Updated Review - February 2022 I finally made it back to Charminar and I was so happy to see that their menu had expanded since my initial visit on opening day. They have a lot more choices now and they've also added a few tables for dining in. Yesss! There was so much to try from their expanded menu. I ended up taking dinner for my cousin and her family. There were some familiar favourites and some dishes that were new to us. We enjoyed it all! My cousin finished the butter chicken sauce with a spoon, practically licking the container! It was that good! What we had. • Chicken Lollipops - drumsticks marinated in spices and fried • Gobi Manchurian - deep fried cauliflower in Manchurian sauce • Karivepaku Chicken - fried with chili and South Indian spices • Jeera Rice - fluffy basmati rice with cumin and cashews • Butter Chicken - boneless chicken cooked in a rich tomato sauce • Baby Corn Manchurian - stir fried baby corn in Manchurian sauce • Guntur Paneer - marinated and sauteed cheese cubes • Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani - fluffy rice with chicken • Tandoori Chicken - grilled chicken marinated in spices • Kadai Paneer - cheese in a rich tomato sauce • Dosa - South Indian pancake • Naan - freshly made Indian flatbread Everything was so delicious! Their menu includes a ton of vegetarian dishes that even a carnivore like me truly enjoys. If you like rich tasting food, you'll love what they have to offer here. I'm already thinking ahead to what I'll order next. This restaurant is located in a relatively new plaza on Brock Rd. in Pickering. It's nice and bright and very clean. The staff are friendly and helpful. Best of all, the food is amazing! Check them out! Original Review I dropped into Charminar about an hour after opening their doors for the first time. I've been to their Whitby location, where I enjoyed some delicious Indian food and was looking forward to the same from here. Unfortunately, this is an "Express" location, smaller than the Whitby store, with a much smaller menu and no seating. No problem, takeout-only restaurants seem to be trending these days, since COVID. Wanting to try something new (to me), I ordered the Kadai Chicken ($11.99). It came boneless, in a red sauce with red and green peppers. It was a tad spicy but very flavourful. Rice was extra ($2.00), very light and fluffy. I was hoping to take advantage of their opening special, an offer of a free Biryani to their first 99 customers. Sadly, I missed it. Based on the single dish that I had, the food was well prepared and very tasty. I'll be back to try more!

Easily one of the best Indian spots in Durham, they make food SO delicious and very spicy by request or mild and flavourful, there’s something here for everyone, and even sitting in one of the booths wasn’t bad for dining (although I recommend they get better AC for summer months). The service is friendly and plenty of options, I’ve already been back here and I’ll keep coming!

I've been here a few times, once when it first opened and a few times since. The menu and facilities have steadily improved, and there is more seating now. I've also sampled a few things from the menu. Chicken Tikka masala and lamb korma are tasty but mild. Today I had Karaikudi chicken (mild) and found it tasty AND spicy! I've had a couple of items that have been very spicy (can't recall exactly what) but they can cater to all tastes and I prefer things on the spicy side. Service has always been good, efficient and friendly. You can eat in, or take out and I think there are some delivery options available. This is some of the best Indian food I've had in the Toronto area. Totally recommend.

Great food and service. One of the best Indian options in Ajax and Pickering areas. Must try Chole bhature, veg Haka noodles and Cut mirchi bajji.

Hubby and I got the masala dosa and chicken biriyani and it was soo delicious

Goat options taste great much better than their primary location. Quantity and quality of good is okay. However, please be considerate of people's kidneys when adding food color. Do remember that it doesn't provide taste it is just to appeal to eye. They need to revamp website to show which items are available at each location. Not all items on website are available in every location.

I'm happy we found this place in pickering. The chilli naan and garlic naan were so tasty and I like how naans were thin and not full of flour. The " karakkudi chicken " gravy was delicious. We enjoyed it. We will try this place again.

