Discovered this tiny but delicious corner eat-in/takeout restaurant after a World Cup street party in Inman Square. One of my frustrations about Indian food is the lunch buffets are always varied and amazing, but for dinner you're stuck ordering more limited options. But fortunately this place has mixed dinner platters... and the veggie one was delish! Curry veggies, biryani, naan, raita and chutney plus a veggie samosa. So much food I brought some home. Loved it all and it would definitely go back! Just know you need cash...or order online while in line and let them know you plan to eat there. read more

Food is very good. Service is fast. Perfect hole in the wall with just 4 tables and tiny counter space but it works, mostly a takeout place. But I like to eat here. Have tried many dishes over the years. I'm not an expert but know what I like. Street metered parking. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Menu in sections since they don't have online accurate or paper menu. - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge, MA (Inman Square) - I used to frequent this casual Indian joint when I lived in the neighborhood umpteen years ago, as the food is cheap, quick, and yum. It's popular for takeout with students & locals and has a hole-in-wall vibe, but there are a few tables inside (downstairs & upstairs) as well as outside. First time back in a while and breaking for a zippy lunch between activities, we ordered chicken tikka masala and lamb daal masala, both tasty and did not disappoint. My tikka masala was full of chunky tender pieces of chicken, and the gravy is flavorful and plentiful. The scale of spiciness is not spicy enough for me, but they'll give you some extra fresh chilis to compensate. This place is very no-fuss no-muss, so while you don't come here for the atmosphere, and some items will be hit or miss or the quality inconsistent, I was very pleased with our meal and rate it 5 stars in the value eats category, for the variety of choices, for its longevity in serving the community (in an area where restaurants come & go), and a bit of the nostalgia factor as well. Cash only unless you order via their app. read more

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This is good solid Indian food. The way it was served, to how fresh everything was. The mint chutney had wave of aroma that complimented the community of food that accompanied it. I am excited to try the mango chutney next. The vindaloo had the spice I was looking for with the naan truly having the bubble airy texture. It is a small place and worth it to go. read more

I hadn't been here in about 10 years. Back then, the food was terrific; now, it's awful. I got the Vegetable Platter. Everything was bland. By bland, I don't mean mildly spiced; I mean flavorless. The vegetable curry, rice, samosa, raita -- they all tasted like nothing. The naan was very dry and hard. The pakora was the only thing that had a little flavor. I also got a mango lassi. They were excellent years ago, and I'm happy to report that they still are. So grab a mango lassi to go and get your food at another of Cambridge's many Indian restaurants. read more

Really great food and portions. Not an indoor seating type of place, but there are tables and chairs outside to enjoy your meal. Just a note that it is cash only. read more

so yummy! food was great, service was fast. thoroughly enjoyed my meal (watching the third place fifa men's world cup game)

Punjabi Dhaba is a no-frills cafeteria style Indian place in the heart of Inman Square. There are a lot of options on the menu that are very affordable for the amount of food they give you. I got the special curry platter that came with chicken curry, naan, samosa and a nice chutney/yogurt sauce. The food was well seasoned and the naan was delicious. The chicken curry was well made but a bit too watery for my liking. The samosa was a bit doughy was the inside filling made up for it. I also got the gulab jamun and did not really like it as it was served cold. There are cups and water stations on both the first and second floor. Service is speedy and curt, nothing to write home about. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Special Curry Platter - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Punjabi Dhaba is my go-to Indian takeout place! We often get their samosa chole, pakori chaat, chicken tikka masala, and the matar paneer. The chole/chaat are always delicious. The matar paneer is flavorful. The chicken tikka masala is solid but a little on the watery side and could have more spice. Good prices and takeout is quite quick! We'll definitely keep exploring other dishes on the menu as well. read more

Got a feast! $80 for 5 ppl. The place is very small and slightly cramped but they have more seats upstairs in a casual setting with windows looking out on the street Food was ready quickly! And it all smelled and tasted so good I liked the saag and chicken tikka the most! We also tried the chai and mango lassi, both decent The garlic naan was also pretty good. Overall great food for the price read more

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spicy & comforting dishes served with life wisdom, favorite dish was chicken vindaloo with onion chutney

We did take out. The food was okay. Naan arrived really hard. We ordered chicken tikka and lamb curry. Chicken was not soft and tender. Lamb was good. read more

This is one of those places that you think is going to be really great because it is counter service with those hole in the wall vibes and is cash-only. However, I found it to be just okay. You do get a solid amount of food for the price, but I didn't think the quality was anything special. I had the Lamb Vindaloo and the lamb wasn't especially tender, which was a disappointment to me. The gravy itself had a nice flavor, but wasn't unique in any way. I did appreciate that the plate came with both rice and naan, so it was filling. Don't think I'd bother to come back, since I've had better Indian in the area. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Vegetable Platter Lamb Vindaloo and Nan - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

