I recently tried Taava Kitchen as I was craving Indian food and it did not disappoint! Since the…read morefood is prepared fresh, it took about 10 minutes for me to be able to pick up my order. This is a small restaurant so customers would just order to go. I tried a couple things - the papadum and the channa masala. The papadum was crispy and I loved the roasted cumin flavor that complemented the spices. The channa masala had a kick to it which surprised me, but I loved it! You can really taste the ginger, cardamom, and bold flavors with each bite. I can tell they have really honed in on their recipes and representing the delicious cuisine. Overall, I would come back and try more things on the menu!

Delicious and affordable indian food. They have good combo option where you can get two types of…read moreentrees for around $20 -- always a great option so I can have a bit of each rather than committing to one big dish for 2 like at other spots. The portions are also pretty generous and includes a nan or other bread if your choice. We also order them for take out often and the food is always still fresh and fast. My only con is that the spice levels are not the most consistent -- I usually get a medium spice level and some times its very spice and others extremely mild.

Wonderful service! Terrific food…read more What a find, if you haven't stopped by don't wait. You won't be disappointed!

If I had to describe Guru Curry House in one word it would be "bland." This was some of the worst…read moreIndian food I've ever had. The garlic and onion naan was dry, flimsy, and soft. There is no way it's seen the inside of a tandoor. I wouldn't be surprised if it was store bought, frozen, and microwaved. The mushroom tikka masala had no flavor and tasted like cream. Their mattar paneer similarly lacked spice and the predominant flavor was a sweetness from the peas? The paneer itself was super rubbery and squeaky. It definitely didn't taste fresh. The daal makhani tasted like canned lentil soup. No makhan or masala in sight. The ras malai tasted store bought. If you're looking for real south asian flavors, I would not dine here.

This is one of my favorite Indian takeout restaurants. Almost all of the dishes and breads have…read morebeen great so far. The service is quick and no-nonsense. I'm not sure about its dine-in patronage pre-covid but currently I mostly see its tables empty. The sparse neighborhood doesn't help a lot either.

Quite decent food, and it was empty when we went in for lunch on Sunday. Service was attentive, and…read morethe ambiance was pleasantly quiet. They were burning incense when we arrived, and asked if we'd prefer that they put it out, which was thoughtful. We had plain naan. Chicken tikka masala, rice, and samosas. Everything tasted good. I'd go back and try out more of the menu.

Had dinner there tonight for the first time with my wife. I had the lamb saag, she had the lamb…read moretikka masala, and we shared an order of buttered naan. Absolutely delicious: served piping hot the way I like it, spiciness (medium plus) was perfect, just enough to form some sweat on my forehead without burning my mouth. Huge portions--we each took home a third of the meal and I can't wait to eat the rest in the morning. The place was nearly empty, and it was very easy to converse. The service was accurate, fast, and friendly. Total before tax and tip was $37.15. I think you should eat there before people discover what a great place it is and you can't get a table!

Strong three stars - really solid dining experience. We ordered the chicken tikka masala, garlic…read moreand plain naan, coconut rice, and tandoori salmon, and papadom. Papadom- served with tasty sauces Chicken tikka masala- all down to personal preference, this is a very sweet/tomato heavy flavor profile, not very spicy (we got medium level). Would definitely recommend spiciest level. Naan- average Coconut rice- delicious. Kind of a sticky texture, very strong flavor that paired well with the chicken and salmon. Tandoor salmon- great flavor, served with some roasted vegetables which were tasty. Slightly overcooked but with the fresh lemon juice and rice it wasn't too noticeable. The service was fine, atmosphere pretty lowkey but nicely decorated and clean. Will definitely return to try more dishes and figure out which suit our tastes the best.

I ordered the " OKRA CHICKEN & WHEAT ROTI BREAD " for Dinner Last nite via Doordash.com …read more... Chicken Breast Meat was TENDER , FRESH & JUICY , The OKRA was also done ' Just Right ' being packed with " Oomph " !!!!!! Love the Melee of Curry Spice and the ' Downhome Aromas ' emanating from their "" GOURMET PAKISTANI HALAL KITCHEN "" in Downtown Oakland !!! Miraculously never had any PARKONG ISSUES around here always finding a spot , if not ' Bang in Front ' then on Adjoining Webster St. !!!! Lovely Ultra Clean AMBIANCE w/ Clean Customer Washroom & Sparkling GRANITE TOP tables. Establishment Very Appropriate For Families !!!!!!

