Quick answer: Go to Khansama in Little India for late-night tandoori that nails the char-to-juiciness ratio, or Daawat on Upper Thomson when you want a proper North Indian spread with the chicken taking centre stage. For date night, Shahi Maharani in Raffles City brings the white tablecloth treatment, while Al-Azhar keeps the grill going till 3 AM when the craving hits after midnight.
You’re not here for average. You want tandoori chicken with genuine smoke, a marinade that goes deep, and a char that signals skill. This list is for the eater who values substance over show. Seven kitchens across the island where the tandoor does the heavy lifting—and you reap the reward.
This is one of 20 guides in Best Indian & South Asian Food in Singapore — start there if you would rather compare before you commit.
Khansama Tandoori Restaurant
If you have walked down Serangoon Road after dark, you have probably caught the scent from Khansama before you saw the sign. This Little India stalwart keeps its tandoor glowing until 1 AM daily, turning out chicken that arrives at the table still sizzling, the skin blistered in all the right spots.
The menu leans full Punjabi, so beyond the tandoori chicken you will find kebabs, biryanis and curries built with the same heavy hand on the spice drawer. What makes the trip worthwhile is consistency – they have been at this long enough that the kitchen does not have off nights. The Pasir Panjang outlet inside Mapletree Business City is a quieter version of the same thing, handy if you are on that side of the island.
This is the spot when you have a group that cannot agree on a single dish – someone wants creamy, someone wants smoky, someone just wants more naan. Everyone walks out settled.
When the clock hits midnight and you need a meal with backbone, this is your anchor. The late hours mean you can wrap up a long day with chicken that still sizzles, no compromise. Best for night owls and shift workers who refuse to settle.
Address: 166 Serangoon Road, Junction of Norris Rd, Singapore 218050 (Little India) | 40 Pasir Panjang Rd, #02-40 Food Park, Mapletree Business City II, Singapore 117383
Hours: Little India: 10 AM–1 AM daily | Pasir Panjang: 10 AM–11 PM daily
Phone: +65 6299 0300 | +65 9845 3002
Price: Mid-range
Website: khansama.com.sg
Daawat Tandoori
Upper Thomson Road has quietly become a serious makan stretch, and Daawat Tandoori is one of the reasons. They close on Mondays – always a sign a kitchen respects its own rhythm – and the rest of the week the tandoor runs from lunch through to a second dinner seating that winds down at 10:30 PM, with a late-night window on Tuesdays that stretches to 3 AM.
The tandoori chicken here leans into a marinade that penetrates deeper than most, so you get flavour right down to the bone instead of just on the surface. Curries and breads round out the table, but the chicken is the headliner. The dining room keeps things calm and unfussy, the kind of place where you can hear your conversation without straining.
Worth booking ahead if you are coming for dinner on a weekend. It fills up with families who treat it like their regular joint, which tells you plenty.
If your Tuesday study session bleeds past midnight, Daawat Tandoori is your stop. They close Mondays to reset, but on other days the tandoor works from lunch through to a second dinner seating, with a 3 AM window on Tuesdays. The marinade goes deep — no surface-level treatment here. Go for the chicken that still sizzles when your competitors are asleep.
Address: 207 Upper Thomson Road, Yew Lian Park, Singapore 574346
Hours: Mon: Closed | Tue: 11 AM–3 AM | Wed–Sun: 11 AM–3 PM, 4:30 PM–10:30 PM
Phone: +65 6822 3716
Price: Mid-range
Website: daawattandoori.com
Editorial round-up, not a directory listing. Missed someone worth knowing about? Send it our way.
Shahi Maharani North Indian Restaurant
Shahi Maharani sits on the third floor of Raffles City Shopping Centre, tucked inside Fairmont Singapore, and the setting does the talking before the food arrives – proper tablecloths, soft lighting, the kind of room where anniversaries get celebrated. The tandoori chicken matches the surroundings: plated with care, smoky from the clay oven, the spices balanced rather than shouting.
