Charminar Indian Cuisine | Burlington — Restaurant in Burlington

Update 3, Dec 2023

A friend of mine in Hamilton requested me to get a starter and biryanni from this place. I was reluctant but since it was for him, I went. At his place, I had a few bites too.

And my God! You guys have really improved!! I don't know if it's a one off thing but the starter tasted excellent. Perfect amount of everything. Upping my rating to 5 stars now. I hope you guys keep the quality and consistency intact. Thank you.

Update 2 Like I said, keep fooling locals to think every Charminar is the same. With your pathetic quality and flavor, you are ruining other location's reputation which actually serve good food. Same supplier doesn't mean fresh meat. Look at the reviews here and see how many people are complaining. Its almost funny how you don't notice what others have to say, and keep claiming of never receiving a complaint.

Update 1 Reply to the owners message-

I didnt try your dum biryanni. Mine had fried boneless chicken pieces. The fact that you are not owning to your inferior chicken quality when so many reviews here complain about the meat being tough and unappetizing is beyond me! Claiming you sell a lot of these won't justify the lesser quality. You may fool the locals in Burlington to think it's good while others who tried Charminar Scarborough and Mississauga locatoons avoid this place. May be change your meat supplier. Sales volumes don't always mean good food. It's the lack of 'tough' competition in the area that you guys are still running.

Also, don't expect me or anyone in my circle visit your this place until you work on your quality issues.

**Original post-

May be use fresh chicken next time! Your chicken has a sour odor! Not the taste, it's the odor!

Note- if you know the real taste of the chicken in biryani, or have been to Charminar in Scarborough or Mississauga, avoid this place. It's not the same. This location is nowhere near the quality or standard. As a matter of fact, it's just bad!

Customer service was good on the managers part. She was polite and all. Others just neutral.

Food however is bad. Ordered a biryani that I normally place at other branches of this restaurant. After driving 10km for pick up, I found it's nowhere near as good or has the authentic Charminar Scarborough taste. The chicken wasn't fresh and tasted bland and dry with no flavor whatsoever. Called them up and this lady politely offered a replacement. I appreciated that! Drove back again (20km to and from). Replacement was slightly better but that chicken too, was tough, lacked freshness, tasted bland, and no flavour. It seems like they are using chicken nearing its expiry date. Because fresh meat doesn't smell bad or has a sour odor when you bite into it.

I mean when you are paying ~$19 for a regular portion biryani at a not so fancy place, the price better justify it. Sadly, that's not the case here.

Won't be risking another try even if they offer it for free. It's just not worth it! The people here to need to fix their basics and the first on the list is to use fresh meat. Because your prices...

Nothing like the other charminars!!!

Let me start off by saying I’m a regular customer of Charminar for past 4 years. There isn’t a month I haven’t visited or done a takeout from charminar. I have mostly eaten at Scarborough and Mississauga locations.

I was excited to try out the Burlington one as it’s much closer to me. Was extremely disappointed with the food.

I ordered a Guntur Karam dosa, chicken kebabs platter, a chicken curry and some breads, also fresh lime sofa

Guntur Karam dosa : this is a dish I have had multiple times and know exactly how it’s supposed to be. The one they served here did not even have the red Guntur chutney they apply inside the dosa. When I called out the issue, they told we just add podi here and not the red paste. I requested I wanted it to be made just the way it’s done at other locations so they got me another dosa..even after 2nd attempt it wasn’t the same. I can totally understand that same dish can be made in different ways but if you call yourself a chain of restaurants and if the goal is to keep the menu items and taste consistent then you haven’t don’t a good job at this location. Even chicken kebabs dint taste like that of Scarborough and Mississauga

Fresh lime dosa : I specifically asked for sweet and salt…what I got was with just salt. When I pointed it out, the server got me a new glass but my dinner was already done. And it just spoilt the whole experience that I dint have my drink which I really like to combine with kebabs.

Onion kulcha : this was supposed to be a simple dish but even this they spoilt it. Onion kulcha is supposed to be a stuffed kulcha…what they did was sprinkle onion pieces on the bread, there was no stuffing!

I would have given them benefit of doubt had they been very busy. But, we were the only dine in customer at that time!

I had high hopes and extremely disappointed that this branch is not the same as...

I recently visited Charminar on a Wednesday evening, and unfortunately, my dining experience was significantly impacted by the evident understaffing issue. From the moment I walked in, it was clear that the restaurant was struggling to manage the crowd with the limited number of servers available.

The service started on a shaky note as we waited for quite some time before a server could attend to us. The staff appeared visibly rushed, trying their best to cater to multiple tables simultaneously. This resulted in delays in taking orders, delivering drinks, and even getting basic items like utensils and napkins.

When our food finally arrived, it was evident that the kitchen was also feeling the strain of understaffing.

What bothered me the most was seeing the hardworking staff clearly overwhelmed by the situation. They remained courteous and apologetic throughout, but the stress on their faces was hard to ignore. It was disappointing to witness their efforts go unrewarded due to the lack of support from the management.

In the end, I understand that understaffing can sometimes be a result of unexpected circumstances. However, it's crucial for restaurants to manage such situations efficiently. While I appreciate the attempts of the staff to provide a positive experience, the overall dining ambiance was marred by the chaotic atmosphere.

I hope that Cgarminar can address this issue soon, as the potential of the establishment is evident, but it's currently overshadowed by the challenges posed by inadequate staffing. I'd consider revisiting in the future, but only after confirming that the restaurant has taken steps to improve its staffing...