** nasty ** NASTY ** saw server picking...NOSE! Visited with my family on Friday evening for dinner. Food wasn't bad but not so good either, however we almost threw up seeing the guy standing at the counter/server picking his nose as if he was searching something hidden inside, eeewww! He looked like the owner or manager. I cannot believe people review this place with 5 star, I would avoid this place. We saw another Indian restaurant nearby, We are done with this restaurant. read more

We went here for our office lunch. Food was great, service awesome. We had the buffet. We had a good time.

- Very limited menu - All items taste the same - Food is mediocre at the best of times read more

The best thing about this place is the $9.99 lunch buffet! Unlimited yummy! It took a while to get our check once we were ready to leave, and the service isn't something to write about, so I recommend getting the lunch buffet when you are not in a hurry. I love bargains and this is a good one =) read more

This place was great. The nan, samosa, mattar paneer and lamb curry were delicious. The service was prompt and courteous. Went on a Tuesday night, so only a few couples in the restaurant. My only complaint would be when we asked the waiter to recommend a wine. I dont think he understood what I was asking. Definitely be back again read more

I have been to many Indian cuisine spots in the Bay Area and few can compare to Clay Oven in San Mateo for a few very specific reasons: First and foremost, they have amazing food. The chicken tikka masala is a big portion size compared to most places in the area and it is lovingly crafted (it told me so as I inhaled the slightly spicy aroma). The sauce is a perfectly decadent texture with a hint of truffle (I'm not positive that they use it, but I could swear it's in there) and the chicken was tender and juicy. The naan was exquisitely soft and the rice cooked perfectly! I had the privilege of tasting their chai tea cold and then warm- I would definitely recommend it warm which is a first for me- I normally drink it iced, but the subtle sweetness is better when it is warm. They do not put too much sugar in their tea which allows the natural flavor to express itself. Secondly, they are a warm and attentive staff. I was drawn in to the restaurant by Malhi and Virgilio- they made sure that I was taken care of and comfortable coming into their restaurant. Lastly, the ambiance~ I came in on a Sunday evening during dinner time and it was on the quieter side and had nice low lighting- I could definitely see myself here on a date with my man! They have earned a customer and fan in me! read more

This is one of my favorite Indian places, and I have tried many. The food is quality and customized. I always receive excellent service. The Saag Paneer is the best I have had anywhere!! Tikka Masala is great. The naan is really good and fresh. The Veggie Samosa are wonderful too. read more

The place looks nice but the paper over the tables seems to cheapen the atmosphere. The food was actual decent. Nothing special just typical Indian food. Chicken tikka mesala was good but had too much curry. read more

Terrible service they barely said a word to me when I walked in just told me my order was incomplete and had me sit down I have been sitting here for 45 minuets and they are now 30 minuets late on my order. Still waiting for someone to say something to me they must be swamped waiting on their two customers read more

Ordered 90 minutes ago for delivery by Eat24. Told 45-60 minutes. Food not here, and Eat24 customer service gives canned responses to service inquiries. I can't comment on the food, but I'm frustrated with Eat24 and the slow delivery. I will update this review if the food ever gets here and justifies a higher rating. Wish I had read the other reviews of their poor delivery record. read more

I order delivery from here about once a month. I really like that they actually make their curry spicy if you ask for it. I love spicy food, so the search for places that are actually spicy is an ongoing quest. Anyways, the curries are flavorful and delicious and the naan are fluffy. I also really like their fried rice. It adds yet another explosion of flavor when I have it with a little bit of curry. I would recommend this place to anyone who likes Indian food. It's great value and the food is solid. read more

We used to patronize this place but never again. The service is HORRIBLE. The waiter was inattentive and the food took so long to come out, despite the fact that we walked in when the place was half empty and people who came in AFTER us were being served. The waiter never came by to apologize nor explain, and the manager walked by us several times, despite the fact that he could clearly see that we were just sitting there waiting for our food. Save your appetites and go to Bombay Garden instead. read more

This place has a nice location, is clean, and somewhat formal. But the food here is not good. If you are looking for Indian food, look somewhere else. Their aalo parantha is bland and its basically a naan filled with mashed potatoes (no taste). Don't waste your money. read more

We went for lunch today but the food was horrible. The food was not at all fresh. The biryani was stale. You can easily make out from the carrots and other vegetables in the biryani. I am highly disappointed with this place. read more

