Yelp Ranks Two Phoenix Indian Restaurants in Top 100
Maya's Kitchen and City of Spice, both located on Bell Road, secured national placements in the platform's first-ever category ranking.
By Lina Lewis ·
Yelp has released its first annual ranking of the top 100 Indian restaurants in the United States, identifying two establishments in the Phoenix area as national contenders.
The platform's inaugural list places Maya's Kitchen Indian Cuisine at number 50 and City of Spice at number 91. Both locations are situated on East Bell Road in north Phoenix, a corridor known for its concentration of South Asian dining options. The ranking methodology focused on businesses strictly categorized as Indian food, with the algorithm weighing review volume and star ratings. The final list capped the number of restaurants per state at ten.
Maya's Kitchen operates with a compact menu focused on northern Indian staples. The establishment is owned by the Pokhrel family, who incorporate Nepali influences into their dishes. The dining room features a complimentary chai bar where guests can self-serve while waiting for orders of butter chicken, dal, or goat curry. The restaurant serves these main courses with rice seasoned with cumin and bay leaves.
City of Spice functions as a casual, small-scale venue. Its owners, originally from Hyderabad and Gujarat, offer a wide menu that reflects regional diversity. The interior includes digital screens that provide historical context and details for each dish. A signature item is the Apollo fish, which is battered and fried. The dish is topped with sliced onions and a buttery sauce prepared with chiles and curry leaves.
The number one position on the national list went to LA Indian Cuisine, a counter-service restaurant located near a truck stop off Interstate 5 in Castaic, California. No Arizona business placed in the top ten of the national ranking. Other prominent Phoenix venues did not appear on the list, including Indibar, a Michelin Selected Restaurant, and Nadu, a high-end north Phoenix restaurant specializing in lesser-known regional dishes. The release of the rankings coincides with the start of Diwali, the Festival of Lights, which begins this Friday.
The two Phoenix entries are part of a larger trend where online reviewers have elevated Arizona barbecue, Mediterranean, and Mexican dining to national prominence. The data confirms the growing visibility of the local Indian food scene, which has been a fixture of the Valley's culinary market for years. The list serves as a data-driven benchmark for consumer preference in this specific cuisine category.
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