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    Karimi Restaurant

    4.3 (625 reviews)
    ModerateIndian, Halal, Pakistani
    Open 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    KARIMI RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Karimi Restaurant

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    Chicken Biryani
    Lily H.

    After a day hanging around in San Francisco, decided to get some Indian food for dinner that opened past 8PM and chose Karimi Restaurant in San Jose. My initial attempt to order online through Yelp was a bit of a challenge, as the system wouldn't allow me to remove items from my cart. It was a bummer, but I just called the restaurant instead. The food was ready for pickup in about 30 minutes or so. Ordered the butter chicken, chicken biryani, and garlic naan. The first thing I noticed was how heavily spiced the food was, which was great, but it's a good heads-up for others you might want some water or milk nearby if you're sensitive to spicy food. The garlic naan was perfect for dipping into the rich and flavorful butter chicken sauce. The chicken biryani was decent in good portions. I had expected boneless chicken, but it was bone-in. However, the meat was so incredibly tender that the bones were easy to remove. Overall, it was a very satisfying and flavorful meal. I'd definitely recommend Karimi Restaurant for a good Indian meal in San Jose.

    PALAK PANEER
    Darlene A.

    My friends and I were looking for a spot without long wait, something hearty and we came across Karimi Indian Restaurant rant near Japantown in San Jose. The place has a casual, no frills, cafeteria vibe. We ordered a few dishes to share: * Chicken Tikka Breast & Butter Chicken : Both dishes were incredibly flavorful & cooked perfectly. The chicken breast stayed juicy and tender, the butter chicken sauce was rich, creamy, packed with spice and depth. It had that perfect balance of buttery smoothness with a subtle heat that makes you want to keep going back for another bite. * Garlic Naan : Soft, pillowy, and so garlicky, just how naan should be. It paired perfectly with the curries. * Beef Samosa : Crispy on the outside with a savory, well-seasoned filling inside. Great appetizer to start with. * Palak Paneer : so comforting and delicious. The spinach gravy was well-spiced, coating the paneer cubes perfectly. It's also quite interesting that they offer Indo-Chinese options like Hakka Garlic Noodles & Szechuan Fried rice. If you're ever looking for solid, flavorful Indian food around the area, this place is definitely worth checking out.

    Roti, butter chicken and chicken malai boti
    Sammi L.

    Came to Karimi with friends who have been regulars since they stumbled across it. We ordered the chicken malai boti and butter chicken with roti (and later garlic naan). The chicken malai boti was amazingly tender, really doesn't need a knife to cut it, and the butter chicken was super flavorful. For 3 people, the portions were perfect (we got a double order of the malai boti). Service was quick and friendly. Water and dishes/utensils are self-serve. Street parking was also readily available. It was nice to come into the air conditioning on a hot evening, too. Excited to add Karimi to our regular rotation of local spots.

    Chicken Boti Roll
    Roneil S.

    Stopped in the area to fill gas at Cheveron when I got this great smell in the air. I look at my friend and he turns to me and says "dude that smells really good." So we park and walk around the corner when we see this restaurant. Walk in and it's fairly busy. After reviewing Yelp opinions and pictures, I decided to go with the chicken boti wrap. This wrap is packed with flavor and reminds me of a wrap I used to get back in the day from Chaat Cafe. My friend ordered the tikka masala with garlic naan. I did try that as well, and it was really good. Chicken was fresh, sauce was smooth and creamy with a lot of fresh masala flavors. This is a hidden little gem. Must try!

    Malai Phirni - Malai Firmi
    Mark C.

    Out of this world flavors! absolutely EVERYTHING here is just decadently tasty. Their desserts offer a punch of flavor in the mouth, and it's a sport to experience the texture. it is simply perfection. My family and I tried the Malai phirni and the Chai tea. and OMG please come in a treat yourself.. or more like spoil yourself to some of their sweets! and also the dessert gets sold out QUICK so with some luck you can get one for yourself!

    Chicken Boti Kebab, Chicken Tikka Breast, Lamb Seekh Kebab.
    Alexis Z.

    Wow the food is amazing! Just like we remember it when we used to live in Jackson heights, queens. We ordered the butter chicken, palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, chicken boti, and OMG... speechless!! Right amount of spice/heat. So that you can enjoy the flavors from each dish. All and all .. gotta try them all! Oh I forgot to mention their malai something dessert is BOMB! amazing too. Great flavor and wonder mouth feel.

