“ This is some of the best Indian food we've ever had hands down. We've been coming here for years and are always 100% pleased with whatever we have ordered. The service is great and friendly. It's always been one of our favorite places to eat in SF. The food is always delicious, flavorful and very affordable as well (which means a lot in this incredibly expensive city). We love you, Shalimar!! Thank you for serving so many delicious meals to the Polk St. neighborhood. ”

“ Best Indian food I've ever had! I'm not exactly sure what the names of the dishes are since my friend ordered for us, but all of the dishes we ordered were all delicious. We got chicken meatballs (yum), a lamb dish (very yum), lentils (yum), and one other dish with potatoes (yum). The naan was also made very well. I don't have any pictures because I was happily eating everything. The staff was very patient, understanding, and most of all kind! I had left my purse behind and one of the workers ran after me to give it back. I highly recommend coming here! ”

“ Ignore the bad reviews; the food is amazing and the price point is even better. I'm a local and have been going to this place for years; the naan is the surprising star- try the garlic and onion. In its best form, it'll be one of the juiciest naans you'll have. The one I had here was a little dry, so a tip for the shalimar team: don't overlook this signature dish! Bring it back to its unique quality and be known again as 'the place' for quick stuffed naan w highly purposeful texture! As for other dishes- they're great, perfectly seasoned. Their lamb dishes are quite juicy as well; byranis are excellent if looking for an integrated rice-meat dish. Paneer excellent as well. Keep up good work guys! ”

“ This is my standard Indian restaurant go to (unless I'm craving South Indian or Indian street food). So much so that I have a standard order as well: Naan and goat karahi. Never misses to hit the spot. I've at various times also tried their chicken tikka masala, goat bhuna, karahi paneer- all pretty good! The one thing I don't like much here is their Onion Kulcha. Also- strictly take out spot for me at least. Fair (actually kind of cheap) prices, consistent food- win win for those 'can't think of what I want' days. There were a couple of times when I got way too many bony pieces of meat in my goat karahi, so during my recent orders I've been mentioning that and they seem to take that into account and amend it. ”

“ Having moved from NYC to SF I found It's very very difficult to find good Indian/Pakistani food in San Francisco. After trying many many spots, including many awful chicken Tikka masalas I was relieved when my fiance and I found Shalimar on a random Wednesday night. - Is it affordable? Yes - What's good? Chicken Tikka masala, chicken Saag, seekh kabob - Is it clean? Hmm... - Would I go back again for tasty indian? Yep! - Is it fresh? Naan was made to order 4 stars because it was oily, food was premade to some extent. ”

“ The waiters here are not adorned with fake maharaja gear. They may or may not acknowledge your presence when you enter but they certainly won't hold their hand over their heart, smile and nod to welcome you. There is no linen on the tables, no cloth napkins, you'll eat from plastic plates and drink out of stained plastic cups. If you're thirsty, you'll have to help yourself to one of the pitchers of water in the fridge. Wear clothes you don't care about because you will leave here smelling of the tandoori oven and the myriad spices that will go into your food. You will likely step over drug addicts on the street and people will no doubt to be talking to themselves or asking you for money. So if any of that offends you, don't bother with this place but know you are missing the opportunity to be blown away. Granted, their food can be a little oily at times. But everything is absolutely delicious. Not necessarily in a four star restaurant kind of way, delicious like somebody has been doing this for a long time and really knows their shit. They have a real tandoor oven and all of their tandoori dishes are ridiculously rich. They have some pretty crazy things on the menu like goat brain that I haven't tried but so far i've never been disappointed with anything I've ordered. And the best part is you can easily eat for less than 20 bucks. Shed the fantasy of meeting your next best friend when you go out to dinner. Deal with the environment, embrace the possibility that not every restaurant is there to cater to your unique needs and let this place blow your mind away. ”