Overall I would definitely recommend this place. It genuinely does have authentic Punjabi food, so don't get the stuff that isn't (aka the coconut chicken). Unfortunately when I went my food was a bit cold, BUT it was tasty so I still think it was good. I will still definitely try again here because I just know they're good just not that much when I went. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Chicken Coconut and Garlic naan plate - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Oh wow I never wrote a review for this place? It's probably the more authentic Indian restaurants in the area. However, it's not ideal for dining in because the upstairs area gets very busy. I'd highly recommend taking out. Parking is always a pain for this area, so better walk/public transportation if you live close by. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Outside - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

We visited the restaurant in a Friday night and were pleasantly surprised by the various options on the menu. We had the Punjab chole poori and it was great. The chickpea curry was flavorful. And the fried bread was delicious too, especially side inside. The chutney on the side was a highlight -- you can tell it's home made rather than store bought. The yogurt chutney was flavorful as well. In general we liked the homey flavor and quick service of this place. Next time I would like to come back and try their other dishes too. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Punjabi Chole Poori - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

We came out of an appointment starving, and tried to order food online from this place, where we used to eat before they changed the whole traffic and parking pattern in Inman Square to make it impossible to sit outside this place for even a minute. Not the restaurant's fault, of course. The first time, the system wiped out our whole order before we could enter payment. We tried again, and it got hung and wouldn't proceed. So we tried calling, and that seemed to work. We parked a block away and walked over, only to have them tell us that they didn't have our order: "nobody called". So we placed our order for the fourth time, and waited quite a while. The best part is that the food was quite tasty. But the whole process took well over an hour. I don't think we'll go through this ordeal again, even for delicious curries. read more

It was my to go to place in Boston. I went back to Boston for work and tried here again. It is still a good place but it used to be so much better. I still love the garlic naan and the tandoori roti. Ask some butter for your roti...so good!! I got a standard tikka masala and chilli chicken. Both were mehhh!! I have no many memories with this place and I want to come back again, please keep the standards!! read more

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Punjabi Dhaba has been a great option for Indian food in the Boston area (it's north of the river) for quite some time. I started eating there about 13 years ago. I used to make the pilgrimage to the actual location, which is of the straightforward no-frills sort, but now order delivery. I usually get their mixed platter, which comes with tandoori chicken, two kinds of curry, naan, samosa, and rice. Their bone-in tandoori chicken has great flavor. It tends to be a bit on the drier side, but that often seems to be the case with that style of chicken in the area. Conversely, their curries tend to have quite a bit of liquid compared to some similarly styled restaurants. Still, they have a good flavor and pair well with the other items. The naan is ok. The samosa is ok. The rice has a bit of flavor to it and, if I'm not mistaken, has whole cloves. I'm personally not a huge fan of cloves but if that is your thing, it'll be a plus. Overall, there are so many things to like about Punjabi Dhaba and writing this review makes me want to step outside of my standard order and try some of their other stuff. read more

Amazing food and a great experience I %100 recommend! The staff are friendly and the food was absolutely delicious, I recommend the samosas because like wow read more

A few of my friends and I were really excited to enjoy the food here. I had visited a few years ago and thought the food was just okay, but based on good recommendations from others, we decided to give it another try. We arrived around 10:03 pm, well before the posted closing time of 10:30 pm. However, we were told they had nothing left to serve us because the restaurant was "closing soon." Even when we asked if we could order something to go, they refused. If the kitchen stops serving at 10 pm, then the posted hours should reflect that. It's misleading and frustrating to customers who drive a long way (we came from 40 minutes away) only to be turned away 25 minutes before closing. We left very disappointed, and I would not recommend this place to others. read more

Small place with a big menu and authentic dishes and flavors. Quick service and reasonable prices.

Went here post the East Cambridge Chicken Run. We were all obsessed with the bread and the dishes we ordered, Will be coming back forsure - top quality Indian food. Small place, massive flavor. Enjoy it. Meals: Chicken tikka 8/10 chicken coconut 9/10 read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Chicken Coconut and Nan - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

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First thing that was terrible was I didn't expect this to be cash only. The garlic naan we ordered appeared to be reheated because it tasted slightly stale and it wasn't evenly heated throughout (there were cold spots) The chicken tikka was acceptable but it also didn't really pop in flavor read more

There is no option to give zero stars so it gets 1. Possibly the worst ever Indian food. Chicken tikka was more like chicken wood, premade, heated up, dry, flavorless, just had artificial red color. Masala tea was luke warm, made in the morning served in the evening. Chole bhature was the worst of all, chole were flavorless, and bhature were re fried or fried in rancid oli, gave them a bitter taste. Horrible ambiance, the naan bread that came with the dry chicken, I couldn't even break it, it was so hard, stale, and horrendous. Worst Indian food ever. Period. read more

