OMG! I don't know why I waited so long to try this place! I am always on the lookout for fine dining with a creative twist! The fact that is Vegetarian was icing on the cake for me because as a Vegan I struggle to find enough choices when eating out. Most veggie places can customize their entrees and offer Vegan options. Besharam' (Hindi) means 'shameless' and that's how we felt when we dug into our food with gusto and gobbled up every grain on the plates. 'Heavenly'! 'Stunning'! Omg! 'This is the best ever'.... so chirped my ultra picky eaters! Praise on that level is superlative, especially coming from them. Authentic flavors, Creative presentation, All Vegetarian, Gastronomy at its finest, Fine Dining, Excellent Hospitality and Woman owned (chef, owner, founder) - what's not to LOVE?! The mango salad, kachori dumplings, dabeli mini parathas and the vegan carrot halwa ( it's been eons since I had a vegan dessert) were scrumptious! My kids devoured the cheesy garlic naan, malai kofta and mango lassi (with a hint of cardamom and rose). Mamma Mia!! Chef Heena knocked it out of the park with sacredly guarded recipes from her grandmother's kitchen, combined with her skill and passion. She personally brought out the entrees and explained what they are. 5/5 stars all the way!! Totally worth the drive to SF on a Sunday evening! ' read more

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The host (chef's husband) is so rude. I called an hour ahead just to see if I'd need reservations and over the phone was told it'd be super easy to grab seats. He was like "yeah, yeah, yeah." Once we got to the restaurant, he acted perplexed and was like "I never reserved your seats". We corrected him saying we didn't say that. We had called to simply ask if it was possible. He was so abrasive. This is the pure and sheer example of brown run establishments that cater to non-brown people only and the second they see their own kind, brown people, they become demeaning. I'll think about my review and see if I want to add the rest of the stars. This ruined my evening. We had long flights all day and drove quite a bit for this! We ended up getting bar seats and the bartender saved the night. He was hilarious and gave us drink samples. He ended up giving me a Parle G cookie and I almost cried. Short Stack, you're going places! Food - smaller portions but shareable. Super creative items! Fully vegetarian. Mango Lassi slapped!!! Pauva salad was an upgraded Spicy Soft Potato taco. Avocado dressing needs to be removed. Palak Paneer is made in house. Fire!!! Decor- loved seeing Hate Copy's work come into life. read more

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What a wonderful surprise! From the moment we walked in, this restaurant exceeded our expectations. The food, service, open viewing kitchen... everything was wonderful. We will definitely be back! read more

I've been to besharam in a smaller group before, but I would NOT recommend going with their prefix menu which is for groups of six or more as it is very limited, and you don't get to choose what they have on their bigger menu. The food served at Besharam is not worth the price you pay for it - I would recommend trying out other vegetarian restaurants in the city or going there in groups of five or less so that you can order dishes you want to try and go family style. For entree, we got the Paneer dish, Chole and eggplant dish (baigan bharta), and it was very basic without any special spices or interesting flavors. For appetizers, we got panipuri which was underwhelming - lacked flavors / was was bland. We also got mango salad which did not have any dressing (or we couldn't taste it) or flavorful taste. The roti which they served with the food was really good - that was something I enjoyed and liked. The only thing I would order next time from their menu what is the mango lassi - I think it had a hint of cardamom which made it very tasty. Utterly disappointed with the food, the prices and the selection. read more

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my friends and i got a reservation saturday night. we got a lot of dishes to share. loved every single dish. all the dishes were so flavorful. they did forget one dish but fixed it up quickly. service was otherwise phenomenal. read more

Besharam - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Came to Besharam with high expectations, I have heard a lot about this place and was looking forward to trying the Gujarati inspired all vegetarian entrees at this spot. We were seated in the office hall area which was a little odd - but there were many tables near us so we didn't feel to isolated. For appetizers we got the Pav Bhaji Puff, the Pani Puri, and the Kachori Dumplings. These were all pretty delicious!! Small serving sizes though. For mains, we got the Black Sheep Lamb (Vegan) Curry (has imitation meat), Eggplant Dish, Okra curry, and Palak Paneer - all were decent but nothing special. Our order also took a loooong time to come out. For breads/sides, we got the cheese naan, roti, and rice. The sunflower seed cheese naan was waay too cheesy - little difficult to eat. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed my time here if we were seated in the main area + if i could try other entrees on the menu. I would have also enjoyed if we had a little bit more of a hospitable experience - sitting in the side hall made it feel like we were not in the restaurant/not greeted properly. read more