    Beef Nihari
    Russell W.

    Was visiting a friend in the area and was craving Indian food. Found this spot and decided to try it out. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. They weren't busy, so was a little worried too. The space is pretty large, but nothing special to look at. In the end, everything was so yummy! From the goat curry to the biryani, all was very flavorful. The chicken was tender and moist. The best part of it all was that 5 adult males ate for LESS then $30 a person! Always love a good meal that doesn't break the bank!

    Masala chai- you need to ask for a cup
    Scott H.

    The skinny: Fresh and delicious Free masala chai Decent portions Clean bathrooms The lengthy: Date with the wife after long morning of shopping. Indian/Pakistani food is too spicy for the kids, so we went to get our spice meter filled up. Place was empty around 1130a on Black Friday. Ordering was super easy: butter chicken, lamb curry, plain naan, garlic naan. Butter chicken: small and moist pieces of chicken; balanced sweet and creamy sauce Lamb curry: tender meat, spicy sauce Naan: both tasty, excellent balance of chewy and crispy; portion small but still worth it Overall, the food was flavorful. Mixing the two sauces was terrific: sweet, creamy, and spicy. Bill came to $46 total. Pricey but the quality was there and we had a little leftover from both meat dishes; just need to find some more naan... Also: You can ask for masala chai, even though it's not on the menu anywhere!... it was pre-sweetened, but i thought it was good. If i am in the area again, i would like to go back. :)

    Spicy Butter Chicken
    Didi N.

    Randomly went here because I was craving Indian and I am so happy I did because it's my new favorite Indian spot in San Jose. The food was delicious and affordable. The service was pretty quick and standard. The inside of the restaurant is pretty spacious and has a lot of seating. For food we got butter chicken and requested it spicy and the shrimp fried rice (I'm basic I know). The butter chicken was perfectly spiced and so freaking delicious. I asked for it super spicy and it came out perfect. My brother ordered the shrimp fried rice and it came with hella shrimp. Super flavorful and decent portions. I will definitely be coming back and trying new things.

    Brenda D.

    My lunch buddy and I usually try a new restaurant when we go out to lunch. Karimi was on our radar since it is close to another new restaurant we tried. We walked in and looked at the overhead menu. I asked the gentleman at the register what chicken curry dishes were spicy. He offered a couple of suggestions, and I went with the Achari chicken curry. He asked if I wanted garlic naan. Yes! And he asked if I wanted rice. Yes! And I can share with my lunch buddy. We paid and sat down. You can self-serve water, which is located down the counter from the register. Another thing I noticed is you can also self-serve your plates and utensils. I realized this when one of the employees was providing them to the patrons. The food was delicious! The Anchari chicken was not too spicy and was just right. The rice was warm and fluffy, and the garlic naan was soft and warm. The entrees are ala carte since the rice and naan are additional costs. They have a large dining space. It can get noisy with everyone talking, so it's difficult to have a conversation. Overall, food and service was great, and I will definitely be back.

    Chicken Boti Kebab
    Pranathi B.

    Finally made it to Karimi as we wanted to try Haleem. We learnt they only have beef Haleem after we got there though. So we got chicken boti kebab, chicken seekh kebab, chicken and goat biryani. I asked for a curry recommendation and got the chicken karahi as well. Good stuff first, the chicken karahi was a delicious, thick gravy without overwhelming spices and a wonderful zip of heat from the ginger juliennes. Absolutely loved it. I highly recommend getting this. The rest of the items were disappointing though. The chicken boti kebab felt undercooked, it didn't have any pink inside but just trying to cut through it felt painful, definitely not on the overcooked range of spectrum rather the undercooked side. The chicken seekh kebab was cooked well but needed more flavor. The chicken biryani was also mildly flavored.

    Chicken Biryani ($13.99)

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    5 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    9 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

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    5 months ago

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    6 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    6 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Very bad customer service specially the guys who take order by phone very unprofessional customer service shame on you guys.

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    7 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Great food, great service, chill and peaceful place, easy parking and restaurant is not too busy. I will be a regular customer.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food was basic and nothing special. I spent $40 and feel i should have just went somewhere more classy.

