiseki rooms, sushi counters , you are getting Michelin recognition at a meaningfully lower spend per head.
Booking difficulty is rated easy, so you are unlikely to need weeks of lead time. That said, Michelin Bib Gourmand status in 2024 and 2025 will have lifted demand, particularly for weekend lunches and dinner slots. A few days to a week ahead should be sufficient for most visits; same-week booking is probably fine for weekday lunches.
Seat configuration is not confirmed in available data. The restaurant's size and format at the ¥¥ tier in Nara suggest a small room rather than a counter-focused setup, but this cannot be confirmed without direct venue contact. Check when booking if counter or solo seating is a priority for you.
For a different cuisine at a higher price tier, akordu (Spanish, Innovative, ¥¥¥) and Wa Yamamura (Kaiseki, ¥¥¥) are the obvious moves. If you want Japanese cuisine at a higher spend, Araki (Sushi, ¥¥¥) and NARA NIKON (Japanese, ¥¥¥) are worth considering. See our full Nara restaurants guide for the complete picture.
Menu format is not confirmed in available data. Given the Bib Gourmand recognition and the ¥¥ price tier, any structured menu format here is likely to represent strong value relative to comparable tasting experiences in the city. Confirm the current menu format directly with the restaurant before booking if this is a deciding factor for you.
Yes, with a caveat on expectations. The ¥¥ price tier means this is not the grand-occasion room that a kaiseki dinner at Wa Yamamura or Tama would provide. But the Michelin Bib Gourmand credential gives it real weight as a celebratory lunch or a meaningful dinner for someone who values food quality over formal atmosphere. It is a good pick for food-focused occasions where the cuisine itself is the gesture.
The easy booking rating and the ¥¥ price tier both work in favour of solo visits. Without confirmed seating details, it is hard to say whether a counter or bar option exists for solo diners, but a small restaurant at this tier in Japan will almost always accommodate a single diner without difficulty. For solo travellers on a Kansai circuit also considering Harutaka in Tokyo or Goh in Fukuoka, Masala an TAKUMI slots in well as a lower-pressure, lower-spend Nara stop.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masala an TAKUMI | Indian | ¥¥ | Easy |
| akordu | Spanish, Innovative | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Wa Yamamura | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Araki | Sushi, Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Tama | Okinawan, French | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| NARA NIKON | Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Unknown |
How Masala an TAKUMI stacks up against the competition.
Casual dress is appropriate here. Masala an TAKUMI is a ¥¥ neighbourhood restaurant in a residential part of Nara, not a formal dining room. Clean, relaxed clothing is fine — there is no indication of a dress code.
At ¥¥ pricing with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition in 2024 and 2025, it represents strong value. The Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good food at moderate prices, so the price-to-quality case here is externally validated, not just assumed.
Booking is rated easy, with no months-in-advance requirement. A few days' notice should be sufficient for most visits, though weekends in peak Nara tourist season warrant earlier contact. The Michelin recognition may increase demand, so booking rather than walking in is the safer call.
Bar seating specifics are not documented for this venue. Given the ¥¥ neighbourhood format and the restaurant's size, seating is likely limited — contacting the restaurant directly before arrival is the practical move if bar seating matters to you.
For Japanese cuisine with Michelin recognition, Wa Yamamura and akordu are the primary comparisons in Nara. Masala an TAKUMI is the only Michelin-recognised Indian option in the city, so if Indian cuisine is the draw, there is no direct local alternative.
Menu format details are not in the available venue data. What is confirmed is a Michelin Bib Gourmand at ¥¥ pricing, which points to a menu that delivers quality without requiring a high-spend commitment. Check directly with the restaurant for current format options.
It works well for a low-key special occasion where the point is good food rather than formal ceremony. The Bib Gourmand credential gives it enough weight to feel intentional, and the ¥¥ price range means you are not paying a premium just for atmosphere. For a high-formality celebration, Wa Yamamura would be the better Nara choice.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
