Marinated tandoor-roasted chicken in a creamy spiced tomato gravy with butter and fenugreek. Britain's most-ordered curry, claimed by London and Glasgow alike since the 1970s.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Chicken tikka masala is a British-Bengali invention of the late 1960s or early 1970s. Multiple Glasgow Pakistani chefs claim the dish (Ali Ahmed Aslam at Shish Mahal is most frequently named), and London's Brick Lane curry houses popularised it through the 1980s. Robin Cook, then Foreign Secretary, called it a 'true British national dish' in a 2001 speech. The dish marries north Indian tandoor cookery with a milder Anglo-Indian gravy: tomato puree, single cream, garam masala and dried fenugreek leaf. Brick Lane's Bengali-run curry houses (Aladin, Sheba) and the Tayyabs Pakistani tradition both still serve it; Dishoom and Gymkhana plate the modern restaurant versions.
Common allergens: Dairy
Tip from the editors. Kashmiri chilli gives the orange-red colour without heat. If using hot chilli, halve the quantity or your sauce will overwhelm the chicken.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Tayyabs Punjabi grill on Fieldgate Street in Whitechapel London, opened 1972, runs charcoal-grilled lamb chops at £12 and karahi gosht at £15, BYOB and cash-friendly.
Try: Pakistani charcoal grill (lamb chops, karahi)
Tip: BYOB; bring beer or wine from the off-licence on Whitechapel Road, no corkage. Closed Mondays. Queue runs 30-60 minutes on weekend evenings.
Dishoom's bacon naan roll counter on Boundary Street in Shoreditch London, served from breakfast service since 2012, the morning Bombay-cafe sandwich that built the chain.
Try: Bacon naan roll
Tip: Walk-in only for the breakfast rolls before 10:00. £6.50 a roll; chai £3. Faster than the dinner queue all week.
Karam Sethi's Albemarle Street Indian dining room in Mayfair London, opened 2013 and Michelin two-starred since 2024, modelled on a colonial-club room with serious tandoor cookery.
Signature: Kid goat methi keema, Tandoori guinea fowl
Order: Kid goat methi keema with sesame naan, plus whatever wild-game tandoori cut is being grilled that night.
Tip: The basement bar serves the same kitchen as a la carte without the tasting menu lock-in. Book a fortnight out.
Karam Sethi's Blandford Street Indian coastal restaurant in Marylebone London, opened 2008 and Michelin-starred, focused on Konkan and Mangalorean fish cookery.
Signature: Brown crab Goan curry, Hariyali bream
Order: Brown crab Goan curry, hariyali bream and a glass of riesling from the all-aromatic list.
Tip: The tasting menu is the best route in, but a la carte stays open at lunch and books a week ahead.
Harneet Baweja's family-recipe Indian small-plates kitchen on White's Row in Spitalfields London, opened 2015, plates regional Indian home cooking, no buffet, no naan basket.
Signature: Spicy venison doughnut, Chettinad pulled lamb shoulder
Order: Spicy venison doughnut, then Chettinad pulled lamb shoulder for two.
Tip: Tiny room. Bookings open six weeks ahead and burn fast. Counter seats released as walk-ins from 17:30.
More cities are in research. Want chicken tikka masala covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.