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    4 years ago

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    Page 1 of 16

    Karimi Restaurant Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Karimi Restaurant

    Able to accommodate allergies?

    Are there any vegan options?

    Yes we have 3 dishes vegan

    Are you open on Sunday?

    Sorry, we are close on Sunday.

    How can I order goat haleem, it does not show up on the menu on Grubhub?

    Yes we use fresh goat meat

    Do you have a lunch buffet?

    Sorry, we do not have lunch buffet.

    View All 10 Questions

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    Indian Sizzler

    Indian Sizzler

    4.3(333 reviews)
    4.6 mi
    $$

    FINALLY got to try and it did not disappoint. I'm not Indian, but all the other customers were, so…read moreI immediately knew it was gonna be good. WHAT AYCE Indian food from northern and southern India: chicken, fish, lamb, vegan, appetizers, desserts (plural!). Delicious! We tried stuff that we might never order in a regular Indian restaurant. COST $25 weekdays $28 weekends is VERY REASONABLE to me for a place that has no limit on what you can consume. We went on a Friday night, no time limit for us, but if they are super crowded I can see how they might put a time limit. FOOD 10/10 I wish I took a picture of the buffet line but I didn't want to be weird. There were so many choices, and several dessert items too, including soft serve ice cream, this place is a gem. Everything was awesome! They now have a breakfast buffet too, next time I'm back in the area I'd love to try that!

    Accidental find, Benihana's apparently bellied up at some point. Voila new location for "Indian…read moreSizzler". Not many renovations as you enter half the old bar seating area is the area in which their buffet is displayed. Alot of display's of happy hour promotions, catering, pricing which none reflected on aspect of the business or the other (website). Friday afternoon is apparently considered a weekend buffet even though there are many business's around for a quick biz lunch. So we were charged the 'weekend buffet' pricing per person. Around $28. The buffet is on the massive side. Northern, Southern and probably a couple other regions of Indian food. It's rare I get a Indian buffet with so many options. Was happy sambar was available, medu vada, idli's. But also tried out some dishes never heard of. Upon seating we were brought both naan and dosa. Coconut and tamarind chutney was a nice surprise also. Chicken option and fish were done well. I can't remember exactly what recipe as tried a lil taste of many, but the point is they cook their meat and fish well with great flavor balance. There were a handful of goat options also. Never had a chickpea salad like they offered nor bitter gourd pickle! Loved that chickpea salad. As for the bitter gourd pickle, it was a good pickle recipe but if familiar with bitter gourd, it was 'unique'. Too full for dessert but it does exist. It's on the keeper list.

    Photos
    Indian Sizzler - Spacious interior with modern finishes.

    Spacious interior with modern finishes.

    Indian Sizzler - Mixed buffet items

    Mixed buffet items

    Indian Sizzler

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    Punjab Cafe - Dinner for two: lamb

    Punjab Cafe

    4.2(1.4k reviews)
    1.6 miDowntown
    $$

    Amazing Indian food, I got the lamb korma and butter chicken in the dinner for 2. Flavors were…read moregreat, the butter chicken almost had a bit of coconut flavor last time I went, but was creamy and delicious. Lamb korma tasted pretty authentic and delicious. Meats were tender in the curries. The garlic naan was quality. I'd definitely regular the place. Mango lassi was fire as well. Prices are great, 65 ish before taxes and tip for 1 chicken, 1 lamb, samosa starter, gulab jamun, and this one other dessert. Added 1.99 per person for mango lassi.

    This restaurant doesn't seem to care whether you've requested "mild" , so unfortunately with my…read morehealth conditions when I sometimes require non-spicy food, we're unlikely to return here. Pakoras--good, good sauces, got ten in takeout order Samosas: you get two large, they're spicy, and tasty. The mint sauce is spicy as well Plain naan--good chewy fluffy texture, flavor lacking so garlic is better in our opinion Malai kofta (mild)--good. Second time we had this our mild request was not honored and they were medium-hot. Paneer tikka masala (mild)--good, though paneer harder texture than usual Garlic naan: the garlic butter smell was great, and taste was good Not as good: Navratam korma (medium) no mushroom--medium spicy helped this dish, as it wasn't as tasty as the others. Perhaps too much coconut in the sauce Mixed vegetables (mild) no mushrooms: although we asked for mild, it was spicy. I wasn't a fan of the seasonings under the spiciness, either.

