Best Indian San Francisco

[tbroadman]

A friend and I are craving Indian tonight. Not fancy but good. I recently moved back to the Bay Area from LA and used to go to Indian Oven in the Lower Haight. I went to Cafe Chaat for lunch a few months back and thought it was decent food for a good value. Would love to hear from all the hounds. Please keep it to SF as we don't want to travel to South Bay :) thank you.

[mikeh]

For anyone who's been to Rasika in Washington D.C. or Chai Pani in Asheville, NC, does the SF Bay Area have anything similar? SF friend who has recently been to both with me is craving that quality.

[zippy2u]

It's hard to imagine a better restaurant than Ajanta in Berkeley. If you can beat that, I'll travel across the bridge to check it out. Otherwise, why bother?

[bbulkow]

Ajanta is great in that it has very unusual menu items and tablecloths, but don't you find the tastes dull and muted, for indian food?

[Robert Lauriston]

I think it depends on what you order. The other day for lunch I had a monthly special okra dish and a black chickpea side dish and both were about as good as any Indian food I've had in a restaurant. This Indian guy I work with doesn't like any of the other Indian places in the East Bay.

[DeborahL]

I'm not an expert on Indian food--in fact it's one of my less favorite cuisines--but I really like the food at Saffron Grill:

http://www.saffrongrillsf.com/

The navratan khorma (mixed veg in cashew cream) is really good, and I love their naan.

The place is tiny--maybe seats 15 to 20--so keep that in mind when planning your visit.

[tbroadman]

thank you all. I definitely want to try Curry Village!

[nsheth]

Tried out the Sunday buffet at Curry Village this past week, and I was pretty disappointed.

First, I had some doubts about the food safety, not sure if it's kept at the right temperature. We got there around 6, and most of the food in the trays seemed to be lukewarm / heated unevenly. I saw the owner turn up the heating elements soon after we arrived. I got the sense that the food had been sitting out there for quite some time, and gone through repeated reheatings. Things just didn't taste that fresh. The various curries were also generally quite oily.

I did like the tandoori chicken, it was flavorful, but again, not really kept at the right temperature. They had some fried appetizers (samosas, pakora, etc.) that suffered from not being fresh - no crispiness at all, and tasting a little greasy.

Some reviews on Yelp raved about the naan, but I really disagreed. It had, to me, an unappetizing aroma - margarine, perhaps? It tasted oddly sweet. I didn't eat more than one piece. Chicken Tikka Masala was also oddly sweet.

Dessert-wise, the gulab jamun were leaden, tasting a bit stale. Chai was way too sweet for my tastes, almost felt like there's a little grittiness from the large quantity of sugar.

I wanted to like this place. The owner was nice, kept refilling our chai, bringing out more naan, etc. But, overall the food was a disappointment - perhaps they're trying to do too many things and there isn't enough turnover.

[i.luvuh.my.fooduh]

I understand that it may be a bit late, but I would definitely recommend Curry Village, in the Inner Sunset. Yes, a name that sounds like average food, but actually very good! I happen to be half Indian and have lived in SF my whole life, and this is my current favorite. The service is very nice, and the Bollywood music videos can be either a little distracting if you are with friends, or a fun way to pass time alone. There is an evening buffet I LOVE! $15. Includes drinks from the best chai in the city to mango lassi to soda. Includes desserts from kheer (Indian rice pudding, also the best in the city), to khulfi (halfway between ice cream and frozen yogurt). Includes appetizers from pappadum to samosas (the only thing not so great there). And of course, there are also excellent curries, a good biryani, and excellent naans. I guess it is way too late for a June 30th dinner, but a must-visit, off-the-beaten-track Indian place while you are in the city.

[kairo]

Curry Village is the most "south bay like" of any Indian restaurant I've been to in the city.
If that makes any sense to anyone else.

[rccola]

makes sense and means I'll try it if I'm in the City.

[Kristine]

Since Lahore Karahi closed, I've been going to Gajalee on Valencia. Everything we have had there has been good to great ( the Lamb Hariyali is outstanding ) and they wont shy away from making it extra spicy!

[od_sf]

I would recommend Lahore Karahi Pakistani Indian Cuisine, located at 612 O'Farrell St.

[Bruce in SLO]

LaHore Karahi has closed and the chef has left the area.

[vulber]

it's still open, but under a new chef. the new chef has sneakily kept all the awards on the wall from the previous incarnation/

that being said, pakwan is a pretty good value, albeit divey

[rccola]

Be careful at Pakwan (among others). I once found a big knot of hair in the water bottle. Was taking a VERY picky Scottish lady there and it was embarrassing.

[Bruce in SLO]

We have enjoyed all our visits to Aslam's Rasol on Valencia near 21st in the Mission.
Check out the web site at: http://www.aslamsrasoi.com/
The mixed tandoori seafood is amazing. Good beer on tap and a fine wine list.