Butter Believe It: The Garlic Bread Sides Worth Ordering on Purpose

The side that deserves a seat at the table

There is a special kind of disappointment that comes from opening a takeaway bag, clocking a foil-wrapped brick of garlic bread, and realising it has already gone soft, sad and slightly sweaty. It was not ordered. It was not wanted. It was simply there, like a distant relative at a wedding.

But garlic bread deserves better. Done properly, it is a crunchy, buttery, garlicky scene-stealer that bridges the gap between the first bite and the main event. Done badly, it is a damp cushion of regret. So we have done the important work: ranking Britain’s takeaway garlic breads by crust integrity, garlic punch, butter generosity and the all-important dip-worthiness. This is not about fancy sourdough or restaurant-level presentation. This is about the sides that arrive alongside a curry, a pizza, a kebab or a chippy tea — and whether they earn their place.

How we scored it

Every garlic bread was judged on four things. Crust integrity is the big one: does it still have a spine when it reaches the door? Garlic punch asks whether you can taste the garlic or just the memory of it. Butter generosity is about richness without grease-pool chaos. And dip-worthiness is the final test: would you willingly dunk it in curry sauce, garlic mayo, chilli sauce or whatever else is lurking in the drawer?

No points for being free. No points for being warm-ish. And absolutely no points for those tiny plastic tubs of garlic butter that taste like a rumour.

1. The curry-house baguette

Score: 9/10

This is the undisputed champion of the takeaway side-board. A proper curry-house garlic baguette arrives with a crust that can still put up a fight, a generous smear of garlic butter and enough structural confidence to survive a fifteen-minute drive. It is not subtle. It is not meant to be. The garlic hits you before the foil is fully open.

Where it wins is dip-worthiness. A torn-off end dunked into a leftover Madras or a bit of raita is one of the great unsung pleasures of British takeaway night. Order it on purpose. Do not let it be an afterthought. It is the side that turns a curry into a full event.

2. Pizza-shop dough balls

Score: 8.5/10

Dough balls are the soft, pillowy counterpoint to a crusty baguette. They do not have the same crunch, but they make up for it with butter absorption and sheer dunkability. A good pizza shop sends them out glistening with garlic butter, maybe with a little herb fleck, and they are made for a pot of garlic mayo or a tomato dip.

The catch is crust integrity. Dough balls can turn dense and claggy if they sit too long in a hot box. Eat them first. Treat them like the opening act that secretly deserves headline status. If your local pizza place does them well, they are absolutely worth adding to the order rather than hoping they appear in the bag.

3. The kebab-van foil parcel

Score: 7.5/10

There is something heroic about garlic bread from a kebab van. It is usually a baguette or a flatbread folded into foil, pressed against a hot plate and handed over with a look that says, ‘Be careful, that is hot.’ And it is. The crust can be excellent — crisp at the edges, soft in the middle — but the foil is both its saviour and its enemy. It keeps the heat in, then traps the steam and turns the base a bit leathery.

The garlic punch is usually strong, sometimes alarmingly so, and the butter generosity depends entirely on the mood of the person holding the squeezy bottle. Dip it in chilli sauce and you are onto a winner. Just do not expect it to survive a long journey home. This is a side to eat standing up, preferably while the main event is still being wrapped.

4. The chippy garlic baguette

Score: 7/10

A chippy garlic baguette is a beautiful thing when it is fresh: crisp shell, molten garlic butter, a bit of parsley if you are lucky. It works alongside chips, scraps and a polystyrene tray of curry sauce. The problem is consistency. Some chippies treat garlic bread as a genuine menu item. Others treat it as a bit of old baguette with a passing acquaintance with garlic.

When it is good, it is very good. When it is bad, it is a dry doorstop. The dip-worthiness is high if you have curry sauce, but the crust can go from crunchy to concrete in the time it takes to drive home. Order it only if you are eating within sight of the fryer.

5. The doner-house garlic pide

Score: 6.5/10

Garlic pide is the underrated cousin of the baguette. It is softer, chewier and often brushed with a garlicky oil rather than a thick butter. That makes it less rich, but also less likely to leave you feeling like you have swallowed a candle. It is excellent for mopping up tzatziki or chilli sauce, and it fits neatly into a kebab order without demanding too much attention.

The garlic punch can be mild, which is either a relief or a disappointment depending on your palate. Crust integrity is decent, but butter generosity is usually modest. It is a solid supporting actor, not a star. Order it if you want something to wrap around chips and meat, not if you want a full garlic bread experience.

6. The garlic naan (honorary entry)

Score: 6/10

Yes, it is not technically garlic bread. But it turns up in the same bag, does the same job and deserves to be judged by the same rules. A good garlic naan is pillowy, blistered and brushed with garlic butter. A bad one is dry, floury and tastes faintly of nothing.

The best garlic naans are excellent dipped into curry, but they are not built for dunking in the same way as a crusty baguette. They absorb sauce beautifully, but they can also disintegrate if over-loaded. Order it when you want a vehicle for curry, not when you want a crunchy garlic bread moment. It is a different pleasure entirely.

7. The accidental freebie

Score: 4/10

You know the one. It arrives unrequested, wrapped in foil, lukewarm and slightly flattened. It is garlic bread in name only. The crust has given up. The butter has congealed. The garlic is a vague idea rather than a flavour. It is not offensive, but it is not worth the calories either.

This is the garlic bread that gives the whole category a bad name. It is the reason people say, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t bother ordering garlic bread.’ Do not let it win. There are too many good sides out there to settle for a freebie that tastes like a bread roll that once walked past a garlic clove.

The verdict

Order the curry-house baguette. Order the dough balls. Order the kebab-van foil parcel if you are eating it immediately. But do not accept garlic bread as a passive afterthought. The best takeaway sides are not the ones that turn up by accident — they are the ones you choose on purpose, then fight over before the main event has even been unwrapped.

In 2026, the side dish is having a moment. Make yours count.