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    Shalimar

    3.8 (113 reviews)
    ModerateIndian, Pakistani, Halal
    Open 11:30 am - 9:30 pm

    Order Shalimar Takeout or Delivery

    Shalimar Photos

    Business Info

    SHALIMAR ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Shalimar

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    Reviews With Photos

    Papadom

    This is THE best restaurant for Indian food! Everything I've had is excellent! It's hard to pick a favorite dish. The staff are very helpful if you need assistance choosing a meal. You can make a meal just from the appetizers, which I've done a few times.

    a plate of food on a table
    Bill Z.

    I was in the plaza where this Shalimar is at lunchtime, so I decided it was an opportunity to try their lunch buffet. If you are vegetarian or vegan, I think you will particularly enjoy the buffet, as it has a lot of meatless dishes, and typically a few chicken dishes. I did find the buffet to be a bit inconsistent. Many of the dishes were lukewarm. When I arrived, there were no pakoras or naan available. Pakoras came out after about 5 minutes, and these were hot, crispy, and delicious. Naan came out about 5 minutes after that. The chicken in the chicken tikka masala was reasonably tender, but the sauce it was in was more of an orange-brown than the red to which one usually sees. The tandoori chicken was also less bright-red than expected. The chili chicken dish was the way to go today, delicious and spicy. I felt some of the vegetable dishes were also milder than expected, perhaps it is representative of what the customers desire. A sign by the cashier encourages cash payment, but I do not know if they charge extra for payment by credit card.

    My second buffet plate, where I tried to prioritize everything I missed the first time around! So full now!
    Molly B.

    Just sat down to my first buffet here. I've ordered takeout quite a few times and have always been pleased. They even delivered to me while it was really snowing once, and I apologized for not noticing how bad the weather was and asking for delivery but they were super kind and still on time. The buffet has a lot of great choices, especially for vegetarians looking for different flavors! Today on the buffet I loved the vegetable jalfrezi and I like that they include a lot of condiments like onion relish and tamarind sauce, etc. For take out, I usually get chicken curry, or my favorite, Chana masala. I would recommend getting a funky naan with your meal, like an onion stuffed one, to shake it up from plain (but either way you can't go wrong). Staff is awesome, owner/manager is very kind and attentive. I'll drag some friends back next time!

    Ian W.

    This review is based on the Lunch Buffet. Shalimar Restaurant opened its newest location in the Delaware Plaza next door to Subway. This restaurant serves Indian and Pakistani cuisine and they advertise a coupon special for buy 1 dinner get the second helf price on their takeout menus. I believe that deal is dine-in only Mon-Tues-Wed evenings. There's also a Lunch Buffet ($7.99 plus tax) offered 11:30AM-2:30PM and drinks are included in the buffet price (Coke fountain drinks or iced tea). I arrive here around 11:45 AM and the place has a couple tables of customers already eating. There was one guy running the front of the house, seating diners, bringing out drinks, clearing dishes, and cashing folks out. Everyone arriving here got the buffet. The dining room is cozy relaxed atmosphere with the cashier/takeout counter in back, nice decor & articles/certificates on the walls, and rows of tables covered in yellow table cloths (plate glass dining surface). I was seated close to the buffet and started immediately. The buffet had around 12 main dishes, plus salad, raita, and sauces. Some of the items on the buffet included tandoori chicken, vegetable pakoras, vegetable korma, chana chat (cold chickpea salad), chicken tikka masala, chicken do piazza, green beans, vegetable rice, vegetable biryani, dal makhani (lentils), warm naan, and kheer for dessert. I made a few trips to the buffet trying out each item. The star of the show was the Chicken Tikka Masala, which was delicious and had very tender chicken. The rice dishes and the vegetarian dishes were decent, not too spicy. However, I did not care for the kheer (rice pudding) which was too thick and "Kozy-Shack like" and not milky and refreshing like the great rice puddings I've had at other Indian restaurants (mostly in the Greater Boston/Southern NH area). The place started to get busy fairly quickly after I arrived. The service was very good, dishes were always cleared when I returned from the buffet and I was given a free refill on the Diet Coke. Overall, the Lunch Buffet and drink is a great deal for $8.63 before tip since you can get a sampling of the popular dishes.

    Naan Palak Paneer Pakoras

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    1 year ago

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    28 days ago

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    1 year ago

    I got take out from this restaurant and it's always so good. Definitely enough food for two meals. I especially love the naan.

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    9 months ago

    This is an authentic and convenient place for delicious food. Everything is always so good. Fresh and cooked well with impeccable service!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Been going here for years! Love the Naan variations and Tikka Makani! Yum! Eati n or take out... has been good!

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    7 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Best Indian food, great selection. I have been good here for years.Love the chicken tikka masala. Excellent lunch buffet. Highly recommend.

