Down fall of Shalimar Empire.... lots of reviews about the service and cleanliness... I agree 100% on both counts. On Service : Horrible and very rude people. (except for the guy i think his name is Omer) Went there several times and attitude I found from the owners/managers is "We don't care about customers cause we will sell even we put dirt there. " We are Shalimar Restaurant. Big mistake.... I hope they realize it not to treat customer like shit. Cleanliness : lets put it this way... with the traffic all i can tell they make tons of money and lots of it is cash. Margin in food business is good and common sense is to invest some back on cleanliness. its a food business. Floors are filthy dirty, plates not clean, tables get cleaned with dirty clothes, bathrooms worst than porta potty. I dont know if Alameda county need to hire more food inspector to keep up Food: some of the items are really good. lately the taste not consistent and the arrogant guys don't want any feedback and make you feel that they are selling whats your problem. if they would care about customer i would see replies to the 1 stars but no we make shit load of money and we dont give a daaaam anything. I am not going back again until they clean up and learn how to treat customers read more

Don't understand how places like this are still open and running. I have been to many Pakistani restaurants and this has to be the dirtiest and most unsanitary restaurant I have been in my life. The moment I stepped foot inside, I was quite shocked on how dirty the restaurant was. The floor, walls and seating area had stains and dirt everywhere. I felt so disgusting just being there. If the seating area is this dirty I can't imagine how dirty the kitchen must be. Plus the two gentlemen at the front have 0 customer service skills, it's like they're giving us a favor by eating there. I will definitely not come to this place again and would not recommend to anyone read more

This is mine and my gf's favorite Pakistani/Indian place to eat! I was referred by a friend who is Indian and they come from Vallejo and drive all the way out here to eat at this location. So, it must be that good! For them to travel. Our first time here got us wanting to come back again, and again. The food is great! This restaurant is at its peak after 7pm and it gets packed. It's a very fast paced place behind the counter. Our favorite dish is the goat which is mines and the paneer masala is my gf's. There paneer masala has so much flavor and very buttery which we loved! I've never tried goat before but the goat karahi was so good I ended up liking a lot. The place might not be so fancy and all but the food is very well worth it! Going back here again today and can't wait to eat the goat karahi! read more

One of my favorite restaurant in bay area, wonderful place for BBQ and Kabab love the fresh naan

Very rude. We called to order. The person taking the order was rude, rushed us, and talked over us. We decided not to even place the order with them because of it. Good food ro not, they need to work on politeness. read more

Food is delicious but I gave 2 stars because they OVERCHARGE! Be very careful before you pay and calculate your total before ordering. Last time they charged roughly $8-10 more and when I called out the cashier, he said "Oh, sorry." Zero concept of customer service and their bathrooms are filthy. I'd recommend take out, ambience is no bueno. read more

I've been going to Shalimar in SF for over 15 years. There food is consistently good. I love their Chicken Tikka and Palaak Aloo. You have to know what to expect at these restaurants. You order at the front and you serve yourself. The 4 stars is because we ordered a chicken biriyani and it came when we had finished everything else. No one was hungry anymore and the kids had filled up on bread. read more

My family had food from here about two days ago and everyone got food poisoning, I'd say be careful when you order.

This food is as authentic as it gets!!!! May I add that our most favorite dish is goat biriyani. We enjoyed it so much that we have been coming back almost every weekend! We have only ordered take-out, so I can't comment on the dine-in service. I do know that the staff upfront are very friendly and know their stuff. I promise if you can take some time out from your schedule to get out to eat, especially for take-out, deinately try Shalimar! You will not be disappointed! read more

Horrible, rude, nasty staff. Story time: Went in as soon as this place opened and ordered (15) Kababs. Was told it would take 30-40 minutes. No problem, I come back in an hour and the food isn't ready. I'm told there are many other customers ahead of me(???). Wait another 15 minutes for my food to be ready. They give me a small side of Chutney (sauce) and I ask if I could get more since I got a ton of Kebabs. Dude named Altaf points to the cashiers line and says you gotta pay for it. This place will never get my money again. Tldr: If being treated like dirt and greasy food is your jam, you should eat there for sure. read more

