I drove out to Pioneer Blvd in Artesia last weekend because everyone told me that is where the real Indian food is, and I get why people say it. Whole blocks of sweet shops and grocery stores, families everywhere, the whole thing feels like somewhere.
But it is a 40 minute run each way from West LA, and I came home wondering whether I had actually eaten better than I could have twenty minutes from my apartment. So is Artesia still the answer, or has that quietly changed? Where are you going for a dosa, a proper curry, or just a plate you cannot stop thinking about?
Depends what you mean by “better.” If you want the full Little India experience Pioneer Blvd is still it. If you just want a plate you keep thinking about, Culver City and Palms have nice places.
Mayura in Culver City is where I take people who think they already know Indian food. It is Keralan, so you get appam and stew and a fish curry with actual heat behind it instead of sweetness.
Go at lunch, it is calmer and the thali is the better value. Fifteen minutes from West LA and no freeway.
Electric Karma on Third has been my answer for years and I am always a little surprised more people do not know about it. The butter chicken is the obvious order, but the lamb vindaloo is the one I keep coming back for, and they will genuinely make it hot if you ask them to.
It is a small room and it fills up around seven thirty, so either go early or plan on waiting. Street parking on that block of Third is easier than you would expect.
Adding Mayura to my list from this thread, thank you for that one. My own contribution is Tara's Himalayan on Venice Blvd, which is Nepalese rather than Indian, so the purists can come for me.
The momos and the goat curry are the reason to go, and it is the kind of small room where the owner recognizes you the second time. Easy from the Westside, no drive worth complaining about.
Artesia is still better if you’re judging by range, regional depth and that “this feels like somewhere” thing you described. Closer options got good enough that the 40-minute each-way tax started feeling optional. India’s Grill on Wilshire for example..
Skip the pilgrimage. India's Grill on Wilshire puts out a better plate than anything I ate in Artesia, and it is twenty minutes from the Marina instead of forty five each way.
Riwaaz on South Broadway is ten minutes from me and worth knowing about. Get the goat curry and the garlic naan, go before seven and park in the structure on Eighth because the Broadway meters are a headache.
A lot of these places on Pioneer Blvd are simply outstanding. I love the Curry Lounge. Especially their butter chicken curry and their tandoori lamb chops.
Nobody has said the actual answer yet, which is that Artesia is the culture and not the best food anymore. It is still where you go for sweets and groceries and the feeling of being somewhere, and I would never tell anyone to skip it. The cooking just got better everywhere else.
Valley Curry House in Valley Village is the one I drive for, the chaat and the dosas both, and it is nothing to look at from the parking lot. If you are ever out that way, Anarbagh on Ventura in Woodland Hills is the other one worth the miles. Both cost less than the gas you burned getting to Pioneer Blvd, sooo good.
