Horrible service!! This place was so loud that you cannot even eat a peaceful meal. Very dirty place.

Very rude over the phone when tried to order to-go, The food was miserable!!! Disgusting that they dont just the naan bread order which is ridiculous & offensive, Food administration folks should inspect this place for unhygienic kitchen & practices!!! Just stay away from this place if you don't want to end up sick!! Period.. read more

Hands down the best Northern Indian and Pakistani food. Ironically I had to add the name current day Pakistan which was considered the Northern India before the partition. The main reason to mention Pakistani is because the owners are from Pakistan. I have eaten "Desi" food as they call it, in about 15+ countries including in India. Shalimar food is up there with the best. Do not go there with high expectations for good service. The place is like what I used to hear in my Hong Kong working days a "Managed Chaos". Somehow food still turns out to be WONDERFUL. If you are a neat freak and not a foodie who seeks delicacies in "Hole in the Wall" places, this is not the place for you. I started eating at their first restaurant in the Tenderloin area in the City since the mid Nintees like 1996 or so. Yes, I would venture walking over the sleeping or half awake drunk bums and walking by half naked cheap make up wearing hookers to get to their place. The Shalimar Jones Street restaurant was worth it all. Where else would you find a place where you could eat freshly cooked tandoori chicken, a naan and a complimentary channey (Garbanzo or Chick peas) for $5. And Chai was free as many cups as you want. The good people of Shalimar have maintained the tradition of still giving away free chai. If if you are not eating there, you can walk in just grab the Chai and walk out, no charge and no questions asked. They probably will not like me giving out this secret. The new Shalimar place in Dublin used to be another Indian/Pakistani restaurant. I went there couple of times and there were only 3 people in the whole place at peak diner time. The food was not fresh for obvious reasons. Food wise there are same choices as in life between the "Cat people" and the "Dog people". If you are watching your weight/cholestrol then you got few options between Chick Tikka and Chicken Boti which are skinless chicken cooked in the Tandoor. Practically no fat and good protein. If you are the daring kind I like to believe that I am one of them, then you have plenty of delicious options. I love Nihari. It is like a beef stew or as my friends in London used to call it "Desi Fondue". The other delicacy which is so rich and potent that it might take you back 20 years is called Paye. Which means "Feet Stew". I would have found this stuff crazy myself had I not lived and worked in East Asia and in London. One dish I have not warmed up to yet is "Brain Masala". I tasted it once in New Delhi many many moons ago. It is one of those thing, "You either love this dish or hate it". Kababs are good compact food. I order to take home and for lunch grab one and roll inside a naan, Tortilla or Pita Bread and you got a quick delicious meal. All in all, I recommend this restaurant with the maximum stars because they deserve it. Someone once asked me that what was their formula for success. I said,"Fresh good tasting food at a very reasonable price". Now who would not want it. See you there soon. read more

The food is pretty good, but the service... is not enough to say it's bad, they are RUDE. My coworkers and I used to come here since it's easy to find place for 10 people. But that they don't want to serve groups it's above my comprehension. And not just they refuse, they scream at us in a language that we obviously don't understand. Well folks, we won't be coming anymore no worries read more

Excellent divey place for a quick Indian meal! I would skip all their main entrees because they are drenched with oil but they do amazing tandoori chicken & their malai chicken tikka is to die for. Sometimes when I feel like having a cheat meal the oil drenched chicken kofta is amazing. Indian chicken meat balls in an amazing curry. read more

So prob a 3.5 this past experience but we'll go 3 this time more for staff vs food. Food good as usual So I sometimes forget that I should judge this place like Asian food where service is horrible. Taking that into consideration. So I added something on my order right before the guy running credit card ran it He gave me this smug look of anger. Interesting I'm buying more food and I get stink eye. We ordered 2 more roti. And never came when we asked about it said it was already delivered forced to get another two if we wanted it. Wtf. Friggen staff read more