One of the worst Pakistani Indian food I ever had. Ordered garlic naan, goat biriyani & chicken tandoori for ToGo.Only tandoori chicken was good. Got hair from garlic naan and the biriyani smells bad & stale. Have to throw away the half of the food. And the customer service was so terrible and mean.Unhygienic place, terrible food & Worst Customer Service. read more

stay away from this place!! last week i was craving some indian food so i stopped by to pick up some food, while waiting for my order I noticed that the guy at the cash register completed a transaction that involved cash and then walked to the counter next to him and started handing food without washing his hands... It was very disgusting to witness that.. First of all you are working in the food industry it's common sense to wash your hands before touching someone's food second we are in the middle of a pandemic and lastly its a major health code violation budy... I would strongly recommend dining elsewhere, at least till this pandemic is over based on what i witnessed your risk of catching something is extremely on the high side if you dine here... read more

Extremely disappointing experience. Customer service was a joke. The place was massively under-staffed and chaotic. They made us wait for over an hour after we placed the order, only to tell us upon inquiry that our order had never gone through at all and that we have to re-order. We left. read more

Don't know how anybody can rate this place less than five. I don't live around here and I've been here a number of times. The entire family loves this place. We usually order to go, but ate in the restaurant once. The only difference is the naans seem bigger when you eat in. By bigger, I mean they are the size of pillows. Mmmm! Also eating in, I got the chai. Initially, I was a bit nervous that the chai would not be palatable or clean since it's self-serve. I got over that quickly, though, because I love chai. The chai is nice because it's light. Not surprisingly, goes great with the entire meal and minimizes the spiciness. We order a variety of dishes. I never do the ordering so I'll try my best to remember it all. We ALWAYS order the lamb tandoori. It is a must and so is the mint sauce that pairs extremely well with it. Other dishes we've also ordered are biryani, palak aloo, butter chicken/tikka masala, the okra. Honestly, if you like Indian/Pakistani food, just try it all! The spiciness is a bit intense for a lightweight like me, but NOT unbearable where it's uncomfortable. Just add some rice and naan and you're good to go to eat more! Family members tell me you can ask them to reduce the spiceness too, but we often forget because we just can't wait to eat! :) read more

I've had Indian/Pakistani/North West Frontier cuisine in many parts of the world, so I feel I can gauge the quality and the taste and place it where it belongs on a normal distribution. Shalimar's biggest quality is their consistency - you can order something today and it will taste exactly the same as what you enjoyed there a year ago. They have a pretty small-ish menu but that means they are pretty good at it. They score above average on Taste and Quality. Their dishes are hearty and definitely not for people on a diet - but that's the kind of cuisine people who come there love and business is brisk. However, they have never impressed me on the cleanliness. Everything from kitchens to the rest rooms - are filthy and grimy. You can plainly see their last health inspection results here: http://gis.acgov.org/DEH/InspectionResults/. Type in Shalimar into the Facility Name box and then when the Amador Valley Address pops up, double click on the green ball. Even as late as 11/09, they have a number of (pretty serious and potentially dangerous) violations. I would like to talk about an incident that occurred the last time I was here was to pick up an order (that included tandoor chicken) I had placed over the phone - is when I checked in via Yelp: While they were putting together my package, I clearly saw one grilled/tandoor chicken thigh falling to the floor. The guy who was at the register (the 'man-in-charge' ... I've always seen him there) noticed this and also that I saw this. He quickly moved to position himself in away that blocked my view of what happened next: the cook/person putting my package together, picked it up. Now I don't know if he placed if back into my package or if he threw it away - I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and would like to think he threw it away. However a much better response from the man-in-charge would have been to (having seen that I noticed this) instruct the cook/packer to throw it away - instead of trying to cover it up. He thought he was sufficiently blocking my view that I did not see what happened next but I clearly saw him picking it back up. Oh well. read more

I dont know how they run this place i wish i could give them -5 for costumer service! They are super rude and unprofessional, guy at the counter taking orders have no communication skills what so ever, how to talk or even how to be nice to people walking in your restaurant to have a meal. Place was super dirty when we got there and we requested to get a table cleaned up and the response i got from cashier was "find a table that is clean" seriously you must be f****** kidding me. I go there just for food but i don't think all this is worth the nonsense we have to out up with. So family decided to stop ordering what so ever from them. Hope they realize what they are loosing day per day. Will not recommend this place to anyone. read more

