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.
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.
4 editor picks for Chicken tikka masala in Glasgow, ranked by editorial score. All Glasgow signature dishes · Chicken tikka masala across every city.
Mother India ★ 4.4
west-end · 28 Westminster Terrace, Glasgow G3 8AD
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.
Shish Mahal ★ 4.2
west-end · 66-68 Park Road, Glasgow G4 9JF
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.
The Dhabba ★ 4.2
merchant-city · 44 Candleriggs, Glasgow G1 1LE
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.
Mister Singh's India ★ 4.0
finnieston · 149 Elderslie Street, Glasgow G3 7JR
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.