This is one of the best authentic place I have had recently Chicken 555 is the BEST karuvepaku chicken & Hyderabad Dum Biriyani are my favourite and usual Keep up charminar, kudos!! Edit: recently ordered food delivery for birthday party, food was ordered for 21 people and we got lot of food and all the guests were so pleased and on top of that we got desserts(Gulab Jamun) as compliment This was the menu we ordered everything was excellent Chicken 65 Gobi Manchurian Guntur paneer Garlic & butter naan Veg Biriyani Mutton curry Kudos again to charminar, all the guests packed foods and took some.

Really good Indian food, with an unassuming vibe. The portions were huge compared to restaurants I’m used to, the garlic naan was made fresh and very flavourful. The vegetable korma was creamy and rich and eggplant curry was great too. Samosas were huge. The entrées come with naan or rice too so it’s a good deal. Prices are fair. Service is quick. The only thing I’d say is they can work on the atmosphere a bit but I understand it’s mostly a takeout spot.

Decided to give this place a try last night for dinner with my mom, and glad we did! We ordered the Malai Kofta and the Hyderabad Chicken Curry, as well as rice. Both were delicious and super flavourful! Prices seem a little on the high side at first, but the portions are generous, and we both had leftovers for lunch today. Well worth the cost! Also, the person I spoke to at the counter yesterday when trying to decide which of the chicken curries I wanted was friendly and helpful in explaining the ones I wasn't familiar with. We will definitely be back and look forward to trying more things!

My sister and I love coming here and we’ve been their long-standing customer for many years. The level of service and attention to detail and quality of food is astounding and it never fails to impress us. Delicious food and a warm and loving experience every time!

Don’t bother! If you are craving Biryani and don’t want to be disappointed, just drive to the Charminar location in Scarborough. The difference in food quality is night and day. It’s almost as if leftovers from the day before from the Scarborough location are served here. The two stars is just for the super courteous and warm service staff.

Ordered the paneer biryani, and it was pretty good. Bit on the spicy side though, for anyone who can’t handle spice maybe let them know before!

Their food is always great and fresh. The service is very friendly. I love to come by for lunch specials and dinner whenever I feel like eating some tasty comfort food, which is atleast once a week. My favourite and highly recommended dishes to try: Hydrabadi chicken dum biryani Chicken 65 Remember to call in advance to give them time to prepare your food!

I literally just left this restaurant shaking my head, I walked in at 3:21pm and asked for the lunch butter chicken special, didn’t realize it was over at 3pm so no big deal. I said I will pay for the dinner size but to package it as if it is the lunch portion so I don’t waste food and it’s easier to eat in the car as they would put into one container the rice and the butter chicken. This person made every excuse in the world that why she cannot do that. Help me here am I missing something ? I am willing to pay more for less food and that she cannot comprehend. Wow just wow.

This is an EXPRESS location (take-out ONLY). Clean environment, friendly staff, fast service and serves hot Indian meals. MUST TRY - Chicken Biryani, Paneer Jalfrezi, Guntur paneer (spicy but yum). Let them know your spice levels beforehand. Will definitely recommend to friends and family.

I visited this restaurant for the first time and was so appreciated of the service I received. I had a very particular order and wasn’t sure if they would be able to help. After explaining my situation the wonderful ladies at the front brought out the chef himself to help accommodate my request. He was so understanding and helpful, and recommending a few options that would work with my request. It’s not everyday that you go to a restaurant and the workers and the chef are that helpful provide such amazing service. I am really appreciative again of the help I received. As well, the food was DELICIOUS! So glad I tried Charminar!

We just got back from lunch at Charminar. What a fabulous experience! The food is delicious and perfectly spiced. The quantities are more than generous. Our server was polite, friendly and extremely helpful. We weren’t at all rushed but the food arrived in a very timely fashion. We also appreciated the option to dine in as well as take out. An absolute treat for people who enjoy Indian cuisine!!

