Best Indian Kebabs in Sydney: From Tandoori to Seekh Kebab
Kebab means something different in every Indian kitchen — a smoky lamb seekh in Harris Park, a beef chapli kebab flattened onto the grill in Auburn, a minced kakori kebab so soft it barely needs chewing in the CBD. Beyond the tandoori chicken and chicken tikka we’ve already covered, this is a tour of Sydney’s other great kebabs, ranked by real Google ratings and reviews, with every photo verified to actually show the dish.
A Quick Guide to Indian Kebab Styles
Every kebab on this list starts as either minced meat or marinated chunks, and the style comes down to how it’s shaped and cooked. Seekh kebab is minced lamb, chicken or beef mixed with spices, moulded onto a skewer and grilled over charcoal or in a tandoor — it’s the most common kebab on Sydney menus. Galouti kebab is a Lucknow specialty: extremely fine minced meat, traditionally pounded with raw papaya to tenderise it, formed into a small patty and cooked on a hot plate until it’s soft enough to eat without teeth — the name literally means “melts in the mouth.” Chapli kebab is a Peshawari/Pakistani flatbread-sized minced patty, pressed thin and pan-fried or grilled so the edges crisp up. Kakori kebab is a cousin of galouti — fine minced meat wrapped around a skewer into a smooth cylinder and roasted in a tandoor. Hara bhara kebab and hariyali kebab are the vegetarian options, built from spinach, peas, potato or paneer and coloured green by fresh coriander and mint. None of these should be confused with tandoori chicken or chicken tikka, which we’ve already covered in a separate guide.
Asees Indian Restaurant — Harris Park
Asees shares the top rating on this list at 4.8 stars, but its 2,346 reviews make it the more heavily reviewed of the two — a busy Wigram Street restaurant where one reviewer said they “loved the lamb seekh kebab and the murg malai tikka.”
How We Picked These 7
- A kebab beyond plain tandoori chicken. Every spot here is included for a specific kebab style — seekh, chapli, kakori, hara bhara or a fish or paneer version — not for tandoori chicken or chicken tikka, which we’ve already covered in a separate guide.
- Genuine stylistic variety. The list deliberately spans minced-and-skewered seekh kebab, a flattened Peshawari chapli kebab, a melt-in-the-mouth kakori kebab, a tandoor-grilled fish tikka and two vegetarian kebabs, because that’s genuinely how Sydney serves Indian kebabs.
- Dish-specific reviews or menu evidence. We only included restaurants where recent Google reviews or the restaurant’s own menu specifically name the kebab listed below — not just general “great Indian food” comments.
- Verified ratings and review counts pulled directly from each business’s Google Business Profile.
- Every photo checked by hand. We sourced each photo directly from the restaurant’s own website, delivery menu or Google Business Profile and visually confirmed it actually shows the named kebab — several otherwise strong candidates were dropped because we couldn’t find a real, restaurant-sourced photo of the specific kebab, including a couple of well-reviewed spots whose galouti and bihari kebabs we simply couldn’t verify by photo.
- Sydney-wide coverage spanning Harris Park, the Hills District and Western Sydney through to the CBD.
Top 7 Indian Kebabs in Sydney, Ranked
| # | Spot | Suburb | Known For | Rating | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asees Indian Restaurant | Harris Park | Lamb Seekh Kebab | 4.8★ | 2,346 |
| 2 | Kabab Nation | Baulkham Hills | Paneer Tikka Kebab | 4.8★ | 289 |
| 3 | Masala Munchies | Glenwood | Seekh Kebab | 4.7★ | 325 |
| 4 | Fuadijan | Auburn | Chapli Kebab | 4.6★ | 890 |
| 5 | Timur Indian & Nepalese Restaurant | Parramatta | Amritsari Fish Tikka | 4.6★ | 728 |
| 6 | The Grand Palace | Sydney CBD | Kakori Kebab | 4.4★ | 1,808 |
| 7 | Mangi’s Kitchen & Bar | Harris Park | Hara Bhara Kebab | 4.4★ | 893 |
The Full List, With Photos
1. Asees Indian Restaurant — Harris Park
Order the Lamb Seekh Kebab — minced lamb skewers in a Mughlai-style spice mix at this heavily reviewed Wigram Street restaurant, where one reviewer said they “loved the lamb seekh kebab and the murg malai tikka.”