The kitchen pulls from North Indian fine-dining traditions, so alongside the tandoori you get biryanis and curries built with a lighter touch than what you would find in a coffee-shop-style setup. Lunch runs noon to 3 PM, dinner from 6:30 PM to 11 PM, and they stick to those windows, so plan accordingly.
Dress it up a little. This is the pick when you want the meal to feel like an occasion without needing to explain why you booked it three days in advance. If your idea of a good tandoori night involves Restaurants in Clarke Quay energy but with quieter corners, you will get it here.
This is your move when the occasion calls for more than just good food—it calls for an environment that matches the effort. Bring a date, bring the parents, and let the tandoori chicken anchor a meal that feels like an event without a single stuffy note.
Address: 252 North Bridge Road, #03-21B Raffles City Shopping Centre, Singapore 179103
Hours: Lunch: 12 PM–3 PM (last order 2:30 PM) | Dinner: 6:30 PM–11 PM (last order 10:30 PM)
Phone: +65 6235 8840
Price: Premium
Website: shahimaharani.com
Tandoori Corner
Over in Balestier Plaza, Tandoori Corner keeps things simple and direct. They do not chase trends; they run a tight menu of Indian staples and they run it well. The tandoori chicken comes out of the clay oven with a proper char, the butter chicken is rich without being cloying, and the garlic naan has enough heft to mop up whatever is left on the plate.
Hours are split into two sittings – lunch from noon to 2:45 PM, dinner from 6 PM to 9:45 PM – so check the clock before you head over. The space is modest, the focus squarely on what lands on the table. Pricing sits comfortably in the mid-range, and the portions match the ask.
This one suits a quiet weekday dinner when you just want a solid meal without ceremony. Come solo, bring one other person, leave full and happy. It is that kind of place.
No fuss, just a tight menu executed with consistency. The split lunch and dinner sittings mean you’ll want to time your visit—aim for the early dinner shift to beat the queue and catch the tandoor at full tilt. Bring a group that appreciates straightforward, well-cooked food.
Address: 400 Balestier Road #01-12 Balestier Plaza, Singapore 329802
Hours: Mon–Sun: 12 PM–2:45 PM, 6 PM–9:45 PM
Phone: +65 6250 0200 | WhatsApp: +65 9862 7334
Price: Mid-range
Website: tandooricorner.com.sg
Jaggi’s Northern Indian Cuisine
Jaggi’s has been holding down Chander Road, right off Little India, long enough that the sign feels like part of the neighbourhood. The operation is halal-certified, which opens the door for a wider crowd, and the tandoori chicken arrives with the kind of spice layering that comes from a kitchen that trusts its own recipe.
They open daily from 11 AM to 10:30 PM, no split shifts, so you can walk in mid-afternoon and still get the full tandoori treatment. Beyond the chicken, the curries hold their own, and the whole menu carries that unpretentious, feed-you-properly attitude that makes North Indian cooking so satisfying in the first place.
Good for families who need halal options without compromising on the smoky depth a tandoor brings. Also a smart pick if you are already in Little India and want something a little removed from the busiest stretch of Serangoon Road – 37 Chander Road feels like a small exhale.
The continuous service is a gift for the early bird diner or the late-lunch straggler. Walk in at 3 PM when most kitchens are closed, and you’ll still get a plate with layered spice and proper smoke. A reliable pick when you need halal tandoori without planning around strict meal windows.
Address: 37-39 Chander Road, Singapore 219541
Hours: Daily 11 AM–10:30 PM
Phone: +65 6296 6141
Price: Mid-range
Website: facebook.com/i.love.jaggis
Editorial round-up, not a directory listing. Missed someone worth knowing about? Send it our way.
Omar Shariff Authentic Indian Cuisine
Greenwood Avenue has a few quiet gems, and Omar Shariff has been one of them since 1996. That is nearly three decades of tandoori chicken, which means the kitchen has honed its marinade down to something that draws regulars from the surrounding estates week after week.
