My go-to Indian restaurant without driving as far as Fremont! I go here with my husband every couple weeks. The ambiance is more modern than other mom & pop Indian restaurants. It's bright, clean, and welcoming inside. This is also a typical self-service restaurant where you grab your own utensils, napkins, plates, cups, chai, chutneys, and take-out boxes at the end. My order from the last couple visits: 5/5 Tandoori chicken leg: Pakwan does this SO well and it's moist and flavorful every time. 5/5 Beef boti: my favorite beef dish! I was worried about this being tough, but it's so tender and well seasoned. 5/5 Achar gosht: one of my non-negotiables whenever I visit. So good! 5/5 Mango lassi: no complaints, it's perfect every time. :) 4/5 Aloo naan: my favorite naan to order! 4/5 Keema naan: I love this naan with any of the curries. 3.5/5 Chicken makhanwala: not my favorite butter chicken, but the meat is tender and it satisfies the craving. Not as flavorful as i'd prefer. 3.5/5 Beef seekh kabob: not my favorite seekh kabob i've had, but this is merely a different style of seekh kabob than my preference. I'd prefer more cumin & coriander in it, but still good enough for me to order 1 or 2 every time! read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Tandoori Chicken Leg, naan, rice, Beef Boti kabab, and Achar Gosht (goat) - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

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Great desi food and great quality. They have some of the best bbq and vegetarian dishes. Friendly service as well. Try the ground beef kabob as well as the chicken kabobs. Cooked in a tandoor the authentic way. read more

Good spot for Indian-Pakistani cuisine. Came here for an early dinner on a weekend and it was getting packed as we left. It's a self service place where you order & pay for your food, pick up your utensils and they call out your number for you to pick up your food when it's ready. It's more a takeout place than a full fledged restaurant. We ordered the chicken leg kebab (5/5), beef seekh kebab (4/5), chicken seekh kebab (3/5), achari gosht (goat) (3/5) since it was rather oily with some weird cuts of the meat and butter naan (5/5). The folks at the counter were courteous and welcoming. Overall, a place we'd come to again to sample their other offerings. read more

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I've been here twice and the consistent quality of this place always blows me away. This time we went on a Sunday lunch and ordered rashmi kabab, chicken tikka, murg choley, garlic naan and lassi. Everything was perfectly seasoned and delicious. The food came out fast and there was plenty of seating available. They also have a good sized parking lot with space for a dozen or so cars. Overall one of my go to place for South Asian style food. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Murg choley - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

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Came here with the baby daddy on a Wednesday afternoon for lunch. Restaurant had a good amount of people already eating. Lots of to go orders too while we waiting for our food. It was both our first times eating here. You order at the counter, get a buzzer and seat yourself. We picked a nice window seat and I had a nice cup of chai ($2 with one free refill). Chai was delicious. Spicy and rich. Perfect for a chilly afternoon. Our food took a little longer than expected to arrive but it was worth it. My husband said it's the best chicken tandoori he's ever had. It was perfectly seasoned with a great smoky char. The goat curry was phenomenal! It was rich and the depth of flavor was perfect with naan. We ordered garlic naan but I think plain naan would've complimented the curry better . The garlic naan was a little overpowering. All that came to about $45 including tax and tip for two people . Parking was smooth since they have a pretty generous parking lot. I'd recommend this place for family meals and lunch meetups. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Goat Curry, garlic naan, tandoori chicken legs, side of rice - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

This store is run by a bunch of complete cheats. They give the wrong order of biryani, and expect me to drive 30mins one way back again to fix it. The lady had the audacity to say she would have done that. She infact says 30mins is no big deal. Wondering if anyone else has faced this kind of customer service and rude staff. My warning would be is to actually open up your boxes of order and check before you leave the store. Meantime shame on the staff and management. read more

Didn't know they had a Pakwan here in Hayward! We used to go to the location in Fremont. We ordered food to-go. We had the beef curry, spinach and potato, goat curry, lentil beans, and plain naan. Only complaint is the goat meat wasn't that tender. Beef was very tender, but it was in a gravy sauce. Lentils and spinach with potato were very good. There was a lot of oil in the dishes so we poured some out. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Spinach and potato - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