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1. I love where this is located in an industrial area of SFO far from all the chaos. With good parking spots. 2. Food was good drinks were great, ambiance was nice. But what stood out was the service. Great bartended since we sat in the Bar and fun and engaging server helped us pic out our menu and gave us great recommendations. 3. The Star at the restaurant is its Owner. A very cheerful and charismatic gentleman. We chatted with him quite a bit and he shared his story and vision of the restaurant finding time to connect during a busy week night. 4. Alright finally one advice book a head. No matter what day of the week this place is packed. The owner did have to turn away a few customers who did walk in. He was able to accommodate some walk ins but not all. 5. A definite must try spot for vegans/ vegetarians read more

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The servers are nice. They seem very humble and the staff was kindly explaining everything. It seems like the chef chose to take the Jain variety option complaints to her heart and just stopped offering any. They are an Indian restaurant but lacking Jain options. The restaurant is renowned and used to cater to Jain food items and customization. Now they suddenly refuse to make any Jain options. Is this restaurant catered for all people or just focusing on a specific diversity? Eggless options are also limited or none. Yes one vegan option might be available but an Indian restaurant which doesn't understand eggless options read more

I have to admit I have not eaten too much of Indian food. I've had my fair share of eating at the Infamous Shalimar in the Tenderloin of SF- The kebabs and garlic Naan were my go- tos. The butter chicken microwave item from Trader Joe's also calls my name. Later on the bygone hip and cool Amber India. Over the years I've expanded my palette and have tried other foods and expanded my mind. Besharam (SF) is a great Indian restaurant remixing the food of North and West regions of India from Jaipur, Mumbai, Sugar and Ahmedabad. So much colors and flavors. Love the attention to detail placed into each dish and the flavors! Oh, it's also vegetarian! Open your mind and tastebuds and give it a try! read more

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Phenomenal meal. If you like good food - put this at the top of your list! Invited guests and everyone was raving about the food and couldn't believe how good it was. The flavor in each dish was remarkable, and each very different. My favorites were the appetizers (pakoras and mango salad were amazing, loved sampling various appetizers all so good) and we enjoyed our main courses too (we kept thinking we were eating a great piece of fish, forgetting it was vegetarian). Go with a small group so you can try as many dishes as possible. read more

Went again last night and had a great time again! Tried a few new dishes and liked almost all of them. Out of the new dishes we tried, we really liked Panki, Malai Koftas and the Shrikhand Cheesecake. The pav Bhaji Puff was alright and a bit too lemon-y. Place had good music and had a good crowd for a week night dinner. read more

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Very good spot. Favorites: mango salad, dabeli paratha, ringan no oro Ok: sambhar Skip: dahi wada, vindaloo meat balls, drinks. read more

4 stars for the food itself but giving Besharam 3 stars because it is pricey for what you get and we were rushed near the end of our meal. My friend and I had a reservation for 5:15pm on a Saturday, and we were seated promptly when we arrived. There is an indoor dining section within the restaurant as well as an indoor dining section in the atrium of the art gallery next door -- would definitely recommend dining in the restaurant for a better ambiance / vibe! Service was good at the beginning, and someone even walked through the menu with us so we knew what the different sections referred to. Among the two of us, we split 3 appetizers, one entree, and one bread. This was a good amount of food for us, and we even took home leftovers! In terms of the food itself, we got the dahi wada, drunken pani puri, and pav bhaji puff for our appetizers. I LOVED the drunken pani puri (such a great combo of flavors & textures) and the pav bhaji puff, whereas the dahi wada was probably my least favorite among everything we ordered (not a big fan of the overall flavor profile). We also got the malai koftas for our entree paired with the garlic naan -- the malai koftas were solid and the sauce went perfectly with the naan, though the naan itself had cheese inside which was a bit offputting. At roughly 6:30pm, we were being rushed out because they said there was another reservation coming in soon. We hurriedly packed up our leftovers and got the check. However, since we were in a rush, we did not notice that tip was already included in the bill. It was not stated anywhere on the receipt where you add tip and sign, so both of us put down tip per usual. This definitely put a bit of a damper on the experience, and it would be appreciated if they made it clearer on the final receipt that tip has been included! read more

