A-RAJ South Indian Restaurant at Ikebukuro, Tokyo

Chennai-born chef's long-running south Indian kitchen near Higashi-Ikebukuro, plating meals, 36 curries, biryani, and vegan options.

A-RAJ is a south Indian restaurant a short walk from Higashi-Ikebukuro Station, run by owner-chef Raj from Chennai, who trained at the respected Kojimachi veteran Ajanta before setting up on his own. It is one of Tokyo's older south Indian kitchens, serving meals (thali-style) and properly southern curries since well before the style became fashionable. The menu reaches across about thirty-six curries built from vegetables, lentils, and chicken, with sambar, rasam, poriyal, dahi, rice, puri, and papadum composing a generous meals plate; vegan options are available on request. The small, warm-toned dining room seats around twenty-four, and the kitchen also turns out a well-spiced chicken biryani and a properly blended chai. Closed on Tuesdays and reopened in May 2024 after a pause, A-RAJ remains a reliable address for healthy, spice-led south Indian food in east Ikebukuro. Sit down to a meals plate, ask the chef about the vegan choices, and let one of the city's quietly pioneering south Indian kitchens take care of the rest.