Overall, would not recommend this place. I encountered very racist and bigoted treatment here…read more I placed an online order last night and went by for the pick up. When I approached the front counter, the lady present was very standoffish with me. I informed her of why I was there and she asked my name for the order. Upon giving her my name she then glared at me and literally asked me to recite my entire order lol! I showed her my online receipt in which she then insisted I still tell her my order. She brushed away my receipt and let another customer cut in front of me. Interestingly, the customer told her his name and she retrieved his order with no issue and was very friendly with him. To note, I was the only Black person present at that time. When I inquired as to why that customer wasn't asked to recite his entire order, she grinned and said that he's a "regular" and that I was "new." She went on to let a few other customers cut in front of me. I then asked for my money back in which she refused to return. Even when I asked for the manager, she said he was very busy. I made several requests for this resulting in her saying no and refusing to return my money. I then noted to her I'm calling the authorities in which I did. Furthermore, while servicing some of the other patrons, she would speak in another language with them while they looked at me and start laughing and staring me down. Eventually, the manager came out. He presented himself professionally and upon explaining what occurred he apologized and said it was unacceptable. He even offered me a drink with my meal and asked that I please accept the order instead and wanted to make things right. I took him at face value and said fine. While the situation was remedied, I definitely will not be returning to this restaurant. I researched some of the other reviews and came across several where other Black patrons have had similar racially motivated experiences here. That tells me there's a common practice of racism here. I refuse to support a business where this kind of behavior is tolerated. I have zero tolerance for bigots of any kind. Overall, the experience was a waste of my time and very dehumanizing. To hate someone you don't even know simply because of their skin pigmentation and ethnicity is irrational at best and bad for business especially in a place like Oakland where it's multicultural. My advice would be to not support this establishment. I especially advise any Black patrons not to come here as they clearly have issue with anyone who is simply Black, despite not knowing them as a person. Don't give your money, nor your valuable time, to hateful individuals who dehumanize others. All in all, this place gets a thumbs down.

Pippal is one of those places that just gets it. Cool, modern vibe without trying too hard, super…read morefriendly service and food that actually make you pause mid-conversation like, wait ... this is really good. For dinner, we ordered Dahi vada chaat, chicken trio, maharashtrian style chicken curry, sag with makki ko roti and beetroot roti. Everything was flavorful and felt thoughtful done. Not greasy, not overly heavy just really well balanced. Highlight for me was beetroot roti which is not available in any other restaurants. Roti was soft, warm and impossible to stop eating. Overall, this place is warm and stylish, great for a date night with friends where you want things to feel fun but still a little elevated.

My brother and I brought my niece here today for some Indian food, thinking it would be a nice meal…read moreon a beautiful day. Unfortunately, the experience was really disappointing. First, the customer service set the tone. The first server who greeted us was very rude, nonchalant, and standoffish. It honestly felt like we were bothering her just by being there, which made the experience uncomfortable from the start. As for the food, this is definitely not your typical Indian food. The flavors were very different from what we're used to, and not in a good way. My niece absolutely loves Indian food -- we eat it pretty regularly -- but she did not like her dish at all. None of us really enjoyed our meals. We even spoke with the manager about it because we were trying to be reasonable. We explained that the food just wasn't something we could eat and wanted to see if there was any way to resolve it. The manager told us there was nothing he could do because we had already ordered the food, so we ended up paying for meals that we barely touched. If you look at the pictures, it probably looks like we didn't eat much of anything. That's because we really didn't. The only things we were able to eat were the naan and some of the rice. Even the rice didn't come with the meal and had to be ordered separately. Another thing worth mentioning is the portion sizes. The dishes looked more like appetizer portions rather than full meal portions, especially for the price. Between the unfriendly service, the unusual taste of the food, and the fact that we had to pay for meals we didn't even eat, this was not a great experience. Unfortunately, this is not a place we would return to.

