Victoria’s best butter chicken: Tonka, Chutney Bar, Indian Rogan Josh and more
Creamy, silky smooth and indulgent this mild curry is the perfect introduction to northern Indian cuisine. Here’s where to find the best butter chicken across Victoria.
South East
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Whether you like to wolf it down after a big night out or savour all the spices at a fine diner, butter chicken is always a crowd pleaser.
The mild and creamy tomato based curry originated in northern India in 1948.
Typically served with chicken the indulgent sauce can be served with prawns, beef, lamb and even vegetables.
Our team has hit up local food courts, family restaurants and high end eateries to find some of the best examples of the dish across Victoria.
THE TADKA CLUB
Linsell Boulevard, Cranbourne East
Proudly locally owned, the Tadka Club opened its doors for the first time in Cranbourne East in November 2015.
Owner, Lali Singh, said the goal he had when opening the restaurant was to bring a world standard of Indian food to the southeastern suburb.
“We aimed to bring the Indian cuisine to Cranbourne and do it well,” he said.
“Since then I’m proud to say we’ve won a few awards, one being the Menulog Best Indian Restaurant in the Southeast Melbourne in 2020.”
Butter chicken is the solid favourite at the Tadka Club, the menu also includes street food, Indo Chinese, main course meals and combo packs for single people up to families of four.
Mr Singh had a strong guarantee for the quality of the Tadka Club’s butter chicken:
“Butter chicken is out best selling item. Try us once and we promise you will come back for sure.”
A standard Butter Chicken will set you back $15.95.
Find the Tadka Club at 15 Linsell Boulevard in Cranbourne East.
AUSSIE NUKKAD,
55 Indura Dr, Werribee
This husband and wife team not only make one of the best butter chickens in Werribee, but some of the most delicious Indian food going around.
With decades of cooking experience between them, Neha and Kaustav Pandey joined forces during lockdown to start their own Indian catering and delivery business which has since exploded in popularity.
Mr Pandey said their recipes, including their famous butter chicken, are all their own and take inspiration from traditional Indian cuisine which can be hard to find in Australia.
“All the major recipes are my wife’s and ones she learned from her mum,” he said.
“They are very hard to replicate because she makes them with such amazing flavour and colour. You can really taste the freshness”.
Their butter chicken is the top selling item on the menu which is “quite extensive” and includes champaran mutton, pani puri, aloo gobi and smoked chicken sliders.
CHUTNEY BAR
44 Main Street Mornington
The classic dish served by this Mornington favourite is made using a 45 year old family recipe.
Chutney Bar manager said business owner Jag Gill shared the recipe from his family in India and it had been used for 20 years in his restaraurants across Melbourne’s south east.
While the same recipes may be used by Mr Gill’s seven restaurants, Mr Mehta said the “chef’s hand” made every dish unique.
“Every chef brings their own interpretation to each dish they make,” he said.
“They can follow the recipe exactly, but the result will be a little different for each chef.
“Of course the Mornington butter chicken is the best!”
The creamy tomato sauce with “secret spices” was one of the milder curries offer at the Main Street restaurant.
However, diners who like some heat needed only to ask for some extra spice when ordering, he said.
And Chutney Bar was also happy to serve the classic sauce with other proteins and even vegetables.
Mr Mehta said the eatery’s tandoori sizzler featuring chicken, lamb chop and shish kebab prepared in the charcoal tandoor oven was another favourite.
The butter chicken is $25 ($20 take away).
TONKA
20 Duckboard Place, Melbourne
The Rolls Royce of butter chicken would have to be served by Tonka.
Created by chef Adam D’Sylva the classic dish is the only one at the high end eatery that uses both cream and ghee.
It’s $49 a serve but worth the investment.
D’Sylva recently moved on from Tonka and Coda alumni Chanon Boriharnvanakhet is back on the pans at the 20 Duckboard Pl restaurant.
The butter chicken is still served and just as popular.
SINGH INDIAN CURRY HOUSE
132 Koroit St, Warrnambool
The SINGH Indian Curry House have a “fan favourite” butter chicken dish.
Cooked in a tomato-based sauce with added cashews and cream, it is bound to be mouth watering for any customer entering the restaurant’s doors.
