Iqbal Kebab & Sweet Centre

Great Bhiryani and Butter Chicken, been going here isnce they opened and never disappointment.

Clearly, this place is a second offering by the owners of Iqbal Halal Foods. (a place I\'ve reviewed as well) The environment is nice and large, though it doesn\'t look like it from the exterior. I told the brother serving us that we traveled quite far to get meat from iqbal (around 2+ hours) and expected great food. He was happy to take our order, and within 10 minutes, we heard a sizzling dish coming our way. We enjoyed the meal, but unfortunately, it didn\'t warrant the price. I was actually a bit surprised that dishes costed around $3-4 more than what you would find in a Halal restaurant elsewhere. It was especially surprising to see the price considering one of Toronto\'s largest Halal markets is right next door. In any case, we liked the food and the environment as a whole. We went to the Masjid right across from the restaurant and offered Zuhr prayer, where a surprising amount of Tablihji brothers were present. In all, we enjoyed the experience. As a business guy myself, I appreciate the Iqbal owners seeing another avenue for revenue.

We went to see the university yesterday. Since we live about 2 hours west of Toronto where Halal meat is rather expensive, we revisited Iqbal for a second time to get enough meat for the next few months. (thanks to our deep freezer) There is one thing that is clear; there is no place in North America like this one. They have such a large butcher area with multiple butchers fulfilling orders for the 30+ people they process every hour. Something that people don\'t understand (and that Iqbal Management needs to improve upon) is that you need to take a ticket with your number, like actual butcher shops. You can\'t do your desi method of stepping in randomly, saying Salam to the butcher you know remotely, and then expect them to complete your order with priority over others who have been there before you arrived. The only items you can get without needing to wait for your number to be served is pre-prepared meats like keema, poultry and beef parts, etc. If it doesn\'t need to be cut and cleaned, you don\'t need a number. If you do want them to, then WAIT IN LINE. Since they have so many butchers, your orders can be fulfilled quite quickly. (we picked up 20 chickens cut and cleaned, 10 chickens whole, veal shoulder cut, and assorted keemas) Unfortunately, the wait time is real. Expect to be there 45 minutes at minimum. However, once it\'s your turn (a concept uncultured-Desis don\'t understand apparently) then service is rapid. And above all, there is more than just meat. The remaining 80% of the store is all imported and domestics goods, all Halal. It\'s amazing to see such a great place, and it\'s right next to a Halal restaurant (I also reviewed) and a Masjid. In total, we spent about $500 on meats, and that was a bargain. Like I said, there is no place like it anywhere near, and their prices speak for themselves. Bottom line: if you need meat to stock up on, go to Iqbal. (but with patience)

The food here is very good. The decor is decent, if a little beat up. The prices are quite high. Food takes a while to come, but I assume its because they're cooking it fresh. Location is great, because it's across the street from the Masjid. So a great grab after Jumu'ah

I have visited Iqbal foods many times. The pros of this place are the prices, they are very good. They even manage to beat the traditional grocery chains on things like bread and milk. Their collection is vast. The meat department is large. Having said that, as one of the commentors has mentioned earlier, the place is not that clean. Secondly, the meat section is extremely slow. I drove 45 minutes once to buy meat and they literally had me wait 45 minutes in line, I had to leave that day empty-handed after being told I need to wait another hour by the owner when I had the register lady call him up to complain. I realize the demand is huge but they need to get this sorted out. I hope no one drives from far away and has to return empty-handed like that.

Best place for your one stop shop for grocery needs. This place is huge and well staffed. The sections are organized and neat. I love the fact they have so many cashiers unlike most south Asian stores. Service is on point. There is no place even comparable in North America.

the taste is fine ( not good ) and it's very expensive i mean u get a half piece of bread by 1.5 Canadian Dollar! and the waiter is such a mien man one day by accident i went there with some bread with me the waiter wanted me to order their own bread or i have to go out from the Restaurant! and in the end he said " go out... I DONT WANT TO TAKE YOUR ORDER! "! Very baaaaad

iqbal is my favourite in the thorncliffe area. prices have increased but still worth it.

I was disappointed by the quality. Chicken was dry and not fresh, kebabs were also bland.