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I cannot eat green or red chillies. Sal, our waiter, patiently explained my options and then conveyed my restriction to the chef. Heena, the chef, came around later to explain how she had customized the Uttapam. And what a brilliant creation it was. I was especially impressed by the crispy crust on the upper surface of the Uttapam. My wife's mango salad and friend's Omlette were beautifully done with an impressive balance of flavors. Usually, we don't like Indian fusion food because we eat a lot of the authentic version at home. And fusion food seems to lose its way between two cuisines. It seemed to us that Heena has not tried to fuse cuisines. She has used the Indian roots and gone creative on that foundation. The crispy crust and mushroom topping on the Uttapam was an example of that. Pluto, another waiter, and Sal care. They seemed to be not just doing a job but also enjoying themselves. read more

Came here for the first time. We ordered some appetizers and entrees. Pav bhaji puff- cheddar cauliflower, curry pasta dip Eat it right away when it is warm and crispy- good Ringan no oro- fire, charred eggplant, urfa chili, garlic It was good Kachori dumpling - would get and should eat right away. Mango salad- good and definitely will get again Dal dokli- bok choy, spinach, dry crispy noodles, kamboocha pumpkin ( wished they added more of this), pickles onions. It was ok The cheesecake blueberry saffron- interesting taste probably won't get again read more

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Drinks - 5/5. I was worried they would be too strong, but they were delicious. I got the Mumtaz and my husband got the Vishakha. The Mumtaz was super unique because of the jasmine and rose gin! It was quite sweet. Food - 5/5. Very rich and indulgent. I could tell they used a lot of ghee, but I didn't care! I'm normally not the biggest fan of saag paneer, but the Maska paneer was much better than I expected. The garlic naan is stuffed with cheese, which was a nice surprise! I got the Paresh's parathas, which are stuffed with blue cheese and served with an apple marmalade. Don't let the blue cheese scare you off, it was mild and delicious! The apple marmalade was very sweet and a great accompaniment. The only miss was the affogato - It was frozen plain lassi with raspberry chunks, swimming in lukewarm chai. The frozen yogurt doesn't have the same effect as ice cream, and the chai turned cold. Would recommend everything but that! Service - 4/5. We arrived 30 min after our reservation (), and they were still able to seat us. But our waiter consistently ignored us, and we had to flag him down multiple times. read more

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Food was above average (8/10) - small bites were quite nice, but the mains were quite rich and heavy. Service was below average - felt quite rushed through our time there. We wrapped up $300 with meal plus drinks for 4 in 60 mins. They also didn't have a high chair for our younger one. Overall don't feel worth the money or coming back to (vs. other comparable such as Rooh / Tia / Ettan) read more

Love this place so much! The service is 5 star. Food is delicious and unique. Mushrooms appetizer is my new favorite. read more

Lovely tasting food and presentation. we sat on the bar as they were booked and out bar tender/server was fun and entertaining. We tried a lot of items- patra (was oily and ok tasting), puvha chaat (was alright too, more of a salad than I anticipated), khicha with papas and we got ghost pepper chutney along with it - the combination was mind blowing, dahi papdi was good but nothing extraordinary same for pyaz kachori. I loved rajma bowl that had fried okra in it- must try. Drinks were great. PS- They add 20% service charge to your check irrespective of the number of people in your party. Overall expensive venue, but good concept food. Worth a try for a fun evening. read more

