- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Coffee & Tea |
- All
Babur Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Indian Indian [Edit]
273 Queen St WToronto, ON M5V 1Z9
Neighbourhoods: Entertainment District, Queen Street West, Downtown Core
(416) 599-7720
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:30 am - 10:30 pm
Sun 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
21 reviews for Babur Restaurant
Review Highlights
-
"butter chicken to die for." In 9 reviews -
"...from the piping hot naan bread is simply intoxicating." In 2 reviews -
"but the curry quality is still top shelf." In 3 reviews
Loading...
21 reviews in English
-
Review from Erica D.
Toronto, ON
12/4/2011
I've been going to Babur once in a while for a couple years now. The food is consistently good, and they are one of the only Indian places i've found that serves kulfi ( Indian ice cream - try it, it's delicious). My only criticism is that the prices have gone up lately, so I can't afford to go as often. But I do recommend the pilli pilli (sp?) chicken (if you like some spice), and their Biryani never disappoints. I had one bad experience where our kulfi was served to us already melted, but when we said something they quickly replaced it with new servings, so no complaints there.
-
Review from Roseann B.
4/29/2012
This was my first Indian experience. We were staying nearby in Toronto and saw Babur advertised in the hotel magazine. Once we arrived, we were quickly seated, but it took about 15 minutes for the waiter to take our order--not only that, but he saw we were ready and passed us multiple times anyway. Every time the older male who I assume was the owner disagreed with something someone said, he had a look of disgust on his face which was completely off-putting.
We ordered chicken tikka misalla and chicken vindaloo--my chicken tikka was great and my boyfriend enjoyed his vindaloo, but the naan was so tiny and not worth ordering. The food was way overpriced and the waited made a mistake on our bill. Speaking of the bill, that took another 20 minutes of direct eye contact and ignoring from the waiter to receive. This place can keep it's hipster decor and crappy service. If you want good service and great food in Toronto, go to Trimurti on queen street. -
Review from Mary D.
8/10/2011
We have been going to Babur for about 10 years if I remember correctly. It is our family's go-to restaurant for Indian food in Toronto. It really is the best.
Among our favourite dishes are: Butter Chicken, Lamb Rogan Josh, Aloo Gobi, Chana Masala, Naan (plain), Peas Pilao rice, Navrattan Biryani..... mmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. (please forgive the spelling if it's all wrong! I'm spelling it all on memory).
In the past few years they have upgraded the decor to better fit in the neighbourhood, which was a great idea, as the old stark white tablecloths and leather chairs felt cold and dated, and not nearly as welcoming as the newer look.
The service is not always the greatest... a bit lackadaisical. But the cleanliness wins me over where the service doesn't. It can be pricey, especially if you want a few dishes - but go with a group so that you can order lots, try it all, and split the cost! -
Review from Kavi G.
Toronto, ON
7/18/2011
I've had a long history of eating at this restaurant, and do feel that the new decor looks out of place. That being said, the place is catering to touristy foot traffic, and the prices and new look reflect this.
They've generally had good quality food, but portion sizes are beginning to diminish in the hopes of attracting a more Western crowd. The buffet service, though tacky and typical of Indian restaurants, was really what made Babur a great lunch spot.
If you're someone who purely goes for butter chicken, I'd recommend Babur's. It's not the greatest, but it certainly trumps the other two restaurants that lie east of Babur, and is within the downtown core.
If you're into spicy fare, you really have to tell the wait staff about this request. Another unfortunate evolution of their food is that it's not as spicy as it use to be in an effort to cater to a non-spicy eating crowd. -
Review from Anni L.
8/9/2011
I had a friend visit from Montreal who had her heart set on eating Indian food. So we looked at various options in the downtown area and settled on Babur. I had been there before and figured it was a safe bet.
The ambiance for this place is truly trendy and amazing. Unfortunately the food is just ok.
We ordered the spinach cheese dish Shalak Paneer which tasted really good. The tandoori chicken came with a red sauce and green peppers. When i had this dish at Cusine of India (which is now closed and only open for catering), it came on a sizzling plate with no sauce so that you could taste the chicken, the spices, and the tandoor oven grilling taste. I was disappointed by this dish. We had ordered the grilled red snapper but after taking our order, the waiter came back to inform us that there were no more red snappers. How do you run out of red snappers?!. So we settled for the Monk fish. The fish came in a creamy yellow sauced. It tasted salty and had a weird fishy taste. My friend and i both had a hard time eating it. For $18, it was the most horrible fish dish i've ever had. The house of india has this delicious tandoor grilled fish that is very tasty.