2. Kabab Nation — Baulkham Hills
Order the Paneer Tikka Kebab — grilled paneer and capsicum skewers at a restaurant literally built around kebabs, with a menu spanning seven vegetarian and seven non-vegetarian skewer styles.
3. Masala Munchies — Glenwood
Order the Seekh Kebab — served on a platter with rumali roti at this Hills District spot, where one reviewer said the kebabs “had that perfect smoky char.”
4. Fuadijan — Auburn
Order the Chapli Kebab — a 225g Wagyu beef mince patty grilled not fried at this Pakistani grill, where one reviewer said “I strongly recommend the beef chapli kebab with rice and salad and chips.”
5. Timur Indian & Nepalese Restaurant — Parramatta
Order the Amritsari Fish Tikka — tandoor-charred fish fillets at this Indian-Nepalese kitchen also known for its tandoori chicken momos, where one reviewer said they “particularly enjoyed the Amritsari fish tikka and tandoori lamb cutlets.”
6. The Grand Palace — Sydney CBD
Order the Kakori Kebab — lamb mince mixed with fresh herbs, brown onion and the chef’s secret spices and roasted in tandoor, one of an unusually long list of kebabs on this CBD restaurant’s à la carte menu.
7. Mangi’s Kitchen & Bar — Harris Park
Order the Hara Bhara Kebab — spinach, pea and potato patties finished with a cashew garnish at this Wigram Street restaurant, where one reviewer specifically called out the “hara bara kebab, very tasty.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between seekh kebab and tandoori chicken?
Tandoori chicken and chicken tikka are marinated whole pieces of chicken — bone-in or boneless — that go into the tandoor intact. Seekh kebab starts as minced meat, usually lamb, chicken or beef, mixed with onion, ginger, garlic and spices, then moulded by hand around a skewer before grilling. The mincing means seekh kebab picks up spice and char differently to a whole piece of meat, with a looser, more crumbly texture rather than tender chunks.
What does galouti or kakori kebab actually taste like?
Both are Lucknow-style minced kebabs built to be extremely soft. Galouti kebab is traditionally pounded with a meat tenderiser like raw papaya and a long list of ground spices, then shallow-fried on a hot plate into a small, delicate patty that can fall apart if you’re not careful with it. Kakori kebab uses a similar fine mince but is shaped around a skewer into a smooth cylinder and roasted in a tandoor, giving it more char on the outside while staying soft in the middle. Neither should be chewy — that softness is the entire point.
Is chapli kebab Indian or Pakistani?
Chapli kebab originates from Peshawar, in what’s now Pakistan, and is more accurately described as Pakistani or Afghan than Indian, though it appears on the menu at plenty of Indian-Pakistani restaurants in Sydney, including Fuadijan on this list. It’s a flattened, roughly palm-sized minced patty, traditionally beef or lamb, pressed thin so the edges crisp up on the grill, and usually served with naan and a yoghurt-based sauce.
Are there good vegetarian kebab options in Sydney?
Yes — hara bhara kebab and hariyali kebab are the two most common vegetarian versions, built from a mix of spinach, peas, potato and sometimes paneer, coloured green by fresh coriander and mint and usually shallow-fried or grilled. Paneer tikka kebab, made from cubed cottage cheese marinated in yoghurt and spices and grilled on skewers with capsicum and onion, is the other widely available option, including at Kabab Nation on this list.
Should I order these kebabs as a starter or a main?
Most of the kebabs on this list are sized and priced as starters or entrees, meant to be shared or ordered alongside a curry, biryani or naan rather than as a standalone meal. A few restaurants, including Fuadijan and Kabab Nation, sell kebab plates or platters with bread and salad included, which work well as a light meal on their own.
Looking for more home-cooked Indian options near you? Browse the full tiffin and meal-delivery directory to find providers by suburb, cuisine and service type.
Ratings, review counts and review context were sourced from each business’s Google Business Profile at the time of writing and may have changed since. This list is independently compiled and not sponsored by any business named above.
