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Biryani in Toronto is not a downtown thing. It’s a Scarborough thing. A Gerrard Street thing. A Kennedy Road thing. You can find it in midtown and along Queen West, sure. But the real biryani trail in this city runs east, through strip malls with packed parking lots, counters where the mutton sells out by 7 PM, and family spots where the rice has been slow-cooking in sealed pots since morning.
Here you will discover a 14-stop neighbourhood foodie crawl through the best biryani in Toronto. Hyderabadi dum, Pakistani, Bangladeshi kacchi, Sri Lankan. All worth the trip.
Downtown and Queen West
Bucket Biryani
Signature Dish: Chicken or mutton biryani in large portions built for sharing. The name tells you everything.
Vibe Check: Late-night Queen West energy. This is where you end up after a night out when you need something heavy and good.
Address: 638 Queen St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Bucket Biryani does one thing and does it loud. The portions are massive, the spice level is real, and it’s open until 2 AM on weekends. Fair warning: they don’t actually serve in buckets anymore, and prices have crept up. But for late-night biryani on Queen West, there’s nothing else like it. Closed Thursdays.
Leela Indian Food Bar (Dundas)
Signature Dish: Chicken biryani with marinated meat, caramelized onions, fresh coriander, and cucumber raita. Balanced and well-spiced.
Vibe Check: Modern Indian food bar modelled on roadside eateries in India. Cozy, colourful, good for a date or a solo dinner at the bar.
Address: 3108 Dundas St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Leela isn’t a biryani-first restaurant, but their version is quietly one of the best in the west end. Lamb and seafood biryani too. They also have a location on Gerrard in Little India if you want the full strip experience. Open daily noon to 10 PM.
Midtown
Khau Gully
Signature Dish: Chicken dum biryani ($16.95), cooked over low fire with saffron, sealed with naan on top, then brought to your table on a flame stand and cut open in front of you.
Vibe Check: Upscale-casual Indian at Yonge and Eglinton. The tableside presentation turns dinner into a bit of a show. Midtown date night material.
Address: 1991 Yonge St, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: The presentation alone earns Khau Gully a spot. The biryani is sealed inside a dome of naan, placed on a stand with a live flame underneath, and sliced open at the table. Saffron rice, tender chicken, the whole production. Some reviewers have flagged inconsistency, but when it’s on, it’s on.
Bloor West
Banjara Indian Restaurant
Signature Dish: Chicken biryani and shrimp biryani. Both are hot, aromatic, and generously spiced.
Vibe Check: Family-run spot near Christie Pits. Been here since 2000. The kind of place where the owner remembers your order.
Address: 796 Bloor St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Banjara has nearly 500 Yelp reviews, which is wild for an Indian restaurant in Bloorcourt. That kind of volume doesn’t happen by accident. The biryani is reliably good, flavourful, wet in the right way. The shrimp version is an underrated pick. Twenty-five years in business and still packing the room.
Biryaniwalla (Downtown)
Signature Dish: Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani. Sealed-pot cooking, long-grain basmati, whole spices.
Vibe Check: The downtown outpost of a Scarborough chain. Takeout-heavy, fast, no pretense.
Address: 643 Bloor St W, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Biryaniwalla built its reputation in Scarborough, and this Bloor Street location brings that same energy west. Hyderabadi dum biryani in chicken, mutton, egg, and veg. Open until midnight most days, closed Tuesdays. If you’re west of Yonge and craving proper dum biryani, this saves you the drive to Lawrence and Markham.
The Danforth
DHOOM
Signature Dish: Hyderabadi biryani by chef Balram Reddy. Reviewers have compared it to what you’d get in Hyderabad or Karachi.
Vibe Check: Big, loud, 200 seats. More nightclub than curry house. Brunch by day, Indian fine dining by night.
Address: 417 Danforth Ave, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: DHOOM is the flashiest biryani experience on this list, and the biryani still holds up against the more traditional spots in Scarborough. Some have flagged slow service when it’s packed, so don’t go in a rush. Brunch runs 8 AM to 4 PM, Indian fine dining from 4 PM to 2 AM.
Little India (Gerrard Street East)
Lahore Tikka House
Signature Dish: Lamb biryani, served on a sizzling hot plate. Get it in the dining room or out on the patio.
Vibe Check: Gerrard Street institution. Fancier than most of the strip, with white tablecloths and proper service. Feels like a celebration spot.
Address: 1365 Gerrard St E, Toronto
Why It Made the Cut: Lahore Tikka House has been anchoring Gerrard’s South Asian strip for years, with 600+ Yelp reviews to show for it. The lamb biryani is the move here. Skip the chicken, which some reviewers find oily. The lamb karahi is a strong side order. Closed Wednesdays.