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I made a reservation for a Friday night earlier in the week and there were lots of slots open. We sat inside the main dining room. The restaurant is tucked back on a street almost by itself, but it's hard to miss with the neon lights outside. We ordered: - Besharam Samosas - Drunken Pani Puri - Khandvi - Ringan No Oro - Trevti Dal - Garlic Naan - Jeera Rice - Mango Chutney - Chili Garlic Pickles I thought all of the food was GREAT. Especially loved the garlic naan, ringan no oro, and the drunken pani puri. But you really can't go wrong with anything. We also got 2 cocktails, which were also wonderful. Highly recommend this place for a nice dinner out that doesn't require reservations two months in advance! read more

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Finding good veg food can be a challenge, thankfully in SF we have a few and Besharam is " shamelessly" flavorful. Took my family who are all carnivores and big eaters here for my birthday and we loved all the dishes, Drunken Pani Pura, Dahi Wada, Kachori dumplingsm Chole, Malai Koftas the naan and even the cheesecake for dessert was so flavorful. Super tasty, all the food- The pickles and chutneys were also so unique and flavorful, from the tamarind to the mint , I'd love to take some of that home. NOTE: If one person does the tasting menu everyone needs to do it, that was a drag. Also plan on a mandatory 25% charge to your bill. We still ate a lot and got out of there for $ 75 ea all inclusive. Service was bit spotty, the place was really hectic at 7:30 on a Sat night. Tables are tightly packed- the only way we could gather our order was to write down the items ourself. They ought to provide a dim sum style ticket for you to fill in. The noise level was LOUD , too loud for 4 people to comfortably talk. read more

Besharam - Tasting menu 12.2024 - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Excellent ambience and hospitality! Unique gujrati dishes. Very vegan/vegetarian friendly. Cocktails are a must try! The chef is so friendly and always comes out to host the guests! I'm a true fan of the place. When I came the seating room was less so we had to sit at the bar (which actually turned out to be great because the bartender was very entertaining and welcoming) read more

I don't usually go to contemporary Indian restaurants since I expect the flavors to be more watered down, but Besharam pleasantly surprised me. Tucked away in a quiet street with plenty of parking, Besharam was still bustling on a Saturday night. We got there before our reservation and they happily seated us early in a bigger hall to the side of the main dining area. We opted to do the tasting menu since we couldn't decide what to get from the main menu-- I wanted a little of everything. The only thing with tasting menus is sometimes the quantity of food can be overwhelming. The food was well portioned, but we still had leftovers. My favorite was the poori topped with sev and potato. It was accompanied by some papads and awesome chutneys. We also got some spicy dhal with idli and malai kofta -- which had bold flavor and spice. For drinks, my bf and I got the arranged marriage, mostly because the name was funny and also used old monk rum which I believe is popular in India. Let me tell you, I'm not a lightweight, but that drink almost knocked us out. It was awesome, and good to pregame before a night out We ended our meal with some masala chai, which took me back to drinking tea at relatives house in India. Overall, I really enjoyed Besharam, and would come back to try some items from the regular menu and more cocktails. Overall, this spot retains the authentic flavors of India with a modern and edgy twist. read more

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make a reservation, and make it for indoor dining if you care about ambiance and decor. make it for the atrium if you're just there for food lol. it's not that the atrium is ugly or an unpleasant place to be; it's more so that it really feels like an extension of the restaurant solely for seating purposes. the atrium in its entirety is actually spacious (and there are art pieces along the perimeter and in the various rooms), but the restaurant seating makes use of a dimly lit, small portion of the area. it echoes a little in the atrium, so if you're looking for a romantic, intimate spot, don't book the atrium. now, the food. 10/10. between two people, we ordered the pav bhaji puff, maska paneer, drunken pani puri, malai koftas, nagi, murabba (I think), roti, cheesy garlic naan. for drinks, we ordered do it for the gram and @peachespatel. I have no critiques about anything we consumed. I loved the nagi on everything, but I like my food spicy. if you don't, don't order it. my favorite combo might have been the cheesy garlic naan with the malai koftas, added some nagi on top of that. or the cheesy garlic naan with some of the lefotver curry dip we had from the pav bhaji puffs. the paneer in the maska paneer was so good. we ate WAY too much bc the food was so good, and we still had leftovers. we had to take half the cheesy garlic naan home, along with some malai kofta and maska paneer. our server was great, very knowledgeable and helpful when we were ordering. I, unfortunately, don't remember their name, but I remember the they/them pin they wore on their attire. they also wore glasses. if that server is there, and they're serving your table, you're in good hands. read more

