Shalimar Restaurant

Negative infiniti stars. Ew!!! Now closed? Not surprised!!!

Shalimar is gone, now its Halal Indo Pac Tempura .The naan was really good, the Mango Lasse was delicious but took a long time to get. The buffet was meh ok. Most of the dishes had pools of grease in them. I didn’t try them because my digestive system cannot take the fat. A lot of the dishes were not very hot temperature wise. I was a little worried about food poisoning, but I was ok. My husband had some issues later though. None of us were impressed. We liked it better when it was Shalimar. I don’t think we’ll go back, not even to try the menu.

Food is good every time I go there I have to call server to take order lazy lazy lazy servers. My advice for owner keep some good servers and teach them how to handle customers also music is way to loud like Pathan hotels in Pakistan.

This place is on its way out and will be under a new name and management in a month or so. Shalimar has always been a hit or miss for me. I do enjoy their food but it was always a struggle to get past the non existing customer service and rolling the dice and hoping the food I’m ordering is made fresh and not taken out of the buffet. Speaking of the buffet, it always looked stale to me.
Anyway I’m hopeful new management are able to turn things around… It already looks more «restauranty», and the buffet price has been raised from 6 to 8 but looks much more appetizing. I’m told some of the recipes will be changing and will focus more on customer service so I’m excited to see what they have in store going forward!

New management. New variety of food. But they jacked up the buffet price from 6.99 to 8.99.
Halwa puri served on Sunday. Puri is very greasy (used a napkin to absorb the oil). Service is very good. Hot naan is served immediately. Dessert needs to be more appealing since kheer is very watery and no pista, badaam inside.
Buffet should include chinese dishes too…

The food was actually pretty good. They didn’t have any tikki masala out, but they did have what they called «butter chicken» which was about as good. The tandori chicken was good as well. So was the naan. They’re also open until 11pm, according to their hours on the glass, and they’re pretty cheap at what I believe was $ 8.99 per person.
So why the two star?
Well, for one thing, although the food was good, it was about the same as every other Indian buffet in town. It’s all pretty darn good. This place, though, apparently doesn’t feel the need to actually keep food on the buffet, even when they have 6 – 7 tables worth of customers. Most of the things ran out, and just stayed empty for the time we were there, even though it was still a few hours before close.
And the service… hooooooly crap. Almost nonexistent. We were completely ignored by the one woman that seemed to be serving and bussing all the tables, as well as the two older men who were just kind of sitting around and occassionally wandering back into the kitchen, AND the younger man who just stood up at the register on the phone the whole time. We finally got drinks when I actually walked up to the register and said «Hey, how do we go about getting some drinks?»
The restaurant floor looked like it hadn’t been swept all day, there was trash everywhere under the tables and such.
So, even though the food was definitely edible and the price was low, it’s hard for me to give anything higher than a two star to a restaurant that was utterly indifferent to our existence.

Go for the food, not the atmosphere or the service. The buffet is a great value, and is available for both lunch and dinner 7 days a week.
Ask the waitstaff for fresh naan and they will bring it to you (don’t let them give you the naan that sometimes sits in the warming box on the front counter.)
For the extremely adventurous, after your meal ask for Chacha, he will make you a custom paan (betel leaf stuffed with mysterious herbs and spices.) Beware, paan is an acquired taste akin to chewing tobacco.

$ 6.99 buffet will fill you up… on rice and bread and maybe one decent dish. 2 large pans of bones in gravy and another pan with dried out onions where chicken was supposed to be. Even the naan wasnt that good. The staff were indifferent and didn’t really seem to care whether you were there or not. Won’t be back.

Great food and great price. Not a fancy place but perfect for everyday. The nan was fresh and hot. Will be back again!

When my lady and I first walked into this place it was very uninviting, but we really really needed our fix of Indian food on a cold, rainy day.
The buffet looked days old but people were eating it and at this point we were 10min deep into the restaurant experience, as no one greeted us or told us to pay first then get a plate or vice versa, and we said «what the heck.» All the chicken dishes had more bone than meat so we figured we’d grab Tandoori Chicken and pour sauce all over it (which was amazing). And we didn’t get our Naan till our second round at the buffet.
Why the second round? Because the food actually tastes good, just lacks presentation and a good wait staff which is key to all successful restaurants. Work on it and success will come to you.

Obviously don’t expect a fancy place when you come here, but based on just food I love this place! Their biryani is amazing (definitely my favorite) and their chicken 65 is great! I’ve loved my food every time I’ve eaten here and that’s saying a lot considering it’s been about ten times at the very least. Recommended!

Extremely inconsistent, poor service and atmosphere… but sometimes the food is pretty good — and it is one of the few authentic indian/​paki restaurants in ATX.
If you want to increase the chance of a solid meal, skip the buffet all together. While a good value, they don’t seem to change it out very often.
If you’re used to more Americanized Indian food and are a fan of chicken tikka masala — go for the chicken boti masala… it’s very good and a similar dish with grilled chicken and veggies. The seekh kabab masala is also a tasty and unique dish. Their koftas (meatballs in a curry) are also pretty legit.