OK, I used to live at this place, not by choice, but by convenience. There's a little, sort of unknown alley called Ben Franklin Court behind this area where the old hotel used to run. Cool, Hollywood-esque pool area, nice seating, etc., and near to my Yoga place. I was there in sweaty Yoga togs so often that the Indian owner always asked me how my Yoga was today and should he start taking classes? I always went for lunch on Saturdays and recently went there for dinner. I'd sum this place up as your local, cute, reliable, neighborhood Indian restaurant. The food is good, hits the spot and the buffet bar they use for lunch is convenient for grubby Yoginis to take a seat, read a textbook and be unfettered. Like other reviewers here, I can attest to the lousy service for lunch, but dinner is much better. The prices are good, and everything I ordered, whether mild, spicy or kick-ass was done to my taste. I highly recommend it! Beginners: try the Chicken Tikka, Saag, Biryani, Naan, Raiti and Mango Chutney. Total: Food 7.5, Atmosphere +0.5, Service/reliability -0.5, Nice Owner +0.5, Cool Indian tunes (a la dance videos) +0.5= 8.5 read more

We had a really bad experience with our take out order. The curries tasted bad and the Rotis were stale. Not sure if the chef or manager even bothered to check. We called up the restaurant and they were unapologetic about the whole thing. Disappointing experience! We'll make sure our friends know about this. read more

For what it's worth, I prefer this place over Bombay Garden that's a few blocks away, for a few reasons. It's not as packed and crazy as BG, the buffet selections are almost identical, the naan is actually baked & not chewy unlike BG, and the obvious price difference. 11$+ for BG and here it's only 9$. read more

I've been living in San Mateo for awhile and have been looking for a good Indian buffet to try. I read a lot of good reviews on Bombay Garden but some Clay Oven reviews have been saying this place is better, so I decided to give this place a try first. Long story short, this place was a total disappointment and I won't be back. Here's why: 1. I came in on a weekend around 12:30 and the place was almost deserted except for one family in the restaurant. That should have been the first sign. A few people filled up after, but all westerners, no validation that this is a place where Indian locals frequent. 2. All the food was lukewarm, airing on the cool side!! The chicken tikka masala was barely even warm, and so was the goat curry and chicken tandoori. There wasn't even basmati rice - I thought this was a standard for Indian buffets?? Furthermore, the syrup dessert balls at the end were so soggy it felt like they were there for days already. All in all, everything I ate felt like leftover food from the prior week. 3. Of all the Indian buffets I've been to, this place had the LEAST amount of variety. 4. I asked how much the buffet cost and the man at the front counter told me $12.95. A different man rung up the bill at the end and the price was actually $11.99!!! This made me feel like the man in the beginning was trying to take advantage of me and my clueless question by charging me more, but then a different person rung me up at the end and charged me regularly. It made me feel ripped off and discriminated against. There's no way he wouldn't know what the buffet price is. After looking forward with such anticipation in trying a good Indian buffet in San Mateo, I felt so let down. I usually go down to Sunnyvale or Fremont for good indian food but was hoping not to have to travel so far. My search continues. I suggest passing on this one and trying some other Indian options in San Mateo. read more

Please do yourself a favor and do not order paneer jalfrezi.. It is seriously ridiculous.. Malai kofta is the best option for veggie ppl here.. And yes there is only pick up after 10:30.. Ambience wise this place is nice but food is just ok.and yes it mostly empty .. read more

A friend and I ordered what we thought were Lamb Jalfrezi and Chicken Saag (both $12.95/ea). The owner/server asked if we wanted rice/naan which I assumed (wrong of course!) came with the meal. We ordered a veggie pakora appetizer. During the meal my friend asked for a small cup of sauce. The server charged $15.95 for the lamb, $12.95 for the chicken, 2 orders of rice, 2 orders of naan, $5 side for sauce, the veggie pakora appetizer and would not honor a discount that was listed on website as a currently "valid offer" then takes off $5.00 as a "discount". I felt upsold and oversold on everything. I was expecting a bill no higher than $20-30 and left paying over $50! If the server had been transparent and asked upfront or pointed out on the menu, I would've ordered only one order of rice and naan (plenty for us both!). I will definitely not be back! read more

I agree with some of the other reviewers here - service is lacking. But the food is still pretty good.

CUSTOMERS BEWARE! I came here for lunch which is always a decent experience but this time I was over charged on my credit card. I signed my credit card receipt and left cash on the table for tip. To my surprise they decided to add an additional tip on the credit card receipt which I was charged. This should never happen and customers beware that they will add a tip on the receipt if you do not fill it out completely. NEVER AGAIN! read more

I come here quite often. The food is good, and sometimes you can hear music from the nightclub next door mixing with the bollywood hits.

