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    Punjab Express

    3.8 (243 reviews)
    ModerateIndian
    Closed 10:30 am - 8:30 pm

    Order Punjab Express Takeout or Delivery

    Punjab Express Photos

    PUNJAB EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Punjab Express

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    Reviews With Photos

    Ciara D.

    wow! this is definitely the best indian food in central valley! the butter chicken taste was so rich and the cheese naan was amazing. it's very affordable too

    Tandoori Chicken
    Shanyka T.

    Customer service was good, I believe they might have a different owner and cook because their tandoori chicken which I usually love has changed. Typically it's more saucy, and the veggies are more cooked. This time it was dry and overcooked. The flavor was good, just different. This use to be our go to spot for tandoori chicken, I will give it one more try before moving on to a different spot.

    Chilly chicken, my new fav!!
    Richard R.

    So bomb! This is the place to check out!! I at first thought with the name "express" it was going to be food sitting under lights as if I went to a buffet. Very opposite. The staff is very friendly, we located a photo on yelp that wasn't labeled, and she informed us the name and we ordered it. It is my new favorite! Soo flavorful! Stop by and order food from here!

    Chicken curry

    We had a quick Indian meal and ordered tandoori chicken, chicken curry, rice,tandoori roti and lachha paratha--both made with whole wheat. The meal was completed with dessert: gulab jamun (ok)and mango lassi. The lassi was especially good, with a touch of milk sweet on the top. The total cost was a reasonable $30, and I would recommend it, as per my recommendation they should not put red color in the tandoori chicken....

    "10 piece Chicken Tikka" $12.99

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    6 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    3 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    10 months ago

    It's a small, hole in the wall restaurant that serves excellent Indian food. We dined in, but most of the customers ordered take out food.

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

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    8 months ago

    By far the best in the area! I come from Oakdale to get my Indian food fix. Staff is very nice! It a small place with a lot of flavor.

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    1 year ago

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    11 months ago

    Love this place! Consistently quality food every time. They are fairly quick with service, but whatever the wait the food is worth it.

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    11 months ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Food used to be really good here. Now they must have a new cook because the food is trash!!! Go to Nagina Palace the food there is bomb!!!

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

    Good food and service. First time having trying Indian food. Will go back some time soon.

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    I love their food and eat it all the time I've tried alot of restaurant like this one but this one's the best

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Taste is amazing, very good service and fast service. The sweets are to die for. 100% recommend.

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    5 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

    The flavor in the food was lacking. We just wanted a little more excitement in our curry!

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    3 years ago

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    Page 1 of 7

    Ask the Community - Punjab Express

    Is here a lunch buffet?

    No lunch buffet

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Tikki Indian Restaurant

    Tikki Indian Restaurant

    3.9
    (46 reviews)
    1.6 mi

    This is a great little family restaurant. We ordered butter chicken, garlic naan, and tandoori…read morechicken. Excellent flavors. The rice is fragrant and delicious. The butter chicken was the star: full of flavors, very mild heat, creamy and very fulfilling. I read the negative reviews on Yelp and can only say we were very happy with our whole meal and experience. Fresh Indian food is not fast food and if you frequent any of the local restaurants, you are already prepared for it to take a minute. We will definitely return and try other dishes as well.

    Well, I wanted to try something new and I can say, it was a new experience…read more Let's start off with Service. Room for improvement for sure. I've never had a waiter answer a call mid way from ordering. I found it odd but after a while, it made sense. I think a bulk of their business comes from takeout orders since I was the only there dining in. No water refill even after giving eye contact (awkward) Now for the food. I ordered momos as an appetizer, garlic naan, chicken tikki masala w/rice and aloo golbi. The food was great. I loved that some of their non- veg dishes automatically come with rice rather to have order it separately. The moms were the only thing I found to be dreadful. Way too much cumin added and the sauces were questionable. It came with ketchup and ranch and I thought it came with some sort of Asian sauce like a sesame sauce or ginger chili. Other than that, would I dine in again? No. I would just stick to doing takeout. Price was reasonable too.