Let me set the scene for you: It's a dismal Thursday morning at the office and I'm already fantasizing about Friday, even though it's a good ways away. My coworker ducks into an adjacent office with a small slip of paper in hand and then pops his head out, serves me a healthy dose of side-eye and asks if I have lunch already. I do, but my curiosity is piqued and I ask what he and the attorney it appears he's now holding hostage have got in mind for the afternoon. Motioning me inside the office with a level of mystery reminiscent of the Prohibition, my darling colleague tells me they're ordering Indian and if I know what's good for me I better get in on this action, because this place is spectacular. (The recommendation is extra alluring, given that the person making the suggestion is from India.) Still, I don't understand what all the hush-hush-osity is about. Folks order lunch all the time! It's a part of any healthy office culture! I pored over the menu, perusing the vegetarian options and considering what type of naan I would bury my face in before making my final selection: dal masala with a side of garlic naan and an order of rice to split with the cohorts. (I was advised by seasoned Shalimar visitors that the portions are plentiful and robust enough for sharing--even amongst the greedy gobblers at my workplace. They were right, surprisingly.) When the food arrived, the whole building was ablaze with the divine spices of traditional Indian fare. I finally understood why my coworker had been so secretive: he didn't want our boss to know he was taking an hour-long (okay, hour-long plus...) round trip to Dublin from our office in Walnut Creek just for some good grubbin'. But it was so beyond worth it! Every bite burst with fanciful flavor and authentic home cookin' love. I could taste the dedication and was beyond appreciative. We all got so into our meals that we formed this obnoxious semi-circle in the middle of the office, hovering over our plastic containers and styrofoam trays with absolute disregard for the fact that we do have jobs, tasks and obligatory duties to perform. When our boss (y'know, that dude who pays our salaries and can revoke said salaries just as easily) tromped in through the back door, we all froze like oversized deers in headlights, totally caught. I literally turned around in place, looking for the best exit strategy, fork still in hand, naan still being shoveled into mouth. (Did I mention that the garlic pieces are so perfectly shaved and cooked inside... Not so big that they overwhelm you, not so tiny that they end up all over your mouth and distort your tastebuds for years to come?) I could tell my boss was envious of our meal and the smell permeated the office for the rest of the day, but I kept patting my pockets looking for the damns that I just did not give and could not locate any. Oh well. Oh, and that entire meal cost me less than $10 and they had the decency not to clump all of our food together in such a way that would cross-contaminate and make my vegetarian dish smell like the lamb kabob my coworker ordered. Triple score shawty. I'll be back, Shalimeezy. read more

This Restaurant was much better few years back.Bring down my rating from 5 to 1 due to two reasons. 1. During covid everyone is mandated to wear a mask. These guys who are working in kitchen don't wear any mask and the clowns in the front desk wear the mask with one string on the top, leaving the bottom part dangling without have any string attachment. if they happen to cough or sneeze , is it going to stop the spread? 2. There was not consistency in the food like Briyani. Once I got a stale Briyani. when I called to report it, they said to bring it to get a refund and get a free briyani since it was their mistake and I had to travel extra 15 miles just for returning that stale one. When I told can you please provide the free one next time ? they said they will . On the next visit, I asked for the offer , they said since the briyani money is refunded , no free :-) :-) LOL. These guys don't know how to manage their customer and penalize their customer for restaurants mistake. I will not repeat here!! BUY ELSE WHERE!! read more

