The only thing saving this review was the food itself, which was pretty good (I got the hot chicken hyderbadi). Other than that, the service was horrible (we had to wait 45 minutes just to get the check and 30 minutes for some extra rice), the portion size was quite small for the price, and the automatic gratuity of 20% was completely unjustified based on the service we received.

Best Indian food in town, my new favorite place! So fresh and delish. I had the greeter Ashu help me and take my order because I was in a rush. I took a video but unfortunately I cannot add the video but took screenshots of it. I got the mild tandoori chicken, garlic naan, house salad without onions and flour chips and tamaraan. The chicken came with rice as well. Everything was delicious. The wait for food is a little long about 20-30 mins but it’s worth the wait. I will definitely be back.

I ordered to-go from here and everyone in the parking lot was waiting 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes past their pick-up time. 10-15 minutes is completely understandable, but I watched half of the movie “Den of Thieves” on Netflix while waiting. The purpose of this was because the restaurant decided to take 120 orders in 4 hours. Clearly management doesn’t know how to handle to-go orders and shouldn’t have accepted that many knowing they’d make people wait for an obscenely long time. I didn’t receive any notification that they were behind until I asked someone how long they waited (an hour and thirty minutes). I used to frequent this place, but to-go is a disaster for them. When I spoke to the manager, all he said is that you can cancel your order, very bluntly. No people skills at all. Usually, a restaurant will take some of the money off of the order or add in an extra item as an apology. Dry response. I drove 40 minutes to pick it up and waited longer to receive my food. The to-go portions are also absolutely tiny. Not worth your time or money to order here until after quarantine.

Endless choices of food in this seemed like 10 page menu. Food pre prepped comes out in seconds after ordering. Overall good food with enjoyable spice levels

Heaven is found in India! Shalimar is the BEST Indian cuisine in MICHIGAN! The wait staff are exceptional! The Thali is surprisingly delicious from the lamb to the rice pudding like dessert. Every morsel of the Naan is so delicious it is the best bread you can ever have served with this meal. This meal is so worth the drive, parking and price! I love Shalimar. The owner is one of the best in Ann Arbor too! Ashu is the best server and he did not bribe me!!! What makes dining at Shalimar so excellent! Billiu, the head chef is the secret. He not only cooks the main meals for you but he goes out into the area to hand pick EVERY spice that is carefully blending in his kitchen. Every spice is carefully picked by Billiu. He does not return to the same market each time for the same spice he make sure that every spice is to his liking and because of this when he combines them at his kitchen these are the most delicious spices used for his various dishes. It is truly worth your while to dine at Shalimar because it is the best Indian cuisine in the state. To have an employee personally recognize the greatness of the Chef with a lot of pride, Shalimar is a Diamond of Indian Cuisine found in downtown Ann Arbor. Eating here must be on your bucket list. June 6 2023 update: Iqbal our waiter after meeting him eight months ago has continued his high level of service that is totally appreciate it. He is very attentive to every customer that he serves and he has a great personality. I cannot believe that he is a wrestler and a rugby player that plays Indian wrestling rugby I would love to see you in a match. The trip to downtown Ann Arbor is absolutely worth its worth it when you go to Shalamar’s you never go wrong. July 18 2023 update Nan!!!! On the lunch buffet. The Gods love is! Iqbal is still one of the kindest and best waiters to serve us from anywhere! I have reached Nirvana! Yummy with a capital Y!

Worse food and customer service

Dal panchratna at Shalimar is just AMAZINGLY delicious! I always order the same dish every time I go there. One thing that I noticed is they reduced the portion compared to what I used to have before, hopefully they can make some changes with reasonable price adjustment. It often gets very crowed during the dinner time so I prefer go there for lunch, service is always fast and friendly.