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    2 years ago

    The manama was very refreshing; all food was delicious. Quiet atmosphere, beautiful decorations, nice service.

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    17 years ago

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    5 years ago

    Beware: they wont give my money back they charged my CC no food was delivered

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    4 years ago

    This is the best Indian Restaurant I have had the US, Canada, England and India. Almost as good as Mom's!

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

    Lunch buffet was mediocre. Dismal flavors and zero inspired dishes. Fresh naan on request. Shoulda driven to Karavalli.

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    4 years ago

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    15 years ago

    Business owner information

    Photo of Liaquat K.

    Liaquat K.

    Hello Shaggy, how is your Indian restaurant doing.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Shalimar Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Shalimar

    Ya Hala

    Ya Hala

    5.0
    (38 reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    Best halal food in Albany! They are great, fast efficient and real ingredients. Extremely nice…read moreemployees.

    We popped in to Ya Hala randomly after having to run a few errands in the area. There was ample…read morestreet parking so we were in no rush. The owner, Sal, came over to our table while we scanned the menus and introduced himself. He gave us a complimentary taco each and said "these are the best tacos you've ever had." I loved the confidence and I loved that he was right. It was love at first bite. We ordered a quesadilla, a chicken salad, a plate of fries, more tacos and a gyro (assuming we would be taking most of it home and eating it for dinner over the week) The quesadilla & gyro were delicious and fresh. They were still tasty as leftovers 2 days later. I wasn't crazy about the salad but that's probably my fault. Ya Hala does comfort junk food - this is not the time to be calorie-conscious. Sal checked in on us a number of times while we were eating. The restaurant is a small hole-in-the-wall with a few booths and a bathroom. I assume most of their business comes from people doing take out at the end of their work day. If I lived or worked closer, I would be a regular customer here. In the end, Sal packed our food in to-go boxes and gave us a free gyro as a surprise. At some point during dinner, my husband mentioned I was Yelp Elite. In the interest of full disclosure, at no point did Sal ask me to leave a favorable review or use his free food as a bargaining chip. This review is done without taking the free gyro into consideration.

    Photos
    Ya Hala
    Ya Hala
    Chop cheese over fries mix cheese M1. Chopped Cheese Plate
    Chop cheese over fries mix cheese M1. Chopped Cheese Plate
    Bacon , egg ,home fries & toast

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    Bacon , egg ,home fries & toast
    Halal Express Chicken And Gyro

    Halal Express Chicken And Gyro

    4.6
    (5 reviews)
    3.4 mi

    We went on a fried chicken run recently…read more We chose 3 places to order fried chicken from to test who had the best of the 3. We only ordered chicken thighs for the test as that is our favorite piece. We went to Capital Chicken at 112 Central Ave in Albany, NY, Halal Express Chicken and Gyros at 615 Clinton Avenue in Albany, NY and Chicken Joe's at 506 Campbell Ave in Troy, NY. I wrote 3 different reviews, one for each restaurant. This review is for Halal Express Chicken and Gyros. I won't include the actual review for the other 2 restaurants in this review, but I'll include their scores and placement in the contest. If you want to read the other 2 reviews please visit those restaurant's yelp page and read my review there. The second place that we went to in the chicken run was Halal Express Chicken and Gyros on Clinton Avenue in Albany is a few blocks from Capital Fried Chicken Halal Express is part of a gas station, its right next to the station's convenient store/ gas checkout counter, but its separated from the convenient store by a wall and has a separate entrance. There are no tables and its a tiny little space. We bought 2 fried chicken thighs and ate them in the car. They were nice and hot, the breading was flavorful and crunchy and the meat was juicy and well seasoned. It was not quite as flavorful, juicy or seasoned as the Capital Fried Chicken thighs that we had 10 minutes earlier, but was still tasty. It also had an additional flavor note in it that I couldn't pinpoint, not sure if it was seasoning or maybe from the cooking oil. All in all, pretty tasty thighs. This got a 6 out of 10. It turned out that the order that we visited the 3 restaurants was the order of our preference as well. First place goes to Capital Fried Chicken with a score of 9 out of 10. Second place went to was Halal Express Chicken and Gyros who got a 7 out of 10. Third place went to Chicken Joe's who got a 4 out of 10. We will be doing another chicken run in the future and are trying to figure out the next 3 places that we'll visit.

    Food was really good and surprised me. But I just can't stand places that don't cook their falafel…read moreon the grill mashed because it ends up dry and not as flavorful. They were very generous with the sauces. Also got my order right and I'm super picky.

    Photos
    Mix lamb and chicken over rice
    Mix lamb and chicken over rice
    Cheese burger
    Cheese burger
    French fries

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    French fries

    Shalimar - indpak - Updated June 2026

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