Ruby Murray's Indian Takeout & Delivery in Southampton Is So Good You'll Need Reservations

Making reservations for takeout or delivery is a bit unusual for most diners — especially during winter in the Hamptons where even the hottest spots have tables open — but it’s the best bet for anyone looking to experience Indian delights from Ruby Murray’s.

A classic “ghost kitchen” operating after hours out of Southampton’s Wishbone Farms market (54 Hampton Road) and serving Indian food in the British style, Ruby Murray’s is open for limited takeout and delivery on weekends only, Friday–Sunday, 5–9 p.m., and when each night’s food sells out, they’re not making any more.

“It takes 24 to 48 hours to prepare the recipes,” explains Edward Brooks, who began putting together the business after finding himself craving the Indian food he loves so much from home in Scotland and around Britain.

“The original recipes came from India, but then they brought them to the UK and realized that the way they were in India was never going to be an entry point for most British people to taste them. So they tried to tone them down,” Brooks says, explaining how classic Indian dishes were adapted for British palates.

Now, of course, it’s among the UK’s favorite foods, with a curry shop in nearly every town!

Brooks and Ruby Murray’s General Manager Ryan Glasson worked closely with head chef David Benavidez to perfectly capture the essence of this specific culinary niche, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

Benavidez, who had never made Indian food, of any kind, is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef with experience in barbecue, Asian, Mediterranean and many other unique styles of food, so he had the chops to get it right.

“I did a lot of research. We did a lot of tasting. We were here tons of hours the first week, dialing it in,” he says, recalling the work required to fulfill Brooks’ vision of the flavors he wanted from back home.

Ruby Murray’s What’s on the Menu

The chef comes in on Wednesdays and Thursdays to marinate and braise the curry meats for Friday and Saturday. Everything requires time before it’s ready, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

Highlights include curries, such as chicken korma, chicken tikka masala, rogan josh (boneless leg of lamb braised in yogurt, Kashmiri spices and chili), butter chicken and paneer saag, among others, along with vegetarian options — all bursting with lively and robust flavors.

Benavidez makes a wonderful Chana Chaat salad full of chopped English cucumber, cherry tomatoes, roasted chickpeas, pomegranate, mint, cilantro and lemon in tamarind vinaigrette with a crunchy chickpea and rice crumble.

“This is just something super refreshing that cuts through all the richness of the curries,” he says, describing what has become a must-order favorite on the menu. “I do recommend everybody get one of these, just to kind of balance out the spiciness and the richness.”

The other starters, mixed vegetable pakoras and samosas with phyllo dough, are a unique take on Indian classics absolutely worth trying.

“The surprising favorite is the salad. The reassuring favorite is the pakora. He just nailed it,” Brooks says, noting that the salad was an unexpected hit with his British friends, while the rich pakoras are exactly what one might expect from a curry shop back home.

They also make great nan bread and rice, as well as a trio of tasty house-made chutneys, and two desserts.

Delivery Across the Hamptons

Ruby Murray’s just opened about a month ago and only just began running their own deliveries, instead of using DoorDash and/or Uber Eats, in order to reach every town from Hampton Bays to Amagansett, including Sag Harbor, which the outside services would not cover.

“It doesn’t make great sense, but the food travels well,” Brooks says, acknowledging the onerous distance from one town to the next in the Hamptons, but he recognizes the importance of being available, and they’re limiting it to one trip per town, per night, with multiple orders on each trip.

“We know that good food is a market out here, and I think a secondary side of it is the delivery aspect, really,” Glasson says. “Nobody’s willing to go for that out here. Especially this time of year. Everybody’s hunkered down.”

The buzz for Ruby Murray’s has already started after such a short amount of time. The food isn’t cheap at $24–28 for each curry, but the price is not inaccessible either, and it truly is quite limited.

“We take up to 48 hours to prepare our meals. It’s the only way to get the taste and the experience that we give you,” the Ruby Murray’s website says, echoing what the team reiterates like a mantra. “It’s also why we ask you to reserve in advance. We can’t just ‘add sauce to some meat’ and expect it to taste this good.”

The Hamptons has another reason to look forward to the weekend now, but Ruby Murray’s has been selling out, so it’s important to get on the list early. Advanced reservations will also earn diners a 20% discount.

Check out the menu, make reservations and learn more, including the meaning of “Ruby Murray,” at rubymurrays.world.