The food is just OK, but the prices are impossible to argue with. I tried dahi vada, papdi chaat, chana masala, and garlic naan. The naan in particular was good, evidently fresh with raw garlic and butter on top. The chana was a bit flat in flavor, but adequate. The two chaats were a bit too similar to each other, but the papdi chaat was nice for its texture. This cost is just $8 per dish and $3.50 for the naan (total $35 with tax and service charge), and this ended up being too much food even for two people. read more

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This was on the NYT best 100 list, and I checked it out since it was across the street from my apartment. It always looked busy, but I thought it was just a regular diner. The food here was excellent - cheap, plentiful, and flavorful. We thought the chicken tikka would be butter chicken, but it was actually just grilled chicken. That's definitely our fault, and it was excellent. I loved the samosa chaat, the garlic naan, the spinach dish, and the okra dish we got - basically everything. Definitely worth checking out. read more

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Jackson Heights is the heart of all kind of sub continent food and Dera has made a name for itself in the Pakistani Community. Pluses: Plenty of seating; Service is fast; A lot of variety of food to choose from; decent dessert options and plenty of attendants. Negatives: Food is ready made, basically they will just warm it for you. Gives you a sense of a cafeteria. Place can be messy and the bathroom is a disaster. If you have a larger group, this is a decent option. read more

This is authentic Pakistani food. I think the food is absolutely amazing. Majority of the main dishes have amazing seasoning. The service is good, they are attentive. There are times especially the weekend when the restaurant is extremely busy. Other times, like weeknights, it's less people. Ambiance is decent, nothing extraordinary. What I recommend to get: I love the chicken and goat palak curry - it is one of the best I ever tried. The butter chicken is really tasty. They give a large portion. The garlic naan is incredible. It is so soft and tasty, I could eat it by itself. Definitely worth the price. read more

This was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I've had. The food was poorly prepared--overcooked, bland, and clearly not fresh.On the top When we asked simple questions, we were met with attitude instead of assistance. It created an uncomfortable atmosphere and completely ruined the experience. Overall, it felt like there was no attention to quality or customer experience. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. I m only giving 1 star because there is no option for zero. read more

I ordered goat pulao, goat curry, chicken keema and chicken curry. The chicken curry had a lot of bones, and hardly any meat, but taste was good. Chicken Keema was made well, tasted great.. The goat curry and goat pilau were NOT goat. They were Lamb meat.. Even though I asked several times to confirm that it was goat. Both These lamb dishes had mostly large bones, completely devoid of any edible meat. It's going to be a while before I order any "goat" dishes from Dera read more

I've posted so many photos and checked in here way before Yelp became popular and I just realized I have not even reviewed this place! LOL. I just want to keep this place to myself and don't want others to know about it! It's our go to Indian and Pakistani food. I've ordered to go, dined in, and even got trays for my baby shower over a decade ago! Food tasted good then and is still good now (the only difference is it costs more now - same as all the pricing in NYC). They used to be open 24hours but now close at midnight. Still a good place to go to esp. for late night dining. read more

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So I had the chance to eat here last weekend. I was sooooo surprised by how economical it was!! Everything seemed to cost half or even one-third versus what we have to pay here for pretty mediocre food in KY. Anyway, what we ordered and how it tasted is below: Papri Chaat.... 5/5, ample quantity Chicken Seekh Kebab... 4/5 Bihari Boti... 4/5 Chicken Boti.... 4/5 Beef Nihari... 3/5 .. found it bland n tasteless Naan... 5/5 Lassi... 5/5 Highly recommended!!!!! Tea... 5/5 The accompanying raita n salad were fresh and tasty too. The only thing I'd have preferred was if they'd focused a lil on presentation and at least cleaned the rims or serving dishes before serving. But that's a small thing and I guess, easily ignored coz the food was fabulous!!!!! read more

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This is one of the best Pakistani , Indian food restaurant in Queens, Amazing food , Always Fresh and the service is outclass You must visit this restaurant if you are in Queens read more

The food is really excellent here. Top quality, very fresh. Spices are perfect. It's really popular and the staff and service is great. Very convenient with subways. Highly recommend! read more

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This is a funky place that serves very mediocre Pakistani food at rock bottom prices. Meals come with a nondescript salad and bland raita. The speciality of the house is goat, or more specifically, goat bones. Ours arrived, swimming in a deep pool of meh flavored oil. Okra was medicinally sweet, with a slimy, fresh-out-of-the-can texture. Nan was good. So was the Service. My problem with Dera isn't so much with the restaurant. It's a cheap, second rate, local place, which serves a purpose to the local community. However, The ranking of Dera on The NY Times top 100 restaurants is an egregious absurdity and seriously damages the credibility of the Times food &dining department. Their endorsement is an insult to the wonderful cuisine that can be discovered around the five boroughs. This is not a place that should be on a top 1,000 list. read more