This place a lot of variety of fresh food (vegetable and fruits) and good selection of meat. It is relatively a cleaner place relative to other Muslim owned businesses.

This is not a good restaurant at all. The food does not taste good. It looks like a reasonable priced restaurant. But kababs come without without anything else on the plate. You have to order rice and nan seperately. If you add those, it becomes too expensive for the quality you get. I paid $18 per person. Iwould not mind payingthat if I enjoyed the food. But I did not.

Food is Great. Service is really good as well. It gets busy at times, so I understand why sometimes it might take a little while to get the food....I mean look at the location(Tons of People around)! Very clean!

Very busy place but its pretty much a one stop shop for all the south asian grocery needs, no need to go to 3 different places to find something, like when you're in scarborough.

i just visited the iqbal store, i found it to be dirty and the meat was disgustingly displayed. I fail to understand why everyone else finds it clean!?! I expect halal meat to be sold in a much more hygiene manner like its sold in other super markets and butcheries.cleanliness is vital for all meat/poultry products. the carts were dirty and the store is full of refridgerators making it too cold.As ambassadors of islam in the west we should display extra courtesy and cleanliness.

I shop here regularly nice neat and tidy place with very helpful staff and one can get all the stuff needed for desi cooking.

The chef here is awesome! They offer a good selection of brunch items in the weekend and the nehari that is freshly made on Sunday morning is amazing! The place is decent sized and clean. Also offers a paan stand inside the premises.

Great place for halal meat and groceries. They always have a good selection of packaged goods from the Indian sub continent, the staff are polite (unlike the people at Karachi bazar), and the over all atmosphere is just nice and clean. Keep it up!

Good Restaurant to dine in. food is good okay but service is excellent especially by a worker , i guess named Hassan . He is so fast and helping whenever u go there dont forget to give him lot of tip: He is really mesmerzing

In response to an earlier comment: I never felt like they treat South Asians any differently from Caucasians.Masha'Allah I've always been treated well. The food is ok, I go there just for their Nihari which is amazing, but that is the only thing I would recommend. Ambiance is that of a take away.

I was very excited when I located this restaurant online prior to my trip to Toronto along with my family.It was a horrible experience & all of us ended up in regretting to be in here. It is one of the most expensive places in N.America with dishes which could be called minature & they taste no-where to reasonable Indo-Pak food. Be mindful of gripping which you & your party has to suffer with in minutes of leaving the restaurant. Service is a word which does not exist in their dictionary! Arif Ann Arbor,Mi USA

I take my my family there often, the food is good, consistent and fresh. But the price has gone up a bit no longer on the cheap side. Chicken biryani, bbq lamb chops, kebabs and mogo .. really good

In my opinion, this is one of the very few places in Toronto that serve original biryani.. just as its supposed to be made. I loved their bbq lamb chops, very delicious.. even their samosas are to die for. I've been there twice and both times the service has been very welcoming. And i'm not ismaili either :)

the store is gud with wide variety of choices and almost all gud s available from back home. Also its chicken si now HMA certified

The grocery store is one of the most busiest in the GTA. They have variety and prices are good. But there meat is bad and I found out the supplier from employee is from Alliston Halal Meat Packers Inc. So don't get meat from them, it taste and does not cook right. Everything else the shop is good. Salam Sameena

Worst customer service in all of Canada. You ask for extra chutna after buying $50 worth of food and they tell you it's going to cost extra. Very slow service and they will not treat you well if you are south asian. Just wait and see if a white person orders food and they will bending over backwards. Not all people who work there are muslims, most are ismaili. The food is though halal, as it comes from iqbal halal food. Don't be fooled 70% of their customers are ismaili's. The food is also overpiced ! Better alternatives across the street.

This place now becoming pretty expensive with respect to quality of food, also they don't variety in term of dishes, I don't whether owner has changed? My advise do not go there with high expectation unless you are hungry and you have no choice to go anywhere else

The food is average... too pricey for the kind of service and food they offer...

Totally not impressed with the service. Staff refused to assist in more info on specials because one is supposed to know what they mean? And as for sweets, don't ask for less than a pound even if you want to have just one piece. I was truly insulted. Food was very spicy. Samosas got real soggy by the time I reached my desitation. The $8 speciality dishes came in extremely small sizes. 2 Kebabs and one naan came to $5.75 plus taxes- way out of line. Not returning.

