Dongseong-ro Indian restaurant for curry beginners: Rama & Babana

Honestly, I'd never had Indian curry before, so Indian restaurants always felt a little unfamiliar to me! This time, my friend — who loves curry — recommended Rama & Babana's main branch as a Dongseong-ro must-visit, so I went 🤎

My friend said the food here is seriously good and that she's lost count of how many times she's been. Since it was her personal recommendation, I decided this was my chance to try Indian curry for the first time :)🩵 Would a curry newbie like me actually enjoy it? Here's my honest review after trying it myself!

Where is Rama & Babana Dongseong-ro Main Branch, and what are its hours?

📍Location: 3 Dongseong-ro 3-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu, South Korea, 2nd floor

• Hours: Daily 11:30 - 21:30
• Break time 15:00 - 16:30
• Last order 20:30
• Closed every Tuesday
• 🅿️ Nearby paid parking lots
• 🍼 Kids' chairs available!

Finding the restaurant: second floor at the entrance of Tongsin-golmok alley

Rama & Babana sits right at the entrance of the Tongsin-golmok alley on Dongseong-ro! It's on the second floor of the building, and a big "Rama & Babana" sign on the exterior wall made it easy for even a first-timer like me to find ☺️☺️ Since it's visible right from the entrance of the alley, it'd also be convenient to meet up here if you're already around Dongseong-ro! Just go in through the entrance and head up the stairs to the second floor!!

Interior and seating — is Rama & Babana good for group meals?

Coming up to the second floor, the space was bigger than I expected, with a good variety of seating! Wood-tone tables combined with warm lighting made the whole place feel cozy and comfortable 🤎

By the window there were tables big enough for several people, and toward the back there were seats well-suited for group use. So it seemed like a great spot for a two-person date on Dongseong-ro, but also fine for all kinds of group gatherings. The vibe wasn't too loud or chaotic either, so it seemed like it'd work well even for a wedding-invitation get-together 💌 And since the menu isn't just curry but also pizza, pasta, salad, rice dishes, and more, it seemed like a good place for groups with different tastes to visit together!

And on one side, they even had a baby chair ready! 👶🏻 I liked that they thoughtfully prepared for families visiting with kids so everyone could eat comfortably.

Menu and prices: the four dishes two people ordered

Looking at the Rama & Babana menu, there was quite a lot to choose from — not just curry, but rice dishes, pasta, pizza, and salad too! We went back and forth and ended up ordering for two like this:

• 💁🏻‍♀️ Chicken curry ₩12,000
• Butter garlic naan ₩5,000
• Nasi goreng ₩16,000
• Tandoori cream chicken ₩14,000

We paired the curry with naan, and also ordered nasi goreng and tandoori cream chicken since they go well with Indian food, so we could try a bit of everything! Since it was my first time with Indian curry, I was a little worried the spices might be too intense, but my friend loves this place enough to have come back multiple times, so I waited excitedly for the food 🤭

They're also running a Naver receipt review event! Write a photo review and you get to choose either French fries or a daily salad! Worth keeping in mind if you plan to write a Naver receipt review after your meal. With a perk like this, it seems even better for people who want to try a bunch of menu items 🤎

Chicken curry with butter garlic naan — how does it taste to a curry beginner?

Chicken curry (₩12,000) + butter garlic naan (₩5,000). After ordering and waiting a bit, the chicken curry and butter garlic naan arrived first! The naan was golden-baked with a whiff of butter-garlic aroma rising off it, and it was bigger than I expected 🤎 It looked exactly like the kind of thing you'd want to tear off warm and dip straight into the curry!

They thoughtfully gave us plastic gloves too! It seemed like they were prepared so we could eat the naan by hand comfortably, and I liked that they paid attention to little details like that 😊

The chicken curry wasn't overly thick — it had a smooth, easy-to-eat consistency, and there were big chunks of chicken inside. Since it was my first time with Indian curry, I worried the spices would be strong, but visually it looked way more familiar than I expected, which got my hopes up 🤭

I dipped the naan into the curry and took a bite... this is SO good..? The chicken curry was on the spicier side, so it paired incredibly well with the sweet, savory garlic butter naan! 🤎 The naan's sweet, nutty flavor softened the curry's spiciness, and eating them together made everything taste way better 🤤 Dipping the naan generously into the curry was much tastier than eating the curry alone. It was my first time trying Indian curry, and it was so much better than expected that I kept dipping more and more haha (I basically ate all the naan myself)

Tandoori cream chicken, ₩14,000 — crisp outside, juicy inside

Tandoori cream chicken (₩14,000) came out next! It looked so appetizing with that golden-brown sear 🤤 One bite in, and it was crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside — great texture!

The creamy sauce paired well with the chicken, and it wasn't as intense as I expected, so it was easy to enjoy without feeling overwhelmed.

Nasi goreng, ₩16,000 — the standout dish of the meal

Nasi goreng (₩16,000). The look of this alone is incredible, right??? It's wrapped in something like a burrito with sauce poured generously on top, and when I tasted it, the cheese was seriously amazing! 🧀🤎 Adding smooth, savory cheese to the classic fried-rice flavor of nasi goreng made it so much richer. You can see how the cheese stretches when you pull it apart…🤤

When the curry and naan started to feel a bit heavy, eating the nasi goreng alongside gave a totally different flavor, so ordering a few dishes to share worked really well! Out of everything we ate that day, nasi goreng left the biggest impression on me 🫶🏻

Is Rama & Babana a good first taste of Indian food in Daegu?

As someone trying Indian curry for the first time, Rama & Babana turned out way better than I expected! The spice aroma in the curry was gentle rather than overpowering, so it wasn't intimidating at all, and the combination of spicy chicken curry with sweet, savory butter garlic naan was really great 🤤 On top of that, the crispy-juicy tandoori cream chicken and the cheese-loaded nasi goreng each had their own charm, so ordering several dishes to share worked really well!

Above all, I felt reassured knowing Rama & Babana has been running in the same spot at the entrance of Tongsin-golmok alley on Dongseong-ro for over 20 years since 2004. The space is spacious with varied seating, so it seems great not just for a Dongseong-ro date, but also for gatherings with friends, wedding-invitation meetups, or family meals :) Even though I hesitated at first since it was my first time with Indian food, I walked out having eaten really well — so if you're looking for a Dongseong-ro restaurant, a Daegu Indian curry spot, or a lunch place near Dongseong-ro, I think it's worth a visit 🤎