Khazana, Edmonton's top-rated Indian restaurant, closes

Khazana, Edmonton's top-ranked Indian restaurant, is closing both its downtown and Windemere locations.

The family-run business won Edify Magazine's award for best Indian restaurant in 2025. Now, after 28 years, Mehaik Bhasin, the restaurant's operations manager, is locking the doors for good.

"This was a very, very hard decision," Bhasin said. She called the closure heartbreaking for her family business.

While the pandemic hit them hard enough to cut their signature buffet, what finally broke them was construction. O-day'min Park and the Valley Line West LRT closures made day-to-day operations nearly impossible.

"That became honestly almost impossible to run day-to-day operations," Bhasin said. "We could have events and figure out parking further, but that doesn't allow us to keep our staff paid properly day-to-day, and just financially, it became a burden more than exciting."

Ward O-day'min councillor Anne Stevenson says the loss is a major hit to the downtown core. She's pushing for better project planning to minimize impact on businesses, and wants to see property tax relief during major construction. That discussion will happen during the city's four-year budget deliberations later this year.

Bhasin says the family is using their final days to give back. They're donating food to students and people in need, and are grateful for the community support they've received.

Khazana's closure marks a real cost of the city's growth — one of Edmonton's best restaurants couldn't survive it.