Forkelo ranking · Updated October 2026
10 butter chicken across San Francisco, ranked on what people say about the dish itself — never the restaurant's overall rating.
Timur Indian and Nepalese Cuisine · Inner Sunset
26 dish-specific mentions · 96% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners rave about a rich, creamy tomato-butter sauce and big portions. All reviews are from 2026, a few read near-identical, and no critique has surfaced yet, so the score is early.
Rose Indian Cuisine · Inner Sunset
76 dish-specific mentions · 91% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Regulars love a mild, creamy butter chicken masala with garlic naan, often calling it the best. Critics cite sparse chicken in a soupy sauce and the odd bland or over-spiced takeout order.
Apna Chulha · Mission
49 dish-specific mentions · 94% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise tender boneless chicken in a sauce many call the best they have had. Rare complaints: only a few pieces of chicken for the price, and a lukewarm takeout order.
Viva Goa Indian Cuisine · Marina
48 dish-specific mentions · 90% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners have called this thick, rich, tomato-red butter chicken the best they've had for over a decade, and recent regulars agree. Gripes are rare and mostly old: salty or bland.
Om Indian Cuisine · Haight-Ashbury
61 dish-specific mentions · 89% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a creamy, well-spiced butter chicken masala, some calling it the best. Critics note scant chicken on delivery and spice levels off the order. Most praise predates 2025.
The Golden Yak · Nob Hill
31 dish-specific mentions · 90% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a flavorful, mild, creamy gravy. All reviews are from 2026 and several read templated; the few reservations are a sweet, heavy sauce and a small portion. Score is early.
Yarsa Nepalese & Indian Cuisine · North Beach
70 dish-specific mentions · 90% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call the creamy butter chicken a star, among SF's best. A steady minority finds it watered down or under-seasoned with skimpy chicken; two recent diners called it average.
Base Camp · Mission
64 dish-specific mentions · 88% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans praise a savory-sweet sauce with smoky, charred dark-meat chicken, often called SF's best. Critics find it tomato-heavy and sweet, sparse on chicken, and weaker as takeout.
Sewa Nepalese and Indian Cuisine · Inner Richmond
36 dish-specific mentions · 86% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy, well-spiced sauce and tender chicken, often among the best they have had. The few reservations are that it is very creamy, mild even at medium, and light on chicken.
Tilak · Bernal Heights
73 dish-specific mentions · 86% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Many call it the best butter chicken in SF: rich, subtle and less sweet and heavy than most. A steady minority finds it bland, greasy or too sweet, and a few found the portion small for the price.
Every score is built from evidence about the specific dish: how often locals recommend it, how strongly, how recently, and whether independent sources agree. A restaurant's overall star rating is never converted into a dish score.
Quality and confidence are reported separately. A dish two people loved can score high, but it is marked limited data until more evidence backs it up. The whole calculation — every constant, and three dishes worked through line by line — is written out on the methodology page.
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