Excellent Pakistani food. Friendly staff. The rice dish was excellent and plenty to take home for for lunch's. read more

Biryani Express - Chicken Dum Biryani - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

The best Biryani of my life! I ordered this delivery. It was literally the best I've ever had flavorful hot fill with plenty of nuts and they did not skimp on the ingredients. There was also plenty of chicken. Support this business if you're in the Asheville area. read more

Biryani Express - Chicken Chicken Dum Biryani - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

We visited Asheville and we were looking for something easy to grab locally rather going to fancy-dining. Biryani express is located in a plaza. Don't be fooled by the location. It's not the most appetite looking (in good way) but this place is MUST TRY. We ordered one appetizer, chicken biriyani, and Matton karashi curry. Everything was super flavorful. I think we could have been ok without the appetizer as we were able to finish dishes. Love this place. We will be back! read more

Smells amazing when you walk in. Rich, flavors and perfect textures for all the dishes I've tried. Definitely the "comfort food" I crave when I think of Indian curries. The staff are friendly and attentive. read more

Really wanted to love this place after seeing ads since before they opened. Ordered delivery and the bag holding the samosa appetizer was absolutely soaked in excess oil because it was in a paper bag. The oil spill was not the end of the world but then I opened the biryani and it had a straight up chicken bone without any meat on it. The menu does not specifically mention if proteins are boneless but in case you decide to order consider yourself warned. Chicken masala was good. Hopefully our next experience is better as we are all about supporting new businesses in our awesome town. We understand that finding good kitchen help can be challenging to say the least but the folks ordering take out containers need to seriously rethink how they package foods and make sure everything that leaves the restaurant is quality if they plan to compete in a market with so many other options available. read more

See all

The food is hands down amazing!!! The service was amazing. Chicken Biryani and Chicken Karahi both were delicious. Don't forget to get the Naan. Note: it's Pakistani biryani NOT a Hyderabadi biryani, it was amazing. read more

Biryani Express - Naan - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

See all

We visit Asheville a couple times a month and like eating here often. The food is delicious with generous portions and the staff are always friendly! If you are in Asheville looking for something different, you should try it...always flavorful and delicious! Reasonably priced as well. read more

Though this is one of the least expensive Indian restaurants in the area, the dishes were lacking in flavor. We selected a medium heat for our dishes, which was unexpectedly spicier than what we've come to know as medium - could be a difference in location of course, so I don't hold that against them, just be warned. The garlic Naan was a little soggy, possibly from being in the aluminum foil it was packaged. Staff were pleasant and smiling, though our interaction was brief. read more

What a great experience tonight! We just yelped closest Indian and a couple came up but decided on this one. SO GLAD we did! Our server was so friendly and gave us many suggestions knowing we were adventurous eaters. DELISH! We will be back soon! read more

Had a so-so experience at Briyani Express. We ordered take out. The food was good but nothing special. The curries had lots of flavor and paneer and chicken both great texture. We ordered mild and two dishes were still a tad spicy. I love spicy so it worked out ok, but my husband and son are more sensitive to heat. Naan tasted like it wasn't made fresh, and possibly wasn't even made that day. As another yelper mentioned, we had a leak in one of the bags from excess oil. Luckily that item was double bagged so it seems like maybe they are aware of the issue, but that also means maybe packaging should be rethought. Briyani is much more affordable than the other options in downtown. Pro-tip: for take out, it's less expensive to call in vs. Grubhub. read more

brutally good. Be prepared to wait for the best and most authentic Pakistani in WNC. That is not exaggeration, this place beats some of the most highly rated fine dining spots I've ever been to. Every bad review is somebody who doesn't know what they're talking about ("how come there aren't any random vegetables in my karahi??!!") or ordered take out. If you want something that is going to taste good eaten out of a bag 40 minutes later just order a boxed pizza. This isn't a place for ambience either, it's in a strip mall. Who cares? It's for people who are serious about food. Everything here is made from scratch and to order, which explains the wait. The restaurant is obviously a passion project. I heard about this place through a gossip chain of professional chefs and was not disappointed. Get the goat karahi, get it hot. The naan is actually fresh. Split some samosas and kheer. You can spend twice the cash for a fancier place for half the flavor. I am tempted to say this is the greatest restaurant I've ever been to in NC. read more

I was really hoping I would like this place since there is a shortage of good Indian restaurants in the Asheville area. I had the Chicken dum biryani and the chicken was somehow very dry. The rice was hard and it was like it was all thrown together and some dry powdered spices added at the end. Usually biryani tastes amazing since all the flavors melded together. This just tasted like chicken and rice. The menu is impressive and maybe the other items are better and I just chose the wrong one so I gave 2 stars. read more

