I had been under the impression that Pakwan had only two locations (one in SF's Tenderloin and one in Fremont) and that they only serve a la carte menu items. Imagine my surprise when I found out from my sister that not only was there was a Pakwan in Hayward, but they also serve a buffet lunch on Sundays. The advance word was that they served pretty good Pakistan food, so when a rare free Sunday came up, we decided to make the trip to Hayward. First off, the location is probably not the most auspicious- they are in a little, sad-looking strip mall right across the street from a cemetery. But, if you can get over where they are located and the fact that the restaurant isn't much to look at, you're in for a treat. Though the selection of food is not as extensive as that of Bombay Garden in Newark, Pakwan does offer some items not seen before by me at a Pakistani restaurant. These items include a self-serve roast leg of lamb (very gamey from those who tried it), beef nihari (super-tender chunks of beef in a very oily curry sauce), chicken haleem (kinda like a curry chicken puree), and a curry featuring halved peppers. I especially liked the chicken haleem, which has a bit of an odd texture, but its awesome with the puri and the naan. The chicken tikka masala was not as oily as I've seen in other restaurants and they also used more of a yogurt base, resulting in a bit of tanginess. I'm sure that it was also a much healthier dish, as they used chicken breast rather than dark meat. We also liked enjoyed the biryani, which actually tasted very much like the way my family cooks it. The tandoori chicken was also tasty- just make sure that you pick out the fresher pieces as they had some older, less tender pieces of chicken mixed in when we went. While there were some hits amongst the dishes, inevitably, there were some misses. The lamb curry had a very tasty sauce, but the lamb was just about MIA- all the pieces were bony and there wasn't much to eat. The naan was all pre-made, so by the time you fished your piece out of the pile, it had gotten a little hard and rubbery. The puri was tasty, but super-oily. Likewise, the vast majority of the dishes used an excess of oil- i know curries are supposed to be oily, but this was a little off-putting. A scoop of the vegetable curry would leak a pool of yellow oil by the time you got to your table. The beef nihari was swimming in a pool of oil and you had to be careful to strain out the beef before you placed it on your plate. As for dessert, I was glad I saved some room. The grated carrot dish was tremendous, as was the rice pudding, especially if you eat it with the naan. The halwa, which I like to eat at the end of the meal, was pretty good, though perhaps a tad too sweet. They also offer a custard with fruit and jello- great as a lassi or ice cream substitute to tame the heat of the dishes. Overall, a very good meal, though perhaps not as great as I expected. It seems just the tiniest bit pricey, as Bombay Garden doesn't charge as much for their buffet lunch. Still, its a good value and I may be back to have the haleem and tandoori chicken again. Try to get there before 12- the crowds are a little thinner then. read more

Pretty much the best Indian/Pakistani food I've ever had. I go there nearly once a week, just because I know that it will be a so worth it. My favorites: Nihari, Tandoori Chicken, Lamb Sheesh Kabob, Lamb Chops, Biryani, & Garlic Naan. read more