First time dining at Shalimar and wow - it is now my favorite restaurant. Ashu was *amazing*, you literally couldn't ask for better service. The four of us ordered all different items from the lunch menu, as well as a few orders of different sides. The food was so perfectly balanced, I ate a lot but didn't feel bogged down. I could go on and on with praise. Ashu was so great with giving recommendations for drinks as well, and checked in on us frequently to make sure everything was to our liking. Ashu, thank you!

Great vegetarian options. Friendly staff. Clean restaurant. Delicious food. Can’t ask for more. Plan your visit with the restaurant’s timing in mind. The kitchen closes at 3pm then reopens later for dinner.

We came to a “Taste of Ann Arbor” but it was so crowded , we decided to come to this Indian restaurant. It was a quite a delight. Fast service, exotic decor, delicious food. Enjoy it!

We have been coming to Shalimar for years. The food is delicious and the service is always wonderful. Ashu takes great care of us every visit.

Fresh and delicious food! Personable service. Consistent and always a quality experience.love this place!!

Oh where do I start... I've been to many different Indian restaurants and this place was disappointing. 1. Portion was very small for its price 2. Fruit flies flying everywhere 3. Automatic gratuity (20%) was included without any notice 4. With automatic gratuity, servers weren't attentive at all...

This was my first time here. The food and overall experience was great. The server was really helpful about directing me to the best vegan options, which I appreciated. I'll definitely be back.

I've eaten here years ago and enjoyed it, but my recent takeout experience was pretty bad. Everything was ready on time and the staff was nice, but the chicken dishes were all overcooked, and the chicken korma in particular tasted like... nothing. There are other, reliably better Indian spots in AA. I would order a full spice level above your usual preference.

I have heard a lot about Shalimar that they have delicious foods but are expensive, not worth it according to them. So I have tried it myself last night, and for me, it is absolutely worth it. Period. The place was amazing, I love their atmosphere and high praises to their staff as well, very great people. I will definitely come back again.

I really like Shalimar Restaurant, probably one of the best places that I have dined too. Hospitable staff, impeccable customer service, and clean place. Thanks again for offering delicious food to all of your diners. I think this is my third time eating here, and it still consistent with their service. Great job.

My favorite stop whenever I visit Michigan, you guys are best. Highly recommended.

Thanks to my friend who recommended this restaurant to me. I am very happy that I decided to visit Shalimar, this is my first time to try Indian food and my goodness, I never thought Indian food tasted this good. I will surely bring my family here. Great place to dine and the staff are all wonderful.

This is what costs $20 when you order to-go and on top of the tiny portions, you receive a manager that doesn't apologize for the hour and thirty minutes you wait or take and money off the bill.

Food is good. Poor Customer service. missing items in the order.

I think I am adding Shalimar Restaurant now on my list of go-to places that is within our area. I am loving their curry and chicken tikka masala. Customer service is outstanding, very great staff to deal with. Overall, I enjoyed the food and the place, undeniably worth a second visit.

Thanks to Shalimar Restaurant for offering vegetarian choices for people like me. Kudos to the team of professional chefs and also to all the kitchen staff at Shalimar for serving incredible food. Certainly worth the price. Keep up the excellent customer service. I will be definitely recommending this place to everyone.

Only ordered samosas and mango lassi but they were great. I received lots of sauces, napkins etc.

Love Shalimar! Excellent food, tons of flavor.

Shalimar Restaurant is so far the best restaurant that I have been to, whose serving the yummiest Indian cuisine in town. No complaints. Wonderful place to dine in and the waiters are exceptional, which is very good. The whole place is comfortable, and you can definitely enjoy your food. Highly recommended.

Love their samosas, chicken Tikka Masala, chicken biryani, and just tried their lamb hyderabadi, which was delicious! Don't forget to get a side of garlic naan bread! They have good rose wine too.

While visiting Ann Arbor, we decided to have lunch here at Shalimar. We had the lunch specials- one chicken, one lamb Thaali and a Lamb Biryani as well. The Thaali had delicious curries, and good portions of rice and bread. They do come with one desert. Any repeat is an extra 2$. But we were full with the original amount anyway. The Biryani was delicious, but portion size could be increased as it is more expensive than the thaali. I asked for a mango ice cream at the end, and it was so yummy , but it was only 2 small scoops and I wanted more! Our server Ashu provided us with great customer service and made sure to check on us throughout our meal.