Amazing food and even better service! Went with a group and everyone loved the dishes our server recommended. She even gave us some complimentary rice pudding! We will definitely be returning. read more

Food was delicious! The wait time was INSANE! We waited almost 1.5 hrs for our food. Otherwise the taste of food was delicious, Briyani was good! Chicken and naan was good. Don't buy the packages kulfi (ice cream) from fridge by register, it was old and you can tell it's been there for a long time. Kind of crumbled in my mount as soon as k took a bite. read more

See all

It was fantastic! If you are looking for a filling and flavorful meal this is your place! We got the Lamb Biryani and it was absolutely amazing, the lamb was tender and the rice was the perfect consistency and flavor. We stumbled across this place, and it is now one of our favorites. The value of the meals are spot on and the people there are so kind. This place is definitely one to consider when looking to eat out!!! read more

Biryani Express - Lamb/ Beef Shawarma - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

See all

Not from the area but wanted to have some halal Pakistani food while in Asheville. Pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. We had chicken dum biryani, chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, and both the veggie and beef samosas. We weren't expecting much out of the tandoori chicken, but it was probably one of the best we've ever had. Samosas were a surprise too - usually beef samosas have ground beef without many spices, but there's was a perfect blend of spices. The owner was very kind as well and helped guide us through the menu. We're originally from a city that is filled with Pakistani restaurants, and yet Biryani Express now sticks out as one of the best. Highly recommend this place to anyone visiting Asheville and the Smokies. read more

I order delivery. It was timely and delicious! I will definitely have to have food from them again. I got the chicken shawarma. It was amazing! A little low on the yogurt sauce, but fortunately I had some yogurt that I could add. I also had samosa chaat appetizer and gulab and kheer desserts.. yes.. I have left overs ! Hooray! Delicious meals tomorrow, too! read more

Loved the beef kabobs and tandoori chickens. The owner, a very nice lady went out of her way to accommodate us. I would definitely recommend this establishment to out-of-towners. read more

I love Biryani. I've had a few issues like missing my yogurts few times to go with a spicy dish. But the food is amazing! Love their samosas. read more

We LOVE this place! Authentic Indian and Pakistani dishes. You are treated like an honored guest, not a number! So many restaurants in Asheville have become so overrun with tourists that they have lost their personal touch. Not the case with biryani. We have never had a bad dish or experience and the service is wonderful. Everything is made with care. Each Rue made uniquely for each dish unlike most Indian restaurants that use 1 sauce for everything and just add a few spices to tweak the flavor. So GOOD. Give it a try! You won't regret it! read more

Other food items are ok average Ordered chicken Hallem and didn't even touch it after spoon . Wrong choice if someone is traveling for first time read more

We had the chicken tikka masala, daal and cheese naan to go. Pros: The food was hot and ready quickly. The chicken was white meat, no bones. Tasty sauce. The garlic naan was absolutely delicious! Cons: The rice containers melted a little which is questionable The daal was not to our taste: too smokey and too thick. If this appeals to you, then know it's a spicier dish. Bottom line: we will go back but will try different items on the menu. read more

Recently had takeout. Location is convenient, right near Walmart, plenty of parking. Friendly staff. Had vegetable samosas, garlic naan, and chicken tikka masala with rice. Samosas were good. Garlic naan were standard. Chicken tikka masala was a lot saltier than I'd like, chicken was tough, and rice tasted undercooked. I did go at closing, so maybe that had something to do with it, but idk if I'd go back. read more

A gem in the middle of nowhere. Great customer service. Fresh food option off the grill. Definitely would return and recommend. And it is very well decorated. The biryani is absolutely FIRE!! read more

I stopped there for dinner today. And let me be honest, the food was terrible, not fresh AT ALL! We ordered samosa chat, Haleem and Naan. All 3 things were horrible, I am not going to recommend this place for Pakistani food at all. read more

The best Pakistani and Indian restaurant in Asheville. Delicious food. Chicken, lamb, goat, and vegetarian dishes are all highly recommended. Once you visit, you'll keep going back. read more

Classic strip mall gem here. Doesn't look like much on the outside- but SO good!!! The eggplant dish haunts my dreams. Didn't realize how much I love Pakistani food till I ate here. Spices were perfect, warmer/ earthier then Indian food. Portions were excellent and the owner was 12/10 human being- kind and friendly. So sad I discovered this place two weeks before I leave Asheville! Every time I visit, I will be stopping in. read more

Butter Chicken, Palak Paneer and garlic naan were on point. We ordered delivery. I found the portions to be pretty generous, with leftovers for the next day. This is one of the best Indian restaurants in Asheville. I'm not sure what people are complaining about. Trust me, anyone who says the restaurant that has initials CK is the best in the city, they are dead wrong. Give Biryani Express a try, you won't regret it. read more

It was the best and authentic Pakistani food we had in a long while. Service was great and good ambiance. Will strongly recommend.