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Food tastes - 2 stars Food quality - 5 stars Ambience vibe - 5 stars Got brunch menu, which is limited. Dahi Vada - it's not dahi Vada by any stretch of imagination- pls call it something else- very misleading Pav bhaji - greasy bun, watery sabzi, Punjabi thali - bad excuse for samosa, one puri n very sourish chhole, 4 decent chutney- no clue why there was so much/many chutneys, kadhi had no flavor Paapdi chaat - this was really nice, unlike many places, all ingredients were room temp which made it really nice 4 stars for effort n quality, need to work on flavor, at least for this desi palette One more tidbit - love the fact that they highlight clearly the included service charge, also remind you one more time that service charge was included read more

Overall some dishes and cocktails were awesome but taking a star off for the service and 1 more for some of the average dishes. Would definitely recommend the bagara bagara with a coconutty and creamy sauce, the malai kofta and pav bhaji puff. I would skip the sev puri and drunken pani Puri for sure. Our server was not very attentive or friendly in terms of giving us food recommendations and was generally curt with us. They were using the gallery next door to seat us which was a cool dining experience. I would recommend getting a reservation through Tock. read more

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Amazingggg food. 10/10 hands down one of the best Indian food places. It is vegetarian but you don't miss the meat. They were very attentive and quick with bringing everything out. The waiter was very kind and recommended and explained some of the dishes. It was very low lit and mysterious. I felt like I was in a very high end restaurant. The garlic naan and pani puri is a must try. That being said it is pricey but the food was so good, I didn't even care how much it costed. Definitely coming here again! read more

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High-quality cooking that celebrates Indian street food, features an impressive tasting menu, and highlights often-unexplored aspects of Indian cuisine (no naan and no samosas to be found here). I loved almost everything, but my companion - who is generally averse to Indian food - found some dishes from the tasting menu a bit spicy. Even I (with a much-more flexible palate) thought a couple dishes had a bit more spice than I'd expect. But to me, a tasting menu is an opportunity to try a bit of everything, and I enjoyed almost everything. The catch is I can't remember anything specific. I liked my time there, but nothing stood out. What stood out the most was the feeling - I felt like I was visiting someone's incredible home, getting some great food, and enjoying wonderful company. read more

We were here for lunch just this afternoon and lunch was a big thumbs down . The chapatis seemed like frozen ones of deep or kawan. Quantity was so less for the price and taste was very average . We may try some other time for dinner and hopefully will have a better review to post then ! read more

Second time visit and still recommend, really enjoyed the food. We stayed until closing so really took our time. Service was attentive and the ambience (we were in the atrium) was enjoyable. I might try to get a spot in the main dining area next time, just for the experience. The strategy I applied to the food for this time and will likely continue going forward is to order a bunch of the smaller dishes just to get to experience so many things. I didn't get pictures of everything, but between the two of us we got 4 small dishes, a drink and a dessert for about $60 all in (with the included 20% service charge). read more

Besharam - Pav bhaji puffs - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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What an interesting location. It's inside an art gallery, or at least part of it. It's northwestern indian with a twist by the chef. The food was all pretty tasty like the chola and dahl and cheesy garlic naan. The cardamom cheesecake with blueberries is dense and very cardamom--so as long as you like it. We appreciate the service and the honesty of the servers for their recommendations including the drinks. The pinkpatel was creamy and not too tequila strong and the sookah was perfect to an old fashioned. I really enjoyed that if you like a harder liquor. This was definitely a fun experience and interesting to try the flavors. read more