An absolutely amazing, decently priced local gem. This is my favorite treat when I can get out for lunch once in awhile, and it is consistently amazing every time. The staff is so kind and friendly, and there is a great patio to sit and eat in good weather. Absolutely love this spot! read more

Food was tasty and I ordered for delivery. It was on time and in good temperature. Tried Aloo Paratha and Gobi Masala

very good authentic indian food. big portions and combos. very good mango lassi. affordable pricing. friendly staff read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

I have been going here for years. I have tried most of the menu and there has never been anything that I don't like. For a quick meal - mulli paratha - lamb kheema paratha - bhel puri For a longer meal - curry platter - chicken masala - samosa For drinks - love the mango lassi - they have thumbs up and limca which are always good finds read more

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Old school Pubjabi food counter with delicious food selections. I finally got to try it and it lived up to the hype and then some! Something celebratory about it, and their tamarind sweet sauce is excellent for pouring onto the veggie samosa. The only complaint that I have is that the pakora were uber-greasy. Incredible veggie Kofta with raisins and cashews ground into the tender dough balls. They didn't even seem to have been fried at all. A lovely, creamy sauce. James Beard level Indian food, -- at least what we ordered. read more

Amazing Tandoori Chicken the best I have ever had I eat lunch there and take dinner home read more

Hands down the best Indian food I ever had! Cozy Indian restaurant a few blocks from Inman Square. Staff is very nice and welcoming. They are happy to suggest anything due to your dietary restrictions. I got the chicken tikka masala with garlic naan. If you check in with yelp, you receive a free veggie samosa with any entree! Their garlic naan was amazing! never had garlic naan this crispy. I will go back solely for the garlic naan! Everything we got was very tasty! The portion sizes are pretty decent, and the prices make it very worth the visit. They only accept cash, so be prepared for that. -Cash only! -street parking -mango lassi is a must! read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

This place offers you One of the authentic punjabi flavors. Saag paneer and mulli paratha are my favorites! Chole bathure was subtle, simple and delicious too. We also enjoyed their pineapple lassi and salt lassi. We ordered food with spice level 7/10 and it sure was spicy. If you are a mild spice eater..I'd suggest you to go with 4/10 and then build it from there. This place is in a tiny nook in Cambridge. I like the steel plate feel and a real dhaba feel But not a great fan of the overall ambience and cleanliness part of it. I'll definitely go there again to eat the parathas and some authentic food! read more

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This is a solid place for lunch or dinner! I'd say the price is fair, and the food is good! There is limited seating, and the food comes out fast! Definitely a casual place to get a quick bite. read more

If you are looking for a fairly priced average Indian food, this place is for you. We went in on Saturday and ordered: Chole Poori - fairly priced, tastes okay, they sell it with some onions and a pickle, the puri doesn't taste like poori, its not good. Samosa - They tasted okay, but for the price they are good, we ordered two. Bhel Chaat - Not worth the price, taste is okay. Aloo Tikki Chaat - tastes okay. Overall a decent place, with okay food, nothing great. P.S.: I have been to this place before and ordered other things, everything seems to taste the same, nothing great, I hated paneer chaat. read more

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Ordered the veggie platter with a mango lassi. Loved every bite! My friend got the lamb saag and loved that too. Service was great, portions were generous. Will be back. read more

Worst place ever. CHI TEE was cold and full of Masala u got the Chatt which was also cold.

Just giving one star because there is no option to give negative star. Me and my friends went to this place for a dinner as we thought that we will get a good Indian food. Muli and Keema Parantha: Full of maida and not even able to have even 2-3 bites Veg Thai with Aloo Gobhi: Hated everything in this thali and vegetable was not cooked properly. Non Veg Thali with Chicken Korma: Asked him about the best chicken and they suggested Chicken Korma. Hated it a lot as chicken was not cooked properly and gravy was also very bad. Dahi was tangy and not at all edible. They have a tagline that dhaba which is like a dhaba in indian highway. But trust me never go to this place just because of name. WASTE OF MONEY read more

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As a south Asian myself, I do not understand the overwhelming hype about this place. The food is mediocre. It looks amazing, but the spices do not hit the right spots. You'll get ginormous serving sizes as well, but if you're looking for something more authentic, this is definitely not it. read more

Punjabi Dhaba - Chole Bhature Bundle - Indian Near Me - Cambridge, Massachusetts

This place has slipped a lot. Ordered the vegetarian combo. The samosa was barely warm. Not greasy, and tasted ok. The pakora was barely warm, but soaked in oil There was actually a puddle of oil underneath. I think they pre-cooked it, and threw it in oil to heat it up. Nan also seemed to be cooked beforehand, and reheated. Not fluffy, but kind of dried out. The yogurt / carrot raita had been made well before serving, so that the shredded carrots were limp and soggy. Vegetable stew not very tasty, and a lot of liquid. Luke warm. read more