You can love Dera, you can hate Dera, or you can be indifferent to Dera. But you simply cannot deny the significance of Dera as a Jackson Heights institution for the Pakistani diaspora in and around New York City. This restaurant has been around longer than I have been alive, and I am as old as the hills (don't ask me which hills, I am geographically and geologically challenged). When I talk to the Pakistani aunties and uncles who left their homeland during the previous century in search of bigger and better opportunities in this wondrous concrete jungle that dreams are made of, they often speak fondly of Dera (including when it was operating under a different name - Shaheen - I believe). Dera is a spacious restaurant that occupies prime real estate at the corner of Broadway and 72nd St in the middle of the incredibly diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights. The food is consistently tasty, albeit a tad heavy on the use of oil. The culinary style leans towards the cuisine from the Punjab region. Service is adequate; not particularly convivial (or even very attentive), but they get the job done. I will continue to undertake the trek out to Queens to enjoy the food from the Motherland. read more

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Goat Pulao is always so good! Including the garlic naan and veggie samosas. I order here all the time and they serve good portions. I would say a little more salt for me personally but it's good. Prices are great for the type of dishes you get! read more

This was my first time here. My sister heard about Dera Restaurant from a couple of friends. Since we were in the area, we decided to try this place (my regular place was closed). It was a very large space with plenty of tables, sort of like a cafeteria. We walked up to the open counter display to look at all the food that was available. I didn't know what I was looking at, but the staff here was very friendly and I asked a lot of questions they helped me understand what I was look at. Normally at other Indian restaurants in the area their staff does not speak English and its a challenge trying to order anything. There were a few rice trays different chicken, beef and goat choices, plus more. Once we decided what we wanted we ordered a few things to take home. We ordered their samosa (potato and peas), Aloo Paratha, Chicken Biryani. Everything was good, since most of the food was already cooked and in the display case everything needed to be heated up except for the Aloo Paratha that was cooked to order. I looked around to see what everyone else was eating and their Tandoori Roti and Sesame naan seemed very popular. Almost everyone had a some at their table. Next time, I am going to try their butter chicken plus definitely get a few fresh baked breads. read more

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A very average south Asian cuisine. Nothing special about the food. A decent size sitting place and service is okay as well.

Typical hole in the wall place in jackson heights. There was plenty of seating and servers were friendly. They had a buffet but decided to order off the menu. We ordered an assortment of items from halwa puri to grilled kabobs. The nihari, chicken tikka and halwa puri were my favorite. The qeema naan and beef bihari were solid. I would come back here read more

Salams all I am going to keep it short and simple Place is clean Variety of curries, biryanis and all sort of BBQ I loved this place and used to visit it religiously But whats with lying on face about dishes !!!! They proclaim that there curry ya salan is made of goat and biryani is also made of goat. Now lets be honest.. someone who grew up eating goat ya goat ka salan which we call it... how is possible that u tell me that i dont know the difference between them.... Are you serious You are lying straight out loud.... I never expected this from Dera i swear i used to priase this place. Check the pictures. Most of there stuff which they say is goat is actually L Keep it real... read more

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I have been here twice. MY first impression was that the establishment is just running on the fact it serves "halal" and has a "Pakistani name". My experience was 3 stars. 2nd trip, ie the one I am writing the review for was no different. I went to see if, may be I was biased, well I wasnt. One of the most stale samosas ever. The smell of the oil on them was indescribable! Only good thing was some BBQ Tandori chicken, rest was not worth it. The problem with most South asian spots is inconsistency, bad customer service, inattentive servers and lack of cleanliness. They assume that since they are serving "ethnic food" they are doing a favor! Nope I am sorry you can do much much better. I would have given the place 2 stars, but I know food industry and its hardships and that may be the only reason I did not! Well like we say, I wont go to this Dera anymore! read more

Food (5/5) - Fair warning, spice level is higher than usual! We got the chicken Karachi, chicken keema and the beef tandoori kebab, and were especially impressed by the quality of the chicken dishes! The chicken keema was probably our favourite, the mix between vegetables / potatoes and ground chicken was not too starchy or too greasy, and went very well with parathas. While Naan is an obvious option to eat the food with, we also really liked the parathas. We didn't love the beef kebab, it was a little on the dry side instead of the melt in your mouth texture that we would normally expect tandoori to have. Price (5/5) - very much bang for your buck. With all the food we had it was probably 15-20 per person. This is including a service charge that is appended to all dine-in orders (15%). Would be a great place to take out from if you'd prefer not to pay that! read more

Best mithai ever in town! I will definitely get again. highly recommended! Loved so much read more