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Such a disappointment!! We had a reservation and the guy at the check in had a whole different attitude towards us ( being Indian) than the way he was interacting with non Indian people. We ordered tasting menus , the food literally was like reheated frozen food !!! Have never seen a tasting menu food being served like a family buffet , the food itself was so so so disappointing. Parathas looked like the frozen reheated ones , could have had much better authentic Indian food anywhere else in the bay at a much cheaper price . If at an Indian high end restaurant the best dish is a pear salad , nothing else needs to be said .......good luck to them read more

Besharam - Tasting menu main course - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Amazing dinner experience - wonderful food, excellent service and great atmosphere ! Our waitstaff, Chris and Tanner were amazing, knowledgeable and fun- very attentive but never hovered and quite engaging. Food was like none I have experienced when I think of this type of cuisine, and in the best way possible. Plan to return to make our way through the varied, well organized menu and wait staff recommendations were excellent. Great space design and very comfortable. Can't wait to dine here again read more

Besharam - Drunken Pani Puri - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Finally able to check out this spot. The surrounding area is very unassuming, plenty of parking. Staff was very friendly. The side room they have was a bit odd, since it's actually just a big corporate office hall with several tables. We therefore opted to sit in the main restaurant, but due to covid, the door had to be kept open, which made it quite cold. However, the food is ultimately the most important, and overall the dishes were great. It was a bonus that everything was vegetarian. My favorites were the paratha, malai kofta, and "it's possible samosas". Knocking 1 star down because we weren't fans of our drinks. It's also tough to swallow paying this much for Indian food, but I realize this is SF, and overall cannot complain about the quality of the food. read more

Besharam - Dahi Wada - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

First off, the ambiance was amazing. Walking up to Besharam, I immediately took notice of the neon pink sign, reflecting off the surrounding surfaces. I especially liked going in the evening because it made the experience feel like a movie. We reserved a table in the atrium, an open space gallery to the side of the main restaurant. Our table faced an empty side of the atrium and it almost felt like we were alone. The food was excellent, I believe all of the meal selections at Besharam are limited to vegetarian. We had such a good time selecting our menu choices and letting the flavors take us by surprise. The only reason I docked a single star is due to the price, Besharam (like many Bay Area restaurants) is a bit costly. And for the times we ordered, I wish we had received a bit more for the amount we spent. Nonetheless, we walked away with our stomachs full and our hearts happy. Thanks! read more

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I love a veggie joint whose food is so great I don't even think twice about the fact that I am eating "vegetarian/vegan food." Besharam is like that. The standouts for me were the mushroom dish and the mango/carrot dessert. The impossible meatballs were notable in that I usually avoid fake meat but these were easily passable as meat based balls. Two words of warning: One: they take your 90 minute reservation time seriously and service gets increasingly aggressive to get you out, even if you are still actively spending money. It's one thing to boot lingerers, but people who are still ordering and eating? That seems silly. Two: the breath you will leave with is not date friendly. Or even Lyft friendly if my driver rolling his window down is any indication (I am so sorry sir - I knew it was a problem. I had a bite of the Drunken Pani Puris and said "Oh no. This is that level of bad breath that emanates from your very soul." I think he would agree.). I'd go again but only if I knew I could eat quickly and GTFO. The stress of being told you need to leave, repeatedly, sours the experience too much for more than a quick bite. read more

Pretty good and a little pricy. I like their interesting takes on some dishes I'm familiar with (like puff pastry pav bhaji). The amount of cheese on the masks paneer might actually be too much and it kind of overwhelmed the dish. ditto on the cheesy naan, which makes it almost too cheesy to use to dip things since it's own cheese flavor starts to dominate. read more

