Chicken tikka masala is tandoor-charred chicken in a spiced, creamy tomato sauce, and Glasgow claims to have invented it. Whether or not that holds, the city cooks a definitive version.
Where to eat it: 9 restaurants across 2 cities.
The most-repeated origin story credits Shish Mahal in Glasgow's West End, where in the early 1970s the chef is said to have loosened a customer's dry chicken tikka with tomatoes, cream and spice. The dish spread through Britain's curry houses to become the country's unofficial national dish. Rival claims exist across the UK and South Asia, and the truth is contested, but Glasgow's claim is the loudest and the city cooks it with real conviction.
Common allergens: Milk
Tip from the editors. Char the chicken hard before it goes in the sauce; that smoky edge is the whole point of the dish.
Shish Mahal is the West End curry house that claims to have invented chicken tikka masala in Glasgow in the 1970s, still packed for its Punjabi cooking.
Signature: Chicken tikka masala, Lamb karahi
Order: The chicken tikka masala, the dish this kitchen is said to have created.
Tip: The claim is contested but the cooking is genuinely good; book ahead at weekends when it fills with regulars.
Mother India has served home-style Indian cooking in Glasgow's West End since 1990, a warren of small rooms famous for its sharing plates and slow-cooked dal.
Signature: Sharing thali, Lamb karahi
Order: Build a table of small dishes to share; the aubergine and the karahi lamb are long-time regulars' picks.
Tip: The tapas-style spin-off, Mother India's Cafe on Argyle Street, is the cheaper way to eat the same kitchen's cooking.
The Dhabba has served North Indian cooking in Glasgow's Merchant City since 2002, a smart Candleriggs room strong on tandoor breads and Punjabi curries.
Order: A tandoor bread basket with a slow-cooked lamb rogan josh.
Tip: This is North Indian, so ask staff to steer you away from the Glasgow-Punjabi standards toward the regional dishes.
Mister Singh's India is an Elderslie Street institution in Glasgow, an Indian kitchen famous for haggis pakora and kilt-wearing staff since the 1990s.
Order: The haggis pakora, a Glasgow-Scots-Indian mash-up the restaurant helped make famous.
Tip: The Scottish-Indian theme is played for fun; it is a reliable, generous curry house near Charing Cross.
Tayyabs Punjabi grill on Fieldgate Street in Whitechapel London, opened 1972, runs charcoal-grilled lamb chops at £12 and karahi gosht at £15.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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