They make good food it can be great if they cut down on hot spices Indian food especially most North Indian food is not about hot spices I will improve the rating instantly if they include the mild menu options

Superb food. Get authentic spicy taste! Owner is very gracious.

Biriyanis are usually good as we find in every Charminar branch but this 5 stars goes to Nav and Hari for their extra ordinary hospitality and treating us very well after hearing about our long and tiring drive from Ottawa. Goat Biriyani is must try.

The waitress.. I believe her name is Safariya(got it from the receipt) was amazing. So polite and helpful. We ordered bunch of things not knowing if it’s enough or not.. But she suggested that it might be too much for party of 5+2… boy was she right. Portions were good size, thanks to her we didn’t over do it. Food was delicious too!

We had a reservation at a restaurant next door and basically had zero service and decided to walk to Charminar. Right from the time we walked in until the food was placed on our table, we had an amazing experience. The lady taking the orders was very polite and the food was amazing. So worth it. We tried the Butter Chicken, Lamb Roganjosh and Dal Makhani and their Naans and enjoyed all the dishes.

Order take out (Chicken Shahi Korma and Dal Tadka). Chicken Korma was good and had a good flavour to it. However the Dal Tadka was lacking any flavour… kinda tasted like I was eating just boiled lentils with no seasoning. Was very disappointed. Would give a 1 star had the Korma not been decent.

Loved 🥰 the paneer tikka biryani with friends. This place is always my favourite. The staff are really kind and helpful. Highly recommended to try it out once and then you’ll come often.

The taste is similar to all other char minar. Little small place but gets the job done when it comes to good biryani

The lady who answers the phone not professional at all to take orders, overall food quality is good but customer service is bad. You will loose customers if the friendly service is not provided to customers.

What an amazing dining in experience!!! I’ve been ordering take out from here since they open and their food is always amazing. Today I went to dine in for the first time with family and the whole experience was 10/10. If I could give more than 5 stars I would. SAFRIA was so considerate during the whole stay and she really looked out for the whole family to ensure everyone was happy. Wonderful experience!

Delicious. I had the lamb vindaloo. Spicy, fresh and a healthy portion. I’ve had a lot of curries over the years and this was one of the best.

4 friends and my self all ordered together from Skip. Our food was mediocre in taste and heavy on the oil which is a trademark of poor quality indian cuisine. Worse yet, we ALL got sick after. 1 friend through up and the rest of us are going through wicked stomach issues.

Very helpful staff. Food is very tasty and to the Indian spicy level. Vegetarian options are really good. Being a vegetarian, I checked with them and the vegetarian food is cooked in seperate vessels. If you don't eat Indian spicy, you can mention them in advance to reduce the spice levels.

Tried Charminar Express for the first time and was greeted by a very sweet girl. She was very informative and took my order with such care. The place is very clean and very inviting. There was even a nice table setting for you to dine in. I ordered the Samosa Chaat and it was delicious! Definitely will be back!

Front staff is really good and welcoming(navreetu) All orders on time !!! Food was very good ... Very good experience

Best 65 Binyani ever... tonight was my second time theses guys knows what they're doing...❤❤❤💯💯💯

South Indian food is a real treat! I think this is a great place to try it out if you’ve never had it before. The vegetarian options are great too.

I regularly order food from this place.. the food is good but they have a very unprofessional attitude and I have experienced it twice now and so decided to write this review. Today when I placed an order and went to pick up, the staff charged a different price from what is on the website. When I brought it to her notice, the response was “ yeah, we need to update the prices on the site”. Highly recommend placing order through the food delivery apps (UberEats, DoorDash) if possible. I know they are going to simply deny. So here is the proof (charminar Pickering)

We been to the Scarborough location where the dine in hall is huge . First time here Great staff memeber out there . Very friendly and very accommodating . Food was good and my wife enjoyed itn. The briyani she recommended and my wife favorite chicken 65 was excellent. Small place for dine in ..its meant for quick takeout. Will be back for more