Benares Cucina Indian

Honestly, the best Indian restaurant I've ever been to. My friends and I drove up to Toronto from Montreal for an event. We found this place by chance as it was walking distance from our hotel. Everything was perfect! The decor is lovely, the atmosphere is relaxing always great when you can hold a quiet conversation. The service was absolutely top notch! And the food! Just phenomenal! We had the chef's choice tasting menu available for 2 or more people. We were 3, and with 2 bottles of wine, after tax and tip, this experience of a lifetime cost us under $120 per person. You get the quality and service of a gourmet, expensive restaurant for a pretty reasonable price. I absolutely loved it! I'm now looking for any excuse to come back to Toronto, so I can eat at Benares again.

Great place in heart of a very busy area, quiet and very beautiful. The staff were super polite and helpful and the food was great. We had Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, both were very delicious. Butter chicken was velvety and creamy and the chicken tikka masala was very nice and spicy I asked for it.

My family picked this restaurant while visiting Toronto. What a disaster of an experience, waste of time and money it was. We repeatedly and specifically asked for mild food but all dishes were spicy hot where we had to ask the server to remake one of the dishes. Our appetizer came late which then sat on the table. Chicken Tikka masalla had rubbery cubes of chewey chicken in tomato sauce right out of a can with over load of spice. Tandoori chicken ordered with other items came so late and almost when we were done eating. We have never tasted such horrible tasting Tandoori chicken in our life, we literally took one bite and left the entire plate as is. Bread was probably the only edible item we had on the table. Server kept apologizing and saying our food was so late and tasteless because they were backed up in the kitchen, backed up for what we asked as the restaurant only had a few customers and not busy at all. Later the server told us that the cooks were fighting in the kitchen to which I had no response. The evening was ruined with such bad dinner experience which we will not forget. With so many other choices around we regret picking this soeey excuse for a restaurant. We paid the bill we were charged full amount for all of the garbage food they put on the table and we left. The fact is that we have had bad, tasteless food or poor service before but this one takes the trophy on how bad it was. Don't waste your time and money at this sad excuse for a restaurant.

Great food with nice ambiance. The place needs a bit more cleaning and maintenance. There seems some bugs and insects inside the restaurant. Vegetarian options: Very wide variety options Dietary restrictions: Some restrictions but enough variety in options Parking: Can find a paid parking close by but else lucky to find paid street parking and it’s a busy street Kid-friendliness: Kids friendly with high chair Wheelchair accessibility: No access

A really amazing place. A nice bar. Very good service. Amazing cocktail and most of all delicious food. Highly recommended.

The food is great! The onion bhaji were different from what I've had in a good way! Not like a dumpling, but battered onion pieces spiced nicely. The tandoori chicken seemed like it was cooked differently than I've had, but very good. We enjoyed everything! Top notch service in a beautiful setting. I will say the stairs at the entrance are steep, but worth it. Vegetarian options: Good options, there is a veg section of the menu and other options. It's all sectioned by protein type, so a vegetarian can easily avoid the chicken section for example.

I’m always skeptical when it comes to Indian food especially when review claim it to be “real” and “authentic” just like Panda Express for Chinese food - hard pass! BUT I was pleasantly surprised as the hostess led us down the stairs into the restaurant, the decor and ambient lighting was on point and the timing worked out as there was no wait at around 4.30 PM. But what I loved most is the flavorful food! I enjoyed the onion bhaji - Indian take on the fried onion! What’s not to like. The paneer zalfrazi and chicken haryali were very well done, perfectly spicy and paired so well with the very fresh and crispy garlic naan. The naan is huge so 2 will easily fill 2 people. The rice was also well made with cardamom and cumin with a distinct hint of ghee, again perfect pairings for the curry. The service was fast and I would honestly recommend this to folks visiting Toronto and looking for good Indian food around the union station. The price was reasonable as they don’t skimp on the quantity or quality although I wish plain naan or rice was included. Definitely try it if you are in the area. I’ll love to try their clay oven tandoor dishes next time.

Went for here on dinner on saturday. Honestly it’s quite meh and not very Indian - tasting. However the pictures come well, the restaurant serious needs to be cleaned and dusted throughout Food was actually bad. Chicken Pakora- disgusting. Why was it served on lettuce and with papad crush. It felt like you served whatever lol Chicken tikka- it was great. Butter chicken - felt like tomato soup or cream of tomato soup Chicken korma- horrible- felt like dal. We were three of us and waitress said one curry is just for one person so take 2. We took two and we didn’t even finish one of the curries lol. Don’t fall for the trap and also they should increase curry quantity- definitely too much price for such a small quantity. Not visiting again

I don't know Indian food well. Chicken is not great but sauces are great. Staffs are very kind. I enjoy the time.Food: 4/5

One of my best Indian restaurant experience ever. Try the Chef's Table you won't regret it!! If I could give more than 5 stars I would!