Nihari was so tasty not too spicy or less spicy, just the right taste. Nans were also good n fresh however pricy $3 each. Keema seekh kebab and chicken seekh kebab are so tasty however raita was so sour and we couldn’t eat raita at all. We have seen flies while waiting for food but we still decided to eat because we didn’t want to go to another place since we were already sitting there. When I headed to restroom I smelled spoiled food smelling bad but our food was very tasty and not spoiled. Just the restroom needs to be clean because it was dirty. Overall taste of their food is awesome.

The chicken was extremely dry and 0% juicy. Usually it happens whenever they are grilled for several times (in several days). It was clear that the chicken was from very old days. The brain masala had some amount of unwanted things, usually that happens due to improper cleaning. It had less brain and more masala, compared to other times I eat. They have water jug in freeze, but I couldn’t drink water from there as the water was a bit dirty (something fallen on water). Price is extremely high. The brain masala was $20 for such amount shown in image. Together with rice, chicken and brain masala, it’s almost $35. We ordered food and had to wait for 45 minutes to get food, as they forgot our order. Whenever we asked that how long it may take, then they asked which orders we placed and then they started to prepare our order. My recommendation to customers, if you go to week days, be prepared to get uncleaned and improperly serviced food. Only one person was taking bill and taking order - he didn’t seem welcoming as well. Foods are expensive. Every item is separate, nothing comes with another item. So it’s not customar-friendly as well. I suggest them, putting the actual food images to wall, so that customers can see the food type and quantity beforehand. Make some lunch or dinner platter with actual colored image. Listen to customer properly, and serve orders according to customers who ordered first (which I found not ok for them). Do not keep frozen foods for more than 2 days (rather cook freshly brought items), as I saw a lot of frozen foods were making hot to serve customers.

I don’t normally write reviews but for Shalimar I feel I have to. I’ve been coming here since 2007 when I first moved to SF. It’s been a staple for me. The food is incredible, it’s spiced with a complexity not shared by most restaurants that surround it. The chai is the best around as well. It’s a hole in the wall, for sure, but that’s part of its charm. It’s a holdout from the old SF, a picture of what the neighborhood was and still is. The owners are kind, the food is cheap and high quality. Go here, you won’t be disappointed.

When it comes to food, it’s awesome. I love biryani and I had it after a really long time. And it was amazing. But sorry to say the place is awful - needs a lot of proper cleaning and obviously furnishing it gracefully. I’d not say renovation because renovation means to restore in good condition. Shalimar is already in terrible shape, but I’d be happy to help them if they need any assistance. I felt the urge to use the restroom but looking at the ambience, I decided to avoid going to the restroom. And lastly, there’s no parking which is terrible. And I can not blame #Shalimar cause the entire #SanFrancisco is a heap of garbage; there’s no parking at all. Though street parkings should be available but every path was painted white that says ‘passenger loading zone only’ or it’s painted red that says ‘bus stop’ though it’s not a stop. And by the time u see the street par without the paint, it says ‘police vehicles only’. I don’t understand why donpoloce stop or park their car in the customers’ parking spots when they already have parkings spots assigned for them? Are they afraid of walking for miles? I wish #Shalimar could think of opening the restaurant in Tracy or Hayward because #SanFrancisco and #Oakland should be known as ‘Homeless living’. Just like #California has apartments known as Senior Living, San Francisco and Oakland should be called Homeless-Drug-addicts-Living! It was terrible! P.S. The most difficult thing for me was to touch this NewYork’s times publication, i.e., the Menu Card! 😂

Attention: rated according to the price. Food is flavorful and price is very affordable. I would recommend charbroil tandooris. Curry was good. Lassi was too sweet for me.

Great street style Indo-pak food with no frills. . . Ambience - ⭐️⭐️ Service - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ Quality - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Quantity- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . If you are looking for no nonsense, Indian non veg restaurant just to eat good food this is a place. The nan, tikka and kebeb are hot and fresh. Ordered the mutton curry, not spicy but flavorful. chicken tikka and kebab both looked good. . Complimentary milk tea is available that is good too.

So I m not sure what to compare it to. The chicken curry was so so, goat curry was totally uncooked the meet was very hard its looked they cooked a day before they just warmed up served to us.and their naan is amazing. It's light, fluffy and so soft.The service wasn't that great - the guy taking our order constantly seemed annoyed and unhappy to serve us food so definitely not the greatest vibe from him.when I was trying to pay him I gave my ATM card I paid price for food no problem for prices actually concerning front desk guy’s attitude. I demanded to him give me invoice which I paid for. He gave me one invoice here is a picture no details about food when I asked him where is food details in this invoice,he said ask me what you want I said simply give me details bro and proper invoice.finally he did not give any detail.I will not recommend this place to go there.