Love the food here! The service is always great and their mint water is the best! Very quiet and the servers are attentive.

From the first bite of chicken korma, my reaction to Clay Oven was "WOW." Every dish was rich and well-spiced, a pleasure in all regards. I've also been here for the lunchtime buffet, which is less special but nonetheless a worthwhile investment. Highly recommended. read more

My husband and I had an early dinner here this week and were pleased with our experience. We ordered the lamb saag, prawn vindaloo, and goat cheese nan. We asked for medium spicy, and both dishes were plenty spicy for us. We'd like go mild next time. The saag was particularly tasty and very good with the nan. My husband did experience some gastrointestinal discomfort the next day, though I did not. Like another reviewer, we have put that down to unfamiliar spices. I introduced my husband to Indian food a couple of years ago, and we have tried a few places in that time. He has said that he will be happy to go back to the Clay Pot, despite the consequences. That is probably as good an endorsement as you can get! read more

This place is inconsistent. Don't let the good reviews tempt you into ordering from here. I have been here a few times and thought it was fine - nothing special. I ordered delivery of a few chicken items which seemed fine. The third bite of my dish was hard, chicken vindaloo should have no crunch. It didn't seem like bone but maybe very hard chicken ligaments. Needless to say I spat my food out and couldn't continue with the rest of my meal. Now I'm left with some mediocre Indian food that I don't wish to finish. read more

Unfortunately, the lunch buffet (Thursday) was a disappointment. The vegetarian dishes (only a few) were lukewarm and lacked distinct flavors. The naan, however, was piping-hot and delicious. The clincher was a long piece of thick string in one of the dishes (ugh!). The waitstaff apologized, but charged me for the entire meal anyway. Needless to say, I will not be returning. read more

We had chicken Korma and it was very good. We also had onion kulcha, right out of the oven. The mango lassi was also very good. We would definitely return. read more

We always order too much when we come here because everything is so good. Love the mango chicken. Service is very good.

If I could give this restaurant and it's staff a zero I would. Came in for late-ish take out and we're met with a nasty, can't be bothered attitude man, who took our order begrudgingly. He then asked us if we wanted a beer and we thought he was offering, but it turns out he just wanted us to go to the "nightclub" next door and purchase a $6 beer, when we could have had one in the restaurant for $3.95. Sneaky and a bad way to run a business, but we drank our beers, while watching the men in the so called club being given free drinks. Hmmm. Ok so now we just want our food and it's been 20 minutes and we ask about it. Told it's coming in a rude way. Then it's 40 minutes and we still don't have food, so we ask again once we could get someone's attention. Told it's coming again and the ride man goes away and comes back out with a bag, but by this time we are fed up and tell him we want a refund and don't want the food. As we are saying so, another man comes from the kitchen saying "here's the food" with a bag that has a tag on it, so who knows what was in the bag the rude man brought out as ours. Needless to say we won't be back and would suggest that you don't either. What a way to run a business. Shame on them. read more

Great dinner! Highly recommend! Fun music and great ambience and great service! A must!

We just had dinner here tonight and I am sorry to see any bad reviews because we loved it. There were four of us and we can't wait to go back. The atmosphere and service were wonderful and our food delicious. read more

Super friendly staff. The food was awesome. We did the lunch buffet. And they had the most amazing chia tea. Definitely coming back.

i'm not an indian food connoisseur by any means so i can't really tell how good/authentic it is, but to me the food tasted good. had the tandori chicken, some spicy shrimp dish, and naan. the service was very nice and friendly (our waiter even gave us our entertainment book coupon back so we could use it again). read more

This place is open late 10:30 - 11:00 pm on week nights. We picked up chicken briyani, daal makhani & maiai kofta from there. The food was great, would definitely go back there. read more

Pretty nice place. A bit up scale for an Indian food. Relatively quiet and had buffet style if preferred. Overall, good experience and very nice waiters. Thumbs up for service and a seamless lunch experience for 10 people. read more

So good. The buffet is not as fancy as Bombay Garden down the street, but the cooking is much more yummy. The service is good, it is kinda pricey for indian food. My fav is the Saag Paneer read more

We love this restaurant for quiet and intimate date nights, just the two of us and delicious food. This is definitely my favorite Indian food in the area, for the gentle ambiance and the well-crafted dishes. read more

It is a pretty standard Indian restaurant with a pretty standard menu. We ordered Vegetable Coconut Curry and Paneer Makhani. Paneer Makhani was alright. But the vegetable curry was delicious. The service was average at best. We had to wait a long to time to get our food and then for the check. If I go back., it will only for the vegetable coconut curry. :) read more