Restaurant in New York City, United States
Serious regional Indian without tasting-menu prices.
Bungalow earned its 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand by doing something specific: serving technically demanding, regionally grounded Indian cooking at a $$$ price point in the East Village. Chef Vikas Khanna draws on culinary traditions from India's 28 states, and the kitchen's precision — from kataifi-wrapped dahi kabab to five-cheese kulcha — justifies booking two to three weeks ahead.
The misconception worth correcting upfront: Bungalow is not a neighbourhood Indian restaurant with aspirations above its station. It earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024 because chef Vikas Khanna is doing something genuinely difficult — cooking regionally specific Indian food that holds up technically against any serious kitchen in New York City, at a price point ($$$) that keeps it accessible. If you've been writing off Indian restaurants in the East Village as casual curry spots, Bungalow will reset that assumption fast.
The room sets a tone before the food arrives. Pale pink walls, colourful murals, and a bar featuring carved panels give the dining room the feel of a wealthy household in a former colonial-era hill station , somewhere between a Rajasthani haveli and a Calcutta club. It reads confidently, not decoratively, and it signals that the kitchen takes its brief seriously. For the food-focused traveller, this visual context matters: Bungalow frames its cooking as a journey through India's 28 states, and the room reinforces that the concept is considered, not cosmetic.
Cooking itself earns that framing. Khanna's technical approach is the real story here. He doesn't simplify Indian regional cuisine for a Western audience or default to familiar Mughlai dishes. Instead, he finds specific techniques , like stuffing shrimp with a Goan curry-leaf preparation and presenting it in puff-pastry cones , that demonstrate actual knowledge of India's regional culinary traditions rather than a generalised impression of them. The dahi kabab is the clearest expression of this: tart, thick yogurt encased in kataifi pastry wisps, plated with a vivid purple cabbage sauce. It's technically precise and shows genuine understanding of how to balance fat, acid, and texture , the same considerations that drive serious cooking anywhere in the world.
Five-cheese kulcha is another dish worth noting. Stuffed flatbread is not a new idea, but executing it at this level of richness without losing the structural integrity of the bread requires real kitchen discipline. These aren't trend dishes; they're demonstrations of skill applied to a specific culinary tradition. Compared to peers in New York's Indian dining scene , aRoqa leans into a more modern tasting-menu format, while Cardamom occupies a different price tier , Bungalow sits in a specific lane: serious regional Indian cooking, à la carte, at a price that doesn't require committing to a multi-course format. For a different comparison internationally, Trèsind Studio in Dubai and Opheem in Birmingham are operating in similar territory , refined regional Indian with serious technique , but both require a larger financial commitment and a tasting-menu format.
Cocktail programme is worth the detour. Turmeric-infused tequila and chili-infused mezcal are not gimmicks here; they're built into drinks with actual balance. Starting at the bar before dinner is a reasonable strategy, particularly if you're waiting for your table, which happens regularly given how busy the room runs.
Bungalow runs at high occupancy most nights. Securing a reservation is moderately difficult , plan at least two to three weeks ahead for weekend evenings. Walk-ins are possible but require patience; diners queue early specifically to take advantage of them, which tells you something about demand. For groups, booking in advance is the only reliable option. Vikas Khanna is frequently present in the dining room, moving between tables to check on dishes and engage with guests , which is either a draw or an irrelevance depending on your preference, but it reinforces that this is a chef-led operation rather than a brand extension.
The East Village address at 24 1st Avenue puts Bungalow in a neighbourhood with strong restaurant density, so combining it with a broader evening in the area is direct. For more on where to eat and drink nearby, see our full New York City restaurants guide, our full New York City bars guide, and our full New York City hotels guide. If you're planning a wider trip that includes serious restaurant experiences, Lazy Bear in San Francisco, Smyth in Chicago, and Providence in Los Angeles operate at comparable technical ambition in their respective cities.
Bungalow is the right call if you want serious Indian cooking , regionally specific, technically demanding , without a $300+ tasting-menu commitment. It suits food-focused diners who know the category well enough to appreciate what Khanna is doing with regional references, as well as first-timers to refined Indian dining who want a room that explains itself visually and a menu that rewards curiosity. It's less suited to anyone looking for a quiet, low-key dinner: the room is consistently full, the energy runs high, and that's part of what the restaurant is. If you want calmer Indian dining in New York, Chola offers a different register. For regional Indian with a hyper-specific focus, Hyderabadi Zaiqa and Ishq are worth knowing about. Also worth noting for broader context: Emeril's in New Orleans, The French Laundry in Napa, and Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg all demonstrate what chef-driven, regionally grounded cooking looks like at the leading of its category , Bungalow is making a comparable argument for Indian cuisine in New York.
Book it. The Michelin Bib Gourmand is not a consolation prize here; it's an accurate read on a kitchen doing technically demanding work at a price that makes the decision easy. At $$$, with a 4.3 Google rating across over 1,200 reviews, Bungalow has the receipts. The only question is whether you book ahead or gamble on a walk-in queue.
| Detail | Bungalow | aRoqa | Chola |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | Contemporary Indian (28 states) | Modern Indian | Pan-Indian |
| Price range | $$$ | $$$$ | $$$ |
| Booking difficulty | Moderate (2–3 weeks ahead) | Moderate–High | Lower |
| Awards | Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024 | , | , |
| Walk-ins | Possible, queue early | Limited | More accessible |
| Address | 24 1st Ave, East Village | Manhattan | Midtown |
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bungalow | $$$ | Moderate | — |
| Le Bernardin | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Atomix | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Per Se | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Masa | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
| Eleven Madison Park | $$$$ | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Bungalow measures up.
Bungalow works for small groups of 4–6, but the room runs at high occupancy and reservations are competitive. Larger parties should book well in advance — 3 weeks minimum — and check the venue's official channels to confirm availability and seating configuration. Walk-in groups should expect to wait.
Yes — the bar, which features carved panels and a full cocktail program including turmeric-infused tequila and chili-infused mezcal, is a legitimate option for solo diners or pairs who didn't plan ahead. On busy nights, early arrival is the move if you want a bar seat without a reservation.
The five-cheese kulcha and the yogurt kebabs wrapped in kataifi pastry with pickled cabbage puree and mango coulis are the dishes most cited in reviews. The cocktail list is also worth engaging before the food arrives — this is not a venue where you skip the opening round.
At $$$, Bungalow sits in a range where the Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) provides meaningful reassurance — that recognition signals value relative to quality, not just prestige. If you want technically ambitious, regionally specific Indian cooking in Manhattan without committing to a tasting menu at $200+, Bungalow is the cleaner call.
Bungalow is not structured as a tasting-menu destination — the format here is à la carte, which is part of what earns it the Bib Gourmand rather than a full Michelin star. Come to order and share dishes, not to sit through a fixed progression. That flexibility is a feature, not a gap.
Book 2–3 weeks out for weekend evenings. The room is consistently full and walk-in demand is high enough that diners line up early to claim spots. Weekday dinners are more accessible but still worth reserving in advance. Same-day bookings are unlikely to succeed unless you're flexible on timing.
Bungalow is Chef Vikas Khanna's flagship, and the menu is built around regional specificity — dishes reference India's 28 states rather than a generic pan-Indian approach. Expect a full, buzzing dining room, a serious cocktail program, and a chef who is often present on the floor. The Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) is the most useful benchmark for what to expect: high technical quality at a price that doesn't require a special-occasion budget.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