Best Goat Karahi and Saag among all the Pakistani restaurants in the SF area. They also do catering

I lived in India for 4.5 years and love Indian food. I had already tried Shalimar from take out at friends house but this was the first time I went to the restaurant. The location of the restaurant is my least favorite (tenderloin neighbourhood) because it is a bit unsafe but we were hungry and at 10pm you don't have too many options in the city because it's too late for dinner. The three of us went to Shalimar and the place was pretty small and crowded so had to wait briefly for a table. I must say, I wasn't impressed with the place at all because it was a bit dirty :( and having lived in Mumbai for so long, I don't like to be reminded of that but this is something you can expect if you want to eat this type of cuisine, I've had a similar experience in Santa Clara too at another Pakistani/Indian restaurant and I guess it's ok for once in a while eating out at these joints. We ordered dal fry (which was ok but I expected way more flavor from that dish) but also i'm biased because I get to eat Indian food at home all the time so perhaps i'm too demanding :P, mutton gosht which my husband (who is indian) loved it but i wasn't too happy about it and also because mutton is a not my first choice of meat or dish, tandoori chicken legs was probably what I enjoyed the most - succulent and not too spicy and shared tandoori roti, garlic naan and alo paratha - the garlic naan stood up and was soft and fluffy and some of our friends say it's just the way its served in Pakistan too so must be authentic. Overall I liked it but wouldn't say this was a great experience. Ah, and what can upset me most of all is not having fresh cut lime to pour on top of the food - they had this sad lime juice in a bottle instead :'(. Friendly and helpful staff and fast service but I just can't get over that it wasn't clean enough!

Still after 20+ years the best tasting Pakistani food in Bay Area 👍

This was, hands down, the best goat curry I've ever eaten! Garlic Naan was incredible. This is the real deal!

So I've not had a lot of pakistani food in my life, so Im not sure what to compare it to. The chicken curry was really tasty and their naan is amazing. It's light, fluffy and so soft, probably the best naan i've had. This place is definitely a hole in the wall so don't expect any sort of ambiance here. The service wasn't that great - the guy taking our order constantly seemed annoyed and unhappy to serve us food so definitely not the greatest vibe from him but the food was pretty good and priced extremely well.

The Bad News- Shalimar on Polk is closed for good. The Good News-Shalimar on Jones is OPEN for business. Still the best Indian/Paki food in town. Awesome service. Call ahead, and pick up in person. Worth the wait! :)

As a Hong Kong Bespoke Custom Tailors traveling to San Francisco California and Bay area serveral time a year I love to visit this restaurant when I want Eastern taste with Eastern hospitality and friendliness. I just love their foods.

I like the food very delicious.The only Pakistani and Indian food in Bay Area, clean tasty foods.

Likely the most authentic Pakistani food I've ever had outside of Pakistan. Tastes just like home made food. Palak Paneer and Chicken Ginger were mind blowing, So happy to have this gem in SF.

I went here with with my family from a 100 miles drive just to try this desi cusinine which turned out to be very bad. The customer service was very unpleasant.They didn't serve us water or anything we had to tell the waiter to bring us raita and chutney which was very unpleasant as Shalimar is one of the best halal restaurants in America but this one wasn't the one. The food was just like any other restaurant and the jalfrezi was worse than home cooked and the cleanliness and atmosphere was also bad with dirty tables and ripped chairs. Therefore I wouldn't recommend this restaurant especially if you are coming from afar and spending time with your loved ones. Keep your money and spend on other restaurants around Shalimar but not this restaurant.

Some dishes are fantastic such as chicken kofte, various naans, chicken tandoori, Masala and their rice is fantastic. Sure the place is ugly and I just wish cleanliness and basic hygiene were important to them. Sadly they are not. Many complain about service, really ?? You expect service at a hole in the wall in a city which has more homeless, druggies and pan handlers than regular citizens. !!! Cleanliness and hygiene are non existent which is true about many Pakistani Indian restaurants. It’s just part of their culture.

The food was awesome but the restaurant itself was a bit unclean. We ordered chicken tikka, daal channa, chicken curry and naan. Haven't had such good chicken tikka in a while. Would have been great if it was a bit more spicy but I guess they have to keep in mind the other nationalities who enjoy their food too.

The best and old style amazing Pakistani kebab is here. It’s still reasonable price too.

Shalimar is a cornerstone of San Francisco. Few places outside of India and Pakistan manage to achieve truly authentic tastes and textures. This place is often frequented by the casts of the various shows in residence at the Orpheum Theater. Saw one of the dancers from Moulin Rouge going to town on the saag paneer.

Food was good but apparently later found some of it is pre cooked and reheated for serving. Nan were made fresh and so does karahis. Run down interior, need to redo as it gives the feel of unclean. Staff was nice. Additional charges if you by card.

I ordered tikka masala which was old and runny… biryani was soo disgusting never ate that kinda biryani in my entire life. Beef seekhs were so smelly couldnt eat it that either… tandori chicken was tasteless like it boiled in colored water.. every food i mentioned above was old… the only thing that was made good was naan… their furniture and pots (entire environment) are old and pathetic, really dissatisfied!!

Okay food, located in a rough part of town. I don’t think personally worth it. Must be better places in sfo for kebab !

One of most popular and delicious local Restaurants for outstanding Indian food. It is actually my very first foray into this amazing, spicy tongue-drenching cuisine. I first got news of it from a food network website about 10 years ago and have been a huge fan ever since. Don't let the modest decor fool you, you won't be disappointed.