I simply do NOT get why people would want to PAY to get extremely horrible customer service. Is a buffet really worth it? Really? The Hayward management DOES KNOW that we PAY for the food right? We're not eating it for free! The food is fine, its Halal, and yes, we don't have halal buffets - but I refuse to go there anymore. I have been there thrice, all 3 times with family and the guy at the rostrum has been horrible. The first time we came as a huge party of 10, waited patiently in line, and then were squeezed on to a table. Somebody took our chairs and 2 members of our party had to take a table of 2 next to our table, the guy came and very rudely told the host that his guests were taking up too many tables, in FRONT of his guests!!! Are you kidding me? Let's say it was the guests fault, you do NOT embarrass the host in front of his guests... but then again We paid PER HEAD. If he had come separately in 2's, wouldn't we have taken up more tables??? Its not like we got a discount on a party of 10! We still paid per head, per chair for the seats. Sheesh. 2nd time.... we had a young lady with a newborn baby, and as we entered, she had to take the baby to the ladies room for a change. We all sat down on the table obviously. When the lady tried to enter after using the washroom, he was rude to her, asked her which party she was with, accompanied her to our table and rudely asked if she was with us. Really???? You think a young mom, with a baby & stroller in tow is going to try and sneak in for free? If you didn't do a proper head-count, its YOUR fault. And again - you don't have a right to be rude. Near the end of the meal, the guy will start hovering over you. He kept staring at some members of our party who went to get dessert, and when he was asked why he was staring, he muttered and walked away. I don't understand why more people don't complain!?!?!? It's almost as if people that go there think we are getting free food. I understand its busy, and I understand you have to deal with all sorts of people, but do you really have to be that rude to a families consisting mostly of women & children? Its not like the people that go for Sunday Brunch are a bunch of rowdy hooligans. They are respectful families looking for a nice Sunday Brunch. People at Soup Kitchens are waaaayyyyy more polite than the Pakwan Administration at Hayward, and they actually give their food out for free. Don't forget you have to queue up for hours outside both establishments anyway. We no longer go to Pakwan Hayward for their famous 'Sunday Brunch'... unless we are invited by friends & family and HAVE TO GO. The funny thing is, guests & hosts will talk about how rude the customer service & management are, but continue patronizing the establishment. (Bear in mind, when I say customer service, I mean the people at the payment counter, that seat you, and hover over you. Esp the annoying guy in the glasses. The actual people putting food out on the buffet are fine). read more

I love Pakwan. SF, Fremont or Hayward. It's been about 2 years since I moved out of the bay and I have been longing for a good Indian meal for months. They have moved down the street since last I visited Hayward but the food is the same as I remember. Standard take out order: Saag Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala, rice and a couple pieces of Naan. Phoned in my order and was in and out with no issues at the register. Elapse time 12 minutes. The naan was light, fluffy and warm. Perfect for dipping in the sauce of the CTM. Both the Saag Paneer and the CTM were perfectly spiced, not overbearingly hot. Very savory and earthy dishes. Don't be surprised to find whole cardamom seeds and bay leaves in your dish. BTW, the newer location has a private parking lot., much better decor, well lit and roomy. read more

Me and my family have been going to pakwan for about 8+ years now, they use to be at a different location, now moved to much better loca with parking lot and interior is nice, u can actually see food on plate, much brighter now and cleaner, their staff has grown; although no waiter service available still, even tho prices are same as full service restaurant. What made me wanting to post this and give them 3 stars, i was a bit disappointed so as my father and my sisters. We went there on Sunday at 5 for my sister's bday dinner, my other sister drove all the way from Santa Cruz to join us, first of all on the door sign said 5pm, they open the door at 05:10 (i know 10 min no biggy, but you gotta go by what you advertise, especially wen u have 3 cars in parking lot and ppl outside the door standing) we love pakwan food, so we knew wt to order, our # was called, my bro-in-law went to get food, they had plastic silverware (wt ever happen to glass dishes) thy use to serve food in nice silverware, and no waiter service, soda was flat, thy told us it should be working fine in 5-10 minutes, we got up one by one to try filling our glass with coke, flat flat flat!! lamb rice biryani was cold, and thy just open at 5pm! we were shock and that dinner was quite disappointing, we r told by our dad to eat next time at one of the restaurants in Fremont and give them our business, but we like Pakwan kabobs and chkn tikka masala we know we will end up here again :) food is good no doubt, thy need to pay more attn at the customers; or else ppl will start looking into better paki/indo restaurants on yelp ;) read more

Biryani is really good especially for a large order. I ordered Chicken and Veg biryani for a private event. All my guests really loved it.

