Punjab Cafe

322-324 E Santa Clara St #1909, San Jose - 95112
293 reviews
Indian
(408) 295-5470

Heard about their buffet and went for a quick lunch midweek, but they’re currently only doing weekend buffet, so we ordered some dishes to share, and they were still very quick. We really enjoyed the tandoori chicken and butter chicken. The garlic naan and simosas were tasty too. Also, we were in and out in for lunch in about 35 minutes, with a small bag of leftovers for later. We were helped by the owner, him and his staff were very friendly and gracious. The table and dining room was clean, and the menu was full of delicious looking options. Really glad we stopped in today, I’ll indeed be back for more.

Found this place by accident. Quaint little hole in the wall with an exquisite indian buffet for only $16.99!Great for people like me who have no idea what to order.Service was GREAT! Very friendly staff.(Buffets are only Friday/Sat & Sun)I wish they offered lamb or different dishes weekly but the buffet dishes I've tried so far (all of them) were pretty terrific.

We tasted their food at the buffet and loved it. Then we did a catering event with them, and had a great experience. Mr Bobby is a very nice and gracious person and he went above and beyond in setting up the food for our event.I would highly recommend this restaurant to everyone for regular meals and catered events.

Plus one great place to my San Jose “top list”. Amazingly flavorful Indian food, simple but clean interior and nice stuff. Can’t ask for more in downtown San Jose(: I found this place interesting by huge amount of reviews on yelp and now can’t stand to write mine and support their rating. We came there Saturday night and it wasn’t packed (although two big Indian families were having dinner already so that is always good sign for me in restaurants of national cuisine). We ordered Chicken Rogan Josh, Chana Masala, naan and rice. Everything was good and mildly spicy as we asked. Happy to find this place in San Jose and will definitely discover their menu further.

Was feeling lazy to cook so decided to order some food from this restaurant. Ended up ordering some stuffed parathas and chicken tikka (dry).The food could have been packaged a little better because a little bit of juice from the chicken tikka container spilled on the foil that had the parathas.1. Paratha: I liked them. Tasted like homemade parathas with generous stuffing.2. Chicken tikka (dry): Even though the menu said "dry", the chicken had quite a bit of liquid in the container. Also the chicken was green in color, unlike any chicken tikka I have ever had. I did like the taste but I feel this was a miss. It didnt taste like chicken tikka.

This is an incredible find. The food is extremely good. Spice level is great. My husband enjoys spicy hot and this place delivers. I enjoy the medium, not too spicy, and flavorful. My husband loves the goat, and the Palak paneer is my favorite. I've tried the Tikka chicken which is also really good. We've only ordered delivery from here, and they are always on time.

Literally the best Indian restaurant I've ever eaten at. They don't skimp on the spices unlike other Indian restaurants. The buffet is where it's at, but honestly ordering food from the menu is tasty as well. Their garlic naan tho...BRO you can see and taste the garlic and butter ?. Nothing bad I can say to this establishment. Oh the service is great too. The servers are kind and attentive and always refill my glass of water.

Great for take out! I haven't eaten in person but the food is always hot when it arrives. They package it in huge portions so I only get one entree per 2 people. I'm making this review solely because I'm at a different restaurant having an opposite experience. I should have ordered from Punjab but they are closed on Mondays :(

Was an easy order and pickup. Have just opened my food and it was very well packaged for travel. Everything is delicious and well cooked. Chicken is moist and tender and flavorful. Not at all dry. Had the butter chicken (extra spicy was as expected and not too insane), chicken rogan josh (medium spicy, still definitely spicy, but not too spicy to handle), and palaak paneer. All were delicious!

Fantastic food! Hole in the wall restaurant. Good service. Got a parking spot on the street right outside. Serving size was large. Individual dishes are on the pricier side for Indian food but we did the dinner for two and it was well worth it. We will be back!!