A note on the words: a thali is the Indian platter of many small dishes; keema is minced-meat curry, dal lentil curry, chana spiced chickpeas, halwa a dense sweet, papad the crisp lentil wafer. “Murgi” simply means chicken. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Nair’s Restaurant on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Curry partisans, thank you for waiting. It is Hangover Meshi time.
Today, to the famous curry house of Higashi-Ginza: Nair’s Restaurant! It has been far too long since my last visit.
We arrived a little early, around 17:30. A peek inside: the ground floor was full. “Fully booked, perhaps?” — but they showed us up to the second floor. Lucky!
Murgi Lunch (1,600 yen)
Special Meals (2,500 yen)
Nair’s means, of course, the famous “Murgi Lunch”! “Murgi” means chicken, and the falling-apart chicken is the glory of the dish. But it turns out there is also a “Special Meals” available from 5pm. Let us try the meals.
First — a beer, shall we!
Crisply chilled and delicious!
The “Special Meals”, orderable from 5pm at dinner: a South Indian set-meal style, with the essence of Nair’s 77 years condensed onto one platter!
On the great thali plate: eleven items, no less. Three curries — mutton, keema and chicken — plus dal (lentil curry), chana (spiced chickpeas), halwa (an Indian sweet), a samosa, salad, rice, pickle, and papad (the crisp fried lentil wafer). Three meats, two pulses, a sweet, a snack, sides, rice and a palate-cleanser, all on one plate — special indeed!
Start with the mutton curry: mutton that crumbles apart, under weighty spicing where the clove rings out — a proper first punch. Then the keema curry, minced meat and spice entwined, the middleweight of the trio and perfect over rice. The chicken curry is the classic, the reassurance of 77 years of tradition!
The supporting cast holds its own. The dal resets the palate with lentil gentleness; the chana brings fluffy chickpea texture with a spice accent; the samosa is fresh-fried and packed with potato savour; and the papad’s crackle is the ideal rest between rounds.
And the elegant part: the sweetness of the halwa, the acidity of the pickle, the coolness of the salad — mixing as you go and watching the flavours change is the great game. The permutations are endless!
The Murgi Lunch is excellent — but the grander Indian set meal is magnificent too!
We ordered this as well, naturally, and shared it round the table.
Mix the whole thing together boldly and eat — that is the way. The chicken truly falls apart at a touch.
And so — a visit to Nair’s Restaurant, said to be the oldest Indian restaurant in Japan. The classic Murgi Lunch is beyond question; but the evening’s “Special Meals” lets you survey the full essence of Nair’s 77-year house spice blends on a single plate! Learn Nair’s tradition through the Murgi Lunch, and Nair’s full range through the Special Meals — perhaps that is the privilege of the dinner crowd^^
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Nair’s Restaurant (Indian / Higashi-Ginza Station, Ginza Station, Ginza-itchome Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
