South Asian food in Scarborough: Sri Lankan, Tamil and Indian

Where to eat Sri Lankan, Tamil and Indian food in Scarborough, how to order kothu and a good dosa, and the phone number for every kitchen.

Scarborough is where a lot of Toronto's best South Asian cooking actually happens, and it is not one cuisine. Sri Lankan and Tamil kitchens sit next to North Indian ones and Indo-Chinese Hakka spots, often on the same plaza, and the portions are large and the prices are low.

Knowing what each does makes the counter far easier.

Know what you are ordering

• Kothu is the Sri Lankan and Tamil signature: godhamba roti chopped on a hot griddle with egg, vegetables and meat, the rhythmic clang you hear from the kitchen. Order it with cheese the first time.
• Dosa is the South Indian crepe, thin and crisp, with sambar and coconut chutney. A masala dosa comes stuffed with spiced potato. A place making them to order is a place to sit down at.
• Biryani is the test of a kitchen: layered rice and meat, each grain separate, cooked long. Soggy biryani means shortcuts.
• Hakka here means Indo-Chinese: chilli chicken, Manchurian, hakka noodles, the Chinese-by-way-of-Kolkata food that Scarborough does better than anywhere. It is a real category, not a mistake on the menu.
• Ask about heat. These kitchens cook for a community that likes it hot, so medium here is not medium everywhere.

The kitchens

These are the South Asian spots in the directory in Scarborough. Sri Lankan, Tamil, North Indian and Hakka, all in one borough.

Before you go

Ring first, because the busy plazas turn over fast and a kitchen can run out of the day's biryani by mid-afternoon. Many do takeaway and catering, so a large order is worth a call ahead. The number on each page is the restaurant's own.

Written by See The Six · kept current from the directory, last checked 2026-08-24