Our waiter Iqbal was extremely attentive! He was super helpful in helping our family pick new dishes! We love this place. Well worth the hour drive to enjoy delicious food!

It was our first time at Shalimar and definitely won't be the last. Every dish we ordered was superb and we almost ordered a second of one! The drinks were delicious too! I had the chocolate martini..2 of them! To say we cleaned out plates is an understatement. Highly recommend this restaurant!

I will say I have had better Indian food in AA. Butter chicken was really watery. Other than that good food. Lunch buffet was pretty beta tho. I really just don’t think anything can beat Madras Masala

Food was excellent, garlic naan was perfect, and I got my food good and spicy which is how I like it

I recently went after a LONG hiatus and was so pleased to have a good amount of clearly marked vegan options!! I picked all vegan entrees for the entire (omnivorous) group and everyone gave the dishes 5 stars. Everything was delicious and I'll definitely be back soon.

SHALIMAR INDIAN RESTAURANT ANN ARBOR 👍👍 👍 👍 👎🏿. Good Indian restaurant dining option in Ann Arbor near University of Michigan . AMBIENCE & CLEANLINESS 👍 Sitting area maintaining good and decent ambience LOCATION 👍 near University of Michigan QUALITY OF THE FOOD- 👍 quantity is good but nothing special about food. Also no signature dish famous for . VALUE for MONEY 👎🏿 Not pricey and priced it good but items for buffet is less SERVICE 👍 good staff and decent customer service

We got the lunch buffet. Buffets stress me out because they are usually gross. This buffet was very clean. The options seemed a little limited but all of the food was very tasty. I would happily go back anytime I’m in AA.

Food is delicious, authentic; Ashu was an informative and efficient server

This place was great. We ordered Lamb chops and chicken masala? (The first menu in curry categories) and they were nice. We will visit there again definitely.

I am so happy that I found Shalimar Restaurant. They really are the top resto in town that offers Indian cuisine. I also love their buffet, they also offer a wide selection of menus for you to choose from. The reviews that I have read online are all true, that’s what pushed me to check this place. No regrets.

We had the Mixed Grill the only disappointment is they did not serve the potato curry with it, the meat was very tasty.

We had a great time and really enjoyed the food and service. We had a party of 12 and our server Ashu did a wonderful job with all separate checks!!!

This is my mom’s all-time favorite Indian restaurant. She always makes sure to visit Shalimar like twice or thrice a month. And I must say that this too has been my recent go-to restaurant in the area. Customer service is impeccable, waiters are very friendly and will assist you immediately and of course, the food is perfect.

Always consistently good. Most Indian restaurants are not consistent. One time good, next time not good. When I order a dish at Shalimar, I know what I am going to get. & It's always been good!

The food is really good & they have plenty of gluten free/vegetarian options -The lamb biryani was really flavorful & the lamb was cooked well. It was a tiny bit spicy but I liked it with the yogurt sauce because it toned down the spice. -The butter chicken was good (I really liked the sauce) & the mild was not spicy at all. -Some of the mixed grill was really spicy even though I ordered it mild

Great food - Ashu our waiter was attentive and kind. Would highly recommend!

I love the place, very enticing and the food, my goodness, it is absolute perfection. This is what I am looking for in a restaurant, great customer service paired with excellent food choices. Wonderful servers, smiling and helpful. I will be back guys, and I might bring my whole family the next time I visit. Thumbs up.

I love their outdoor sitting arrangement. Food was ok.

My family enjoyed your buffet, and the kids also loved their foods which is a first. Our kids sometimes whine about how awful the food choices are but when we dined in Shalimar, they kept coming back and forth to the buffet table. Nice experience. We will surely come back again. Highly recommended place.

