Indian Food in Columbus, Ohio: 7 Popular Dishes You Must Try at Tabla

Morse Road east of I-270 is car dealerships, big box parking and the back edge of Easton, which is not where anyone expects to find the Indian food in Columbus, Ohio worth driving across town for. Tabla is at 3860 Morse Rd, in among all of it.

The kitchen runs Indian, Indo-Chinese and Thai off one menu, so the hard part of eating Indian food in Columbus, Ohio here is ordering rather than finding something you want. This guide covers seven dishes worth knowing by name, what the appetizer board actually costs, and the two timing details that catch people out.

Quick Summary

Tabla Indian Restaurant Columbus is at 3860 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43219, and the phone number is +1 614-301-9869. It is closed on Mondays and open 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM the rest of the week. The Chaat Platter is $18, Amritsari Fish is $16 and Chicken Lollipops are $15.

1. Butter Chicken, the One Everybody Orders First

Some nights you want to be surprised. Most nights you want the thing you already know is going to work.

Butter chicken is that order, and at Tabla Columbus it is not a token gesture to the uninitiated. Delivery ordering data from this location puts butter chicken among the three most ordered items on the entire menu, alongside garlic naan and tikka masala.

That tells you two things. The kitchen makes a lot of it, which is what you want from a dish that lives or dies on the consistency of its sauce, and the people ordering butter chicken in Columbus, Ohio are mostly ordering it here more than once.

Order it with the garlic naan if you want the butter chicken in Columbus, Ohio that most of the city has already settled on.

2. Chicken Biryani, for when one plate has to do everything

Biryani is the order for a table that cannot agree, because it is rice, meat and spice arriving as one thing rather than three.

Tabla Columbus lists it among its featured dishes, and the Signature Biryanis section of the Columbus menu runs to two options. It is the sort of dish that makes a lunch a proper meal without a side order propping it up.

A biryani also travels better than almost anything else on an Indian menu, which matters on Morse Road, where half the orders are leaving the building. Rice holds heat, and the sauce is already through it rather than sitting on top waiting to separate.

3. The Chaat Platter at $18, which is four orders in one

Here is the single smartest thing to order at this Indian restaurant in Columbus, Ohio if you have never eaten chaat and do not know where to start.

The Chaat Platter at Tabla is $18, and it is an assortment of Pani Poori, Samosa Chaat, Dahi Bhalla Chaat and Aloo Tikki Chaat on one plate.

Ordered separately, those four come to:

That is $39 of chaat for $18 and it is an assortment of Pani Poori, Samosa Chaat, Dahi Bhalla Chaat and Aloo Tikki Chaat on one plate.

Ordered separately, those four come to:

That is $39 of chaat for $18 on the platter, in smaller portions of each. For a table of three deciding what they like, it ends the argument before it starts. 

Chaat is the loud end of Indian food, built on contrast rather than comfort. Something crisp, something cold, something sour, all at once, and none of it subtle.

4. Malai Kofta, the Vegetarian Order that is not an afterthought

Vegetarian sections usually read like a list of things the kitchen made because it had to. Tabla Columbus names malai kofta first.

Kofta are dumplings, and malai means cream, so this is the richest thing in the vegetarian half of the menu rather than the lightest. It belongs on a table that has ordered something dry alongside it.

The Columbus vegetarian line-up also carries dal makhani and paneer khurchan, and the vegan dishes include channa masala, aloo gobi and stuffed parathas made without ghee.

If somebody at the table does not eat meat, this is the part of the Columbus menu to read properly rather than skim.

5. Amritsari Fish at $16, the Order Nobody Expects

Fish is the quiet surprise on most Indian menus in Ohio, and at Tabla Columbus it carries one of the highest prices on the appetizer board.

Amritsari Fish is $16. The style comes from Amritsar in Punjab, where fish is battered and fried rather than curried, and it is eaten as a snack with something sharp on the side.

That is a different proposition to a fish curry. It arrives crisp, it is finger food, and it is the thing to order when the table has already committed to two curries and needs something that is not sauce.

At $16 it is the second most expensive appetizer at Tabla Columbus, behind the Chaat Platter.

6. Kashmiri Chicken, for the night you want something regional

Every Indian menu has a dish the regulars order and everyone else walks past. At Tabla Columbus, Kashmiri Chicken is a reasonable candidate.

Kashmir is the northernmost region of India, and its cooking is a different tradition to the Punjabi dishes most American Indian menus are built on. The Columbus menu lists it as exactly that, a specialty from the far north.

