After visiting this lively curry restaurant at the far end of the Roppongi strip, we had just one question: What’s with the name? Devi Fusion serves authentic Indian food, its staff is courteous and attentive, and half the clientele seem to speak Hindi-inflected English. So where, we wondered, does the “Fusion” come in?

Once seated and given thick, warm oshibori, we had a look around and realized this wasn’t a typical Tokyo Indian restaurant. Devi Fusion lacks batik, trilling Bollywood soundtracks, and all the other cheesy trappings that tend to fill the city’s curry shops. The focus, instead, is on the food, which is served up in a setting that reminded us of nothing so much as an American diner. A counter fronts a semi-open kitchen, while the rest of the simple dining space consists of two rows of tables, all framed by a large front window. 

We attempted to start off our evening with one order of samosa each, but our polite waiter warned against such a move. We were glad he did. The puffy fried appetizers (two for ¥680) were large and filling, the pastry crunchy but not greasy and the masala inside spicy and hot. Our companion’s tales of eating curry and rice with his hands on a recent trip to Bangalore had us grabbing our samosa in a similar fashion, but, like all our food, they seemed to arrive just seconds after being prepared, so we stuck with utensils. The mint chutney, we were pleased to discover, deliciously cooled our palates.

Devi Fusion’s curries and breads struck a similarly agreeable note. The garlic naan (¥420) was not only garlicky but had a hint of sweetness—we guessed raisins. The masala kulcha’s (¥472) nice curry taste was similar to the samosa’s. And with the arrival of sag paneer (¥1,260) and prawn masala (¥1,470), we finally got to eat with our hands. We enjoyed both, only wishing that there was more of the sag paneer’s wonderfully mild cheese. The shrimp curry had a peppery flavor, and enough shrimp to be a good value.