New favorite Indian restaurant! The prices are decent and the portion sizes are amazing. The garlic naan is amazing. The kebab was good. The veggie curries were also pretty good. The paneer were big chunks and the eggplant had good flavor. I asked for rice and was expecting a small bowl, but it came as a plate. Mango lassi was good, but they also have complimentary chai masala. It's more self-service - you have to get your own plates and flatware and even mint sauce, which I prefer. Kind of reminds me of college. It's on El Camino which has 1-2 hour parking. The location is pretty down-to-earth, no frills, no fluff. And I kind of prefer it that way. The decor is non-existent. But they do have a chest freezer by the door filled with...creamsicles? You order at the front, eat your food, grab a popsicle and pay at the end. And it's open late! read more

We chose Shah Restaurant to cater my parents' 40th anniversary celebration because we've always loved their food and wanted to share it with our family and friends. The owner personally helped us select the menu, offering thoughtful recommendations and making the planning process easy and stress-free. The food was fresh, flavorful, and a huge hit with our guests. Great food, generous portions, and excellent service--we would highly recommend Shah Restaurant for both dining and catering! read more

Ordered takeout from here after a friend raved about it. Based on my first experience, this is an absolute gem for San Mateo. Finally a standout, tasty, authentic and clean Indian restaurant in the Peninsula that is unpretentious, incredible value, friendly service and best of all the food is incredible. Can't wait to try it again! read more

The owner was there taking orders, and he was friendly and helpful. We told him we don't like food coloring, and so he was able to make menu suggestions and accommodated our request. We ordered Samosa Chaat, Garlic Naan, Chicken Biryani, Chicken Kebob, and Chicken Palak. The dishes were made of fresh ingredients and with good recipes. The portion sizes were generous and so it was a good value. The restaurant is casual. We got our own napkins and utensils. There was also a set-up for free chai tea. read more

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I've been going to the Sunnyvale location for years ever since Shalimar closed down. The owner (the brother of the San Mateo location) told me about the newly opened San Mateo location I decided to give it a try. The location is convenient for those taking Caltrain because it's within walking distance from the Hillsdale Caltrain station. The restaurant is on El Camino next to many small businesses so parking is mostly street parking. It's close to the 25th Ave business/restaurant district so it's got competitions. The location is not large so I think the ideal number of people is a party of 1-6. The ordering is efficient and there is free tea. I'm sure there is free water but the water flasks are not in the frig. Note that this is Northern Indian/Pakistani food so order meat as this is not some southern vegetarian place. When I go by myself I usually order the signature tandoori chicken legs with a butter naan. I believe those are my favorite and the flavors are not what you can get from other Indian restaurants. This location today has too much spice on the chicken but it's still delicious. The legs are tender and extremely juicy unlike most other Indian tandoori chicken places. Order legs if you are a chicken connoisseur. Service is friendly and approachable. read more

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Fabulous Tandori chicken & roti!!! Been to Packwan & Shalimar and this is tops for me. It's a real treat to have an authentic restaurant like this in San Mateo. Free chai too like old times! Note: Parallel parking on El Camino is limited during lunch, but better in evening. read more

Shah Restaurant - Tandori Chicken & Naan... - Halal Near Me - San Mateo, California

Their achaari paneer never disappoints. Have been having food from their Sunnyvale restaurant, but tried their food first time from this recently opened branch. Nice experience. Good to taste and portions as well. Very friendly Manager. Must visit for Desi food in the peninsula. read more

Flavorful food! We ordered the chicken kebab, soy tandoori, chicken tikka, palak paneer, daal, and garlic naan and everything was spicy - in a good way! The tandoori and kebab had a wonderful char fragrance and the garlic naan is a garlic lover's dream (or a vampire's worst nightmare). Glad that tried this place out because we'll be ordering from here again! Another nice thing is that everything is thoroughly covered with plastic wrap just in case of leakage (and, trust me, all of those boxes were filled to the brim with precious curry sauce so it was needed). read more

We love Indian and to try new places but this was sub par and gave all of us a stomach ache. Bummer too because some of the food was pretty interesting and good, almost home made tasting (the curries). Here's the rundown: Naan - kind of thick and rubbery. Not the best. Chicken biryani - giant portion w pretty decent chicken on bone (a bit bland though) Rice - didn't seem super fresh but nice quality grains, large basmati Chana masala - kind of mushy but good flavor. Delivery packaging super thin and cheap. Okra - nice flavor but no tomatoes at all was off. Very beige in color. Tandoori meats pretty good if you like super smoky. It was all decent and the curries were definitely pretty tasty HOWEVER upset all of our stomachs! read more

Definitely a great find. 4.7 stars, no doubt. Will definitely be returning on semi weekly basis. Everything tasted good and fresh. Kabobs, naan, and goat we good. read more