An art gallery and dining experience in one place, wow! We were a bit skeptical about the food but the variety of dishes and explanation of the menu by the waiter changed our minds. 5/5 food. The "chef-driven" description is actually a commentary on how the chef has traveled/ lived in the different regions listed on the menu and decided to cook his favorite dishes from there. We got the drunken Pani Puri which had gin in the sauce that you could actually taste, really interesting kick. My favorite app was the Patras as I've never had anything like it before, it was an amazing flavor bomb that was crunchy and refreshing. Garlic naan had mozzarella in it so paired well with dipping the Who killed the Lamb plant based meatball sauce which was surprisingly savory and spicy. The Maska Paneer was alright, we ate it with the Biryani side. 4.5/5 drinks. We got the Mumtaz & Palm tree, which arrived first while we were browsing the gallery. Sadly we couldn't take it with us while walking, but it would've made for a cool experience to sip drinks looking at art while waiting for the food. The Mumtaz stood out to me as you can taste the pistachio and jasmine notes in it. 5/5 service & ambience . Seating within an art gallery meant you can browse instead of waiting idly for the food, super cool concept. They told us they were short staffed that night but all the food came within a reasonable 10-15min window. I accidentally spilled some sauce and they were even quick to replace it. Props to the servers who delivered quality rec a while being short staffed! Truly a special experience that I would recommend to any vegan friends or anyone looking for a unique dining experience. read more

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Second time here, they seated us on the extended part on the side, which was fine. First time I sat outside, which was nice too. We were celebrating my mom's birthday as a family and had a blast! The owner/host that seated us was also Gujarati so we kinda felt right at home. I absolutely loved the woman on the wall art walking in. The menu was cute with funny names describing dishes from different cities in Gujarat, India. I would always tell people that most Indian restaurants don't have Gujarati comfort food, because most places only serve overrated North Indian dishes. This was the first place where I saw items on the menu that you would only find in the Gujarat region and I really appreciated that because up until now I thought some of these dishes were only homemade. It made me feel like we weren't such a minority in what we call a huge melting pot of Indian culture. We ordered a few appetizers and entrees to share as a family, which worked out best for us because I personally like to sample a little bit of every dish in order to really be full/satisfied, so it was perfect. We started off with a couple pav bhaji puffs, reg. samosas, drunken pani puri, dahi vada, and sev puri. You can't ever go wrong with any of these items as they are classic favorites. The curry leaf sauce that came with the pav bhaji puff was really good! For the entrees, we got maska paneer, malai kofta, and thepla. The maska paneer was really good, even though I don't normally go for spinach-based plates. The paneer was made fresh and was a soft crumble as opposed to the frozen cubed one most restaurants have. The malai kofta was yummy too. The flavors were spot on. The drinks menu was pretty fun also with a play on some Guju words. I had to get the Patel's Passion drink since it had my last name in it, and the first ingredient was a tequila! It was pretty good and did not disappoint. My brother got the kala khatta soda, which tasted like Hajmola candy in his opinion and was really good. My parents and my brother's gf got the mango lassi, which came with what seemed to be dried hibiscus flowers as a garnish. I didn't get to try it but they all thought it was great. Would definitely come here again because we were too full and the couple desserts they had on the menu looked pretty tasty. I also missed the truffle kichidi apparently when it was on their old menu. I hope they bring it back by popular demand one day... read more

Besharam - Patel's Passion - Indian Near Me - San Francisco, California

Besharam was a restaurant that I had been eyeing for some time, ever since I saw that it had received some awards and was listed as one of SF's top restaurants a couple years ago. The interior of the restaurant is on the smaller side, but it was well-decorated and since we had booked reservations it didn't take us too long to get seated. The restaurant owner was also going around talking to some of the customers, which was pretty nice to see. The food here is on the pricier side, but all of the dishes seemed to be solid. For our food, we got the Pav Bhaji Puff, the Malai Koftas, as well as the Maska Paneer. I have to say that I really enjoyed the dishes that we got, as the ingredients seemed to be pretty fresh and everything was very flavorful. The Pav Bhaji puff was light and crispy, which went well with the sauces that came along with it. I'd also recommend the Malai Koftas and the Maska Paneer, which were both cooked well and was delicious to eat. We also decided to try out their Strawberry Balthazar cocktail, which I enjoyed a lot! It has some nice flavors to it and looked very aesthetic. I really enjoyed my experience at Besharam, and although it is pretty pricey I do want to come back to try it since there are some other cool dishes that we didn't get to eat. I definitely recommend checking it out if you have the chance! read more

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