Weekend Indian brunch course in Jeongja-dong: Shah Jahan set at Kari

A lazy weekend~ went with my husband to the Jeongja-dong café street for brunch. Usually brunch means coffee and bread for us, but I'd been craving curry since last week, so I booked ahead at Kari, a curry spot in Jeongja-dong known for being good.

Where is Kari Bundang Jeongja Café Branch, and is there parking?

Kari Bundang Jeongja Café Branch is on the basement floor of Dongyang Paragon in Jeongja-dong. If you eat there, you get 2 hours of parking covered — so we parked, ate, and even squeezed in coffee at a nearby café afterward, haha.

There were so many Blue Ribbon plaques at the entrance that I had to take a photo! They've received one every year from 2017 to 2025 except one year... 10 years running, that's amazing. I love curry and have tried all the Indian curry places in Seohyeon-dong too, so I had no idea how good this could possibly be~~ Walked in with high expectations.

They said takeout orders get a discount plus a complimentary roti. I kept hearing delivery app notification sounds while we ate, so it seems like a lot of people order delivery or takeout too. We booked the 11am weekend slot, and there were quite a lot of other 11am reservations too. Everyone's so on top of it...!!!

The Shah Jahan brunch course at 24,000 won per person, served on weekends too

At Kari Bundang Jeongja Café Branch, we ordered the Shah Jahan brunch course for ₩24,000 per person for two. We considered the couple set, but that only comes with one large-size curry, so we went with the brunch course instead.

It's so nice that the brunch course runs on weekends too. Apparently the lunch set used to be weekdays-only, but it looks like they recently renewed the menu. Being able to eat this affordably on weekends too is really great.

Order the brunch course and it starts with a sandwich called naan-wich, followed by soup and tandoori chicken salad, a main curry (you can pick one per person ordered), then a choice of naan or rice, plus one drink per person. All that as a course for ₩24,000 — isn't that just a sweet deal?

The liquor lineup right at the entrance, haha. It was 11am so we didn't drink, but it seems like it'd be great with a beer in the evening. Would probably go really well with naan too!

What the room at Kari Bundang Jeongja Café Branch feels like

The interior at Kari Bundang Jeongja Café Branch is styled like India and it's genuinely upscale. There's a Taj Mahal model in the middle so I had to take a photo, haha. It's great for a date and also good to bring your parents to. I think it's the most modern-feeling Indian curry restaurant in Bundang!!!

First plate of the course: naan-wich and soup of the day

The naan-wich is like a salad, and the cheese on top was explained as traditional Indian cheese. It tastes like a chicken sandwich but with a slight curry spice hit, haha. It's a flavor pretty much everyone would like without much disagreement — a good, solid starter.

Second came the soup of the day, which was potato soup that day. But the server asked what soup it was by shouting toward the kitchen right at my table... a little embarrassing, haha. But it tasted really good.

Soft and warm, it soothed our empty stomachs well. Starting the meal this way as a course also made us slow down and actually savor each dish.

Blueberry lassi vs original lassi at Kari

I ordered blueberry lassi, my husband ordered original lassi. I hesitated over the syrup one thinking it might be too sweet, but it turned out to be a great choice, haha. The original lassi actually had a bit of tanginess, so it was better after finishing the curry as a palate cleanser rather than during the meal, while my sweet one was nice to sip alongside the curry throughout, haha.

The size is small, but it ended up being just the right amount as we drank. Any more and we probably couldn't have finished it...

Tandoori chicken salad: one skewer per person

The next dish was tandoori chicken salad.

Tandoori chicken comes as one skewer per person. They explained that each skewer is grilled with a different seasoning and to eat it with the mango sauce that comes alongside. I wondered whether mango sauce would even go with chicken? But it was a totally perfect match!!

The salad dressing wasn't overdone either, making it a perfect appetizer. Would've been even better with a cold draft beer alongside~~

Main curries and naan: garlic naan vs butter naan

After slowly working through the appetizers, the main dish of naan and curry gets prepared. We ordered one garlic naan and one butter naan, but honestly once you're dipping naan into curry, the type doesn't matter that much... On its own, garlic naan tasted a bit better, but once dipped in curry the naan flavor barely comes through, so whichever you order will probably taste great!! I thought I'd add a plain naan after finishing, but the portion was surprisingly big so I couldn't manage an extra one, haha.

Placing it next to the lassi cup really shows how huge the naan is, hahaha. It's massive — feels like eating a full bowl of rice. Writing this review is making me want it again — there are so many different curry types that I feel like I could eat here every day and never get tired of it...lol.

Makhani curry with lamb

This is makhani (+lamb) — a tomato-cream sauce with a pretty universally likable curry flavor. I meant to order one tomato-based and one spinach-based, but somehow ended up with two tomato-based curries — though even those two tasted different enough that we didn't get bored of it. The other one was butter chicken (+chicken).

Butter chicken curry, with the cilantro served on the side

Butter chicken normally comes topped with cilantro, but I asked for it on the side since I really can't handle cilantro. My husband, though, loves cilantro, haha. That's another thing that always amazes me about him.

My husband took the cilantro I'd set aside and piled it into both the makhani and the butter chicken, eating it all happily, hahaha. He ordered the makhani with lamb, and it had plenty of meat with no gamey lamb smell at all, so it tasted even better.

I was curious how he could eat cilantro so easily, so I tried a tiny bit myself, but... nope, still can't. If I've been trying for 10 years and still can't do it, I guess it's time to give up, hahaha.

Is Kari worth it for a Jeongja-dong brunch date?

We cleaned our curry bowls completely!!!! I was torn on whether to add extra naan, but between finishing the meal and drinking all our lassi, we were completely full. If you're looking for a great spot for a date on the Jeongja-dong café street in Bundang, or a good restaurant for weekend brunch, I strongly recommend Kari!