2741 W 4th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6K 1P9
+1 604-559-1666
info@karmaindianbistro.ca
Open daily from 12:00 PM
The Bib Gourmand is the MICHELIN Guide's award for exceptional food at moderate prices. Karma has held it in Kitsilano since 2023, cooking North and South Indian food at 2741 West 4th Avenue — most mains between $17 and $25, every curry cooked to order, and a menu that is roughly half vegetarian.
Book a table Read the Guide's entryThe Bib Gourmand is named after Bibendum — the Michelin Man himself. The Guide gives it to restaurants its inspectors judge to serve exceptional food at moderate prices, and it sits alongside the stars rather than beneath them: a separate award for a different kind of eating, not a runner-up prize.
Inspectors are anonymous, pay their own bills, and visit more than once. They assess the same five things everywhere in the world: the quality of the ingredients, the mastery of technique, the harmony of flavours, the personality of the chef in the cooking, and consistency across visits.
The MICHELIN Guide arrived in Vancouver in 2022, making it one of only two Canadian cities in the Guide alongside Toronto.
See Vancouver's full Bib Gourmand list →
— MICHELIN Guide inspectors, on the Karma dining room
The Guide's entry goes on to describe a kitchen working from a serious point of view — traditional cooking with bolder plates running through it — and singles out a handful of dishes by name. Chicken Madras gets the longest look, as a fragrant South Indian speciality, with coconut rice recommended alongside it to catch the sauce. The inspectors also call out jumbo prawns in a pureed spinach curry, and finish on dessert: the saffron rice pudding or the mango ice cream.
Read the full entry on the MICHELIN Guide →The Guide highlights several dishes from Karma's regular menu. Most are available at the regular price, while the jumbo prawns in pureed spinach curry are off the printed menu but the kitchen will prepare them on request.
$21
The South Indian roasted coconut curry with black mustard — the dish the Guide gives the most space to. Gluten-free and dairy-free.
$7
Basmati cooked with mustard seeds and coconut milk. The Guide's recommended partner for the Madras.
$8
Slow cooked rice with coconut, saffron and pistachio. Gluten-free and dairy-free.
$8
Two scoops of rich mango — the cooling finish the inspectors suggest.
Off-menu · cooked on request
One of the dishes specifically highlighted by the MICHELIN Guide. Although it is not printed on the current menu, the kitchen will prepare it on request.
Karma opens on West 4th Avenue. A neighbourhood Indian bistro in Kitsilano, cooking across regions rather than sticking to one.
Listed as Recommended in the MICHELIN Guide Vancouver, in the Guide's first years in the city.
Awarded the Bib Gourmand. Karma moves up from Recommended in the 2023 Vancouver selection.
Bib Gourmand retained in the 2024 Vancouver selection.
Bib Gourmand retained in the 2025 Vancouver selection — a third consecutive year, and one of only two Indian restaurants on the city's list.
No — Karma holds a Bib Gourmand, which is a separate MICHELIN Guide award for exceptional food at moderate prices. It is not a star and it is not a lesser version of one.
Since the 2023 Vancouver selection, and in every selection since — 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Most curries run $17 to $25, breads $3 to $7, and rice $5 to $7. Every price is on the menu page.
Walk-ins are welcome, but the room and the patio fill on weekend evenings. Book a table for dinner, and for the patio in particular.
No. Everything the Guide describes is on the regular à la carte menu at the regular price, cooked to order on four spice levels.
Nine vegan curries and nine vegetarian curries sit on the regular menu, plus tandoori vegetables and paneer tikka. See the vegetarian and vegan menu.
Independent sources, so you don't have to take our word for it.
The Guide's own entry
MICHELIN GuideOctober 2025 selection
WikipediaEncyclopedia entry
Vancouver Is AwesomeOctober 2025
Vancouver MagazineOctober 2025
Vancouver Is AwesomeOctober 2024
Open daily from noon. Heated patio year round, full bar, and a menu cooked to order on four spice levels. Reservations recommended for dinner.
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