Mewby found this place one night on the net when she was really craving curry. The first thing that struck me was “They can’t spell Indian.” But somehow that only made me like them all the more. And besides spelling* is not important in an Indian restaurant. Curry is. Curry is everything.
However, I’m not quite sure what to say about Thilaga’s curry. The food is obviously excellent taste-wise (or I wouldn’t bother blogging it) but the spice levels are dramatically inconsistent. I’ve been here twice before and on both occasions the curry was super-duper mild. Now Mewby doesn’t like much spice, so for her it was perfect. But when I took a friend one time, he was obviously disappointed and I had to agree. It was tasty but the flames really needed some stoking. So before going again last night, I told myself I’d ask them to make mine a bit more spicy than normal. And then I forgot.
But I’m so glad it slipped my mind to ask them because last night – the curry was raging! Poor Mewby didn’t know what to do with herself, torn as she was between the fire in her mouth and the desire for delicious curry. “It’s so hot!” she said, “But it’s so tasty!” And she puffed and panted and gulped down her water, and kept on eating. All praise to her and her dedication to the way of curry – she managed to down it all. Here’s what she had:
Thilaga specializes in south Indian curry which is apparently quite rare in Japan, most restaurants serving the “northern” variety. The difference, they claim, is more than just location though. The northern or “Imperial” style is heavy in meat and oil and really isn’t suitable for everyday eating. South Indian curry however, has more beans and vegetables and is much healthier. According to the folks at Thilaga, this is real family style cooking and you can eat it everyday!
I’m not sure I could manage it every day, but here’s what I had last night:
So anyway as I said, the food was very good but very hot. Last night. But on other occasions it was very good but not hot. At all. But hey, such uncertainty makes life an adventure. All in all, with one drink each and a couple of samosas (I love samosas) we spent about 5000 yen. That’s not a bad price for an adventure now is it?
Oh, and one last thing – the service is excellent.
Here’s how to find Thilaga. From the north side of Shijo near Omiya Station take Koin-dori Street, which runs from Shijo diagonally north-west. You’ll see a 7-Eleven and a Resona Bank on your right as you go up this street and after walking less than 5 minutes you should see Thilaga on the corner of a street on your right. Here’s a map.
Lunch: 11:00-14:30 (last orders)
Dinner: 17:00-21:00 (last orders)
Tel: 075-821-1250
Check the Thilaga Instagram account for holidays.
* Update June 2025: Thilaga is still going strong, but they now have a new storefront and signage!
Text and images by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.
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