Best buck for Sunday buffet. For $15 the varieties are amazing and true treat for meat lovers. Food is fresh, constantly getting replenished. My husband loved the kheer and no where I had tasted kheer that is tasty and rich with cream. It is the place to pig out. read more

Yummy!!!!! Best Indian/Pakistani food I have ever had :) quick take out service too :)

Any place that has a halwa puri brunch is a place worth checking out. Family came here before driving back down to LA. We beat the rush and were able to sample a lot of the stuff. Overall, very very solid. It wasn't the best halwa puri, but it still was pretty good. They have like 15 different things that you can try. I think it's worth the price. It got packed about 30 minutes after we got here, so be wary of that. Will come back again. Want to try the SF location and order some lunch/dinner stuff off the menu. read more

I usually order at least once a week from this restaurant. They have the best service and the quality of the food is excellent at a reasonable price. I can place an order by phone an it is usually ready within 20 minutes for pick-up! read more

I've been going here for over a decade. The Sunday brunch is totally not what it used to be. The fools up at the front are very rude and act like they're doing us a favor by letting us come inside. We had a party of 7. One of our guests had to go outside for a phone call because it's louder than a sporting event inside. When she made her way back, they tried to stop her and asked which party she was with, and if she had paid. Pakwan is a joke, their food doesn't seem fresh (I had the runs the last time I was there), and to make matters worse, the customer service is horrible. I'm sorry, desis are horrible when it comes to customer service. Yep, Pakwan is no different! No more Pakwan for me. read more

The best Pakistan Buffet restaurants in Hayward. So many dishes I love the Lambs dishes so tender and No smell.

I ordered some food and went to pick it up. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A Hispanic female worker in the kitchen was at the prep table licking her fingers, working and then on the cell phone with one hand and continued doing her job with the other. I know some places doesn't give employees breaks but this was unacceptable.I told the guy at the counter what I saw and his response was this is her last day and that was it. wow. we will not ever go there again.The big problem here is the health issue. we don't know what this female carries. read more

I -was- a first time customer and ordered the beef nihari and veggie biryani, for 8.99 and 7.99, plus an order of samosas and boy was I disappointed. The samosas are the same ones I can get down the street at Moon for 1.99, absolutely no difference, BUT the real killer was my supposed "entree" of beef nihari which was basically beef stew in a pint container, for 8.99? What a joke! There was probably 4-6 oz. of chuck steak in there and oil and juice and to top it off, it had very little flavor. Same with the biryani which is sad, not too much flavor there but at least the portion was adequate. I won't be going back read more

I've always done take-out from this location and the food is always great quality! I love the variety of dishes they offer and i've heard from friends that their buffets are great value for money. The property is OK looking and it isn't exactly fine dining, but who cares when the food is that good! read more

This place rocks. I had the Sunday brunch, it had wide selection and all the food was delicious. Restaurant was full within half an hour of opening as if the food was for free. Enjoyed it very much. read more

Hands down the best Biryani I've had in my life. I wish they have more delivery options.

The food here is good, but their customer service is awful. The man behind the counter with the glasses that was taking orders was incredibly rude for no apparent reason. The neighborhood isn't safe and make sure you have cash for orders under $10 or you'll be asked to use the rip-off ATM machine that surcharges $2-3. I had a terrible experience here and I'm never going back again. I'm still angry over how incredibly rude the cashier/host was, not to mention everything is overpriced. I think I'll make do with the food at Chutney in Fremont. They're cheaper, offer similar items and they treat their customers with respect. read more

I've only eaten here once so far - had the goat curry and veggie curry. Both were good, however the goat dish seemed a bit pricey. Will go back sometime and try their Sunday brunch - can't wait. I used to think Favorite Indian was good, however, I like Pakwan a lot better. The flavors are more rich and the quality of the ingredients seem better than Favorite Indian, although FI is less pricey. read more

So disappointed because I heard so many good things about this place from my Indian coworkers especially on Sundays. Tried to go for dinner and we had to walk out because the service was awful!! NON-EXISTENT!! Walked in and was seated immediately but then no one ever came back. Sat there for 15-20 minutes before walking up and finding out you have to walk up to order....HELLO tell people if you seat them Duh! Don't assume that everyone knows your system. I'm going to try them one more time just because they came so highly recommended but only on a Sunday....perhaps they can redeem themselves! read more