    Photos
    Menu
    Menu
    Garlic Naan
    Garlic Naan
    Butter Chicken

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    Butter Chicken
    Tandoori Pizza

    Tandoori Pizza

    4.8
    (174 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    We walked in specifically to order a pizza with beef pepperoni having seen that listed in another…read morereview. While we were disappointed to learn that is a special order that needs advance notice, we were totally taken in by the sheer exuberance of the host and his enthusiastic description of their offerings. After sitting for a short while waiting for our meal to cook, piping hot pizza was delivered directly to the table. We tried both tandoori chicken and tikka chicken and both really delivered with our table evenly split on which was better. The crust is crisp and barely sags as you pick up a slice, the toppings are plentiful without excess, the sauce ties everything together perfectly. I honestly never would have tried this place based on the "Indian Fusion Pizza" concept, but my whole family is thrilled to have found a new regular spot.

    We went to the lunch buffet. It's a good deal. It's $10.99 without a drink and $11.99 with a drink…read more Buffet comes with a salad bar and Pizza bar. The day we arrived there were two small (10 inch pizzas out). One was pepperoni. This was disappointing since we went here to try tandoori pizza. We know what pepperoni pizza taste like. The salad bar was limited and the carrots were not fresh. You could tell that they were old because they were not orange. They were mostly white. You know, what they look like when you've had them in the refrigerator too long. The lady that helped us put in an order for an additional Pizza. It took about 20 minutes for that to be cooked and put into the pizza bar. Again, the reason you eat at a buffet is for convenience and speed (get in and out). One of the people in our party does not eat pizza. That person ordered two orders of chicken wings. They ate the first ones and they were tasty. When the person bite into the second order of wings, they were cold. They were cooked, but they were cold. Cold like in just out of the refrigerator cold. Very unappealing. 6 wings cost $11.95. We went and told the lady that the wings were cold. She asked what other flavor we would like and we gave her flavor. We waited about 15 to 20 minutes and she came out with one wing. They come in an order of six..we returned six. I'm not quite sure what she wanted us to do. Anyway, we ended up asking for our money back for the six wings because we were given one wing but turned back six cold wings. We not offered the other five. It was odd. So, with the lack of Pizza choices, the white carrots, and the cold wings we will not be back. There were some good moments. The lady working was very pleasant. She seemed to be doing it all because after we ordered, she disappeared into the kitchen. The restaurant was very clean. Even the windowsills were clean. They had several TVs with different things on (TV cartoons, below deck, and a car race). You paid an extra dollar for soda and it was unlimited soda. The tandoori pizza was delicious. And because there was nobody in the restaurant parking was good.

    Photos
    Counter
    Counter
    Curry Chicken Pizza
    Curry Chicken Pizza
    Entrance

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    Entrance
    Laazeez Panjabi

    Laazeez Panjabi

    4.4
    (14 reviews)
    13.0 mi

    We truly enjoy coming here, love the convenience of close to home and they are quick with cooking…read moretimes. Everything we have gotten has been wonderful, our last visit stuck out the most. Usually we take it home but we sat out front and got wonderful family style service from the cook/staff. They even brought us out some Gulab Jamun for dessert. We asked for spice level 12 (not on the menu) and they cane through for us. Didn't loose the flavor and had such a wonderful enjoyable spice. Love the outdoor seating area, it was very clean for being a food truck.

    I'm always on the lookout for something new, and this food truck caught my interest--authentic…read morePunjabi flavors? Count me in! However, what sounded great on paper didn't quite translate in reality. We placed an order over the phone and saw that the truck was listed as being in Manteca, about a 25-minute drive from us. But when we arrived at the given address, the truck was nowhere to be found. A quick call revealed that they had actually moved to Modesto nearly three months ago--something that was not updated on Yelp. So, after an unexpected road trip across the Central Valley, we finally got our takeout. We ordered chole bhature and aloo tikki chaat. While the chole bhature had good flavor, the aloo tikki chaat was a huge letdown--it tasted like it was made with packaged hash browns rather than fresh aloo tikkis. On the bright side, the staff was kind, and the person at the counter generously offered a free mango lassi, which was much appreciated. I really wanted to love this place--the idea of Punjabi street food is exciting--but after this experience, I'm not sure if I'd make the trip again.