Don't go if you mind greasy food. Don't go if you care about a restaurants decor or lighting. Do go for great food. Do go for free chai tea. Do go for reasonably priced food. At least once a month myself and coworkers will get Shalimar to go for lunch. It can get busy quickly so we phone our order in. All of the Shalimars serve the same food so you can use the San Francisco restaurant's website to view the menu; www.shalimarsf.com. I like to go pick up the food for everyone because of the free Chai Tea. After you pay go to the wall to the left of the register and grab a Styrofoam cup (or bring your own thermo). There are no lids or tea spoons so don't look for them. Then go to the far right side of the counter you payed out and you will see a tall brown liquid dispenser , sugar and stir sticks. There are some tricks to the tea. Sometimes you will get tea "grinds" in your cup. So when you are getting to the bottom of your cup make sure you look inside and tilt the cup back to see if there are any at the bottom. Most people put too much sugar in the team making to it too sweet. To avoid this fill your cup half way, add the sugar you think you will need for half a cup, stir and taste. If its too sweet add more tea. Another advantage of the half way cup is that this tea is HOT. It will cool down quicker if its a half a cup and you can top it off as you leave the restaurant. The food at Shalimar is greasy. I wish it wasn't but it is. Maybe that's why it taste so great? I don't know. If the food didn't have a small puddle of oil in it then I would of rated this place 5 stars. Here are all the dishes I've had: BRAIN MASALA - Lamb brain cooked with butter, onions, tomatoes and spices. A coworker shared this with everyone and it was delicious. The texture and taste were both pleasant and I will eat it again, but it is very rich so I will never order it as my main. SEEKH KABAB MURGH - Ground Chicken blended with herbs and spices. This is one of my most favorite items to order. The chicken is tender and juicy and very well seasoned. For lunch I usually get an order of two. SEEKH KABAB MUGHLAI - Ground Beef blended with herbs and spices. Barbecued on Skewer and tenderly cooked on charcoal. I had this once and didn't care for it as much as the chicken. Considering I don't really care for chicken but love beef that is saying alot. It wasn't as juicy as the chicken and it needed some salt. RAITA - Cucumber, raisins, cumin seeds and mint. The menu says it has raisins but I've never found a raisin. Every time I order it I look for the raisins but they aren't there. My coworkers tell me that Raita isn't made with raisins but they are all from India so what do they know :). Could it be a typo? One day I will solve the raisin mystery. ALOO KEEMA - Chicken cooked with onions, tomatoes, whole ginger, spices , and potatoes. This is delicious, the chicken was tender and well seasoned. They make it with ground beef but the man who took my order said the chicken was better so thats what I've always ordered. BENGEN BHUJIA. - Eggplant cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices. This is great as a side dish or a main. OKRA - Okra cooked with onions and spices. I've had this dish three times and once it was meh all the other times it was good so I will keep ordering it. SHALIMAR CHAWAL - Basmati rice cooked with spices and brown onions. This was very well seasoned and yummy. read more

Horrible and very rude service. Restaurant employees should welcome and greet customers especially when you're ordering your food with the gentlemen's behind the counter. This was not the case with the employees here- I didn't receive a hello, a smile, nor a "What can I get for you".. I was greeted by a grunt and "What". Nonetheless, I ordered two chicken breasts, chicken tikka masala, and two naan. My family and I sat ourselves and waited for our food only to sit down to sticky tables and greesy unclean plates. The restaurant and bathrooms were so unsanitary. I have grown up with Indian food all my life. My parents are of Indian decent and I have tried my fair share of Indian restaurants in the Bay Area. I have always loved Shalimar but this recent visit to this restaurant was terrible. Our Chicken breast came out black and burnt with little to no meat... Did they trim the meat to put into my oily and greesy chicken tikka masala? The amount of oil was horrendous. The naan was overdone as well. The imili (tamarind sauce) was watered down and needed to be refilled. I am so disappointed with this Dublin Shalimar location. I will definitely drive the few extra miles to the Fremont Shalimar as I've only had good experiences there with both food and customer service. The owner and management in Fremont are more friendly and attentive to their customers and you leave feeling full and happy! read more

Yeah this place looks a little run down and the service is lackluster sometimes but Shalimar is not a place you come for fine-dining; people come strictly because the food is bomb. Tandoori chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala with naan are my go-tos. They also have another location in Fremont (the original location). read more