Pacwan has a absolutely delicious Sunday Buffet. We've gone there on a Sunday several times, and have never been disappointed. The haleem is really good, and the beef shank is so tender, so tasty. We usually get there before noon. It gets very crowded. read more

I recently ate at Pakwan's new Hayward location and it was fantastic! The place is spanking new including new interior and furniture. I was there on a Sat night at 630p and there were no lines w/ ample seating. The food taste as good as the old one, if not better. The ambience is probably the best compared to the Valencia, Tenderloin and even Fremont locations primarily because it's new! It didn't feel like a "hole in the wall" not that these's anything wrong with it. Folks were very friendly. Food was fast. They even took credit cards! I ordered the sole tandori, goat palau, lamb curry, chana masala, and eggplant w/ tomatoes - yum!! We ate like kings for less than $60. What an absolute gem in Hayward!! read more

If you are looking for some mouth watering , delicious recipes one should come check out Pakwan Restaurant in Hayward , CA .

This place is garbage. Cold food, bony chicken, and service with an attitude. This place used to be good, but I think they changed owners. Don't waste your money. read more

The food is exceptional. I bring my wife here at least one every 2 months but during her pregnancy every month lol. Only reason I didn't go more is because I live in Concord and don't mind the travel when the urge for Indo/Pak food is high. All in all its a good place to eat, only complaint is that with such good food there should be waiters and service. I don't know that's my option. read more

Very rude customer service, makes you lose your appetite. I ordered a goat dish and the meat was very hard to chew, I asked for another one and the cashier said to me "all you are here for is to complain" it took so much just to get a cooked dish out of them. Never coming back again read more

Our family love this place so much, but I have to tell you the truth, they have the most dirtiest chairs in the world. I was so disgusted by that. How sad! read more

This place is one of the better Indian restaurants in Hayward (there aren't many). I haven't tried it yet, but I hear the Sunday buffet is really good. My favorite dishes are the Chicken Tika Masala, Tandoori Fish, Kabobs, and Samosas. Contrary to what the other reviewer said, I think the portions are just like other Indian restaurants. Beware, the place is closed on Tuesdays. I always manage to forget that and show up to closed sign. read more

The best Indian buffet restaurant in the Bay Area! They consistently maintain the quality of their buffet dishes. And it always turns out very good. I come here for their good food, not their service. read more

Food quality and price is about the same as "Favorite Indian" up the street. In other words, absolutely delicious. They're getting two stars off because of their service. I came in around 2pm, and the guy behind the counter really wanted all of us out of here. I understand, seeing how afternoons for Muslims could be spent in prayer & preparation for dinner. It was the way that he said it which was the kicker. I asked him, "What do you recommend?" in regards to the menu. "I recommend take-out." I guess I should have been clearer, but come on man, if you don't want to serve your customers how do you expect us to keep you in business? read more

Food is tasty, nothing In particular to set it apart from the other Indian restaurants around. Service and atmosphere horrible. The guy at the cashier doesn't seem to know what Customer service is, doesn't smile just stares at you until you order. And when you order it's at the cashier. It's like ordering at jack in the box or McDonald's. When your food is ready, they wave you down for you to come pick up your food at the counter. Glasses and silverware were dirty. Overall would never come back! $30 for lunch for two people. read more