I love the incredible service from Shalimar Restaurant. An impressive place to eat your hearts out with their sumptuous buffet, very flavorful dishes. Staff is also wonderful, very helpful and responsive to all of our requests. Great job. The place ambiance is perfect, not so busy and comfortable at the same time. We will visit again in the future.

We made a reservation at Shalimar, smooth booking, no hassle at all. Thumbs up for their helpful and friendly staff and their foods are absolutely a feast to your palette. I am amazed, credits to their chefs and kitchen staff. I will be recommending this place to all the people that I know.

The lamb chops was great. Tender and delicious.

Try the tali.

Prices are a bit higher than other Indian restaurants in the area, however, the food is top notch. Chicken Lababdar is a must eat for anyone!

I had better indian food around Ann Arbor area. Plus some biriyani around lansing area is better compare to price and taste. But the vive around this place is good...

So, I’m reluctant to give only three stars, because I want to say that the food is really, really good— when it’s right. Unfortunately, 2 out of the 5 times I’ve ordered from here, I’ve received the wrong dish. I called the first time when I received the wrong dish and was told that I needed to drive all the way back to the restaurant (I live in Belleville, the restaurant is in Ann Arbor) and bring the food back to them, otherwise the cooks wouldn’t believe that the food was made wrong. When I explained that that was a somewhat unreasonable request, and that it wasn’t really a wise idea because of COVID, I was told it was the only way and, again, told that the cooks would not believe that the order was made wrong. It seems that what happens is that the ticket is read but only partially. Today, I ordered two servings of Paneer Makhani and I was given two servingsKadai Paneer. As someone who is allergic to green peppers, the dish is absolutely something I can’t eat. I didn’t even bother calling because I knew getting a replacement meal would be a huge runaround. Regrettably, I’m out $40 on a meal that I can’t eat. Like I said, the food is really, really good, so I’m disheartened to have received the wrong food so often. I’ll likely order again, but I’d hope there’d be an improvement in accuracy on future orders.

Ashu was great! Shalimar is a fantastic choice for lunch.

Excellent food and wonderful service!! By far my favorite Indian restaurant in all of Ann Arbor. My server Ashu was very polite and attentive.

Great food, good service. Shoutout to David.

I have always loved Shalimar. Had a great experience this weekend. David, my server, was really nice! Kind and helpful!

So good! They even accommodated my allergy! Everything was superb: service and food!

My favorite Indian Cuisine by far in both northwest ohio and southeast michigan. They have such unique and delicious dishes, I have made the trip 50 minutes north of my home just to get food here. I love the little cheese stuffed potatoes and anything with paneer here. My grandparents were even impressed and have asked to go back. The service was nice as well and the restaurant is very comfortable and cute.

Another great meal at Shalimar. Our server David was truly five stars.

I love shalimar! Dal makni is a delicious lentil dish that is done perfect here. I also recommend the mago lassi, samosa, and papadom. Our waiter David was very professional and attentive! I Recommend him! Amazing location and top quality food. This is a place I will always put at the top of my list in Ann Arbor!

They were out of lamb, but the fish dishes with a peanut and curry sauce was really good.

Such a great place to dine in with your family. Grateful to your team, and to the chefs as well for cooking Indian foods to perfection, we enjoyed and loved all the dishes served in your buffet. My friend was never mistaken when he recommended this place to me. Wonderful customer service. Highly recommended.

I always had the best experience in Shalimar. Their Indian foods are to die for, certainly the best place to go if you are craving for Indian cuisine. Plus their servers are very friendly, alert, and accommodating. Thanks again for delivering exceptional customer service. Worth it. I will surely come again

Thanks again Shalimar for the awesome buffet experience. My family and I had an amazing night at your restaurant. A highly recommended restaurant that offers Indian cuisine, the staff were amazing, very accommodating and friendly. They value their customer. We will surely come back again in the future. Keep up the great work.

Good food but was not treated very nice when I was here last time.