Scarborough, a.k.a. biryani capital
If you’re serious about biryani, you end up in Scarborough eventually. More than half the spots on this list are out here, spread along Ellesmere, Kennedy, Warden, Lawrence, and Kingston Road.
Bawarchi Biryanis
Signature Dish: Avakai chicken biryani ($12.99), Andhra-style, tangy and spicy. Or the Ulavacharu goat biryani ($14.99) if you want something richer.
Vibe Check: Walk-in counter. You’re here for the rice and nothing else.
Address: 1949 Kennedy Rd, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: Bawarchi has over 30 types of biryani on the menu. Thirty. They span all of India (Andhra, Hyderabadi, North Indian, and more) and everything cooks in custom handi pots that hold 10 to 20 portions at a time. At $12.99 for a chicken biryani, it’s also one of the best deals on this list.
Hyderabad Biryani Hut
Signature Dish: Chicken dum biryani. Traditional Hyderabadi style, slow-cooked in a sealed pot.
Vibe Check: Small, clean, no-nonsense. The kind of place that fills up fast on weekends. Late-night friendly.
Address: 1587 Ellesmere Rd, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: Hyderabad Biryani Hut has 20+ biryani varieties, all done in the dum style. Reviewers consistently call it the best chicken biryani in Scarborough, which is saying something given the competition on this list. Open until 11:30 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.
Charminar Indian Cuisine
Signature Dish: Hyderabadi goat biryani. This is the must-order. Whole spices, good rice, tender meat.
Vibe Check: One of the largest Indian restaurants in the GTA. Big parking lot, family-friendly, 100% Halal certified.
Address: 925 Warden Ave, Unit 2, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: The Hyderabadi goat biryani is the reason people keep coming back to Charminar. Some reviewers have straight-up said it’s better than what they’ve had in Hyderabad. That’s a big claim. They also do 30+ varieties of dosa if you need a side mission.
Biryaniwalla (Scarborough — Flagship)
Signature Dish: Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani. The OG location, the one that started the chain.
Vibe Check: Takeout-focused, busy, always a line. This is where the reputation was built.
Address: 2300 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: This is the original Biryaniwalla. Chicken, mutton, egg, and vegetable dum biryanis, open until midnight most nights. The downtown location is convenient, but if you want the full experience with the full crowd, Lawrence Ave is where you go. Closed Tuesdays.
Aadab
Signature Dish: Mutton dum biryani ($17.99) or the nalli gosht biryani with a whole lamb shank ($21.99). The priciest biryani on this list, and the most dramatic.
Vibe Check: Upscale Hyderabadi dining. Tapestries on the walls, chandeliers, a mural of Hyderabadi architecture. Biryani as a sit-down occasion.
Address: Aadab, Kennedy Rd, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: Aadab opened in February 2026, making it the newest spot on this list. The entire menu is Hyderabadi, and everything is prepared by hand with no machines. If you want to treat biryani like fine dining, this is the place to do it.
Kacchi
Signature Dish: Kacchi biryani, Bangladeshi-style. Marinated raw meat is layered directly into the rice and slow-cooked together. Totally different technique from dum biryani.
Vibe Check: Small Bangladeshi spot on Kingston Road. Generous portions, friendly staff, the kind of place you tell people about quietly.
Address: 2466 Kingston Rd, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: Kacchi is the only Bangladeshi-style kacchi biryani on this list, and most Toronto biryani lists skip this style entirely. The raw meat goes into the pot with the rice and cooks together from scratch. No pre-cooking. The result tastes different from anything else on this page. Beef tehari and kebabs round out the menu. Open 11 AM to 10 PM daily.
Canbe Foods
Signature Dish: Mutton biryani from the hot table. Massive portions, low prices, pure comfort food.
Vibe Check: Counter-service, hot-table, grab-and-go. Been around since 1994 and recently got a renovation.
Address: 1760 Ellesmere Rd, Scarborough
Why It Made the Cut: Canbe Foods has been feeding Scarborough since 1994. Sri Lankan and South Indian cooking, counter-style. The mutton biryani portions are absurd for the price. They’re also famous for what some people call the best samosas in Toronto, so grab a few on the way out. Open 10 AM to 10 PM daily.
Now go eat
Fourteen spots. Five different biryani traditions. Prices from $13 to $22. And a pretty strong case that Scarborough is the biryani capital of this city.
Pick a neighbourhood, pick a spot, show up hungry. And if we missed your favourite, drop it in the comments.
