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“Good food”
Review of Pakwan Restaurant

Pakwan Restaurant
Ranked #1,044 of 6,033 Restaurants in San Francisco
Cuisines: Indian
Neighbourhood: Theater District
Restaurant details
Neighbourhood: Theater District
Reviewed 17 April 2016

After a very long drive from Tahoe, we decided to have dinner close to the Grand Hyatt and not spend time driving and searching for indian restaurants. I stumbled upon Pakwan and read the reviews.

It is a self service restaurant very close to Union Square. The food is very tasty and is not very expensive. We ordered Vegetable Biryani and Naan with Lentils. I have no complaints. The biryani was spiced perfectly and the Naan very soft. The best part is that food was not very expensive

Definitely will visit again when in SFO

Date of visit: April 2016
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
Thank Sudharshan S
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviews (55)
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30 - 34 of 55 reviews

Reviewed 7 March 2016

Ordered 3 dishes:
1. Karhai Chicken - got chicken curry, staff did not even know the difference
2. Beef boti - Under flavored with hardly any spices, etc.
3. Chicken Tikka - The only redeeming dish of the lot
We chatted with another patron who'd ordered a heaped plate of chicken biryani - he also commented, that while there were some flavor, he knew that there was a significant difference between what is "dum" biryani vs. what he was served.
Very disappointing...

Date of visit: March 2016
1  Thank TX_Burneys
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 4 March 2016

While the Mexican cooks in the open kitchen might give you pause, this self-service plain restaurant serves up tasty kebabs, biryanis, naans in a zero-frills setting for $10-$13 main courses. The lamb biryani is a heaping plate of not too spicy rice with plenty of lamb and good to be washed down with a mango lassi. The kebabs and breads seem popular for takeout and young people.

Date of visit: March 2016
Thank rnarisetti
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 17 February 2016 via mobile

Second best indian food in the city~ second location that is!

I've been frequenting Pakwan for a while. To a point that I'd plan my work/personal trip around this area so I can stay close by and eat here!! It's no secret that I loveee the food from here. I'm pretty sure almost everyone that knows me know about this spot. They are pretty magic!

Came to this place on a Saturday morning after we arrived in the city. It was empty! And it is byob so we came prepared with our own bottle of wine and such!

Ambiance- much smaller than mission location.
Self-serve place with smaller kitchen. They call your number, you go get your food. So you definitely need to have a table especially if you want to order many dishes like me.The menus are at the counter- it's cash only!

Food-
There may or may not have been a vegetarian section on the menu but seriously? Who'd look at it when you have so many amazing meat choices.
They have kebobs, chicken /beef/lamb curries, biryanis (chicken, mutton) and $1 chai!! Zomg. So many to choose. It is also a mixture of North Indian and South Indian food. Talk about the best of both world.

1. Biryani - it was well spiced! So tasty and spicy!! Need to be a little hotter in temp but it was tasty!!Two non indians including me tolerated that spice really well, if not loved it.

2. Kabobs- nicely spiced. Tasty with loads of fresh onions and jalapenos.
3. Chicken curry - with jalapenos and fresh ginger slices on top. This was probably the spiciest dish we had on the table.
4. Nihari with lamb shank- yummmm! This one came with a huge lamb shank. Again, so well spiced that curry is. Nice, thick, tasty with a kick.

The portions were nice and big. Massive even!! And the best part- they were all around $9-$11 per entrée. I mean, wow! I'd probably skip the super spicy chicken next time. Or try a dish chicken dish but the rest were totally point on and mind blowing.

Did I mention that they give you a pile of peppers with every dish? It's like an added bonus heat to already nicely spiced dishes. Actual spicy peppers. So hot, you wont stop eating! Yes, SF has so many Indian restaurants and yes, you can find amazing biryani else where. But since I've had their food in Mission, I've been hooked. And this place actually delivers for free. I've been there during a cold chilly spring time and didn't want to walk to this area, they delivered it.

Minus one star for location/ambiance and for the service. I've yet to come here and see this place busy. But I did see some shady deals going down as we sat and enjoyed our food by the windows! Love the food though!!

Date of visit: May 2015
Thank TifaMystique
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 10 January 2016 via mobile

This simple place offers nice hindu dishes for good value. Popular during lunch time. If your dish gets too spicy you can help yourself with lovely masala milk ter that is served for free. Good selection of vegetetian dishes. All biriani are very big portions- good to share for two.
Place is simple very much Asian style rather a bar than restaurant.

Date of visit: December 2015
Thank very-sunny
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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