Best of Toronto
The Best Indian Buffet in Toronto
The best Indian buffet in Toronto is like crack cocaine for food junkies. Whatever your poison - channa masala, tandoor chicken or beef rogan josh - the city's best AYCE Indian joints have you covered, sometimes for less than 10 bucks a hit. I assure you, it's perfectly legal.
Sometimes, to alleviate TTC or lineup boredom, I have what-if fantasies. I amuse myself with desert-island must-haves and last-minute bucket lists in preparation for a hypothetical Armageddon. One thing is always the same. If the world were to end tomorrow, my very last meal would unflinchingly involve paneer cheese and cardamom-laced desserts and clay-oven naan.
I've eaten in Indian restaurants in several cities from NYC to London, including most of the best in Toronto. It's my go-to cuisine. However, I typically avoid the buffets. I can't be trusted to exercise moderation. There is a difference between all you can eat and all you should eat, but under the spell of masalas and curries, I seem to forget the difference. A particular buffet binge in Vancouver (AYCE for $7.95!) was my breaking point. I'm cut off.
But Indian food is still my Friday night ritual. I have to give a shout out (and an RIP) to Nataraj, my favourite Annex haunt that joined the deadpool last month. If the list below tells me anything, though, it's that my mourning period will be short. Toronto has no lack of amazing alternatives.
Here are the 9 best all-you-can-eat Indian buffet restaurants in Toronto.
Little India
This cozy Queen Street spot caused some confusion on a recent dinner date - my friend thought I meant Little India as in the ‘hood. Be specific. The space is quaint and quiet (even when packed to the gills) and the servers are attentive. I love the malai kofta dish with its balanced creamy/spicy sauce. Little India’s lunch buffet is $10.95 daily, featuring new items each week. More »
Banjara
Banjara has been a good friend during my Nataraj grieving. While I don’t recommend ordering delivery (getting the food to your door usually takes 90 minutes), take-out and eat-in are great options. A daily lunch buffet consists of 20 plus items, including salads and desserts (try the rasmalai), is only $9.99. Now with a second location near Yonge and Eglinton. More »
309 Dhaba
My inauguration into the world of Indian cuisine started many years ago at 309 Dhaba. It was love at first bite. The King West restaurant strip has an orgy of options, including at least two Indian restos. Dhaba’s zen-like upstairs space is a nice break from the chaos. The award-winning restaurant offers a 50-item lunch buffet for $11.95 daily. More »
Siddhartha
Siddhartha, being the birth name of the founder of Buddhism, is naturally a popular name for Indian restaurants. They have two locations in Little India - one that features exclusively vegetarian options and the other that is carnivore friendly too. Both locations are among the busiest on Gerrard and operate buffets for lunch and dinner, starting at $9.99. More »
The Host
On the fringes of Yorkville is The Host, an Indian fine dining establishment with an upscale interior. The Host accommodates private dining and offers a catering service. Two additional locations can be found in Mississauga and Richmond Hill. $12 buffet lunches include traditional Indian standards like murgh makhani (butter chicken) and saag paneer. More »
Biryani House
This Yonge and Wellesley staple doesn’t look like much from the outside, but don’t judge a book by its cover. It’s a romantic date-worthy space with semi-private nooks. Biryani house also boasts patio seating, Dum Pukht (or slow oven) style cooking, and online ordering. Try the Monday-to-Saturday buffet featuring 30-35 items. More »
Indian Hut
This Bloor and Church restaurant offers buffets for lunch ($11.95) and is one of the few on the list to also offer all-you-can eat dinners ($16.95). Meat and veggie dishes, soups, salads and desserts are prepared fresh daily. More »
Trimurti
My friend, and self-proclaimed authority on the subject, argues that Trimurti has the best samosas in the city. He might be right, but I haven’t yet tried them all. They’re darn good – I’ll tell you that much. Rivaling three other Indian spots in the same block alone, Trimurti still makes our list. A daily lunch buffet is $10.95. More »
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This article should be "Best Indian-like food buffets for people who don't know Indian food".
So true!
Other than Brar, I love Dhaba.
Great numbers of choice, great taste, great value and great atmosphere.
while i love Udupi, my Nitya experiences were 50/50. one time, quite good; the next time, super gross and greasy with dishes that were repeats of themselves (same curries with one ingredient exceptions). maybe they've improved since then as that was around august/september.
as an aside, i recently ate at Babur and the food was super bland and overpriced. dessert was supposed to be warm but came only half-heated, paneer tasted like plain tofu. *cringe* not recommended.
The best joints in the city are in Scarborough and Brampton.
My vote for best overall buffet: Bombay Palace
Best Veg Buffet: The Big Brar Sweets in Brampton (all you can eat dosa? Say no more!)
I'm serious people - if you consider yourself a foodie, and love Indian food, make a trip north or east once in a blue moon.
Case-in-point: Siddartha is terribly bland, oily, and sloppily prepared. There's a reason why I never see any Desi folks inside. The only reason it can be on this list is because the folks who voted for it can't tell when they're eating bad Indian food.
Do yourself a favour and walk across the street and treat yourself to one of the top 3 dosa places in the city next time at Udupi Palace. Or walk down to Lahore Tikka House.
That's the thing. The articles very rarely state that the lists are based off of votes.
Kama across the street is much better. The service is better than an average indian buffet (although they're a bit snarky to brown people like myself) and the quality is good. The selection could be a bit bigger, though.
AND APPALLED
"The best joints in the city are in Scarborough and Brampton."
Read more carefully next time. The website is BlogTO, NOT BlogBrampton.
"Last time I checked, scarborough was in Toronto."
JB, I don't know ONE Torontonian who would admit to that!!!
The best indian buffet I ever had was in India. You're welcome, I know that was helpful
In case you havn't noticed take a spin around Brampton and look at all the different kinds of people you see there... I have a feeling the first group of people you will notice are INDIANS..
I don't think that all of these Sikh's are going out to Montana's to eat when they go out.... They could be going to:
Sweet India, India's Taste, Kwality sweets, or Brars (all located in Brampton or Mississauga).
A side note: I would like to see a vegetarian discount at buffets that also serve meat. We're not eating the more expensive dishes on offer, so why should we subsidize the meat-eaters?
Also love Aroma and Host, Mount Everest is nice too and cheaper than the others.