Worst Restaurant. We ordered Chicken Biriyani and right infront of us, he took it from the Fridge, heated and gave it to us. It smelled soo stale. When i told him, he smiled meaning that he knew. Kitchen is worst...Dirty, Filthy.. Please avoid and save yourselves from diseases... read more

Some of the workers here don't even know what they sell. First time I ordered they gave me something totally different, then they told me that is what I ordered. They didn't want to give my money back or give me what I ordered. I had to punk em to give me what I wanted. They finally said ok but they have to charge extra, finally I got what I wanted. Food is good but not worth the hassle to deal w there stupidity. read more

Customer service sucks! The person who is on reception Mr Omar very very rude and unpleasant in talk! We had a bad experience! We called and ordered on phone as we r returning from somewhere and told him we will be in 15 mint and will eat there ! We reached and he packed the stuff that's ok sometimes on phone it's not clear. My husband said we will be eating here can u serve us here ! He said on phone they just take to go order and we already packed so go out and eat how can one be so rude with a customer ! Also food was not good Shalimar Fremont is better! Would never go there ! read more

I like the food and especially goat meat dishes like bhuna ghost and mutton biryani. Service is good and food is not too spicy which makes it very enjoyable. My only issue with this restaurant is that they are not very careful about cleanliness. You see them wearing gloves but it defeats the purpose when they operate a phone and cash register go on to touch food items like Nan. You see them touching doors, and handles with the same hand. I wish they would learn not to do that, and be watchful about hygiene and cleanliness especially in these times. read more

Non-descript from the outside but the full parking lot said it all. The goat was very good, as well as the curry. Highly recommend.

Shalimar was probably the best Pakistani restaurant in the US. We lived in SFO bay area from 1984 to 2002 and enjoyed their food. We are visiting Sanjose after some 12 years and went to Fremont store. We ordered Aloo-palak-methi, Lahori Chholay and chicken tikka. Aloo-palak and chholay were excellent just as they were at SFO store a day before but chicken tikka was a left over from hours ago. It was too dry and hard to even chew. The sad thing is that I had told at ordering that I was one of the first customers eversince Naeem Bhai started in SFO and currently visiting after some 12 years. I understand there are over production and chef wants to sell it. My argument would be that, if necessary, chef must be trained to sell such left overs with large orders so the guys only throw out one piece. Ideally, if a piece is unedibile, it should be dumped for dogs to eat. I would have happily paid ten times as much if a fresh tikka was gaurenteed. Now I can see why the rating has gone down. Just to save pennies, they are willing to let the customes go. There's nothing wrong with pricing a bit higher and taking loss on leftovers etc. I am sorry to write this review but Amir and Naeem Bhai needs to know. With excellent taste, you do not have to play tricks to make money. too much oil in food, selling old leftovers or saving on ugly unhygienic "chatney" containers are likely to drive customers away. My intentions are to improve your quality and business and not hurt feelings here. Thanks. read more

Tried this place out for the first time and I regretted why I didn't earlier !!! The biriyanis were delicious served with raita. Super ambience. But the staffs should have been more polite, that's what refrained me from giving it a 5*. But got my money's worth with the food. Must try out. read more

Horrible restaurant. The servers are rude and service is terrible. The food arrived cold and was pretty bland. The chicken tikka masala was filled with oil. They even messed up part of our order. Don't go here! read more

2 stars are for being ridiculously dirty and unsanitary, I'm sure the owners have the ability to fix that but I guess they careless. The food is a different story, if you want to please your taste buds and dont care much for your health then this place will do just that. All the kabobs are silly good. read more

Worst Indian food ever!! The staff is rude as hell!! Didn't get water till I was half done with the food! This is the worst place to eat!!