Dera Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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This place is a very casual, no frills, and affordable establishment. It's a nice restaurant to bring friends or family as they have a lot of seating and can accommodate large groups. They serve larger portions of food at the restaurant than via takeout or delivery, so make sure to eat at the restaurant if you want to get your money's worth. They give you a small salad with yogurt dressing on the side without additional charge - but you have to ask for it. The naan is thick and soft, and the goat dishes are full of meat and bone marrow. The service is also fair and the food comes quickly. read more

Dera Restaurant - Chicken haleem, goat feet stew, and goat karahi - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

What a scam!!! They charged $8 for a white rice. I ordered clearly for a white rice and they charged for $17.42 for 2 white rice. That is totally B.S!!!!! read more

Dera Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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Indian bucket food at its best, that's how I'd describe Dera. You can never go wrong with delicious Biryani or the different chicken curries that they have on display. Reasonably priced too. If you order their Malai Kebabs or Chicken Sheekh Kebabs, they are always made to order and so taste absolutely fresh and delicious and are cooked to perfection. The kebabs are marinated for a good 48 hours ensuring all the spices and juices are sucked in by the meat. They have a very attentive staff, friendly and alert. Paying cash will get you a discount! read more

Dera Restaurant - Biryani and Palak (Spinach) Chicken - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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I'd go again in a heartbeat. But there's so many restaurants, so few meals (esp while on weight watchers). It looks like a giant catering hall but that's misleading, anyone can go in for a meal. We didn't know what to order so we got an Iftar box to share. A good sampling of many dishes (I wish this was always an option). The chicken palak was life changing. Took home a quart and spent my weight watchers points for the rest of the month (I think). But so worth it! read more

Dera Restaurant - Iftar box - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

I would have never imagined ordering from a 3 star rating restaurant but my mother recommended this place. Since she is normally not a fan of takeout food, I decided to go with her choice. I'm so glad I did. This place is definitely underrated. Since it is takeout in the time of Corona, I really wanted to support local businesses in the area. I ordered goat biryani, goat curry (I know. I OD'd on the goat. I was really craving goat!), and two pieces of naan. All were really decent priced (and goat is generally expensive btw) and the flavors were fantastic! The food was super warm when it arrived and I could tell the food was fresh. It was the best goat biryani I have ever had so far and the naan was so fluffy. Both my parents raved about the biryani too and they normally only like Bengali style biryani, so this definitely gave them a whole new perspective. I was also super impressed with how quick delivery was. I ordered from almost a mile away and they delivered right up to the apartment. It's a shame I don't have any pictures of the food (I was too hungry. Lol) but curry and biryani are a little hard to get aesthetically pleasing pictures with. You really can't eat with your eyes here. However, please take my word for it and try this place out. You will love it!! read more

I ordered 2 items: Biriyani & Behari Kebab. Biriyani : Taste- 4/5* Quantity- 4/5* Beef Behari Kebab: Taste: too much spicy 2.5/5* Quantity: 5/5* read more

Dera Restaurant - Beef Behari Kebab - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Was in NY and happened upon this lovely restaurant. When you walk in the door the smell of all the spices greets you. For me it was like a little piece of heaven. I ordered the chicken biryani and chicken keema and can honestly say the flavors were amazing. I always thought vindaloo was my favorite, but no more. This chicken keema has made me an addict! The gentlemen behind the counter were so helpful in explaining what everything was as well and let's not forget the dessert case . You can't go wrong visiting here for a meal. read more

Dera Restaurant - Chicken keema on the left and biryani on the right. - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

If you're looking for appearance this is not the place to go. But if you're hungry And wanT to eat good food without spending so much this is def the place to try out. My total food was 28$ Which included two can sodas. Some servers are good and some are good. The server we had was Awful I had to chase her around to ask about our Order and for the check. I wouldn't trust drinking their water or using their utensils. I always request plastic spoons or Cups. Overall the food is what matters. I enjoyed their food. Second time at this spot. Nevver disappoints with their food. read more

Dera Restaurant - Chicken biryani, garlic Nan and chicken masala - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Last time i was in this location was about 2011 or 2012 and it was jammed packed with people. Today not so much. We sat down and they served a light cucumber, carrot lettuce with watered down yogurt dressing. We had ordered chicken, naan, eggplant dish (because they were out of aloo gobi), chickpea dish, and 2 canned drinks. Food was ok on the pricy side as oppose to take out. Im assuming the extra food charge is the waiters tip even tho they dont do much. Bathroom is filthy. Better to do take out than to have to use their facility. read more

Never understood why people love naan so much but garlic naan is just amazing! Its orgasm after orgasm in your mouth. Talk about foodgasm. The tandoori chicken & sauce was great too. read more

Dera Restaurant - Chicken tandoori & garlic naan - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Order chai and Samosa chat, very disappointing. Chai was so watered down it tasted horrible. Chat was not great either, a lot of Channa and no samosa pieces. Would not recommend. read more