The nan bread were also mediocre.
To top it off, there were only 2 servers and so the service was slow and the food took a very long time to come out.
I don't think i would go back. If i do, I might order other menu option.
The meal came to $57 for 2 people. Add tip, it came to $65. Definitely not worth the price. -
Review from Zoe R.
5/6/2011
Ah Babur... I agreed in going here with a group of colleagues, b/c I personally thought Babur was the name of a childhood elephant. Turns out, Babur isn't the name of that character, after all. http://www.fanpop.com/...
~~~~~
Yelpers, Babur was ok, but for a group of 13, food did not arrive until well over 1.5-2 hours later! We were too hungry, and hated eyeing other tables as they were served first (there was another party table there).
The food itself was ok too, a bit oily - which I'm okay with, but not one of my colleagues.
I had the eggplant, which was very rich, plus garlic naan bread, and a mango lassi. My total came out to about $24 plus tip.
One colleague spazzed out at the saltiness of what she thought was monk fish. Turns out she dug into the wrong order (red snapper), she liked her monk fish fine. If you don't like salty fish, don't order the red snapper.
If we didn't wait SO long for the food, I would have given them a 3 or 4. But I was ticked and feeling Arrrrrrrrrrrr by the time the food arrived. Some of us noticed the lack of food multiple times. :(
I probably wouldn't want to go back, there are so many other places I'd like to try. However, if you're in a group of 2 or 4, I think you would have a much better experience than the one my group did.Listed in: Colour me Multi-Ethnic…
-
Review from Antonia M.
9/16/2010
Trendy little Indian restaurant with fantastic food. Although the decor in this place is hip and modern, the food is decidedly authentic.
It looks as though some of the reviewers had so-so service, but ours was great. The waiters weren't overly attentive, but in a good way.
We had the rhogan josh, saag paneer and channa masala. All delicious. If I went back again, I might have to eat the rhogan josh and saag paneer all over again! Babur serves some of the best I've had of either dish.
The portions weren't huge. We had a party of 4 people and shared three dishes, with rice and two orders of garlic naan - and left satisfied by not overly full (which was ok for a late dinner, but you might want to order more).
Super place, with great food and a nice, unique atmosphere for an Indian restaurant. Next time I'm in Toronto, I'll be back. -
Review from Angela L.
8/4/2009
I love me my Indian food and had actually never been to Babur before, so was extra game when I heard that it had recently gotten a face lift. I wouldn't be able to compare the before and after, but different is supposed to be better, right? The decor proved to be the highlight of the dining experience. The ornate plates featuring birds decorating the wall, the long wooden tables, the fabulous chandeliers, the handwritten drinks list on the chalkboard, and the banquets were just delightful in a modern eatery sort of way.
The plain (a.k.a. sweet) lassi ($4.50) was rich and yogourty, but a little too sweet. The paneer quorma ($11.99) was satisfyingly creamy, but super spicy (not at my request) and peppered with chunks of whole herbs and spices that weren't meant to be eaten. I also suspect that the palau rice ($3.95) would've been better with the peas that it is no longer served with (or maybe they should've used white out instead of just crossing the word out).
In the now gorgeous bathrooms, the door of the right stall does not fit into the frame and cannot close, let alone be locked. In the left stall, the toilet paper wasn't fitted properly and popped right out of the holder. I'm sure that won't happen to everyone though.
The service wasn't bad. But then again, my vegetarian dish was mistakenly presented by the serving assistant as lamb and that took me by surprise. Oh, but he was just kidding, it was paneer after all! -
Review from Vanessa M.
North York, ON
Updated - 1/24/2010
Had a re-visit recently... ahhh, the new decor is pretty. The theme here is you are on an adventure feel, with collection of various items from all over the world. Now there is a bar area--sadly I did not try any drinks because I was driving.
I think Barbur needed this. Before, I felt old... but now, it looks fresh! I guess they needed to separate themselves against all the other Indian restaurants nearby, which are much more aggressively priced.
Prices have gone up a tad in result.. but the curry quality is still top shelf. I have yet to find another place that does butter chicken better than Babur.1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
8/5/2009
I'm going to make my review short...