Yeay for Shalimar in Dublin!!! :-D Upon finding out that there is a Shalimar close to home, I knew that I had to have a meal there. Sooner, the better! The husband and I decided to get some comfort food (mostly, for me) to go. We called in and ordered Naans, chicken seekh kebabs, chicken kofta and aloo methi palak (or whatever the word combination is). Chicken seekh kebab - We ordered only one. But I could probably wolf down atleast half a dozen of these. But, I am glad I am not a glutton :) (That should tell you how good they were). However, I still prefer the chicken seekh kebab at Anarkalee in Pleasanton. I could wolf down a dozen of those!!! :) The mint yogurt chutney that came along with the kebab was really good. And surprisingly fresh. Chicken kofta - Perfectly cooked in a creamy, spicy sauce. The kofta (meatball) seemed to have marinaded really well in the curry. I was licking my fingers, literally. Aloo Methi Palak - Uhmm, I am not too hot about this one. It did taste good. But maybe it's because I am not fond of methi (fenugreek) Naans - I wouldn't reheat these after going home. They are rather soft. But harden upto reheating. I really liked the food here. And I'll probably decide to give it a 5th star after I have eaten a sit down meal here. The ambiance is quintessential Pakistani restaurant. Many tables and pick your own cutlery. I haven't had the chai yet. For $20, I am a very satisfied person, indeed :) PS: As I write this review, I am kicking myself in the butt for not bringing the leftovers for lunch today! :( read more

Customer service sucks. No courtesy and no friendly approach. Would never come bk again and won't suggest this to anybody. read more

Very good food but not very clean inside. As long as the food is good I'm ok. Just got really concerned a cockroach or rat would scurry across the floor and walls. read more

Shalimar has a few locations, but this one has the best food of all. Every Tuesday we get together at this place after our soccer game and enjoy the tasty, spicy Indian food. KHALID is a great gentleman and always treat us with great hospitality. 5star read more

Came here on 3/22/17. Food was not tasty at all. Not sure why the server brought us the condiments then returned and switched them out. Unfriendly Staff and all male kitchen staff stares alot. Will not return here for sure. The Sacramento Shalimar is freindly, upbeat and food was really good. Not sure why its inconsistent between restaurants. read more

One of the spicier Indian places around. Generally, dishes will be around medium to hot level spiciness. Average prices for fairly flavorful, spicy Indian food. Oh, and the naans are gigantic! And the naans are only two bucks a pop! read more

Shalimar - Indian Near Me - Dublin, California

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This is the worst restaurant you can eat at. It is so dirty and unsanitary. The guys at the front desk don't wear a mask or gloves . The restaurant is so dirty and not clean. They are not following COVID guidelines and that's disturbing. Not to mention how rude they are. My husband took me there for dinner and we got our food 40 mins later. It was cold and smelled sooo bad. The chicken seemed liked it was rotten b/c the smell was so awful. They don't fully cook the tondori Chicken it comes out bloody . You don't need to be a cook to know when meat is rotten especially chicken. I went to complain and I tried being discreet to the guy and he started being so rude and loud and screaming at me. I told him instead of apologizing for the bad food your screaming at me that is rude. If I ate that food I would've got food poisoning and they don't care . Any other restaurant would've apologized and asked remake the food or offer a refund or gift card for a return visit. He made me feel like i was delusional about the rotten food . The health department needs to pay them a visit b/c it's ridiculous with how dirty and unsanitary this place is. Also serving rotten food is a big NO NO people can go to the hospital form eating rotten food especially chicken. I really hope someone is reading this so the health department can shut them down. With there rude attitudes and bad customer service, I don't know how they are still in business. read more

Honestly this place used to be good. Now it serves generic Pakistani food that you can find in Walmart freezer section. Everything is too oily and there is no flavor at all. Also at once occasion I placed and order to go and asked for a small container of green sauce which they complimentary and was denied. I honestly will never eat there again. I have given it plenty of chances but it just keeps getting worse. As seen on the trending low Yelp reviews. read more

This place should be condemned and closed down. I tried it for the first time last week. First of all, if you are white, don't even bother. The Indian cashiers cops a major attitude. So that was a distraction. Also they like cash, if you use credit card, they almost throw the receipt at you. The food? yuck. Oily, greasy, and expensive for what you get. I had tandoori chicken, some rice and naan. Over 12 for that. I asked for water, he made me pay for a water bottle, but then, found out they had pitchers of water you could take to the table for free. What the heck? The restaurant is dirty. It's sickening. And the smells made me want to lose my lunch. Before even eating. I would never go back. I hear the one in Fremont is much better. I have eaten at other Indian restaurants, this by far was not a good experience. read more

