Spice Roots

A single order at Spice Roots can start as North Indian comfort and end somewhere closer to a Chinese takeout counter. Butter Chicken and Garlic Naan land first, rich and familiar; then Chilli Chicken arrives dry and sharp from the Hakka side of the same menu, and the meal has quietly switched cuisines without leaving the table. This Guelph kitchen on Kortright Road West runs both lanes in earnest — a full North Indian repertoire and a genuine Indo-Chinese one — and treats the move between them as ordinary rather than novelty.

The Indian side is the deeper of the two. The tandoor turns out Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Tandoori Shrimp, and a Haryali Chicken marinated with yogurt, mint, and Thai chillies before it meets the heat. Curries run from Butter Chicken through Dal Makhni, slow-cooked black lentils finished with cream, to Paneer Lababdar, a tomato-and-onion paneer curry the kitchen treats as a vegetarian anchor rather than an afterthought. Breads carry their own weight: Garlic Naan for the table, and an Amritsari Kulcha stuffed with paneer, potato, cauliflower, coriander, and chickpeas. Biryani comes in chicken, goat, lamb, or vegetarian pulao. Then the menu turns to the Hakka list — Chicken Manchurian, Veggie Manchurian, Chilli Fish — where Indian spicing meets Chinese-style gravy over steamed rice.