They bill themselves with the line Love at first bite, and the tandoori chicken arrives tender enough to back it up. Curries round out the menu, but the neighbourhood comes here for what comes out of the clay oven. Opening hours stretch from 10 AM to 10:30 PM on weekdays, with an 11 AM start on weekends and public holidays – generous windows that catch both the lunch crowd and the dinner push.
This is the pick when you want somewhere that feels lived-in rather than staged. Bring the family on a Sunday, order a few plates to share, and pretend you discovered it yourself. We will not say anything.
If you are also hunting for Places for Perfectly Roasted Chicken in Singapore, the Greenwood area rewards a bit of exploration.
Decades of repetition have boiled this marinade down to its essentials. Come on a quiet weeknight when the Greenwood crowd is thinner, and you’ll taste the care in every tender bite. This is a neighbourhood anchor for residents who value consistency over novelty.
Address: 14 Greenwood Avenue, Singapore 289206
Hours: Mon–Fri: 10 AM–10:30 PM | Weekends & Public Holidays: 11 AM–10:30 PM
Phone: +65 6466 7318 | +65 9151 0015
Price: Mid-range
Website: omar-shariff.com
Al-Azhar Restaurant
Al-Azhar runs three outlets across the island – Cheong Chin Nam Road, Tampines, and Geylang Serai – and the thing that ties them together is the hours: 7 AM to 3 AM, every single day. When a tandoori chicken craving lands at 1 AM, this is where the GPS points.
The menu spans North and South Indian Muslim cooking, so tandoori chicken sits alongside naan, biryanis and a whole range of dishes that come out fast and consistent. The Afghani chicken gets a lot of attention too, proof that the kitchen knows its way around a marinade. Spaces are casual and built for turnover, not lingering, but that speed is part of the appeal when you are hungry and do not want to wait.
Good for big groups that cannot decide on a single cuisine, or for post-movie suppers when the only question is who is driving. The Cheong Chin Nam outlet puts you near some of the Restaurants on Amoy Street action if you are making a night of it, though that stretch deserves its own afternoon.
The three locations and marathon hours solve a real-world problem: where to get competently done tandoori chicken when the clock is against you. After a late shift or an early start, you can walk in, order fast, and not second-guess the quality. A practical choice for the 24-hour crowd.
Address: 11 Cheong Chin Nam Rd, Singapore 599736 | 201 D Tampines Street 21, #01-1155 Singapore 599736 | 970 Geylang Road, Singapore 423492
Hours: 7 AM–3 AM daily
Phone: +65 6466 5052 | +65 6785 1265 | +65 6348 9319
Price: Budget-friendly to mid-range
Website: al-azhar.com
How to choose
What separates these seven is less about who makes the best chicken and more about what kind of meal you are after. Think about time of day first: Al-Azhar and the Little India branch of Khansama keep their kitchens open past midnight, so they are your late-night safety net. Daawat runs late on Tuesdays too. Most everyone else wraps dinner by 10:30 PM or 11 PM.
Setting matters just as much. Shahi Maharani is the only one with a proper fine-dining room and the pricing to match – go there when you want the full white-tablecloth experience. Tandoori Corner and Jaggi’s sit at the opposite end: modest dining rooms, sharp focus on the plate, lower fuss all around. Khansama and Daawat land in the middle, comfortable enough for a family gathering without feeling like you need to dress for it.
Dietary needs narrow the field further. Jaggi’s is halal-certified, which is useful intel if you are eating with Muslim friends or family. Al-Azhar operates along similar lines with its Indian Muslim kitchen.
On price, expect mid-range for most – roughly twenty to thirty dollars a head for a satisfying spread. Shahi Maharani runs higher, Al-Azhar skews a bit lower. Lunch sets, where offered, are a good way to test a kitchen without committing to a full dinner bill. And if you are curious about other chicken-heavy tables around town, our Savory Indulgences round-up covers more ground.
