Karu's Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant

Karu's Indian Banana Leaf Restaurant is a South Indian restaurant at 808/810 Upper Bukit Timah Road. Meals are served on a banana leaf with rice, vegetables and curries. The kitchen is best known for its fish head curry.

Subramanyam Nallappan started the restaurant with his brothers in 1993, and he still runs it. According to Tabla, it moved to Sime Darby Centre on Dunearn Road in 2016. Three years later it came back to Upper Bukit Timah Road. A second branch opened at HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok in April 2026.

What to order

The basic order is the banana leaf set. Tabla describes it as unlimited rice or biryani with two vegetable dishes, a meat dish and pappadums. From there, most tables add a curry or two to share.

Eatbook's 2025 guide names the Fish Head Deluxe as the best-selling dish. It also points to the crab masala, which is both sweet and spicy. A 2017 Miss Tam Chiak review noted that the fish head curry leans on Indian spices and tomato. It does not have the creamy coconut milk base of some other versions.

Two more dishes the restaurant is known for are masala chicken and Mysore mutton. With the set, you can pick biryani instead of plain white rice if you want something richer.

How a banana leaf meal works

Staff place a banana leaf in front of you and spoon rice, vegetables and gravies onto it. Many diners eat with their right hand, but most places will bring cutlery if you ask. When you finish, folding the leaf towards you is a common way to say you enjoyed the meal.

Our guide to banana leaf rice in Little India explains the meal in more detail. You may also like our list of dishes to try in Little India before your visit.

Good to know before you go

• Queues: Eatbook says the restaurant draws queues every day, so allow extra time at busy meal times.
• Sharing: the fish head curry is meant for sharing, so ask staff how much to order for your group.
• Second branch: the Bukit Batok outlet adds some North Indian dishes, such as butter chicken and gobi Manchurian.

Nearby

The wider Upper Bukit Timah area is known for its green spaces. Before or after a meal, you could walk part of the Rail Corridor, or head into Dairy Farm Nature Park or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. History fans can visit the Former Ford Factory.

Other places to eat in the area include Jiak Modern Tzechar and Daisy's Dream Kitchen. For more ideas, browse all restaurants in Upper Bukit Timah and our Indian restaurants.