The chefs work hard ensuring all customers’ favourite dishes are ready to go.
Head on down to the SINGH Indian Curry House today to try their unique butter chicken.
NAMASTE INDIAN
6/12-16 McLeans Rd, Bundoora
Namaste Indian is a top-rated restaurant in Melbourne‘s north, renowned for delicious Indian and Himalayan cuisine.
The restaurant has run in Bundoora since 2001, featuring a simple menu with tasty curries, tandoori dishes as well as Nepalese and Himalayan delicacies.
An order of butter chicken will cost you just $18.25 and you can add on a piece of garlic naan for an extra $3.25.
They describe their Chicken Makhani – also known as butter chicken – is roasted in a Tandoori oven and served with an aromatic gravy.
The restaurant was twice nominated for the best Indian restaurant in City Of Whittlesea awards in the category of restaurant and cafes.
FLAG OF INDIA
87 O’Shanassy St, Sunbury
Tucked away in the centre of Sunbury is the longstanding Indian restaurant Flag of India, a hit with locals for its flavourful dishes and stellar service.
The store, which has been in business for more than two decades, is currently owned by Girish Chawla who has seen more than a few competitors come and go in his 18 years.
So why do Sunburians like the Flag of India?
“It’s just passion, nothing else, it’s passion it actually shows how passionate you are through your food and your service,” he said.
“It’s a big deal, our service always shines and we go out of our way for customers and we bring a consistency and a passion that for me is number one.”
While the trusted favourites butter chicken and rogan josh fly off the shelves, Mr Chawla has another type which has proven a hit with the locals … all thanks to a British man named Dave.
“Dave became my friend like a few years ago, he was a customer to start with and he was telling me about this chicken tikka masala from where he hails in the UK,” Mr Chawla said.
“Within 10 minutes we had an innovation of this curry called Dave’s Special and I haven’t gotten anyone so far who says they don’t like it, it’s a signature dish.
“Dave’s family came to visit him from the UK and he brought them here and they said it was the best tikka masala they had ever had.”
Partnered with the lamb tenderloins, a Dave special will prove a top-notch night Mr Chawla assures. A traditional butter chicken will set punters back $20 takeaway while Dave’s Special is $22.
INDIAN ROGAN JOSH
1216 Burwood Highway, Upper Ferntree Gully
It’s one of the most popular Indian restaurants in the outer east, and customers can’t get enough of the butter chicken at Indian Rogan Josh in Upper Ferntree Gully.
Featuring boneless pieces of tandoori chicken cooked with tomato and spices, the tasty dish is finished with cashews and cream sauce.
Owner Sandy Gujral said their chef used fresh tomatoes to make the dish, and wouldn’t compromise on quality.
“It’s one of our most popular dishes; it’s ordered in a lot of takeaway orders, and since we’ve been able to reopen we’ve been blessed with great customer feedback.
“We’re so pleased to be back and have everyone supporting us.”
The popular restaurant reopened last year, almost 12 months after a devastating fire tore through the business.
Sandy and her husband Ranjeet have run the restaurant in the town for about 10 years.
One reviewer described it as having the “best Indian food this side of the West Gate.”
You can pick up a butter chicken for $15.
24 SPICES
Shop 24 – 13 High St, Bayswater
This Indian restaurant at Bayswater’s Mountain High Shopping Centre has recently got new owners, Ashish and Archana, who are serving up hearty meals with an extra spicy kick.
And Leader can vouch for its butter chicken, which is flavoursome without being too tangy, not drowned in sauce, and pairs perfectly with one of their freshly made garlic naans.
True to the restaurant’s name, the chefs use 24 traditional spices in their cooking, which they say is “integral to the flavours of real Indian food” and really helps it shine.
“Our meat is succulent, plus our breads and rice perfectly set off the spicy and flavourful exotic sauces we use in our dishes,” the restaurant wrote on its website.
MORE TOP PICKS
BALLARAT CURRY HOUSE
113 Bridge Mall, Bakery Hill
COWES CURRY CLUB
119 Thompson Ave, Cowes
HORSHAM MASALA
24 Firebrace St, Horsham