Food: Excellent. Butter Chicken, is without a doubt, the best… Read more »
-
-
Review from Wendy H.
Toronto, ON
6/10/2009
I'm not sure why Babur doesn't get the love it deserves, cause this is where I go for all my Indian naan-filled needs. Granted, I've never hit up any Gerrard east spots, but these gents always manage to satisfy.
I inherited a favourite order from my best friend, which consists of the following (to be shared): rice, black bean dahl (I don't know what it's really called) and an appetizer chicken tikka. Sometimes if we're feeling gluttonous, some butter chicken. All leave us feeling happy, warm and satisfied. The butter chicken is dangerously rich and creamy, the chicken tikka terrific with some lemon.
95% of my experience has been take-out but I remember service to be quick and friendly. And over the phone, they started to learn who we were by our order!
Recently the place went through some renovations, so I'll be going back soon for the dine-in experience, and to check for any menu changes!
Best Friend Edit: "You should point out that it's very important to get the APPETIZER chicken tikka. Appetizer." -
Review from Nicholas K.
Toronto, ON
9/18/2010
I will agree with the other reviews that the decor is nice and a refreshing change from most other Indian restaurants.
There were four of us eating the night we went. We had the Vegetable Somosas, Vegetable Pakora and Mulligatawny Soup for our starters. The Vegetable Somosas had nice flavour but were under cooked; the Mulligatawny Soup was a little too salty. Vegetable Pakora were very good and I would get those again.
For our mains we had the Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo and the Beef Masala with rice and Naan. We would order all again with the exception on the Tandoori Chicken, it again was a little too salty.
The menu while not the biggest has enough on it to satisfy most people. The drink menu is about the same, not large but enough. The service was good on the night we were there.
While I liked the food, I don't feel the need to run back anytime soon. I would recommend this place for a group of people looking for Indian food in a cool place, in a nice part of town. -
Review from Mitch S.
Toronto, ON
11/10/2009
Firstly I'd like to point out how refreshing it is to go to an Indian restaurant that doesn't look like every other Indian restaurant in the World! The decor here is modern and refreshing and is what initially attracted me to give Babur a second look.
I went to dinner here on a Saturday night and it was packed...always a good sign. I tried the butter chicken, chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka, and the naan. Everything was great and tasty...the naan perfectly cooked although I thought too small.
So why do I give it 4 and not 5 stars if I'm raving about the food? The service was awful. We had a reservation yet the wait staff tried to put us at the back of the restaurant while other areas were free. Second, the waiters were frantic and the food came out all too fast. Thirdly my curry got cold while I waited for my second piece of naan to arrive (which it never did).
So all and all I enjoyed my food but my experience could have been much better. -
Review from Myrem D.
Mississauga, ON
5/25/2011
Decided on a whim to have lunch here on Sunday (May 29th)afternoon.
Decent size. Personally, basement bathrooms following an obstacle course ....something out of survivor, annoy me. However is spacious... so points here. ^_^
Growing up back home I was used to a select type of cold drinks Thumbs Up, Fanta, Sunkist, Pepsi-Cola etc. Shockingly, you can get them all here. I wouldn't recommend it to those watching sugar levels.
The server was a bit bored of his day job, gazing at the window whilst leaning against the wall. I didn't blame him, it was a nice day out. He was polite but not very helpful with ordering. He mentioned this place was primarily Punjabi and/or Gujrati? (I have a feeling he was talking lotsOsmack)
The menu is in a cheapy pink frosty type of binder. Weird?
The decor is vintage copper periwinkle & duck plate pictures meets Victorian war left overs.
I dunno about the interior of this place, looks a tad wounded. :S
(THANK GOD THE FOOD MAKES UP FOR IT)
Order:
Garlic naan - SOOOOOO GOOD, I dare anyone to try this and still NOT want to devour 20 more. it's (excuse the lame-ness) MIND BLOWING.
Butter chkn - safe but sets the standard for the rest of the sauces. If it's too diluted,means less service. If it's overtly saucy, cheap on chicken. This was just right, the sauce was equally buttery and you can taste the tomato base. The chicken were breast chunks and cooked well before mixing with the sauce.
Pilli Pilli sweet & spicy chkn - retardedly spicy, but the chicken is nice and chunky. There is indeed a hint of sweet. If you can get over the ambulance-fire-truck-spice party your papillae will have to endure.