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The workers doesn't speak English very well. They don't get the order over the phone after 2:30 PM. And they're claiming that restaurant open until three I would give their Sevice one out of 10 and they don't respect their customer at all. read more

I got food to go from here and unfortunately when I got home the naan was very bad and had to be thrown away. What disappoints me is that this would have not been served to me if I was dining in. Will look at rest of the food tomorrow. read more

A simple place not much of an ambiance but Great Pakistani food. Love their biryanis, meat curries, and desserts. A very affordable place. We have enjoyed their Hayward branch more than Fremont. We do miss their buffets which are no longer open after COVID, unfortunately, hence our visits are now far and few. read more

Service is simple and nothing fancy, you order and get your food from the counter, you gets your own plates, utensils and drinks. But we go here for the food... very flavorful. I did notice something different though when I came back today... the servings seems more than before. I have not been here in a few months... but this is a good change. read more

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Very nice, good atmosphere clean, customer service is good and fast too. biryani doesn't have too much meat, tandoori smell gas, the restaurant is pricey comparing with other Indian, Pakistani restaurant. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

I have been planning to try this place for a while now and glad I could try it when I was around in east bay. The food was good. Got a couple chicken and mutton dishes. They said order would be ready in 20 mins and did timely when we went to pick it up. The service was quick. I would be happy to come back here again. Can't comment much on the ambiance since we didn't do a sit down here but happy to try next time. read more

I have been coming here for years, and this places customer service is horrible , this guy treats customer with disrespect, after fasting for 13 hours paid $178 and the guy questions us why we are asking for disposable cups, we dont want to drink in dirty glass cups, there was a small.plate.of dates and it was 7 of us and the guy literally took the plate from my friend and said this is for everyone, it didn't have more than 10 dates, chai is $2 and everywhere else its free, bathroom stinks read more

This location has just become most crappiest Pakistani food joint.. the guy upfront with glasses absolutely just lies to customer about what he has packed for to go order. The ownership needs to train these damn people on customer services 101. Freaking cheap over chutney.. dumbest people.. condiments and Chutnies are the cheapest thing you can offer when you already charge arm and leg for - tandoori leg quarter ($10)... not going here again but don't believe one thing he says but check your order before leaving. read more

So different from the Fremont location. Not sure if they both are under same ownership but the food, quality and taste are all different and bland. If you crave for pakwan I would recommend Fremont location. I am not going back too this Hayward one. read more

Fabulous food! This is the first place. My niece wants to go to when she's visiting from Washington.

Excellent food, very good service, very neat and clean, well organized crockery, reasonable prices. What more can I say. Don't eat out much, but if I have to this will Be my first choice. read more

We had delivery. We got daal, aaloo kimaa, chicken haleem, achaar gosh, and garlic naan. The naan were quite good, but had black sesame seeds on it, which I am not used to, but was pleasant. The main 2 takeaways from the food was that it was all very oily, and 2 of them seemed a bit overly salty. The daal was one of the salty ones and the lentils were not tender. the aloo keens was very tasty but very oily. The tastes were all quite good and made them worthy of the order... excepting the chicken haleem. We were not expecting the gloopy texture...almost like a loose paste. Not sure about the ambiance as we did not eat there. read more

I think the food, service, and the interior in this place is amazing! The food is cooked to perfection, barely any burnt parts on my meat, the interior in here is spotless, not even a single piece of food on the floor. And it only took 6 minutes for our food to be ready! The bathroom however..... every time I go in there, there is two flies flying around. Some pieces of tiny paper towels that has been used that are on the floor. This is restaurant is very good but the only problem is the bathroom. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Chicken Seekh Kabab - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

