Where to get roti in Toronto

Roti is the bread, not the dish, and knowing the difference changes how you order. Dhalpuri, buss-up-shut and the fillings that go in them, plus the Caribbean kitchens to try.

The first thing to understand about roti is that it is the bread, not the meal. When somebody says they are getting roti, they mean a curry wrapped in one of several kinds of flatbread, and the kind of bread matters as much as what goes inside it. Get the language right at the counter and the whole thing gets easier, and the person serving you relaxes.

Know your bread

• Dhalpuri is the everyday wrap: a soft roti with ground split peas rolled into the dough, so it has a faint savoury grain to it. This is what most people mean by a roti to go.
• Buss-up-shut is paratha torn into soft ragged pieces, named because it looks like a burst-up shirt. It is not wrapped around the curry; it comes alongside, for tearing and dipping. Order it if you like to build your own bites.
• Sada roti is the plain, puffy one, more of a breakfast bread eaten with choka and sides than a wrap for curry.

What goes in it

Chicken, goat, beef, and for a lot of people the real test, curry channa and aloo, chickpeas and potato. Say the filling and the bread together: "chicken dhalpuri", "goat buss-up-shut". A few things worth knowing:

• Bone or boneless. Chicken roti is often bone in. Say if you want it boneless, and expect to pay a little more.
• Pepper on the side. Ask for the pepper sauce separate the first time, so you set your own heat. Trini and Guyanese pepper is scotch bonnet and it does not forgive.
• Fresh skin is the tell. A kitchen making its own roti skin that morning is a different proposition from one heating it from a bag. You can ask, and a good one is proud to say.

The kitchens to try

These are the Caribbean kitchens in the directory. Roti is a staple at the Trinidadian and Guyanese ones especially, but the fillings and the bread on any given day vary, so treat this as where to start and let the call confirm it. The number on each page is the kitchen's own.

For the whole table, see the Caribbean food guide for Toronto, and for the Trini street breakfast, the doubles guide is next door.

Before you go

Decide bread first, filling second, and say them in that order. Ask for pepper on the side until you know a kitchen. And if the skin is made fresh and soft, you have found a keeper, so take the number.

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