We liked this new place. Ambience and service was also good. Well definitely go for Irani chai ... you will get the taste of regular milk unlike milk powder at a lot of other places. Now for food, Definitely have keema bhataure... it was perfect in terms of taste and quantity for 1 person. Then we had mandi... which was okay, because chicken was not cooked in Tandoor. Rest rice and the yogurt thing had the right taste as expected. We also tried 1 chicken appetizer, which also tasted really good. I will definitely go to this place again to try other things. read more

Tried Chicken Dum Biryani here, the quantity and serving portion is too good for 2 people easily. The Texture of the rice is very good as well, especially considering the biryani serving quantity. The taste and the masala in the rice is below average. Wouldn't recommend if you are a true Hyderabadi chicken dumplings biryani lover. The Tangdi chicken kebab was good to try for sure but the taste is again bland (no salt and different spices) read more

Charminar Express - Tangdi Kabab - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

We place an order at the counter, find a table and they get the food out to us. They have cutlery and plates for self service. Place is relatively small and as with most new restaurants these days, ambiance is refreshing with those wood wall panel slats and some greenery. In my quest to avoid artificial food colors I requested for items without it. Unfortunately all their biryanis use art colors so my options were limited to Andhra chicken curry and karvepaku chicken. **karvepaku chicken- 3.5/5- this is not on the menu but we were suggested this dish when we requested for a color free option. This had all the makings of Hyderabadi chicken 65- yogurt, green chillies, curry leaves sans the art color. So I was a happy customer. Though it was decent, it was not the best we had. **Andhra chicken curry- 3.5/5- unapologetically fiery but didn't have a luxurious gravy. **Garlic naan- 2.75/5- the naans were doughy and uncooked in the center. I thought it was one off but the next set we ordered had the same issue. Reason for lowering the rating overall for this place. read more

Charminar Express - Andhra Chicken Curry and Garlic Naan - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

See all

Lasuni chicken 5/5 - delicious, flavorful garlicky chicken Chicken 65 - 5/5 - spicy but amazing flavors. I wish they used less food color. Chilli garlic Naan - 5/5 a lil too buttery but super soft. Kids loved it! Bezawada boneless Chicken biryani- 2/5 - it was soggy, oily mess. The rice didn't have a lot of flavor. The 2 stars are for the great salan that came with it. Note to self: stick to dum biryani for next time! read more

Charminar Express - Lasooni kebab - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

See all

I'm thrilled to have discovered this gem in Sunnyvale, which serves some of the best Hyderabadi Indian cuisine I've had in the Bay Area! Our first visit tonight on the New Year's eve exceeded our expectations. The Chicken Biryani was exceptionally flavorful, with aromatic basmati rice cooked to perfection. The three pieces of chicken were marinated in rich, spicy Hyderabad-style flavors that complemented the rice beautifully. Best we've had in the Bay Area! The Chilli Chicken was another standout dish-, slightly sweet and tangy, with just the right balance of flavors. We also ordered the Chicken malai Kebab, which was deliciously creamy, although it could have benefited from a pinch of salt. Nonetheless, it was one of the best kebabs I've had in the area. Last but not least, the Mutton Haleem was rich, slow-cooked, and infused with an amazing smoky flavor from the charred onions. It was love at first bite! Try it with their biryanis. Overall, our experience at Express in Sunnyvale was fantastic. The food is authentic, flavorful, and expertly prepared. It's express so you order and pay at the kiosk and then the cutlery comes to your table along with water and food. They recently opened up and we wish them good luck! We'll be back! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025! read more

See all

Its been a while since we went to a restaurant sight unseen. I headed out there an placed an order to go. Simple order for Andhra chicken curry, lehsooni kabab and paneer tikka (tandoor). They don't have a large choice for Vegetarians but for meat eaters it seems like a feast. My wife who is the meat eater in my home enjoyed the two meat dishes. The chicken curry was spicy but she did enjoy it. The panner tikka was good and so were the naans we ordered. All in all a great experience and hope to go there to get some biryani. The ambience also seems to be good as the restaurant seems to be have been designed for this place and not just a bunch of tables thrown in. This was during Ramadan and so they gave samosas to all the folks waiting to pick the order. I assume that it is for the folks who came at the time of sunset. read more

We ordered butter garlic naan, chicken dum biryani (Hyderabadi), lasuni chicken, and chicken angara. The naan and biryani were decent. The lasuni chicken was just okay, while the chicken angara was unfortunately very bad--too much sauce, chicken was rubbery and lacking flavor. Overall, the food felt pretty basic and not up to the standard of other Indian and Pakistani biryani restaurants nearby. read more

Charminar Express - Chicken lassuni - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Food - 2.5 star ( Mutton biryani - 4 star, chicken curry, paneer tikka, lahsuni chicken - 2.5 star, chilli garlic naan - 1 star) Service - 4 star Ambience - 3 star ( cold gust of winds hit you all the time when entrance opens) read more

Charminar Express - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Most of the items in the menu were not available. Ambience is good, food was also good but for some reason, it is always empty during weekdays read more

We are already fans of their San Diego outlet and were very happy that they opened their branch in Bay Area. Amazing mutton biryani. The meat was cooked perfectly and the biryani rice was very flavourful. We ordered chilli chicken, Hyderabad dum goat biryani , chilli garlic naan and dum ka chicken. The Dum ka chicken was also very well made and the quantity was really good for the price. Chilli chicken was mouthwatering delicious. And all the meat is Zabiha Halal too. We were really happy with the food and will be definitely back again. read more