Tried it for the first time, last night--only because Faborite Indian Restaurant was closed.... I would not call it a restaurant, more like a take out center, where you must access their menu online--niit something I will ever do, so my friend andI said NO, we need to see an actual menu. Took them about 10 minutes to find or print, which still was tiny print, hard to read on several stapled pages. What crap-- we would t have elev. one in if we had known this.. But my friend who is 84 and I who am 74 were hungry and decided to try it. Of course I had to walk up to the counter and order and pay before we got our food, and then Go up and retrieve our food when it was ready, and then I saw the plates were Melmac or plastic, with some actual, teal flatware available, but the first knife I took out was dirty. I guess this is "de rigeur" for some restaurants? Today, but only the young I Are comfortable with this kind of d of NO SERVICE, DO EVERYTHING YOURSELF, AND BASICALLY ONE SHOULD BRING THEIR OWN CHINA AND UTENSILS AND BETTER OFF TO ORDER TAKEOUT AND LEAVE. THE FOOD WAS GOOD, WHEN WE FINALLY GOT TO eat it but experience was -10.... read more

Overpriced food and mediocre service. Stainless steel glasses for water is a thing from the past (50 years or so ago). Nobody uses these steel vessels to drink water. read more

Three stars because the food always tastes good but the last time we ordered the achar gosht we got five bones, fat and one small piece of meat. Definitely a bad serving. Also the garlic naan we ordered was hard at the center. It was more like a papadum (crispy and thin) than a naan. Do better Pakwan, make sure you are serving fairly. Oh and the cashier is moody asf. read more

Gosh been coming to Pakwan for ages, and never thought of writing an updated review in 15 years! This is one of those few places where the food, portions and quality has stayed amazing thought out the years. It's been our once a week go to for so long we've really just taken it for granted I guess. It's a no frills place, you go in, order at the counter and everything else is self serve. But see the food, it's incredible. Whether it's the non-vegetarian curries, the rice dishes, naan, or the grilled meats, it's all chef's kiss. Just go and try for yourself. read more

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What if I told you that my brother and I drive more than 45mins just to have the juicy, flavourful, fresh, tender and tastiest tandoori chicken ever in the Bay Area? Yeah we do. And we love it every single time. The ambiance is not so great, food court style tables and chairs. But you can see the chefs in action making fresh hot naans in the authentic naan making clay pots and the tandooris being marinated and grilled right in front of you. The curries and other dishes are good too. And don't forget to dip your meats in the amazingly fresh and savory yogurt mint dipping sauce. Chefs kiss. We don't bother even going home to eat.. we devour this right in the car parked outside Pakwan lol. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Tandoori Chicken Leg - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

The only thing here worth consuming is the chai, sometimes. Butter chicken is watery and nothing has enough flavoring.

If you're looking for a fancy spot or top-tier service, this might not be the place for you. But if you're after amazing food packed with flavor and spice, Pakwan is a must-visit. Every time I'm in the Bay Area, I make it a point to stop here--it's hands down one of my favorite places to eat. The dishes are incredibly flavorful, the spice is perfect, and the naan is freshly made and absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it! read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Amazing Food! - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

The recent karahi chicken plate was smelling with a tinge of kerosene. The cook should use butane gas rather than gasoline with a clear burn to avoid gas smell in the food. The food recipe is good but the use of the low burn furnace is making the food with a low quality. I am hoping that this will improve the taste of the food and avoidn a bad experience. I ordered a tray for guests and they all did Not like the quality of this food. I am also requesting for more improvements ahead. Thanks read more

Worst food very high prices food comes out of the microwave that's why when I go there the parking lot was completely empty no customers

Their meat is halal, which is great for those with dietary restrictions. The restaurant was spacious inside, but I was disappointed with the cleanliness as I had to swap some chairs around due to rice being on some of the chairs. The ordering process and food coming out was very quick, and they also have a dedicated parking lot. As for the food, we ordered Chicken Biryani, Saag Gosht, Beef Kababs, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Naan. What kept this review from being a 4-5 star was the cleanliness of the tables and chairs and the food. All of the masalas were good, but the level of tenderness and freshness of the chicken varied across the dishes. The chicken in the biryani was very tasty and fresh whereas for the chicken tikka masala it seemed a bit dry. Overall, I would come here again and you should still check them out for yourself! read more

Pakwan Restaurant - a variety of indian food - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

I been at this place multiple times,the food is amazing and the price is reasonable, very friendly staff, I always order the siekh kobob and biryani chicken, both are very delicious, I strongly recommend this place read more