My husband and I just has lunch here and the buffet was great. They have excellent chicken biryani, as well as some other great veggie dishes. The service is also excellent. The price is a steal at $ 6.99! The host is very friendly and welcoming and explained what each dish was as this was our first time eating there. We will definitely be back again. Come in and try it and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

We haven’t been here in a while because it’s just not close to our house. Today, I was really wanting Indian, so we ventured out here. I’m not sure if they changed owners, but things have really changed. First, the cheap buffet… that did not look appealing at all. It was definitely bringing in more of a crowd than before. My husband went to the counter to order. 2 naan, chicken Tikka masala and two samosas. He came back carrying two waters in Styrofoam cups. Self service it is! The guy brought out the two chicken dishes. My husband reminded him of the naan and samosas. He brought the naan shortly after and the samosas later. There is service! No silverware or plates. .hmm. I sent my husband to get some off the buffet. At this point I’m confused about the service, even though service here has always been bad. Maybe it is the same owner.
We finally eat! The samosas were really greasy. That’s new! They had a nice spice to them though. The chicken, while it looked like a huge portion, was a disaster. First, it had bones of all sizes. I pulled out so many tiny bones, it seemed like a safety hazard. I remember there being bones the first time we came here but not after that. It appeared as though they took the chicken tandoori and threw it in the tikka sauce. The sauce was pretty good but again, greasy. The garlic naan was probably one of the best things but not the best I’ve had.
Marking the place off our list!

Ok !! That 4 star for the food only, service need a major change, doesnt matter how good your place is or good food you serve still need a service. Lots of good varieties of food so far. The pilaf rice is soaked into the butter or oil whatever it is but i will tell you all fellow Unilocaler that one of the best indian restaurant in Austin again forget the service part, i been to few indian restaurant and worked in the indian restaurant before i really dont wanna named those few restaurant up scale restaurant they totally serving a shitty food. If you want authentic biryani go to this place.
For the owner: you guys have a such a big place, use it and improve your service. This place gonna rock Austin area for sure. GOOD LUCK

The food (off the menu) is good. Goat dishes, chicken tikka leg, Bihari kebab — a all v good.
But they really need to work on cleanliness — and service. And they need to turn the AC on!
I’ll still come back for the food– just wish they cleaned their act up a bit.

I am not new to Desi food, I know my desi food pretty well, they messed up my order and never apologize. Their service sucks and management is rude. I am not coming back to this place EVER they changed the order and when asked to fix it according to dishes ordered, I got raised voices, rolled eyes. Wanted chicken Korma got served chicken Makani. Bc I guess that’s what’s on buffet, no chai. I rather spent my money at other indian and pk restaurants with better service, taste and customer service. Thx you owner/​Manager Rizwan for such embarrassing experience because I have learned my lesson NEVER to return!!!

i’ve come twice, and I guess 2.5 stars would be the most accurate. Rounded down, but willing to reconsider if I go back a third time.
I really liked the chole bhature, and they listened to me to make it extra spicy, although they did it by putting in raw jalapenos. The seeds would have sufficed, as it interfered with the chole and onions. Otherwise though, it was pretty good.
Second time tried the Shahi Aloo masala. It failed to impress.
I’m willing to go back. Want to try the Pakistani items, but have been dissuaded by some of the reviews.
At some point, I may try the buffet because it’s only $ 6.99, but it doesn’t look worth it. I have a buffet theory correlating the price of chinese buffets to the price of a 1-​bedroom apartment, and although I’m not yet ready to go public with my formula, the price of the buffet does not check out and thus I haven’t tried it.
Oh, the place looks scattered with extra-​long tables as if every customer will be in a group of 6. The décor is awful. It can be fairly dirty. Many people consider these negatives. I don’t. Reminds me of places I ate at in India. But if you are a neat freak, you best stay away.

I often get carry out from here. And recently I’ve been HIGHLY dissapointed more than once by ordering Biryani ala carte. It’s so random. Sometimes stale (clearly leftovers), sometimes oily, and one time totally gone bad (smelled bad and I had to throw it out after I got home). They have ZERO quality control. Eat at your own risk! I still do beucase I havn’t come across better Bihari Kebob anywhere else in Austin.

I bet a lot of people get suckered in to Shalimar with their UNBELIEVABLY CHEAP BUFFET…
At $ 6.99 you can’t help but try it… after all, most Indian buffets around town will run you a solid $ 9.99 — $ 11.99… and in this economy… well, you just need to cut corners anywhere you can.
This is the point in the review where I should tank the place, because their buffet sucks and the venue itself is «meh.» («Meh is an official reviewing term now.) You get what you pay for. If it’s 50% cheaper than usual, the food is going to be not so good… that’s a fact that holds up here…
Here’s where they don’t tank: Ordering off the menu. The manager even told me to order off the menu rather than eat at the buffet… that should also tell you something!
Everything that I have had off the menu there has been great. Not Sarovar or Royal India great… but for your value with the service it’s been great.
The other great things about this place are the desserts, which there’s a case of like a bakery… they are all pretty amazing. I couldn’t name a single one of them if I wanted to, but attempting to avoid puns here, the white looking stick one is delicious.
The naan is also some of the best I’ve had in town. They bake it fresh for you when you get the $ 6.99 buffet… so if you want to carb-​out on any given day, just go there and hammer out unlimited naan for $ 6.99.
If you aren’t looking for a fancy schmancy place to go for dinner, it’s a great place to go. And if you go for the buffet… just don’t. go. for. the. buffet.