If you love Indian food and you love Mexican, there’s a new restaurant in Toronto that you’re probably going to love: The Bollywood Tacos.
The College Street spot is the city debut of the Oshawa-born brand, which first opened in 2019, and it’s bringing the same delicious and completely customizable menu that made the original a big hit.
Founder Rajeev Ganesan, a Scarborough native originally from Sri Lanka, built the concept around one simple idea: why choose between Indian and Mexican food when you can merge the best of both? After experimenting with swapping tortillas for naan and layering Indian proteins like butter chicken and paneer into familiar Mexican formats, the formula stuck — and people kept coming back.
The fusion works — maybe even better than you’d expect. Indian and Mexican cuisines both thrive on heat, spice, smoky sauces and carbs that do the heavy lifting. Swap a tortilla for naan, drizzle mint chutney where you’d expect salsa, tuck butter chicken into a taco — and you’ve got one deliciously tasty meal.
The menu revolves around three-piece tacos ($18) topped with pico, purple cabbage, pickled onion, mint chutney and the house Bollywood sauce. Proteins include curry chicken, curry lamb, butter chicken, shrimp tikka, paneer tikka and chana masala, covering vegetarian and vegan options. If tacos aren’t your thing, you can also get a burrito, bowl, nachos or even poutine with the same fillings.
Everything starts mild, letting you control the heat with hot sauce or pickled Thai chilies. Sides include naan, saffron rice, guac and extra sauce, while desserts include gulab jamun for Indian traditionalists and churros with caramel for the Mexican-inspired end of the spectrum.
The College Street location is built for quick, grab-and-go meals, keeping the focus where it should be: on the food.
The Bollywood Tacos is located at 530 College Street. Follow them on Instagram: @thebollywoodtacos