    Photos
    Menu 10/25
    Menu 10/25
    Laazeez Panjabi
    Got too exited to take a before picture, food is excellent

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    Got too exited to take a before picture, food is excellent
    Taste of Himalaya

    Taste of Himalaya

    4.9
    (212 reviews)
    58.2 mi
    $$

    The place used to be a Dennys, so booth seating was everywhere. We were greeted by a very friendly…read morehost. The waitress was very attentive and very sweet. The menu was extensive; I wished I had a bigger stomach to order more. After placing our order, the waitress offered us a complimentary soup. It was so yummy. You could hear our spoon scraping the bottom of the bowls. We started with chicken samosa. The order came with 2 large crispy, flaky, and delicious fried treats. The stuffing was well spiced. Remember that Ratatouille scene with the critic's flash back? This samosa did that for me. It transported me to my good friend's home where her aunties were in the kitchen making these pockets of culture and traditions. Highly recommend! I ordered the chicken biriani. It was flavorful. The rice was fluffy. The spice level was on target (I ordered mine medium heat). My daughter ordered the chicken curry. She loved it. She kept saying "This is yummy" the whole time. My husband ordered the lamb curry spice level spicy. It cleared his sinus headache :) apart from it being spicy it was also very tasty. We also ordered garlic naan: garlicky and fluffy. So, if you happen to be passing through, I suggest swinging by. If you happen to live close enough to make your way to Taste of Himalaya, I suggest get in your car and try this place. The drive will be worth it. I think the locals know what a gem of a place they have right in their backyard. I saw several to go orders while we were there. TLDR: Service: 5 stars Food: 5 stars

    This is our second time enjoying their lunch buffet at the new location (adjacent to the Best…read moreWestern). The restaurant is soo much nicer than their former location next to the Highway House. They offer a huge variety of flavorful veggie and meat dishes. Their saag paneer, veggie korma, butter chicken, and naan continue to be our faves. Tip: They bake the naan fresh after you've placed your order. You may want to wait 5-10 minutes before heading to the buffet. Otherwise, the naan arrives after you've finished your first plate.

    Photos
    Huge seating area (former Denny's)
    Huge seating area (former Denny's)
    Vegan Thali
    Vegan Thali
    Welcoming entrance

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    Welcoming entrance
    Royal India Indian Cuisine

    Royal India Indian Cuisine

    4.7
    (66 reviews)
    25.7 mi

    Our ABSOLUTE FAVORITE place to get Indian takeout in Merced. Really sweet gal always takes our…read moreorder. They have those yummy candied fennel seeds as an aperitif on the counter. We've tried most of their dishes. All just incredible. Vibrant flavors and everything seems really fresh! Just go!! You'll be hooked too, I promise! We were referred by our Indian friends, so we figured it had to be good.

    WHY WE WENT HERE: - dinner…read more THE LOOK (FROM THE OUTSIDE): - located on Park Ave; closest cross street is College Green Dr THE LOOK (FROM THE INSIDE): - blue booth seating - restroom could use work in the cleanliness, but had the essentials (toilet paper, toilet seat cover, soap, paper towels) THE MENU: - appetizers (veg) - appetizers (non veg) we serve Halal meat - tandoori delights (vegetarian dry) - tandoori delights (non veg) we serve Halal meat - vegetarian delicious (served with basmati rice) - non vegetarian delicious - non vegetarian delicious (sea food) - rice and biryani - royal special wrap - Indian bread - raitha - Panjabi salad - desserts - drinks WHAT WE ORDERED: - complimentary bread and sauce - 59. lamb coconut milk curry - 61. goat karahi - 86. veggie kulcha THE TASTE: - complimentary bread and sauce - friend liked it; I didn't; it's more of a chip and dip - 59. lamb coconut milk curry; good! friend liked it more than me - 61. goat karahi; great! I liked this more than my friend - 86. veggie kulcha; good! went well with the curry and karahi we ordered; a nice carb alternative other than the basmati rice CUSTOMER SERVICE: - warm - welcoming - informative - attentive but not overbearing

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Chicken Tikka Masala
    Chicken Tikka Masala
    Exterior

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    Exterior

    Punjab Express - indpak - Updated August 2026

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