Crowded, north and south indian restaurant with fast service.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 6/4/2005
Rating: 8
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Shalimar was a highly requested restaurant on the wishlist so it was my pleasure to finally be able to review it. I went there with my family and we arrived just before the friday crowd did. We managed to find a table. The waiter brought over a large menu which was the size of a newspaper (don't think I will have much luck scanning it in for the site but i'll try) It was nice laying it out on the table and seeing the full menu in one glance. Different and kinda cool.
Then we go up to place our order. We don't pay yet, just order. Thankfully the food arrives to your table quickly (less than five minutes) and you are good to go. Most of the food we sampled was quite spicy. Definitely not a problem for me, but something to keep in mind.
The quality of the food was high. Everything I ate was very flavorful if not overly spicy. The naan tasted fresh but after about 10 minutes on the table, it started to harden and got less tasty as the meal wore on. Its only $1 for the naan and they give you one big piece for that. 2 pieces was enough for 2 adults and 2 kids.
The place really started to fill up and by 8:30 people were standing randomly around the room waiting for tables to clear up. When you are done eating, you need to go up to the register (same line as those who are ordering) to pay. By the time it starts getting crowded, this line extends at least half-way across the restaurant. There is so much going on that I would think it would be incredibly easy to just walk out the door and no one would notice. Its a very different type of confusion that I have not experienced at a restaurant before.
Of course we were good and waited in the impossibly long line to pay and be on our way. Otherwise, though, I found the food to be quite tasty and worth a visit.
Reviewer: Vikram
Total Reviews: 19
Reviewed: 6/4/2005
Rating: 8
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Finally, Shalimar is reviewed on Jatbar.
I discovered Shalimar sometime last year when I went with a few friends who are great fans of Pakistani food. I went after 8:30, so the place was insanely crowded. We ordered at the register and then were asked to let them know when we found us a table before they would make our food. And it took us another 45 min to find a table and 15 more minutes to get the 4 chairs we needed to enjoy our meal. Bear in mind that you will have to wait quite long if you go on a busy Friday night. Be prepared for that. In fact pack a snack to enjoy while you wait. :-).
As the night goes, they end up running out of the popular dishes and you may find that when you walk up to the register, one of your choices is not available anymore. Have alternatives ready. It's a long line and the guy taking the order is understandably stressed. Make it a little easy for him, you and the people behind you.
I have eaten here numerous times since that first time and here's some of the things I have loved at this place.
1. Chicken Boti Kabab - Tender, succulent pieces of spicy chicken. This is one of the tastiest grilled/bbq chicken I have tasted in the US. The halal meat makes it taste better here than in other restaurants. Make sure you try it with the green chutney that they have. It's heaven!
2. Baigan Bharta - This is an eggplant dish. The eggplants are roasted on an open flame and then skinned and mashed for this dish. Quite a treat for the vegetarians.
3. Seekh Kabab - Another favorite of mine. This is minced beef/lamb. I am not entirely sure. It tastes great. Again try it with the green chutney. In fact anything you are trying a kabab dish, just go with the green chutney.
The tea is free at this place like at most Paki places. Their tea used to be awesome last year. The past couple times it's tasted less flavorful/watered down. I think they may be using low fat milk or something. I personally feel that Indian/Paki style tea needs whole milk for it to taste great.
There are some paintings of historical landmarks from Pakistan on the walls. Not much of a decor, but still better than plain walls.
Hygiene is a BIG issue here. I would NOT recommend going to their bathrooms. Not here and definitely not in their San Francisco location.
I would have rated this a 9 had it not been for the hygiene. But then again this is mostly about the food and most people who love this place will make do with the poor hygiene. This is a 8.
There is definitely a sense of urgency when you get here. THANK GOODNESS I read the reviews before eating here otherwise I would not have known that when you go in, you get your table, have someone sit there while someone else orders the food and another person gets utensils/plates/water jug/sauces. What the heck are you suppose to do if you eat alone?? The guy at the counter is like the soup nazi from Seinfeld... beware! Oh but I'm sure he's just a fuzzy bunny deep down inside.
We had the recommended lamb chop, palak paneer (cheese & spinach), chicken tikka, garlic naan & some rice. The lamb chop came with chickpeas which was sooooo yummy. Their naan is a lot thicker than other places - one is definitely enough for me. Palak paneer was also different from other places I've had it... normally the cheese resembles mozarella/ricotta but this one was just like firm tofu!
I ate at the Sunnyvale Shalimar with high recommendations from my coworkers who all love the other locations. We actually got a group of 12 together to go eat here.
I think I have heartburn right now. Leave your diets outside the door because this place doesn't hold back on the oh so bad for you stuff. The food was good, I tried a bit of everyone's food, we basically ordered most of the recommended items Chicken tikka Masala, Nihari, chicken tandoori, chicken kabab, bhuna gosht, chicken kofta, saag chicken, onion/garlic/plain naan and rice custard (pudding?). My coworker Matt and I tried ordering the brains but alas the daily special was not being made for the day.
I thought everything tasted great although I found the naan was not as chewy as I typically like it. Like I was warned, everything was very greasy, I was able to spoon off the top of my dish about and inch and a half of grease into one of the foam cups there, MMMM grease. :) Free chai tea was a good touch. I liked the portions as everything was served ala carte and can easily shared family style.
Even though I liked the flavor of food, I don't know if I would come back here to eat. I don't mind fat in my food but I really didn't feel so great after the excessive amounts of grease and fat in the food, therefore the 6.5 scoring. Maybe if someone else was paying and I had no particular cravings.
