butter chicken toronto

The Best Butter Chicken in Toronto

The best butter chicken in Toronto brings one of India's many culinary treasures to an audience of grateful city diners. Despite its contentious backstory, murgh makhani, as it's known in India, is as comforting a food as any. Lush and creamy, subtly spiced and brimming with tender chicken morsels, it's a people pleaser that's rightfully famous worldwide.

Here is the best butter chicken in Toronto.


Bawara
1

Bawara

Passion for Indian food translates to an extended menu of crazy delicious options at this High Park restaurant. Spicy and savoury, the team's butter chicken benefits from the smoky whisper of a clay oven, and the sweet richness of cashews and almonds.

Dil Se Indian
2

Dil Se Indian

A catalogue of family recipes has morphed into a menu of classics at this smart spot in Roncesvalles Village. House spice blends give butter chicken depth, with titanic bites of boneless tandoori chicken threatening to overflow their sauce.


Lageez
3

Lageez

Fresh tomatoes and a, presumably large, wodge of butter make the butter chicken at this Scarborough spot incredibly rich and tangy. Though its available throughout the day, the lunch special, with optional (but not really) naan, is a can't miss deal.

The Cottage Cheese
4

The Cottage Cheese

Kensington Market's coziest spot also serves one of its most comforting dishes. On a menu of standouts, the team's butter chicken is silky, sweet and saucy, faintly spiced and exactly the thing to partner with copious amounts of supple, fresh-baked naan.


Curry Twist
5

Curry Twist

Over 20 years in business has garnered this restaurant in the Junction a loyal fan base — and a roster of treasured recipes. Among those, cashew-spiked butter chicken is a creamy, satisfying order spiced with garlic, garam masala and fenugreek leaves.


Banjara
6

Banjara

With a name that immediately triggers cravings for fragrant curries, tender tandoori meats and treasure-filled biryani, this spot is a local Indian food mecca. In Bloorcourt and Scarborough, fans pile in for butter-soft chicken bathing in lush, spice-flecked butter chicken sauce.

Mantra
7

Mantra

From the team behind The Host, this swish spot brings modern Indian eats to Don Mills. Though the team hews closely to tradition for its butter chicken recipe — serving tender morsels of chicken in a creamy, fenugreek-infused tomato sauce — it also toys with the classic, layering it over poutine and eggs Benedict.


Karaikudi
8

Karaikudi

It seems few dishes were omitted when the team devised the encyclopedic menu at Scarborough's spacious Chettinad restaurant. With North Indian and Hakka dishes thrown in the mix, you'll also find textbook butter chicken, and a vegetarian take made with paneer.

Barkat
9

Barkat

For butter chicken served in decidedly chichi surroundings, head to this West Queen West restaurant. Smoked butter chicken here isn't just a looker — lavished with cream, spices and tempting hunks of meat, it's an indulgence best sided with one of the team's splashy cocktails.

Lead photo by

Fareen Karim of Banjara. Additional photos, @thecottagecheeseto@mantrabyhost, @karaikuditoronto, @barkatcanada


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The Best Butter Chicken in Toronto

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