Spectacular! This no frills restaurant serves great food. The restaurant reminds me of Zyka in Decatur, GA. Both restaurants focus on great food and service. Very authentic and yummy. I ordered the tandoori chicken breast and goat kadai. A tandoori roti as an accompaniment was wonderful. I will be visiting this restaurant again! read more

We ordered food to go from Shah Restaurant the other day. When I walked in I was greeted and welcomed in. I promptly was handed my order and offered a small complimentary chai tea. It was flavorful and warm. The dish I ordered was the Lamb Curry and Side of Garlic Naan. The curry tasted great and as mentioned in another review had plenty of Lamb. The togo "tray" was filled to the top yet it didn't spill. They mastered the art of giving you your moneys worth without having it leak on the way home. The Garlic Naan was obviously prepared fresh with small chunks of chopped garlic scatted across the hefty portion. (one piece). I wish I took pictures but I was too eager to dig in and eat! The food is delightful, the service and kind proprietors make this my new favorite place to eat in San Mateo. read more

Excellent place. I go all the way down to Sunnyvale branch from but glad it's closer. This one is all brand new and brighter than the other location. read more

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Would always go to the location in Sunnyvale so happy that they added a location closer to home, real good food. read more

Shah Restaurant - Tandoori leg with chutney sauce - Halal Near Me - San Mateo, California

The Tandoori Chicken is fantastic. Good Tandoori is hard to find nowadays. We had the minced chicken kebab and chicken legs. Great flavor. Better then any place on the peninsula. They serve the chicken legs with lots of raw white onion like Shalimar in San Francisco. The price is very fair for their tandoori items. We also had the garlic naan and it was also some of the best naan we have had in a long time. GO TO THIS RESTAURANT! read more

This place is amazing! The owner Indah I think is his name so accommodating and the food is excellent. Fresh and delicious. I've eaten in many Indian restaurants and the tandoori chicken is the best I've ever had! So moist and delicious. You must try this new restaurant. Welcome to the neighborhood! read more

Really good food with customer service chicken tikka masala is the best and tandoori chicken and naan garlic naan is good easy to find customer service word good very friendly easy to parking read more

Last night, my sister, daughter and I were looking for a halal place to eat when we coincidentally passed by this place. The service was excellent and staff were super friendly. We ordered a lamb biryani, chicken biryani, chicken masala and naan. Everything was delicious. We had some yummy, complimentary chai as we waited and agreed that the next time we're in the area we would have to go back God willing. read more

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Stopped here with my coworkers after work and the food was AMAZING! The garlic naan and beef/lamb kabob were delicious. Great customer service and good vibes. read more

New business which tries hard. Lamb curry very flavorful with lots of lamb. The naan was delicious. Think we ordered the garlic flavor. Chicken very tasty. Reasonable pricing for the amount of food. Good luck to this proprietor. read more

So excited that Shah is in San Mateo now! We are big fans of their Sunnyvale branch, especially their perfectly grilled chicken tikka and kababs. We got their tikka, Haleem and biryani today and everything was delicious. This will sure be one of our go-tos now that they're so close to home. read more

Shah Restaurant - Chicken tikka - Halal Near Me - San Mateo, California

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the food was so good! got the tandoori chicken breast which was very juicy and not dry at all. the basmati rice was really fragrant and tasty. the chicken tikka masala was so so good, and you could tell the chicken was cooked either on the grill or in the tandoori oven because it had the skewer marks on it. Lastly the garlic naan was awesome, crispy around the edges and ton of garlic on it! service was very attentive and the ambiance is super chill. and i love eating onion and peppers on the side, which they had TONS of! read more

Shah Restaurant - 4. Chicken Tandoori Breast, 30. Basmati Rice, 14. Chicken Tikka, 28. Garlic Naan - Halal Near Me - San Mateo, California

We ordered based on other restaurants we've eaten at in the area (having moved to San Mateo 3 years ago) and consequently had leftovers for days!! Bindi (okra) curry like homemade! Tandoori chicken a bit dry, but deeelish! Lamb sag (patak) excellent! Baigan barta (eggplant masala) was tasty but a big mush...puréed with no semblance to the vegetable! HUGE Nan were yummy! Owner made me a regular lassi...I don't like mango! It was on the online dessert menu, so I don't know why it seemed like a special request ‍. Prices were good...not a tarted up meal! What we like!! Open very late!!‍Friendly owner!! Basic interior and free hot chai‼ read more

Shah has the best Naan I've ever tried - both garlic and onion varieties. The goat stew was also excellent- soft, aromatic, and plenty of it to boot. Tandoori chicken- good, but Tandoori Junction in Mountain View is still an undisputed heavyweight champion of this dish. The owner is exceptionally sweet, and they have free Masala Chai - or maybe I should not spill the beans - Zareen used to have it, and then people started to abuse it. Anyway, hope Shah is here to stay! read more

We are so glad you opened in San Mateo. There are many excellent choices and the quality is consistent. We enjoyed the kebabs, meatball and biryani. read more

The flavors were nuanced and delicate. Service was good and food was freshly prepared.