Order it if you have worked through the butter chicken in Columbus, Ohio and want to find out what else a chicken curry can be.

7. Garlic Naan, and why it outsells the curries

A bread should not be the most ordered item in a restaurant. At Tabla Columbus it is.

Garlic naan tops the delivery ordering list at this location, ahead of butter chicken and tikka masala. That is not an accident. Naan is what makes the rest of the order work, and nobody orders one.

The Columbus menu also carries a Garlic Green Chili Naan for anyone who wants the heat baked into the bread rather than sitting in the curry next to it.

Order one more than you think you need. Everyone always does.

What the Appetizer Board Actually Costs

This is the part of the Tabla Columbus menu with published prices on every line, which makes it the easiest place to plan a bill.

Two samosas at $8 is the cheapest way into this kitchen. The Chaat Platter at $18 is the most food for the money.

Drinks run alongside at the same published prices. Mango Lassi is $5, Sweet Lassi and Fresh Lime Soda are $6, and the Disco Melon, Spicy Guava, Tropical Shade, Lychee Basil Masala, Mango Pineapple Cooler and Aam Panna are $7 each.

How to Order Food Online from Tabla Columbus

The Morse Road location is built for people who are not planning to sit down, and there are three routes in.

• Order food online through the Toast ordering page linked from the Tabla Columbus location page

• Pickup, listed as order and collect

• Delivery, listed to the surrounding Columbus area 

• Call +1 614-301-9869 to reserve a table, since reservations at this location go through the phone

Ordering direct rather than through a third party app keeps the prices on the menu above. Delivery platforms add their own margin on top, and on the Chaat Platter that difference is a couple of dollars.

Finding Tabla Columbus, and the Two Things to Know

Tabla Indian Restaurant Columbus is at 3860 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43219, phone +1 614-301-9869.

Monday is the one to remember. Six days of service and one dark day is easy to forget, and Morse Road is a long drive to make twice.

Lunch ends at 2:30 PM, which is earlier than most Indian restaurants in Columbus, Ohio close their midday service. A one o'clock arrival is comfortable. A quarter past two is not.

The location lists itself as convenient for Downtown Columbus, the Short North, Ohio State University, Dublin, Hilliard, Westerville, Worthington, Gahanna, New Albany, Reynoldsburg, Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights.

Before the Naan Basket Empties

A Chaat Platter landing in the middle of the table with four different things on it, a garlic naan nobody wants to share and a butter chicken somebody already ordered a second time, is a better Tuesday night than Morse Road has any business offering. Tabla Columbus runs Tuesday to Sunday, lunch stops at 2:30 PM, and the Chaat Platter holds at $18.

Call +1 614-301-9869 or order food online from Tabla Columbus, and remember it is closed on Mondays.

Frequently Asked Question

1. Where can I get Indian food in Columbus, Ohio?

Tabla Indian Restaurant is at 3860 Morse Rd, Columbus, OH 43219, serving Indian, Indo-Chinese and Thai dishes. The phone number is +1 614-301-9869.

2. What are the most popular dishes at Tabla Columbus?

Garlic naan, butter chicken and tikka masala are the three most ordered items through delivery at the Columbus location.

3. How much is the Chaat Platter at Tabla Columbus?

The Chaat Platter is $18 and includes Pani Poori, Samosa Chaat, Dahi Bhalla Chaat and Aloo Tikki Chaat on one plate.

4. What are Tabla Columbus opening hours?

Tabla Columbus is closed on Mondays and open 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM to 10:00 PM from Tuesday to Sunday.

5. Is Tabla Columbus open on Mondays?

No, Tabla Indian Restaurant Columbus is closed every Monday. Service runs Tuesday through Sunday.

6. Can I order food online from Tabla Columbus?

Yes, online ordering runs through the Toast link on the Tabla Columbus location page, with both pickup and delivery listed.

7. What vegetarian dishes does Tabla Columbus serve?

The vegetarian line-up includes malai kofta, dal makhani and paneer khurchan, and the vegan dishes include channa masala, aloo gobi and stuffed parathas made without ghee.

8. How much are appetizers at Tabla Columbus?

Appetizers run from $8 for a Vegetable Samosa to $18 for the Chaat Platter, with Chicken Lollipops at $15 and Amritsari Fish at $16.

9. Do I need to book a table at Tabla Columbus?

Reservations at Tabla Columbus are taken by phone on +1 614-301-9869 rather than online.