Food was super tasty. I made a mistake by asking for medium spicy. I'm a solid medium kinda gal everywhere. But heck! When an Indian restaurant ask for level, you have know who their audience are. Santa Clara? Holly real Indians. I can't handle their medium. Still very very good, has real depth and richness. I loved it. read more

Our favorite biryani spot in the Bay Area! Amazing dum biryani, chicken 65, chilli chicken! The iraní chai is a must try - the only place we know where it tastes this good! read more

Good, tasty food. Service was okay, price is a bit on the higher side. Ordered mammals, karuvepallai chicken (needed salt), chicken 65, butter chicken and gongura chicken biriyani (did not get much gongura flavor, but the flavor of biriyani was good) read more

See all

Halal meat is served here as the owner's are known Muslims. Excellent Chicken 65 as well as Haleem and Dum Goat Biriyani, which is one of their specialties. Nicely decorated interior with fast and friendly service. Highly recommended! read more

Authentic Hyderabadi food! We ordered goat and chicken biryani, Haleem and chicken 65. Biryani was the highlight. Rice was fluffy, well cooked and flavorful with meat perfectly cooked. It was flavorful without overpowering flavors. One of the best biryanis in Bay Area. Haleem and chicken65 was good so was Irani chai. Brought back memories of Hyderabad with Irani chai. A very authentic Hyderabadi restaurant. Hope they maintain the quality. read more

bro as a hydro this place slaps. but seriously though such delicious food and lowkey felt like I was at Jubilee Hills eating at some restaurant in Hyderabad. Definitely recommend and wonderful service. read more

Amazing food especially Chicken 65 and Goat biryani! The Irani chai is ok and Haleem is very good too.

Tried Mutton Dum, Chicken 65, Panneer Butter Masala Overall: loved the food Downside: heavy dose of food coloring in chicken 65 and PBM Look forward to trying rest of the items. Feedback to the restaurant: Taste was already good. This rating would have been 5/5 without the food coloring. Plz consider reducing that. All the best read more

1) Just putting charminar pic or charminar name dose not make it a hyderabad restaurant . 2) Chef has to be from hyderabad to make it a hyderbadi Restaurant 3) All chefs looks like from out of hyderabad or out of state dont want to name them to make it any controversy 4) I heard the rest/owner had same business in san diago and moved here - in a remote US city people will crave to eat anything thing indian 5) in Bay Area Even the best of restaurant have to be perfect 8-9 of 10 time else they are gone in a Year 6) Service is nothing to nil cahier is either busy on Phones or Distracted 7) Abidance is Casual not good for groups Food i ordered dine 1) Chicken Biryan - 3/5 2) Dum Ka chicken - 1/5 it is tandoori chicken in butter chicken gravy and that too tasteless 3) Chicken 65 - 1/5 no way near to the hyderabad style 4( Garlic Naan - 1/5 Just the thinnest naan i ate in bay area . read more

New management totally upgraded this place. Food is great, service is quick and friendly, ambience is fresh and cool. Excited to come back and try all the other things on the menu. Everything so far is read more

Charminar Express - Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Classic Naan - Indian Near Me - Sunnyvale, California

Ordered the family feast for dinner. The Paneer 65 was hard and almost inedible with no taste and very stale. Chicken Tikka masala and Chicken dum biryani was below average taste with Mango lassi having tons of food color in it. Won't recommend this place, very disappointed. read more

We ordered chicken biryani and haleem. The flavors were off. There was excess masala which didn't taste anything like biryani. I mean why would you call and market it as hyderabadi dum biryani when you don't know how it tastes. Disappointed. read more

The first time I tried the chicken biryani, it was really good--the flavors were rich, and the chicken was well-cooked. It was quite close to an authentic Hyderabadi chicken biryani. But the next two times I tried it, the experience was disappointing. The rice had little to no flavor, the chicken pieces were just average, and overall, it looked more like plain yellow rice than biryani. Ambience was good. I hope they improve and get back the previous taste. read more

Biryani was good, staff was friendly, the dine in was also good. They have goat biryani only on fridays.

Pretty bad food. Ordered Egg Biriyani and it was delivered on-time and it was cold. It tasted like leftover and stale. I wish yelp allowed a review without any start or -ve star read more

Excellent biryani; NorCal branch of the same resturant we found in San Diego a while back. Goat biryani, Chicken 65, Hyderabai-style Baingan bartha .. all very tasty. "Express" type restaurant .. so order at counter, and take a seat. Nice ambiance and friendly staff. Will go again read more

We tried mutton biryani, haleem and chicken 65. It's out of the world. Hyderabadi food lovers must try!

5 stars, great food that is decently priced. I ordered the Butter Chicken, Butter Naan and Chicken Biryani. Food was delicious and the portions were enough for two people to share. I'm glad that they have spice level options for regular and mild. Looking forward to trying other items on their menu. Service was also quick which was great as I usually only have an hour break for lunch. read more

Great Food . Loved the chicken biryani, lesuni kebab and mutton biryani . Irani chai was fantastic too . One of the best restaurants in the Bay Area . read more

the food was amazing, customer service was also exquisite. Truly reminded me of food back in Hyderabad, would go again.