    Photos
    Punjab Cafe - Dinner-for-two appetizer samosas

    Dinner-for-two appetizer samosas

    Punjab Cafe - Tikka paneer

    Tikka paneer

    Punjab Cafe - Vegetable samosa

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    Vegetable samosa

    Raunak - Chicken Seekh Kabab

    Raunak

    4.4(80 reviews)
    3.6 mi

    We were a group of 23 people for an office team lunch. When I called to make the reservation for a…read moreThursday afternoon the owner Ankush himself called back asking what would be our meal preferences and what changes we would like to make in the buffet menu. Even though they don't have chaat on a weekday afternoon he was ready to include a chat item as well as a pani puri fountain. On the day when we were at the restaurant, the staff were very humble and kept checking on us if everything was fine. The food was excellent naan and tandoori rotis were extra soft. Overall a very good experience.

    Had a great time here celebrating a birthday dinner! They were able to accommodate our table of 13…read moreby putting two tables together. Raunak is part of a corner plaza and there's parking available but it could be limited during peak eating hours. It has a classy, beautiful interior that has great ambience for dinner with friends or a date with your partner. The staff were friendly, nice, and attentive. I ordered the mutton biryani! It had such a beautiful and colorful presentation from the veggies, meat, and rice combined. It was a bit spicy but it was paired with a great amount of raita to mellow out the flavors. Lots of pieces with bone in, it was tender and delicious. The staff were so nice in setting the mood for our birthday guests by even playing happy birthday in the background. Great experience for fine dining in Milpitas!

    Photos
    Raunak - Buffet station

    Buffet station

    Raunak - Placemats

    Placemats

    Raunak

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    Jashn - Pan fried branzino

    Jashn

    4.1(100 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    Full bar
    Locally owned & operated

    Ambience 10/10 Food 10/10…read moreService 10/10 It's a keeper!! All dishes true to the Indian origin!! Shrimp malwani and Bronzino fish masala - amazing appetisers Pressure cooker chicken and kaala maas with garlic naan were amazing too! Amazing flavors in food, spicy and aromatic- it check all the marks to be at the top of Indian restaurant in Bay Area!!

    **USP: upscale Indian restaurant. Great location to celebrate special occasions…read more **AMBIANCE: elegant and classy. Lot of spots for photo ops as well. They have a wall filled with Indian artwork which made a great backdrop for pictures. **FOOD: We tried a lot of varieties, across the board the food was decent but not one dish was extraordinary which evoked a wow factor. I asked our server to suggest only the best of the their menu and this is what we got. Andhra chilli chicken-4/5- it was like an indo Chinese dish with corn starch and some Andhra chillies. Authenticity aside, the dish was delicious and lip smacking with a wonderful zip of heat. Flame grilled chicken- 4.5/5- their version of tandoori chicken. It was made well, had a good char and the flavors ran deep into the meat. The chicken was extremely tender as well. Avocado tikki-3.5/5- slightly salty. Come to think of it, the other vegetarian dish we got - water chestnut kofta was a bit salty as well. Crispy outside and very soft inside. Decent but not noteworthy. Kala mutton-3/5- the mutton was tough in parts and the gravy lacked a punch which meat normally needs. Pressure cooker chicken-3.5/5- this was Andhra style chicken gravy and it came directly to our table in a small cooker. The consistency was a bit watery and though the flavors were present it was on the milder side. Donne biryani-4/5- wonderful rich flavor, the rice absorbed the flavors wonderfully as well. Too much meat and very little rice and there was fat accumulated at the bottom. Rose Kulfi experience- Experience-5/5 Rose kulfi-3.5/5 Family enjoyed the experience of watching the liquid nitrogen convert the sweet Rabdi into icecream. We got to crush a frozen red rose into the rabdi as well before it got converted to icecream. Weak point was the cloying sweetness of the rabdi and the consistency of the icecream- parts of it were still liquid and some parts were over frozen.

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    Jashn - Bar seating

    Bar seating

    Jashn - Vada bao

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    Jashn - Bar seating

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    Bar seating

    Karimi Restaurant - indpak - Updated June 2026

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