The biggest advantage for this place is that it is located next to Iqbal Halal Groceries, so it gets a lot of visitors who drop in for a quick bite, when they go shopping. I have eaten regularly at this place, over the years and the food has gotten costlier, while the quality has gone down. The Chikken Tikka Naan is their best item, but at more than $6, you could have a lunch buffet or lunch special at another joint for a comparable price or a little more. The other dishes are average, at best. Service takes a really LONG time, if you go at a busy hour.

Good food. A little pricey. I like that they have private rooms for family

my family will be going to eat again at Iqbal Restaurant because the food is so tasty and delicious and also because our 1st Wedding anniversary is coming soon . Wasi and Ambreen

The BEST South Asian grocery in the GTA! Period!

Good resonably priced store with wide range of (pak/ind) food products. It is one of the busiest store in toronto gta. As it is always crowded, store mgmt must keep small trollies (instead of huge ones) so that customers can move around easily within the store. Staff service improved after recent renovations, but mgmt should keep it further up.

Naans I would say is excellent and chicken masala tikka is good but the nihari is too oily. Can be improved much with better management.

food is good in most of the restaurants. Theirs is alos good but they r more expansive than others which is a negative point.

One of the best in town...except that they need to improve on the 'long queue' meat section.

a very good store to get all ur shopping done.

very very good

Great food! Recommendation: Chilly Chicken, Seekh Kabab, Naan

The best I have had so far. Very clean and ample variety of food to choose from. Plus this is the first restaurant I have seen that actually care about this customers.

Excellent East African style Biryani for outside catering as well as tika for eating inside the restaurant

Yo- this is the most popular halal meat, desi store in Toronto. Prices are very reasonable, and store is always packed with people. I always go there when I visit Toronto.

place rox man

Good spicy food - if you like your food hot then there are many dishes here for you. Paya, nihari, butter chicken etc. - all delicious. It is not upscale - the food is served in paper plates, but the place is well kept and clean. It can be crowded and noisy at times. Private booths for niqaabi sisters, but I had to remind the waiter to knock instead of just barging in with the food. They have a large selection of mithai (sweets) and they offer a halwa puri special for breakfast. The restaurant is next to Masjid Dar-us-Salaam in Thorncliffe Park.

This store is right beside the Masjid and is always packed with people. You get everything Asian here. Prices are good as well. The service is good as well.

No surprises. Just good food...always. Especially the naans.

Very friendly staff, okay ambience, okay food. Go for poori channas on Sat/Sun before 11ish... they're good.

average food with slightly higer price

great food, service is decent when they're not too crowded. definitely recommend this place.

Service needs improvments hire more people up front, had to wait 15 mins just to place a small order, another 15 mins afterwards. The food tastes good but NOT great

Great dining. good food. i recommedn the chicken tikka..mmm..good!

Imran Maskatia

Feb 26, 2003•64 reviews

5

Great food..bit pricey though..The Chicken Tikka Naan is excellent.

An excellent restaurant. The food is great, especially the Nihari (be sure to ask for garnishing). Atmosphere is good too. Private rooms for naqabi women. Nice people, a little slow service.....and ofcourse its Halal!

"This is a great restaraunt, they have a great atmosphere and it's very clean. I recommend the GHOSHT BOTI."

This store is The Best Store in Canada! You will find here everything from dailt groceries to 100% halal Meat.

Awesome Restaurant. Really clean and great food.

The best halal dining in Toronto!

Christian Nadavallil

Google

Mar 22, 2026

5

This grocery store offers a wide variety of items from South Asian and Middle Eastern regions. The staff are excellent - very kind, knowledgeable, and hardworking. The store is immaculately clean and very well organized, and the products on the shelves and in the coolers are well maintained. You can find many varieties and brands not available in typical local supermarkets. The butcher section is vast and impressive, and the meat is high quality. The parking lot is large and convenient, and there are usually multiple cash registers open so you can move through checkout quickly. During Ramadan the grocery deals are remarkable. I wish the store continued success.