Best Tikka Masala (San Jose, San Francisco, Fremont: hairstyles, restaurants, garden)

[Cloudship]

So what are your recommendations for the best Chicken Tikka Masala in San Francisco?

I prefer Pakistani/Afghan styles, but wil take anything from the sub-continent.

[Dapper Zoom]

There are many, many good ones. My favorite is probably Pakwan (3182 16th St) in the Mission District.

There are a lot of other Indian restaurants specializing in Indian food from other regions, like DOSA, of Indian fusion, Like Kasa.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Cloudship

So what are your recommendations for the best Chicken Tikka Masala in San Francisco?

I prefer Pakistani/Afghan styles, but wil take anything from the sub-continent.

Most Indian food is SF is below average glop cooked for Americans. When I want Indian food I drive the 40 miles south to the Sunnyvale area. The authentic Indian places there are much much better than anything found in SF.

I prefer Indian vegetarian restaurants. My favorites in the area are:

1)Saravana Bhavan in Sunnyvale for South Indian food. They have the best sambar and I have tried almost all of the south Indian restaurants in Sunnyvale. They also have a location in Fremont and 33 locations in India.

2)Chaat Bhavan in Sunnyvale for North Indian veg dishes and chaat. They also have locations in Fremont and Dublin.

3)Chaat Paradise in Mountain View. This is a good place to go on the weekends when the other places in Sunnyvale are too crowded. They have 6 different kinds of dal.

4)Aachi AappaKadai in Sunnyvale is non-veg and specializes in very spicy Chettinad style food.

5)Shan in Santa Clara is my favorite traditional Pakistani restaurant. Its worth the drive from SF.

6)Shah restaurant in Sunnyvale is also good for Pakistani dishes.

There are many others. The Sunnyvale and Fremont areas have the best Indian food in California. See this previous post for more details.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/20431025-post43.html

Also recently a lot of new places have opened that I haven't tried yet.

[23windows]

As mentioned above, Pakwan in the Mission. It is BYOB, so bring some fine wine!

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by capoeira

There are many others. The Sunnyvale and Fremont areas have the best Indian food in California. See this previous post for more details.

I recently moved to Sunnyvale (from San Jose - previously SF), and would have to agree! The Indian food here is AMAZING, and almost overwhelmingly plentiful. My Indian co-workers recommended the first few on your list, but so far I've only tried #1 (of those listed). Personally I prefer buffet style, so I can gorge on small amounts of multiple dishes, and not spend a fortune in the process. Bombay Garden or Sneha are my current go-tos, but I'm sure there are better places I just haven't found yet.

[Cloudship]

So I was coming back from Fulton, and plugged in Indian into yelp and choose the highest rated non-veg place that was open on a Sunday night. It took me to Zareen's in Mountain View.

I would have to say it was probably the worst Indian experience I have had at a non-fast-food Indian place. They told me to sit outside, unlit, under a portable awning down at the end of the building. The only reason I didn't just walk away then was because I was not the only one stuck there. The Tikka Marsala sauce was creamy tomato sauce with a bit of hot pepper in it, the chicken itself was OK, fresh grilled chicken, albeit NOT chicken Tikka. The naan was a thickish tortilla. I ended up leaving half of it there.

Please tell me this is not what you guys consider good Indian food.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Cloudship

So I was coming back from Fulton, and plugged in Indian into yelp and choose the highest rated non-veg place that was open on a Sunday night. It took me to Zareen's in Mountain View.

I think Yelp ratings are frequently inversely related to restaurant quality,especially for ethnic restaurants. I just look at the pics and ignore the comments. One look at the pics and I could tell this is not the type of place for the authentic food I look for. An authentic Pakistani menu should have dishes like this:

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/shan...Dphrt3_wiNspQA

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/shan...E9KfswHWI94jhA

I would not eat at an Indian place that had "kebab burgers" on the menu. The Desi Paleo Salad and Punjabi Chicken burger would also have me running for the door. It reminds me of fake Chinese food like hong su chicken, egg fu yung and sub gum chow mein.

https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/zare...kC2w3JR8gJAX7Q

Here is another example of Yelp inversion of restaurant ratings for ethnic restaurants.

Porridge King is one of the most excellent authentic Cantonese Bbq style restaurants in the SF area. Everyday it is packed with Cantonese speaking customers but it has a very low Yelp rating.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/porridge-ki...q=skyline+cafe

Here is another Chinese restaurant in Pacifica. It has a much higher rating and the clientele is mostly older Americans. The food reminds me of the kind of Americanized Chinese food one would find in the midwest.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/kennys-cafe...kennys+chinese

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by 23windows

As mentioned above, Pakwan in the Mission. It is BYOB, so bring some fine wine!

Pakwan is the most over-rated restaurant in the city... it's only for hipsters with beards, blazers with shorts... not authentic

[23windows]

Pakwan has the best Chicken Tikka Masala. Their other dishes might be so-so, but it really is the best Tikka around. I don't rate restaurants by the attire and hairstyles of the clientele....

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by 23windows

Pakwan has the best Chicken Tikka Masala. Their other dishes might be so-so, but it really is the best Tikka around. I don't rate restaurants by the attire and hairstyles of the clientele....

You missed my point... the main customer here are Westerners, as someone who loves authentic Indian and Pakistani food, this place caters to Westerners in taste.