Indian curry restaurant near Songdo Central Park: half tandoori

Manokamana Songdo Branch is an Indian curry specialty restaurant right across the street from Songdo Central Park. I sometimes crave Indian curry when I want to try something new — probably because of good memories of eating it back in college.

Even in Songdo, there's a place to get delicious Indian curry. I visited Manokamana Songdo Branch, located near Songdo Central Park in Yeonsu, Incheon. It's right across the street from Central Park, so it's a great Indian curry spot to pair with a Central Park outing. Parking time is generous too, so it was easy to grab lunch and then take a walk around the park afterward.

Where is Manokamana Songdo Branch? One street from Central Park

Manokamana Songdo Branch is just one street across from Songdo Central Park, so accessibility is pretty good.

The Indian atmosphere hits you right from the entrance.

Full at weekday lunch, but Manokamana has plenty of seats

I visited during weekday lunch hours. The restaurant has quite a lot of seating, so I thought it would be relaxed, but there were far more customers than expected. Seats were nearly full even on a weekday lunch, which told me this is already a popular Indian curry spot in Songdo. The restaurant itself has plenty of tables, so it seemed fine for visiting with family or a group of friends too.

Parking at Manokamana: 4 hours in the underground lot

For those visiting by car, parking matters a lot. You can use the building's underground parking lot, and a whopping 4 hours is allowed, which felt really generous. There's no need to rush out right after eating curry — you have plenty of time to take a walk around Songdo Central Park afterward. It seems like a good spot to pair with Central Park for a Songdo date or family outing.

Ordering by QR code at the table

At Manokamana Songdo Branch, once you sit down, you scan the QR code on the table to order. It's common abroad but still a bit unfamiliar in Korea. Still, it was convenient since I could take my time browsing the menu and pick what I wanted.

The staff are from India, so you might wonder at first whether communication would be difficult, but they speak Korean really well, so there was no inconvenience at all in ordering or making requests. Even first-timers at an Indian restaurant probably don't need to worry much.

The table is set with dishware that has a strong exotic feel. Gold-colored dishware, haha.

What we ordered at Manokamana Songdo Branch

This time I wanted to try a bunch of dishes, so I ordered generously.

• Half tandoori chicken
• Butter chicken
• Palak paneer
• Garlic naan
• Rice

Indian curry is delicious whether you dip it in naan or mix it into rice, so I ordered both.

Half tandoori chicken: tender with a mild kick

I tried the tandoori chicken first. It had a subtle, distinctive spice aroma along with a slight kick of heat, giving it a fairly exotic feel. That said, the spice flavor wasn't so strong that it felt unfamiliar or off-putting — it was more approachable and tasty than I expected.

What I liked most was how tender the meat itself was!

With its distinctive tandoori aroma and slight spiciness, it was great to eat piece by piece like an appetizer before the curry. Dipping it into that sauce was pure honey! The half portion was generous enough to share alongside the other dishes.

Butter chicken: creamy and nutty

For curry at Manokamana Songdo Branch, I ordered two: butter chicken and palak paneer.

Butter chicken, true to its name, is a curry with a savory, smooth butter flavor. It's not spicy and has a soft style, so it seemed relatively easy for first-timers to Indian curry. It has a slightly sweet taste, and with the added butter aroma there's a nice umami depth — personally it paired really well with the garlic naan.

Dipping the garlic naan deep into the curry, the naan's savory flavor blended with the soft butter chicken curry, and I kept reaching for more. Mixing it into rice was of course delicious too.

Palak paneer, the light spinach and cheese curry

The second curry was palak paneer. Palak paneer is an Indian curry made with spinach and cottage cheese, and it had a distinctly different feel from butter chicken. It wasn't spicy and was smooth, with the clean, light flavor of spinach coming through, making it feel more like a healthier vegetable curry.

The cottage cheese scattered throughout paired well with the curry too. There was plenty of cheese, so eating it together was enjoyable. It's not a cheese with a strong smell or a polarizing flavor at all. Personally, I found palak paneer quite tasty too. If butter chicken is savory and slightly sweet, palak paneer is light and clean, so ordering both curries together was great since the flavors didn't overlap.

It's especially delicious dipped in garlic naan or mixed into rice.

Why Manokamana is worth a trip for Indian curry in Songdo

Trying several dishes at Manokamana Songdo Branch this time, I liked that overall the spices weren't so unfamiliar that it felt like intimidating Indian food — anyone could eat it fairly comfortably. Tandoori chicken has a slightly spicy, exotic aroma, butter chicken is sweet, savory and soft, and palak paneer is a light, healthy-feeling curry, so it was nice being able to pick according to preference.

I especially want to recommend the butter chicken + garlic naan combo. We also ordered one garlic naan — that's a pretty generous portion, right? It was just right for two people to share.

Since the restaurant is close to Central Park and offers 4 hours of parking, I felt it's a spot better suited to pairing with Songdo Central Park rather than just stopping in for a meal. If you're looking for something different for lunch in Songdo, or a spot for a Songdo date, family meal, or Central Park outing, I think it's worth a visit.

If you're looking for a good Indian curry restaurant in Songdo, Manokamana Songdo Branch is one I'd definitely visit again.