4.5-star delivery. But it's my first first experience with the restaurant. So I will only give them…read morefour stars. I'll have to order it again our go to the restaurant before I elevate them to five. However, it seems pretty likely because the food was so delicious. The Tandoori Chicken was absolutely excellent. Perfectly seasoned, moist and cooked to temperature and, succulent. I also ordered Palak Paneer (spinach and cheese), which was excellent. I like serving it over their Basmati Rice, which was soft, tender and flavorful. The Garlic Naan was the coup de grâce. I may have found a new favorite. I read good things about the ambience of the restaurant, which I've seen while driving down University Avenue. I hope to check it out soon.

Ambiance was really nice, easy street parking. Server was…read morenice and took our order to go and it came decently quick. Food was hot and tasted fresh ordered the paneer Tikka masala and a lentil soup and butter naan was delicious

Their naan channay are delicious, we have been going there for breakfast almost every 2 weeks…read more Tried their Aalo Parathay as well today and they are also super delicious and must be tried. Everyone is super nice, specially Aunty Noreen (the cook)

Went here on a first date and he bailed shortly after a few bites into his meal…read more (People have serious miscommunication issues) Thankfully you pay before ordering here, otherwise I would have been stuck with the bill. Food was good though. I had garlic naan and either Vindaloo or Korma. Chai was also delicious. Hence the name

Just came back from a retirement lunch at Namastey. We sat inside, but we sat close to the doors so…read moreit was a nice balance of shade and fresh air. Next time I'll try sitting on their patio; it looks so inviting with its umbrellas. I typically have plain naan with Indian food, but one of my colleagues wanted to try the goat cheese naan and it was sooo delicious and fluffy. I will def order it next time, which I think will be soon. We had tandoori salmon, dahl, butter chicken, vegetable momos, and palak paneer. Everything was super tasty. There were 7 of us, and we ordered 3 basmati rice sides, and one brown rice. We had almost two sides (boxes) of rice left. I think 3 would have been more than plenty. Two people got mango lhassis, and they gave us a free rasmalai dessert at the end, with a candle since the person who is retiring also had a recent birthday. Everyone loved the food and enjoyed the open clean space. I will be back and bring my family here!

Ordered for delivery so can't say much about the ambiance…read more The food was packed tight in a plastic container, and was still pretty hot. I got the chili chicken momos. I always have to try the momos when trying a new Nepalese place. The momos didn't look close to the picture on the menu. My food looked like it was thrown into the container and shipped off, tumbled, upside down, and sideways. The dumpling wrap was almost on the soggy side. A little more time in the sealed box and they would have been soggy. Overall though, the dish was good with a bit of spice level. This is more of a 3.5 stars than a 4 stars.

We had an exceptional experience dining here tonight! The only draw back was the valet parking not…read morebeing able from the hotel! Food was well prepared and service was attentive. We will be back soon.

Heading out for a date night, we landed at Jaji ~ what an absolutely beautiful restaurant. Wow!…read moreI've walked and driven by this restaurant for some time, and we finally had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal + drinks here. We made a reservations ahead of time and were seated for dinner. We ordered the Bolani Triangles and Shola-Qorooti Croquettes to star and cocktails. For our main, we went with the Yogurt Chicken Kabobs and a side of Narenj Pallow (saffron rice). Cocktail-wise we tried the Red Henna, Black Ink and the Pashtunwali #1. For the second course we ordered the Estrella Galicia Lagers. There's also a happy hour drink and bar bites menu in the bar & lounge area. Looks like those hours are geared towards 5-6:30p. Jaji shares 'they are a modern progressive take on Afghan cuisine and a modern love letter to Afghanistan.' The same owners have a sister restaurant also in Oakland called Parche off Broadway which serves contemporary Colombian cuisine. All in all, our meal was delicious and esthetically pretty. So many layers to our meal and deep flavors and a thoughtful approach. We were headed to a show or we would have probably ordered more. Def looking forward to exploring more from the menu like the picture worthy Osso Buco and dessert :) The cocktail menu is worthy of a trip in itself, and event space is equally as gorgeous. What a win for downtown Oakland! We took a ride-share as parking seems to be a bit tricky, although there are metered lots nearby.