Junglii: When Paris Actually Gets Indian Food Right

Let's be real for a second. Indian food in Paris has historically been... rough. You know the vibe. Generic buffets in the 10th, sad tikka masalas drowning in cream, naan that tastes like it came out of a microwave. If you grew up eating real Indian food (or in my case, Mauritian home cooking with serious Indian DNA), most Parisian attempts at it feel like a bad cover of a great song.

Then there's Junglii.

The Spot

Junglii Indian Kitchen sits in Paris 17th, on rue de la Jonquière. They also have a second location in the 10th (rue de Paradis). The concept? Modern Indian street food, 100% homemade, with spices sourced directly from India. It was started back in 2019 by Ankit, a UK expat with Mumbai roots who got tired of seeing Indian food stereotyped and undersold in Paris. He teamed up with his brother-in-law Kishan and decided to do something about it.

The result is a place that feels nothing like the typical Indian restaurant in Paris. The decor is wild (in the best way), the menu is tight and focused, and the food actually tastes like someone's mom made it. Or better.

What I Had

Today was a fully veg visit. No butter chicken, no lamb korma (which people rave about here). Just vegetables and carbs and spices doing their thing.

Pani puri to start. If you've never had pani puri, picture this: tiny crispy hollow spheres that you crack open, fill with spiced potato and chickpeas, then dunk into this spicy, tangy, minty water. You eat it in one shot. The whole thing explodes in your mouth. Sweet, sour, spicy, crunchy, cold, all at once. It's the kind of thing that makes you close your eyes for a second. Junglii's version doesn't disappoint. Crispy shells, well-spiced filling, pani with actual kick to it.

Aloo tikki chaat next. Crispy potato patties loaded with chutneys, yoghurt, and a mess of toppings. Good chaat is chaos on a plate, and this was the right kind of chaos. Tangy, creamy, crunchy.

Dal makhani for the main. This is the one that separates the real ones from the pretenders. Dal makhani done right is slow-cooked black lentils in a rich, buttery, tomato-heavy sauce. It should be creamy without being heavy, smoky without being overpowering. Junglii's was proper. The kind where you keep going back with your naan even though you're already full.

Speaking of naan, the chili cheese naan. Stuffed, stretchy, with a good hit of heat from the chilies and enough cheese to make it indulgent without being ridiculous. Perfect vehicle for the dal.

The Verdict

Here's the thing. I know their non-veg mains are supposed to be even better. The lamb korma gets mentioned in basically every review, and the butter chicken has a cult following. But today was a veg day, and it was genuinely great. That says a lot about a restaurant. When the vegetarian options aren't an afterthought but actually stand on their own, you know the kitchen knows what it's doing.

The owners are warm, the service is quick, and the vibe is right. It's not trying to be fancy. It's trying to be good. And it is.

If you're in Paris and you miss real Indian street food (or you've never had it and you're curious), Junglii is the move. 78 rue de la Jonquière, Paris 17. Go hungry.