During Corona lock down I ordered a takeout on Wednesday eve on 4/15/2020. Our bill was about $286. The order was for 75 Naans and other food like CTM, Nihari, Kababs, etc. I took the order home without checking as during lock down you better leave quickly. Our family ate food and consumed 6 naans. Then we started to pack the rest of naans (that we bought to freeze for future use during this lock down). The total count that we packed were 60. So, we received only 66 naans instead of 75. Hence, we overpaid $11.25. We called the owner right away. He refused to accept his mistake and told us that his back Tandoori crew said they had packed 75 naans but he promised to call me. He did not call me. I called back on Saturday, left a message. No call back. Then I called just few minutes ago and the same man (I believe he is the owner who had initially taken our order and handed me the food on Wednesday eve) picked up the phone. HE REFUSED TO ACCEPT HIS MISTAKE. He basically implied that I am lying for these 9 naans. RIDICULOUS and INSULTING! Anyway, now the matter will be presented to Allah on The Day of Judgment. I will never forgive this person for cheating me like this so blatantly. His attitude was disgusting too. Understand that he must be financially hurting during this lock down, but then many of us are too. He has no right to cheat and make money the illegal and immoral way. Their food is good. However, how can we trust them when they love to make money by cutting short the order and think they are smart in cheating their customer. May Allah Help them. PLEASE CHECK YOUR ORDER BEFORE LEAVING THE PLACE. read more

They don't take order to dine in on the phone but take order for take out. It's not an option If people are in a hurry and want to place an order and their food is ready when they get there. It takes about 20 minutes to get food ready. Their spinach is ok and not good. Food overall is good, 3 stars read more

Went here for buffet. Buffet is only available on Sundays for 16 per person. They have close to 17 various dishes. Nihari, chicken tikka, biryani, haleem, seekh kabob, puri and halwa. We loved it loved it. read more

Pakwan Restaurant - Full house. Lines are long. - Pakistani Near Me - Hayward, California

when we came here on a sunday nite, there was a private party going on, but the left one side open for the public. this place is pretty spacious. we ordered the chicken tikka masala, aloo palak (potatoes and spinach) and 2 naans. when they called your name to come pick up your order, you could barely hear it. so when i finally realized it was ours, the naan was not really fresh and warm. :( it's like a typical indian restaurant where you order up front, and grab your own utensils, plates, drinks so no waiter service. what confused me the most was when do you pay? he should have collected money up front because anyone could have got up and walked away. i'd come back here, but i'd like to try the other numerous indian restaurants around the east bay. there's alot. read more

This place is gross... I'm sorry, if you want GOOD Indian food, then go to Favorite Indian or Moon. I don't know if they thought I wasn't Indian and just gave me crap, but I know my Indian food and this was.... not it. read more

Everything about this place is terrible. The food was cold when it was served, and when we ordered a naan, it was burnt. Also the customer service here is the worst, I asked for 4 separate boxes because we didn't finish the food, and they ended up just putting all the different dishes in one box. It looked like it was a food for a dog. read more

One of the things I miss about the Bay area is good Pakistani and Indian food for cheap. The bf and I used to come here pretty often because they often have Chicken Haleem as a daily special, which we couldn't find at other restaurants. Other things we would order are the Chicken Biryani, Palak Paneer, and Aloo Ghobi. Food-wise, it deserves 4 stars, but overall, it gets 3 because it could be much cleaner inside. read more

Halal meat is served here. Excellent Sunday Brunch here with almost every major Indo-Paki dish you can think of from Nihari, Paya, Haleem, Biriyani, CTM and everthing in between. Chai is complimentary and good here. Only thing is don't like is the $14 per person cost. Use to be $10 a few years ago. Limited parking in the lot, but street parking available. Plenty of seating inside. read more

I dont really eat Pakistani food but this place has me craving for Pakistani food. I was introduced to this place by my sweetheart and I always tell him to take me here. The place is like a hall because they do a lot of catering and hosting of parties. The chicken curry, lamb curry, kabobs, and the naan is delicious. Make sure to order the garlic naan, it is so good. dont worry it doesnt leave your mouth full of garlic flavor, if anything its the raw onions that will leave your mouth reeking. The green cilantro creamy sauce goes great with everything. The rice is another must, trust me try everything on their menu you will not be dissappointed. The place is more of self-service; you order grab a table and your number will be called. They also have their famous milk tea that i just love and cannot get enough of . read more