Picked up food yesterday from shalimar! It made me so sick to the point where I would like to warn people. It was so oily and people don’t wear mask back in the kitchen. I’m dealing with all the flu like and covid symptoms with fever .I would highly advise , watch out for your own health.
Best food!!! I moved from The Bay to the Central Valley and no place compares to Shalimar. Every time I drive up to The Bay I have to stop here to eat.
Dhaba food with similar ambiance. Akbari naan has to be consumed while warm - they are twice the size, volume and weight of any other restaurants. Tandoori chicken and kabobs are fantastic
I think Shalimar has given up on its quality and customer experience. I ordered two chicken biryani and I was very disappointed that they gave me day old refrigerated biryani packages. Unbelievable, watch out for such poor food quality and delivery
To be fair, I will start by saying we misunderstood their weekend hours and arrived 15 minutes before they were due to open. The door was open however, so we went in. Their irritation was clear, as they seated us and then ignored us. Apparently they clean just before opening, not after closing, because the table they seated us at was dirty and we had to ask for it to be wiped down. We were with friends who speak fluent Pashto and Punjabi, so they spoke to the staff and ordered for our table, but that did not help the attitude. Our food was served long after several other tables who came in after us had their meals. Quite a few years ago, I had a wonderful meal at Shalimar. This was a different experience. We ordered Naan, Biryani, Goat Curry, Tandoori Chicken and Kabobs. Only the Kabobs would I describe as good. The pieces of goat in the curry and the pieces of chicken selected for the tandoori were small and for the most part more bone than meat. Even the Raita was very thin, and the cilantro sauce lacked flavor. I don't know if the quality of Shalimar has gone downhill over the years, or if they were "acting out" on our table because they were irritated that we arrived early and did not realize it when we walked in, (Not that that is an excuse to treat customers poorly! Far better to say "I'm sorry, we're not quite ready to open yet, can you wait a few minutes?") Service was gruff and unpleasant throughout our meal, despite our friends' ongoing attempts to engage them in a friendly manner as fellow Pakistanis. Judging from other recent reviews, it seems our experience is common these days. Too bad. I remembered having a wonderful meal here before, and had been looking forward to this meal.
The Goat Biryani was excellent. Spicing was right on target.I asked for butter chicken and was told in their restaurant it is called chicken tikka masala, so I ordered it. It was nothing like the chicken tikka masala I have had in the past. Huge layer of ghee on the top and not much yogurt, it was just fair in my opinion.The chicken tandoori leg was overly dry, burned but nice flavor.The mixed vegetables was poor, mostly potatoes and a huge layer of ghee.The huge Nan was good but quite thick. The bread was delivered to the table in a reusable blastic basket which was nice.We dining in, they gave us a togo bag to our table and then you have to go and get your own plate and plastic cutlery. You have to pick up your drinks from the cooler.
My favorite Indian place to eat at in Fremont area. Very authentic, large portions & great customer service! Food is delicious evert time.
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.
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.
Pls don’t go here unless you wanna get food poisoning nasty and let me know tell u no Customer service . I got really sick food look old as sour nasty I feel bad for the owner