Pakistani restaurent , foods are ok, kabobs are not that much spicy.. I love spicy food, so, didnt like it . biriyani are ok, they should add some more spices to the biriyani. Also tried tikka masala, goat. Vegetable dishes are good here. read more

Great to see you close to home! No need to drive to SF or Fremont anymore. Interesting, they started doing a little more service as of late, you still order at register, pick a table number, pay, and sit down. We used to always grab our own utensils and plates, but today, once we sat down, they brought what we needed. We already had them, along with the water cups and pitcher you get from fridge. Ok, so this place might not be a perfect place for your first date; but man, I tell you, food does not get to taste any better than this, so once you ready to go into some run down looking places with the best food ever, come here and you will love it. Unbelievable how they can make all their locations look the same, I used to go to Jones street over 10 years ago, then Fremont, and they all look the same age, all ran down, it is funny, but great, you don't feel out of place. They must strive for that look. :) As for my favorites here, by far, I love their spinach with potatoes, their spinach in my opinion is best anywhere! I also love the chicken tandoori ON the Bone. Love the Lamb curry and of course their Lentils and chickpeas. I love to put Raita(yogurt) all over the food, as their food can be a bit spicy, I don't think you can ask them to order any less spicy, I personally would not dare; not going to tell the masters on how to improve their food; make it the way you think is best, and I will eat it. If you are a Shalimar fan, you will be happy to know it is like the rest, mostly new faces behind the counter, but the food tastes great as ever. I almost forgot, I did not believe it at first, they TAKE CREDIT CARDS at this location!!!! No need to stop at bank anymore! Anyhow, I could go on, but why, you should stop reading now and go eat at Shalimar. read more

Very diverse menu - not the same stuff you see at every Indian restaurant. Portions are a little small. The atmosphere is extremely chaotic. Definitely not a place to go for a relaxing meal. read more

Great food but always double check your take-out. Actually forget takeouts from this place. More than not something is missing or quality is not there. Edited: Also double check your bill. read more

Great authentic tasting food. Even better customer service. My favourite so far is the Butter Chicken. My story: They missed an item in my to-go order, and I could not get it resolved on the same day because it was late. A few days later I contacted them about it and they let me take away an equivalent order for free. I didn't even have a receipt but they gave it in good faith. Thank you! Their interior is a bit untidy, but I am not taking any stars off in my review because everything else is excellent. read more

Their customer service sucks. The cleanliness... i will let the health officials decide but is questionable. Food is good but the curries are too spicy for me; the inly thing i go back here for is their tandoori chicken.... rest is all pass. Low score for customer service and cleanliness. read more

My favorite Indian restaurant in the whole world!!! Food is good and spicy- not Americanized!

It's really dirty. The dishes and utensils were dirty and we had to ask the waiter to send out new ones. He gave us a look like he was insulted but brought back new utensils anyway.The water jugs were also filthy. The restaurant is extremely unsanitary overall. Usually when we go here, we just pick up tandoori chicken and kabobs to supplement a meal cooked at home, but this time we tried eating the full meal at the restaurant. The kabobs and tandoori chicken were great, but everything else was mediocre. The rice wasn't fully cooked and the salans (curries) were either over spiced or not spiced at all. I really didn't think it was worth the money. We'll probably go back to only ordering tandoori chicken and lamb kabobs for take out because that's what they seem to do best. read more

I like Shalimar. Food is great and they have the chai station for your convenience. Their service needs to improve and the aesthetics can probably be improved. I was born abroad and know the culture well, so I don't have a problem going there, but being in the US for over 30 years and knowing how important cleanliness and friendliness is to folks, Shalimar should take heed. They can grow their customer base quite a bit if they make some basic changes...be more friendly or put someone at the register who knows how to be (hire outside if you have to), clean the place regularly...a restaurant should be spotless! I think they still get very good business, so they don't take outside advise too well, but there is always room for improvement. I'll be going back. read more