Came here for lunch today with a group of co-workers for a birthday. We decided to dine family style and everyone order something for everyone to share with the table. So this place is "cafeteria" style where you place your order at the counter and they'll bring it out to you. I cant tell you what I got but it was pretty good. I especially loved all the meats that were cooked in the tandor oven. It had a great and intense smokey flavor. We all over ordered on Naan as one serving is big enough for two people. Over all good food however we all though the portions were on the smaller side. I understand you are paying for the sauces but our order of chicken tikka masala only had about 6 extremely small pieces of chicken in it. read more

Shalimar, shalimar, how fare thee? First off, the down and dirty. If you come here (and you really should), do NOT make the rookie mistakes. You order at the counter. You tell them a table number for where you are sitting. You do not get your own plates/utensils. You sit. You eat. You partake in the free chai tea. You sip. You leave. Best thing I had here was the tandori chicken, and the garlic naan. Garlic naan was a bit different from what I am used to, as the garlic is folded inside the naan (lots of places sprinkle it on top). Chicken tikka masala is different here from other places! Be warned! It is really really oily, and has just a bit of a different flavor profile. Lamb saag was good, but not the greatest. Tandori chicken was perfectly cooked, well charred, had great flavor, and was a good portion size! Definitely give this place a shot if you're in the area, and DO NOT FORGET! Have a table number ready when you order (not like me haha). read more

Asked for Aloo Paratha based on an item listed in their menu. When picking up the dude said it is Aloo naan. I corrected and confirmed he gave Aloo Paratha. He tells me it's same thing. This is the quintessential problem with this place. Obnoxious and rude staff who should not be in this business if they don't know the difference in the two. And sure enough the food when we opened at home was this rather dry naan with some random potato filling inside. Tasteless and waste of time and money. read more

Hmmm, I struggled a bit with this one. The food is pretty good but the place is a little grungy and the service is so-so. The tables are messy and it's fairly chaotic. So I'm knocking off 1 star for all of that and knocking off 1 star for the food. The food is pretty good (definitely better than average) but doesn't blow me away. My brother loves this place though so I will continue to go with him but I probably wouldn't go on my own. read more

would not recommend this place to any one. Food smell is very welcoming, but the same doesnt apply to its taste. ORDER: the guy who took the order is very arrogant. Doesnt pay attention to what u are ordering and only takes half the order. SERVING: The guy does not serve you water till you eat all your food, unless you ask. FOOD: Everything is plain and very oily. curries literally have a layer of oil floating on top. vegetarian curries have lot of color added in them. There are better places around here read more

This review is for take-out food (and food only). I can not imagine dining here, its truly hole in the wall and somewhat dirty. The most important thing for me about any restaurant is consistency. We have ordered Goat karahi and Paneer masala from this place about 6-7 times. Each time the meat was juicy (and abundant), gravy was thick and maintained its taste. Spice/herb level was perfect and mango lassi is great. I havent had better goat dish in bay area. The cut onion, lime juice(from concentrate), Jalapeno cuts is free to pack. read more

Our normal go to for quick Indian take out. Favorite on the menu is chicken tikka masala and chicken tandoori. Simple decor, good for families if want to dine in. read more

We should take our own plates water n all stuff Biryani is so sour Haleem was full of lentil soup with small grated chicken pieces, better call it as chicken dal soup Would never go to this restaurant Better to opt for other restaurant instead of going to shalimar Bad customer service read more

I've only been here once... to get some to-go Naan bread. The naan is HUGE and I got 3 pieces for $5. Very good price and tasted pretty good too but the place was FILTHY. I was only in there for about 10 minutes but I felt like I needed a shower after. It was just extremely dirty....based on what I saw, I have absolutely no desire to ever eat here. I saw the kitchen from the register and the cooks were not wearing gloves and touching their faces and clothes (they were in street clothes and not even a uniform) and they used one dirty rag to "clean".... yeah, no thanks. read more

0 stars for bad quality oily food. Please avoid at any cost. Stale and old curries. Too bad for your stomach to handle this Yucky Kabobs and old cooked curry's which they recycle over and over again. read more