Daal - myeh. Black lentils. Not bad if you have options but not the best if you can only have veg. It's sort of bland after a while.
rice with peas - The rice was fine but the peas tastes as though they had been over cooked. Or just.... old.
Our bill was $98.31
with tip - $108.31 for 3 people.
over all = myeh. Perhaps if there was nothing else around and I hadn't had any oily food in a decade, i might go again.
xoxox
M. -
Review from Adam G.
Toronto, ON
Onion stuffed Nann...butter chicken to die for...
-
Review from raptors t.
Toronto, ON
10/28/2010
The decor is nice and modern. The food is tasty and authentic. The prices are slightly higher than usual for Indian, but not excessively so.
The service was just ok. They were kinda rushing us (they kept asking if I was done and if they could take my plate even there was still food on the plate and food in the common bowls).
I would go back if others wanted to, but I wouldn't rush to go again either. -
Review from Miawling L.
3/1/2011
I dined at Babur last month as part of an epic 'five dinners in seven hours' food safari around Toronto.
The trendy little restaurant, located in the Queen West neighbourhood, recently underwent a slew of renovations and you can tell.
The dining room is beautifully under-stated. Bird motifs are omnipresent and various species are showcased in tiny oval black frames that hang along the entire length of the left wall.
A long wooden table in the middle of the dining room, smartly divided with low sheets of patterned glass, gives off a cozy and intimate setting.
Exposed brick walls and interesting light fixtures also work to enhance the atmosphere.
We ordered garlic naan bread and chicken vindaloo and were given a complimentary serving of pappadums.
The pappadums, which bear hundreds of bubbles, are light, moreishly crispy and combine brilliantly with the trio of accompaniments.
Meanwhile, the intense garlic aroma emanating from the piping hot naan bread is simply intoxicating. The bread, sprinkled with finely chopped pieces of cilantro and garlic, is baked to perfection and boasts beautiful charcoal burn marks.
The naan simply melts in your mouth and pairs beautifully with the chicken vindaloo.
The curry is deep red in color. The smell of the spices is invigorating and the dish is perfectly seasoned.
The potatoes and boneless chunks of chicken (yes, they're chunks as opposed to the stringy variety) help balance the richness of the decadent sauce.
My one major criticism of the dish, though, is that despite requesting that it be made extra spicy, the curry doesn't have enough of a kick. The spice knob could have been turned up at least five more notches.
Nevertheless, we lap up each last mouthful and walk out of Babur extremely satisfied.
Read more and view photos at http://www.gloriousglu... -
Review from Alan K.
London, ON
Updated - 9/6/2011
They've seemed to scale-back their menu since I last went there as many items have been removed. I was disappointed as several fantastic items weren't available to order. Their portion sizes have also been scaled back a little. With the prices that customers are paying, it's a little disappointing. The food is still excellent though.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
1/21/2011
I've never had a bad meal here as the quality of the food is absolutely first rate and the ambience… Read more »
-
-
Review from Ken H.
7/18/2009
What a lovely dining experience! The restaurant interior is very attractive. It's simple and clean and looks like it has been recently remodeled. The food is excellent. The savory samosas appetizer was very good. My lamb korma was delicious, and I wish that the portion size had been slightly larger. One of my dinner companions ordered an off-menu side dish that he knew they would be able to put together, and it was no problem at all. The service was great and the overall experience was fabulous.
-
Review from En L.
8/1/2010 1 Check-in Here
Lovely decor. By far the trendiest Indian restaurant I ever try. Food was pretty good but it's slightly pricey compare to other Indian restaurant. But, I must admit, it is the best Indian food in the Entertainment district.
-
Review from Nathan S.
2/9/2010
I was in town for business and looking for some good indian cuisine. I read a few reviews from some locals and thought I would give it a try. Very good food and it is true about the atmosphere. It is a very open, clean, friendly place. The food was good and the staff was helpful. I would recommend.
-
Review from Dee t.
8/23/2009
Best Indian food in Downtown Toronto! Being an Indian, I love Indian food and this place has the right flavor and spice. The ambience is excellent, the service could have been better. There was only one waiter and food took a bit longer but was worth the wait. The Tandoor appetizers are out of the world, highly recommend them. Also, the Paneer entree was also very tasty. Loved the food and price was very reasonable.