Another consideration: some kitchens specialise strictly in North Indian tandoori, while others blend traditions. Khansama, Daawat and Shahi Maharani stay firmly in Punjabi and North Indian territory. Al-Azhar crosses between North and South Indian Muslim cooking, which means the table can hold a tandoori chicken next to a completely different regional dish. That flexibility is handy with a mixed group where not everyone wants the same flavour profile. Tandoori Corner and Omar Shariff keep their menus tight around classic North Indian staples – less choice, but what they do, they have been doing long enough to get it right nearly every time. Jaggi’s sits somewhere in between, with a halal Punjabi kitchen that covers the tandoori essentials plus a spread of curries that reward repeat visits.
Location matters too, especially with Singapore traffic. If you are in the east, Al-Azhar has you covered with the Tampines outlet. Central and west-side diners get Khansama’s two locations, plus Jaggi’s in Little India. The north points toward Daawat on Upper Thomson. Shahi Maharani in Raffles City is dead centre, convenient if you are already in town. Tandoori Corner on Balestier and Omar Shariff on Greenwood serve their respective neighbourhoods well, but they are worth the drive even if you are coming from further out – neither is hard to reach on a weekday evening.
| Restaurant | Best For | Price Signal | Halal | Late-Night? | Ambience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khansama | Group dinners, consistent Punjabi fare | Mid-range | Check with the business | Little India till 1 AM | Lively, casual |
| Daawat Tandoori | Deep-marinated chicken, regulars’ favourite | Mid-range | Check with the business | Tue till 3 AM | Calm, family-friendly |
| Shahi Maharani | Date nights, special occasions | Premium | Check with the business | No, closes 11 PM | Elegant, formal |
| Tandoori Corner | No-fuss weeknight meal | Mid-range | Check with the business | No, closes 9:45 PM | Modest, focused |
| Jaggi’s | Halal tandoori, Little India calm spot | Mid-range | Yes | No, closes 10:30 PM | Unpretentious |
| Omar Shariff | Neighbourhood stalwart, Sunday family meals | Mid-range | Check with the business | No, closes 10:30 PM | Warm, lived-in |
| Al-Azhar | Late-night cravings, big mixed groups | Budget to mid | Check with the business | Till 3 AM daily | Casual, quick |
Summary
Good tandoori chicken in Singapore comes in a few different shapes, and the right pick depends on the clock and the company. Khansama and Daawat carry the banner for reliable North Indian kitchens, Shahi Maharani dresses the dish up for a proper night out, and Al-Azhar has your back when the craving strikes long after most kitchens have shut down. Whichever you choose, you are getting chicken that has met a proper clay oven, and that is already most of the battle won.
Disclaimer: All details were accurate at the time of writing. Hours, prices and menu availability can shift, so do confirm directly with the restaurant before heading down.
Frequently asked questions
Which place serves tandoori chicken the latest in Singapore?
Al-Azhar keeps its grills going until 3 AM daily across all three outlets. Khansama’s Little India branch runs till 1 AM, and Daawat stays open till 3 AM on Tuesdays specifically.
Is there a halal-certified tandoori chicken option on this list?
Yes. Jaggi’s Northern Indian Cuisine on Chander Road is halal-certified. For the other restaurants, check directly with the business as certification status can change.
Where should I go for a proper date-night tandoori experience?
Shahi Maharani at Raffles City Shopping Centre. It offers a fine-dining setting with tablecloths and attentive service, making it the most dressed-up option among the seven.
Which tandoori chicken spot is best for families with young kids?
Khansama and Al-Azhar are both lively and casual enough that a bit of noise from the kids will not raise eyebrows. Al-Azhar also has the advantage of a very wide menu if the little ones are picky eaters.
Do any of these places take reservations?
Most do, but it is smart to call ahead. Daawat gets especially busy on weekend evenings, and Shahi Maharani benefits from a booking if you are planning dinner at a prime time.
What is a fair price to expect for tandoori chicken at these restaurants?
Most are mid-range, so you can expect to pay roughly twenty to thirty dollars per person for a meal with sides. Shahi Maharani is more premium, while Al-Azhar skews more affordable. Lunch sets, where available, are a good way to keep the bill lighter.