My family could not wait to eat at Shalimar on Fridays. The restaurant is usually packed with customers coming from far- away places. The restaurant seems to be losing customers or at least losing me, my family and those I know due to multiple issues ranging from mismanagement. in order to make it a better restaurant, issues such as cleanliness, lack of good customer service, shortage of servers to no servers, lack good furniture, lack of air conditioning or effective ventilation system should be addressed. The owner may be satisfied with what he is making. If not, he needs to do some repairs and painting in addition to all mentioned. I am sure Shalimar is generating more than Cheese-Cake Factory and other restaurants in the same business line but cannot be compared when it comes to customer service and all that I mentioned above. As a customer, I would like to be welcomed, greeted and served in a clean environment. Till then, I will not be eating at Shalimar. read more

I have seen some pretty negative reviews of this place and I will admit that it is not glamorous. It's cafeteria style and kind of a grimy feel to it. The guys at the counter are efficient but not exactly friendly. So why 4 stars? The food is delicious. read more

I've been here twice now, the food is excellent and it's the type of place that is better suited for take out. If you expect world class service, it's definitely not here although the staff was courteous. If I was disappointed with anything it was only with the gross bathroom, they could step it way up by keeping it cleaner and less funky. read more

The food here is affordable and great quality has very authentic Pakistani taste and also food is halal which is a plus

Halal meat is served here. Owner's are known Muslims. Went here for lunch today. Same great quality Shalimar food and friendly service. Although they are a bit disorganized at this location - especially when it comes to seat numbers and a little slow on the service, but that's Shalimar for you. People come here for the food, not the service. Had the chicken boti kebabs and the beef seekh kababs. Both were juicy and tasty. Had garlic naan and regular naan. Good as usual (although I wish they put butter on it without having to pay extra!). read more

I LOVE SHALIMAR! However, their customer service SUCKS! We ordered $60+ of food and they wouldn't give me CHUTNEY for God's sake. I had to repeat myself 4xs before finally taking the order and stepping out of the restaurant. I mean come on, it's just CHUTNEY, I didn't ask for lamb or chicken or naan! read more

Never disappoints. Love their food, excellent location and nice staff. Super size naan for a buck, free chai and saunf makes this place a winner :) read more

Great Pakistani food in the Bay area. The naan bread is always made fresh and very delicious. Food is spiced well, not too spicy. We usually order the nehari, chicken seekh kabob and chicken Kofta. All were good. Also the Chai is free :) read more

Great food but timing on the open hours are totally wrong Mon-thurs till 10pm fri-sat till 11pm Sunday at 9pm

Food tastes good. But the layer of oil too thick, 3 to 4 millimeters. Not healthy at all.

I've been to this place from quite long time but they don't respect customers. We can't place order of Naan without placing curry order. That's so stupid. Will never go this place again read more

I came here with my Indian friends, who swear by this place and its authenticity. Spicy, spicy! Yes! The food was great - garlic naan and tikka masala...made me want for more...so much more. The tikka was so spicy it even has jalapenos in it! Never seen that in any of my previous tikka dishes. The garlic naan has real pieces of garlic in every bite. I brought my 10 yr old, who has the appetite of a 300lb man, and he inhaled his food and then made the move towards mine. The service isn't exactly friendly, but the food makes up for everything. The line gets longer though as time goes by, so you might want to have an early dinner. I just wish the portions were a little larger, but you can fill up on extra naan. Will definitely come back! read more

The food is amazing!!! That's why I am giving them 4 stars. However, customer service & cleanliness needs much attention! I like to order to-go, because actually sitting inside is not the greatest:/ It's like a Zoo, especially on a busy night. When calling in orders, it can be loud and cumbersome, I have even been hung up on. However, persistence pays off, I called again w/o a problem, you just have to know exactly what you want, because they are not the friendliest on the phone. I know it seems I have scored them high w/ all the complaints, however, their food is just that good. read more

Love this hole in the wall place. If you're looking for a nice ambiance, this place is not for you. However, if you're looking for just some real good food Indian/Paki food this place is it. We usually order to go because they place is not the cleanliest. read more

I was skeptical when I walked in but left satisfied and happy. Food is delicious and great for family style sharing. The naan was very tender as was the meat. Would come again if I lived closer. read more