Buhari Chennai: Home of Chicken 65 on Anna Salai

Buhari’s claim to fame is one of those bits of Chennai food trivia that turns out to be true. This is the restaurant that gets credited with inventing Chicken 65, a dish that has since spread across India and well beyond it, and more than seventy years after it opened, the original spirit of the place, no nonsense, generous portions, proper biryani, is still very much intact.

A Chennai food landmark since 1951

Buhari was founded in 1951 by Ahmed Buhari on Anna Salai, then Mount Road, at a time when the street was becoming one of the city’s key commercial arteries. The restaurant built a loyal following on Muslim cuisine cooked properly, biryani, kebabs, and a range of chicken and mutton dishes, and somewhere along the way, according to the story most Chennai food lovers know, a spiced, deep fried chicken dish served at the restaurant was named Chicken 65, reportedly after the year or a numbered item on an old menu, depending on which version of the story you hear. Whatever the exact origin, the dish stuck, and Buhari’s name has stayed attached to it ever since.

What to order

• Chicken 65, obviously, spiced, fried, and worth ordering here if only to try the dish at its source.
• Chicken or mutton biryani, cooked in the Chennai Muslim style, fragrant rather than overly rich, and a fair benchmark against which to judge other biryanis in the city.
• Kebabs and tandoori style starters, a solid option if you’re eating with a group and want to share several plates.
• Rumali roti or parotta alongside a curry, for those who want something beyond rice.
• A simple dessert, when available, to round things off, though the main draw here is firmly the mains.

The experience

Buhari is a proper, functional restaurant rather than a place chasing atmosphere for its own sake. Expect straightforward seating, quick service, and a menu that hasn’t needed constant reinvention because the core dishes still work. It gets busy at lunch, particularly with office workers and families from the surrounding Anna Salai area, and the vibe is more about good, reliable food than any kind of dining occasion. Portions are generous, and it’s a comfortable spot to eat with a group without worrying too much about matching everyone’s preferences, since the menu covers enough range to suit most tastes.

Location and how to reach

The restaurant sits on Anna Salai, one of Chennai’s main roads, within easy walking distance of the Thousand Lights area and well connected by city buses that run the length of Mount Road. Autos are easy to find nearby, and it’s a convenient stop if you’re already exploring central Chennai around Anna Salai, Thousand Lights, or Gemini. Buhari has opened other branches around the city over the years, but the Anna Salai address remains the one most associated with its history.

Practical tips

Lunch around 1pm can mean a short wait for a table, so arriving slightly earlier or later helps. The food is halal and Muslim cuisine focused, so there’s no pork on the menu, and vegetarian options are limited compared with the meat dishes, which are really the point of a visit. Prices are reasonable for the portion sizes, making it a comfortable choice for a group meal without a big bill at the end. It’s worth going in hungry, since biryani and Chicken 65 together is a fairly substantial meal.

Whether or not you buy the exact origin story down to the year, eating Chicken 65 at Buhari feels like tracing a well loved Indian dish back to where it plausibly began, and the biryani alone is reason enough to visit.

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More Chennai venues

• Murugan Idli Shop
• Dakshin
• Southern Spice

Browse the full Chennai venue directory → · Read our guide to Where to Eat in Chennai.