I really wanted to like this place but...this is a one and done! We got chicken curry and chicken korma and both tasted the same. Both dishes were bland, sauce had a weird gritty texture. We actually had to reheat and add spices ourselves to finish eating them read more

It is one of the most authentic pakistani restaurants that you can find in NC. Everything is made from scratch and fresh. Each item i tried took me back to Pakistan. read more

This is a difficult review to write. It was, well, uneven in many ways. I ordered before it opened, got there to pick up the food, and they had not even looked to see an order had been placed. Incidentally, do not do that! It is much cheaper to order there ... much. And if you have to wait anyway... Okay, here goes, good, not so good, and meh. I ordered a substantial order, and specifically wanted chutney to go with the chicken samosas. Despite asking twice, I did not get home with any. The samosas needed one more minute as my friend and I each encountered a cold spot in the center. The filling was good, fully of mildly spicy chopped chicken. The menu does not say it, but you cannot get lamb biryani except on the weekend, so we altered the second entree to a mild lamb curry. I am pretty sure it was either mutton or goat, but if there are only 5 pieces of meat in the mostly curry gravy, one should not be all bone. Tasty gravy with white rice is thus a bit steep. Bar none, the hit of the meal is a chicken biryani, served with enough flavorful rice to serve many, even though the chicken itself was a little sparse. While the garlic naan was tasty, it desperately needed a bit more cooking and the regular naan actually needed a bit less. But they were cooked nice and fresh. But be warned! If not tightly wrapped in foil, they leak a bit "greasewise", so when they are placed sideways in a paper bag, you end up with a mess. We would eat it again, but maybe opt for eating in. I just need to budget for it. read more

The food here is great! We loved the biryani, saag paneer, and gulab jamun. The naan wasn't our favorite, but we did see that they were being freshly rolled out in the restaurant so they get points for that. Please ignore the idiotic review below complaining about bones in the biryani. Biryani is always made with bone-in meat. The meat is cooked into the dish, infusing the rice with flavor from the bones, like a good bone broth, and the meat is supposed to fall off, exposing the bone. read more

New Pakistani/Indian carryout. Big portions, decent spicing. Tandoori chicken is especially good.

Dawn was an absolute delight from beginning to end. Excellent service & amazing Indian food to match. I'll definitely recommend & return

Just tried this new Pakistani Indian combo. Got the Beef Nahari, Garlic Naan, and Samosas. Absolutely delish! Super friendly staff too. Had a great convo with the chef as well. You can tell she really cares about her food. Ill be back! Thank you for good food! read more

I wasn't sure what to expect with the word "express" in the name, but it did not disappoint. The food was fresh, delicious and served in beautiful serving bowls. The portions are huge. I took enough food home for 2 more meals. Ask about the homemade spicy chutney. It is full of flavor with a nice amount of heat. The staff was super nice and answered all questions about the menu and made excellent suggestions. read more

We have ordered a few times and life it. Very friendly service. The butter chicken and palak paneer are the family favorites now after trying a few things. We have loved this place every time. Such a treat to have so close to home! Definitely worth trying! read more

I was so excited to try this place.We ordered goat biriyani and chapli kabab. I didn't like any of them. Honestly, they should hire professional cook. I was happy with the price and service. The only thing is their food looks good but doesn't test good. read more

Biryani Express - Biriyani - Indian Near Me - Asheville, North Carolina

If you want authentic, fresh made desi food then this is the place you want to be at. Trust me when I say that we are a bunch of picky eaters. A place needs to be more than just serving good food for us to be happy with them. It needs to be clean, warm and welcoming and most importantly its food must not be visibly contaminated with professional spices to qualify as an authentic cuisine for us. This little hole in the wall checks all those boxes. From their karahi to butter chicken to their chapli kebab everything hit the mark on the spot. An added comfort was that the food was prepared right in front of our eyes and she used butter, not some cheap oil, to make the food. Asheville apparently does not have much halal places but with this place one wonders if it needs any more anyways? read more