Terrible staff. Made a to go order and showed up 1 minute after 10 pm their closing time. Nobody was there. Went to bundu khan then. Much better food service and hygiene read more

Pakwan is hands down the best Indian Pakistani restaurant in the Bay Area. Especially after the renovations at the Hayward location, it has become our go to place. Try the paya when they have it on special. read more

The Pakistani food here is amazing. The nihari the chicken curry wow. Amazing flavors and ok quantity. I did not eat there but the place looked clean and ready. The naan were also excellent. It's a good choice for someone looking for delicious Pakistani food. read more

We've been loyal customers for years and regularly order your chicken biryani because it's always been our favorite. But this recent experience was extremely disappointing. We called to place an order, and after speaking with Lady on the phone, we confirmed that DoorDash would be picking it up since I couldn't come due to my son, When we called back, we were told the don't take DoorDash orders after 9 or 9:30 PM. I said I'd come in person. But then I was informed by DoorDash that the order was already picked up and on the way. When the food arrived, we were shocked. What we received was not your usual biryani it looked and tasted like plain white rice mixed with overly spicy or masala. It was inedible. If you were out of biryani, the honest thing would've been to let us know instead of sending whatever was available. Worse, I found a small stone in the food which could've caused serious harm.This is not acceptable. Food quality and honesty with customers matter. I truly hope you take this seriously, because I won't be ordering from you again after this experience.A very disappointed regular customer read more

Pakwan was opened for limited dine in. no buffet available. only self service. food not brought to table though i was given a number. offerings: biryani, vegetarian, tandoori, chicken entrees, naan, drinks. eats: chicken tikka masala (11.99) -not much chicken, slightly dry, masala tasted bland, not complex. naan (1.50) passed on butter, not healthy -tasted ok, not the heathiest to eat drink: chai (1) -lacking enough cardamom, chai bland. read more

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Haven't been here in ages! But on weekday night it was hopping, almost full house and the parking lot was packed! We got a veg briyani, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, dhaal, and veg curry with a side of garlic naan. Oh and never forget the chais. Everything was awesome. But my only gripe is there just aren't enough veg dishes and the one fish dish was out (what?) Also don't expect the nicest service but if you don't have high expectations you'll be fine. What would you expect from walk-up service? Nonetheless we're here for the food and that was great. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

We just bought some food from here last night since the Fremont location is closed. This is our second spot to go to. I would have to say that the flavor is a little bit stronger and spicier than the Fremont location, but it is still very good. We usually get the chicken tikka masala, the Tandoori chicken breast and also the leg and thigh. The beef Nihari is also good. The meat is soft and tender, and the sauce is very heartwarming. We then pair the food with a side of rice and buttered naan. If you're looking for a good Indian place, the spot is really good. I recommend it. I give it an 8 out of 10 score. read more

A friend and coworker recommended this place for dinner and thought to give it a try. The other Indian/Pakistani restaurant I used to frequent was Shalimar in Fremont but we didn't want to travel too far. This place has a private parking lot in the back. The entrance is also in the back. I was kind of lost when I entered the restaurant. No greeting or menu available in sight. Luckily a friend ordered from them before and saw a paper menu near the register. We decided to dine in and ordered a couple of things. They will give you a number and I wish they told us we can grab the utensils, water, sauces, and drinks ourselves. Because of covid, I don't know what restrictions there are especially if people all touch random things. We got the chicken tikka masala, garlic nan, nihari, the tandoori lamb chops, and mango lassi. The chicken tikka masala barely had any chicken which was a bummer. The garlic nan was perfect. The nihari was ok, but my husband loved it. The lamb chops were also good. Mango lassi was also ok, no complaint. There was only one person in the front and no one really cleaned the tables. If this was pre covid, we can just move the dishes but since there is covid, I rather not touch anything since there are no sanitary products around to clean. I might try other food but maybe just order togo instead. read more

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Everything I ate here tasted amazing! Everything was tender. To top it off, they offer free chai tea at the counter. That was the perfect ending to a delicious meal. read more

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