Good food, reasonable prices courteous staff must try Lamb Chops read more

While service has always been sub par it was expectionallt bad today, we waited 90 minutes as they lost our order 3 times. No one cared about anything. read more

It's been a while since I have been to Dera The parking for guests is closed The food quality has dropped quite significantly- was bland and the behari kabob has fridge smell Dissatisfied and would not visit again read more

We were in the area and wanted to try some Indian food so we helped it and decided to come here. They have a parking lot. The place is Indian, Pakistani food. Whatever you wish to eat you must order, they do not have specials or combo meals. We went as a group and they were able to set us up instantly. We had a little of various dishes of tried everything almost. The naan (bread) was yummy. The food is quite tasty and portions pretty good. The place was busy and many customers were also ordering to go. read more

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This is the definition of brown comfort food. My boo and I come here when we are craving something hearty and savory to eat. My go-to order here is the chicken makhani and he likes the chicken karahi. I would love it even more if they offered chicken tikka masala (which is one of my top five fave foods), but the makhani is a close option. The rice is soft, fragrant, and good too. The portions are pretty big if you dine in. Also, they give a small salad for the table. The service is what you would expect from a mainly take-out place. Sometimes the servers look like they can't be bothered/are having a horrible day and just don't want to deal with you right now, but nothing so rude nor bad. read more

Dera Restaurant - The orange is chicken makhani and the yellow is chicken karahi. - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Amazing food, I've been going here since it was called Shaheen in the 1990s. Great naan, butter chicken, Haleem, biryani etc If you want authentic Pakistani food this is the place to go. Sure it's a little run down and tends to have dirty floors sometimes but overall I love to bring the family here when we are in town. Delicious food. Oh and their chai is amazing as well! read more

Dera Restaurant - Love their chai! - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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I started off loving this place, but it quickly made a turn for the worse with undercooked chicken tikka. I started with the goat curry. I didn't know until the waitress recommended it, but it is possible to get a half portion of the curries. So for $6, I got a half portion of the goat curry which was definitely enough for me since I also got the chicken tikka. The goat curry was decent, but I wish it a bit more spicy and served at a hotter temperature. I've definitely had better goat curry, but it was satisfying. The tandoori naan was really impressive. It was freshly baked in the tandor and had a great chewiness. I'm used to naan being brushed with a layer of clarified butter which this wasn't, but I didn't miss the butter. I also got a tandoori roti, which was also good. It's made of whole wheat so it's more dense and doesn't rise. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the fluffy naan, but still good. I wish they would have let me order a small portion of rice, but even the half potion was $4. So I figured I'd get both the naan and the roti instead. Okay, now on the why this is a two star review. I also ordered the chicken tikka (on the bone). It looked excellent when they brought it out and it tasted FANTASTIC. Like some of the best chicken tikka I've ever had. But as I got to the center, I realized the chicken was undercooked. And not like it was a bit pink by the bone. It was like I bit into completely raw meat. I'm a pretty lenient person, so I figured it was just that piece, so I tried another and, again, the center was raw. Of the six pieces, three of them were a bit smaller, so those were cooked through and I could experience the amazing flavors of the chicken. It comes with some yogurt sauce to dip it in. I brought it up to the waitress and she apologized, but did not replace the item or take it off the bill. I enjoyed my meal and I was really impressed by the flavors of the chicken tikka, but I can't excuse grossly undercooked chicken. It's like on Top Chef. Undercook something? You're definitely the one to go home. read more

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This place hits he spot when it comes to Pakistani food. The food comes fast and in large portions, and is reasonably priced. Unfortunately, they were out of samosas when we came for dinner. The Naan is very good! It came to us warm and soft. The beef nehari was really good- the meat fell apart easily and was easy to break apart when eating with naan. The chicken makhni had great flavor, however was a little sweeter than other standard butter chicken dishes. Chicken seekh kabob was good but had very strong herb flavor that was almost overpowering. They also don't have beef seekh kabob, unfortunately. Mango lassi was also delicious. I would come back again! read more

Dera Restaurant - Mango Lassi, Beef Nehari, Chicken Seekh Kabab, Tandoori Naan, and Chicken Mukhni - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Wow the food on this restaurant is insanely good. Cheap also! I ordered 3 entree with rice and naan and it only cost $35. Bring cash so you dont have to pay taxes lol. Is the place clean? It is fine and what you expect from restaurants near Jackson Heights. I suggest to not drink their water and use utensils. Ask for plastic utensils. Other than that, this is place is good. Try it and see! read more

Dera Restaurant - Basmati Mix Vegetable Rice, Goat Curry, Tandoori Chicken, Naan, Aloo Palak. - Indian Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York