Forkelo ranking · Updated October 2026
33 chicken tikka masalas across San Francisco, ranked on what people say about the dish itself — never the restaurant's overall rating.
India Clay Oven · Outer Richmond
91 dish-specific mentions · 89% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy sauce, tender chicken and spice made to order, with ample portions. Complaints are few, mostly an occasional watery sauce or dry chicken.
Chutney Restaurant · Tenderloin
115 dish-specific mentions · 83% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy, well-balanced sauce with tender, charred chicken at a fair price. Gripes about a thin, bland sauce or sparse chicken are mostly older and rare lately.
Mission Curry House · Mission
50 dish-specific mentions · 80% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy, flavorful sauce with tender chicken and generous portions. Critiques are few, mostly an occasional bland or overly creamy sauce or tough chicken.
38 dish-specific mentions · 87% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners rave about tender, well-marinated chicken in a creamy, smoky-tangy tomato sauce with hearty portions; a few earlier diners found the chicken dry or the sauce bland.
Ocean Indian Cuisine · Outer Richmond
47 dish-specific mentions · 83% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a creamy, flavorful sauce, tender chicken and generous portions at a fair price; a few find it bland or just okay, and medium heat can run mild.
Tara Indian Cuisine · Castro
66 dish-specific mentions · 82% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise tender, juicy chicken in a well-seasoned, not-too-sweet sauce, and note medium runs hot. Older gripes of blandness are rare now, though a few find the chicken dry.
Sewa Nepalese and Indian Cuisine · Inner Richmond
27 dish-specific mentions · 81% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy sauce, tender chicken and generous portions; a few say it lacks heat when ordered spicy or could use more seasoning.
Taj Indian Cuisine · Outer Richmond
27 dish-specific mentions · 81% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners consistently praise a creamy, flavorful sauce with tender chicken and a gentle kick; critique is limited so far, with some finding it sweet, mild or the chicken dry.
Apna Chulha · Mission
21 dish-specific mentions · 86% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a thick, rich tomato gravy where spice leads over cream, with tender tandoori chicken and generous portions; a rare critic finds it average.
Royal Indian Cuisine · Lower Pacific Heights
61 dish-specific mentions · 74% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a rich, creamy, balanced sauce and plentiful chicken. Some find it too creamy and mild or bland, with tough chicken, and say quality varies by day.
57 dish-specific mentions · 79% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a creamy, smoky, flavorful tikka masala and big portions; it is sold here as a rice bowl. Older gripes of watery or sweet sauce are rare now, though some find the chicken dry.
Taste of India · West Portal
13 dish-specific mentions · 85% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Early feedback is warm: a small number of diners praise a rich, creamy, well-spiced sauce made to the heat asked; a dissenter finds it ketchupy.
Timur Indian and Nepalese Cuisine · Inner Sunset
15 dish-specific mentions · 80% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners consistently call it creamy and richly spiced with plenty of soft chicken; critique is thin so far, limited to occasional dry chicken or a one-note flavor.
Shalimar Restaurant · Tenderloin
81 dish-specific mentions · 77% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Regulars praise a flavorful, tangy, less creamy sauce with real heat. Critics find it oily, with dry or sparse chicken, and some longtime fans say it has slipped.
Trisara · Financial District
42 dish-specific mentions · 86% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a creamy, aromatic, well-spiced sauce with tender chicken and heat made to order; a few recent diners find it sweet, watery or flat.
Keeva Indian Kitchen · Inner Richmond
62 dish-specific mentions · 76% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans love a rich, tomato-forward sauce with tender chicken and ample servings. A steady minority finds it too sweet or flat, and some recent orders had dry chicken.
69 dish-specific mentions · 71% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Lunch regulars praise a cheap, filling, flavorful plate with garlic naan. Others call it standard, with a watery or bland sauce and chicken that can run dry.
Noe Indian Cuisine · Noe Valley
47 dish-specific mentions · 79% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners love the rich, buttery sauce, tender chicken and big portions; a steady minority calls it bland or too sweet, and requested heat often runs mild.
Pakwan Restaurant · Ingleside
71 dish-specific mentions · 75% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a smoky, creamy, well-spiced sauce and generous portions for the price. Some find it oily, watery or tomato-heavy, with dry or sparse chicken breast.
Star India · Inner Richmond
52 dish-specific mentions · 79% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a flavorful, well-spiced sauce with generous chicken that pairs well with naan. A minority finds the chicken dry or sparse, or the sauce salty or runny.
Curry Leaf · North Beach
103 dish-specific mentions · 74% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners like a smoky, flavorful sauce that pairs well with garlic naan. A steady minority finds it too tomato-heavy, with chewy or dry chicken and too little of it.
Pakwan Restaurant · Mission
112 dish-specific mentions · 69% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans praise a smoky, flavorful sauce, juicy chicken and generous portions. A sizable minority finds it oily, bland or watery, with dry chicken and little meat, and calls it hit or miss.
Raavi North Indian Cuisine · Jackson Square
67 dish-specific mentions · 72% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans praise tender chicken, a rich, well-seasoned curry and low prices. A vocal minority finds it bland and short on spice, sweet or tomato-pasty, with dry chicken.
Roti Indian Bistro · West Portal
58 dish-specific mentions · 69% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a creamy sauce with just the right heat and generous portions. Critics find it pricey, and some recent orders came thin and watery with little chicken.
Tilak · Bernal Heights
42 dish-specific mentions · 79% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
A longtime favorite for its thick, rich, not-too-greasy sauce and tender chicken; some say it has grown sweeter, with recent notes of overcooked chicken and small portions.
Indian Oven Restaurant · Lower Haight
77 dish-specific mentions · 71% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Many call it rich, creamy and among the city's best, with big portions. A steady minority finds the sauce thin or bland, the heat or sweetness inconsistent, or the chicken scant.
Little Nepal Indian Cuisine · Bernal Heights
10 dish-specific mentions · 70% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Early feedback from a small number of diners is mostly positive, citing tender, buttery chicken; some find the sauce sweet or tomato-forward, almost like tomato soup.
Bir Kitchen · Mission
5 dish-specific mentions · 80% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Early feedback from a small number of diners is positive, calling it delicious and well seasoned; no critique has surfaced yet.
Sunset Indian Cuisine · Inner Sunset
33 dish-specific mentions · 73% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Diners praise a thick, creamy, deeply flavorful sauce and big portions; recent visits bring complaints of few chicken pieces, small portions and uneven quality.
Gurung Kitchen · Inner Sunset
13 dish-specific mentions · 77% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
A small number of diners praise a creamy, flavorful sauce that pairs well with garlic naan; critique is scattered, mostly a watery takeout batch and some dry chicken.
Tadka Indian Restaurant · Mission
39 dish-specific mentions · 62% positive · 3 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call it among the best, with tender chicken and good spice; a sizable minority finds it watery, greasy or flavorless, and opinion stays split recently.
Karahi House · Polk Gulch
11 dish-specific mentions · 73% positive · 2 source types · menu verified October 2026
Early feedback is mostly warm, with a small number of diners calling it fresh, flavorful and well cooked; some found it flavorless.
Little Delhi · Tenderloin
84 dish-specific mentions · 67% positive · 4 source types · menu verified October 2026
Fans call it tasty and nicely spiced with good naan. Critics often find the chicken dry or rubbery, the sauce thin, salty or bland, and the portion light 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.
Think we got it wrong? Tell us what’s better.
