Daegu Indian restaurant with 15-minute walk-in wait: Rama & Bavana

I've never been to India, but I love the Indian restaurants that pop up here and there in Korea. Rama & Bavana is a pretty famous Indian curry chain, and this was my first time visiting the Suseong Lake branch.

The great thing about Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch is that after eating, you can take a walk around Suseong Lake — the pride of Suseong-gu and of Daegu — and spend a healthy bit of time with someone you love. The food was good and the vibe was good too. Here's my honest review of this Suseong Lake date spot.

Where is Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch, and is there parking?

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch is within a 10-minute walk from Suseong Lake Station on Line 3. It's convenient by public transit, but driving works too.

There's a dedicated lot behind the restaurant that fits about 10 cars. It's hard to find restaurants with parking near Suseong Lake, so having a free lot fully equipped was really convenient.

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch is on the 2nd floor of the building. Right in front of the door is the waiting area — true to its reputation as a place with a wait, there are chairs set up and a sheet for writing down your name.

Inside the restaurant and how long the walk-in wait was

Rather than going overboard with an exotic Indian theme, the interior felt more like what a brand-new modern restaurant in India might look like these days. It was clean and modern with white and wood tones, and I liked how the tables were arranged along the windows. Here and there, Indian-inspired props and paintings were hung up, giving it a foreign feel without being too much — I loved that.

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch apparently even won a 'Kind Travel Shop' award in 2022! No wonder the staff felt so incredibly friendly — turns out there's a track record behind it..!!

Since I went without a reservation, there was a short wait. In the photos it looks like a few tables are empty, but they were all reserved, ugh. If you're planning a group get-together at Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch, I strongly recommend booking ahead!! I wrote my name on the waiting board and after a short wait of 10-15 minutes, a table opened up.

Got seated at a pretty table haha

Menu, curry prices, and the receipt review event

Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch is running a review event right now — leave a receipt review and you get either french fries or the daily salad on the house, haha.

You order through a tablet PC. The main event is obviously the curry! They had three types — chicken curry, shrimp curry, and beef curry — priced around ₩12,000-13,000. What was unusual was that you could order a 'gopbaegi' (1.5 portions) size — just pay an extra ₩5,000 for the size up! If you're at an Indian restaurant, you've gotta get curry and naan!!

What we ordered at Rama & Bavana and how it tasted

Here's our order!! Such a generous spread. The table was practically groaning under the weight of it all.

Daily salad

The daily salad we got from the review event was a refreshing mix of fresh vegetables, cherry tomatoes, and cream cheese with dressing drizzled on top — the quality was so much better than expected. Ate it before the meal to help manage my blood sugar.

Butter garlic naan

It comes out as a thick, well-grilled naan brushed with savory butter garlic. They give you plastic gloves so you can tear it apart easily. Savory, chewy butter garlic naan, I love you, ugh.

Coconut shrimp curry

A coconut cream based curry!! Coconut curry is one of life's undeniable truths — it never fails. The smooth coconut cream meets the curry to create an exotic flavor. It's generously loaded with plump shrimp, and dipping it in the butter garlic naan is pure bliss.

Tandoori chicken

Think of it as an upscale version of grilled chicken breast, haha. I'm actually not a huge fan of tandoori chicken breast, but my boyfriend loves chicken breast so we ordered it. It turned out to be nowhere near as dry as expected — actually tender, even — and I was amazed that chicken breast could taste this good. Dipping the crispy tandoori chicken into the cream sauce is a match made in heaven!

Pu pad pong curry (Thai curry crab)

The best dish of the day was the pu pad pong curry!! Crab meat, egg, and shrimp mixed into the curry, and it paired perfectly with plain white rice. It had just the right amount of saltiness with a rich, deep ocean flavor from the crab — genuinely delicious. I even did the last-bit-of-sauce cleanup myself, haha. The crab was so meaty I sucked every bit of meat out of the shell, haha.

And it's all gone. Dish cleanup complete today too... all that's left is my belly fat.

Which gatherings suit Rama & Bavana Suseong Lake Branch?

Reservations, group seating, and a Suseong Lake walk after dinner

It's not 'Rama and Nanana,' it's 'Bavana,' okay!