Tempura Grill Austin

It’s a decent restaurant with buffet going on one side and other side for regular menu. not too many options for buffet but all items were tasty. i personally liked chicken nawabi and butter chicken, biriyani was not bad too. i had a ice cream cup for. that was a good quantity for the price. this is not a fancy place but a moderate one with good
go and enjoy.

Al Hamdu Li Allah always and forever. Great food and great service. I enjoy the Beryani and Tempura fried chicken. We are blessed with all those good entrees. Jazaakum Allah Kheir

So Tempura Grill of Houston buys out Shalimar and finally Austin gets a solid Pakistani restaurant? Not quite, when you keep all of the previous staff and barely change your processes the result isn’t much different. Still, this is the only authentic desi food in town — and it is an improvement over Shalimar food-​wise, though the prices have gone up.
Side nite — the tempura fried chicken wings are actually really good!

Terrible. The biryani barely has masala. The chicken 65 is the only thing somewhat enjoyable but it doesn’t taste like real chicken 65. Honestly this place is worse than the old Shalimar restaurant it used to be.
It really bothers me that they took the name from Tempura Grill in Sugarland because that is one of my favorite desi restaurants and they are disgracing their name. Tempura Grill in Sugarland has the best chicken tikka, seekh kabab, and Bihari kabab.
The management is very nice though.

That was an awesome buffet very authentic food. Loved their saag planner as well as chicken biryani. The new management brings lots of changes in décor and the meal. Def will be back, and they have a punch card.

(About the restaurant formerly known as Shalimar — they say they changed some menu options, but I can’t really tell.) I can’t believe this place doesn’t have higher reviews — either these people have an ax to grind or can’t find their own hind end with two hands, because this place is amazing!
If I could have one last meal on earth, it would be here. This is my favorite Indian food restaurant in Austin (which is saying a lot because Indian is my favorite cuisine and I’ve tried a lot a lot of places). But this place is even better than just that because they have Pakistani food too, which is also delicious and makes this place very unique I think. Paradise for the adventurous eater! You may see stuff on the buffet that you’ve never seen or heard of before, but you should try it anyway! Like Beef Kheema, I didn’t know what that was but it was so rich tasting and delicious I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Other things I’ve had there, like goat curry, chicken tikka masala, cholay, palak paneer, fried fish, aloo gobi, biryani, kheer for desert … I don’t know, LOTS of other stuff and different every time — I always try everything and ²⁄₃ of the dishes are my favorite dish. :-P The naan is on point. Service has been kind and attentive. And they just recently put up a nice wooden with cutouts room divider — so the atmosphere is nicer than before.
Every time I go here the food is fresh and extremely flavorful, and I don’t think I can stress the flavor part enough, it’s perfect. And to get that many dishes right on a buffet serving two different cuisines is kindof a miracle to me. I always leave full as a tick. My boyfriend and I love this place, I’ve even dreamt about it. You should try it!

Went for a buffet at 11. Had to wait for 20 minutes since the buffet set up was not ready. Poori, rice and biryani were way too oily. Same goes with chicken tikka masala as well. Had high hopes on falooda
But got disappointed. should really appreciate the Mexican lady who was running around and helping out though.

Great naan, great lunch buffet, and great service! Will definitely come back for more Chicken Tikka and Biryani

I went in on a Sunday for a late lunch around 1400. They had a buffet going on for $ 10, but, if you follow me at all you know I don’t like buffets. I stood by the door watching a large table of locals chowing down like there was no tomorrow, so, I was thinking «damn, it must be pretty good». After a few minutes of standing by the door feeling like the «Elephant in the room» I went to the counter. I asked if I could order off the menu and the guy said «Yes no problem». «Go sit. Take your time». Sit boo-​boo. Fetch boo-​boo. Whatevs. :)
I decided on a Chicken Behari Boti Wrap w/​Paratha. I was surprised that my waitress was a Mexican. So now I was double challenged with communicating to the Pakistani dude at the register and my Mexican waitress. No worries she got my order right. I still was shocked that they had Mexicans working and not Pakistani or Indian people as you would normally see. No I’m not being a racist. It was just different.
As I sat waiting for my wrap I watched the large group that was in there. The adults were lost in their plates of food and the kids were using the restaurant like it was a fucking play ground. Seriously annoying as Hell. They were even helping themselves to the buffet and I witnessed one kid drop some tongs on the floor and then he picked them up and put them in the food. The dude at the register just looked on. I wondered why didn’t he say something? Do something? Nope. No law and order on restaurant etiquette here.
My wrap was really freaking delicious. It could have used a little more onion and I would love to do it again, but, I really got offended by the unruly children during my visit. I feel the staff should have taken action at controlling that. Especially at the buffet. Children should never be allowed to access a buffet. They’re germy and they just don’t understand proper etiquette. At least this brood didn’t. Furthermore it’s just rude and disrespectful to other customers. Hopefully that was a unique situation and not something that happens all the time.

Adding to the flavor of North Lamar, Tempura Grill serves a great lunch buffet at a great price. It’s a dark restaurant that’s seen better days, but it doesn’t lack atmosphere. The service is a little hit or miss depending on who you get.
For $ 10 you have access to the spicy, oily, flavorful buffet, soft & crisp naan brought to your table, and a fountain drink included; my only gripe, no brewed iced tea. The buffet though is one of the most flavorful Indian buffets you’ll find. I love that meats are cooked in the sauce, instead of being added later for efficiency’s sake, it really adds savoriness to the curries. Braised goat and beef dishes are always tender, but this isn’t one of the best buffets to bring a vegetarian to. The one standout vegetarian dish, the palak paneer, is memorable, well seasoned, completely blended spinach with a good balance of cilantro. The paneer is a bit dry, but the sauce is worthy of cleaning off the plate. The food here is reminiscent of eating at an Indian friend’s house. They also offer the rarer dinner buffet during the week.
They fancy themselves a dessert stop and make their own ice cream in house, with a focus on unique flavors, like lychee, mango, fig, and paan ice cream (betel leaves). You can choose the flavors of ice cream in your falooda, which is a little pricier than what I’m use to, but every component was well prepared and that monster «drink» alone is a meal. Worth a visit if you enjoy intense ethnic food, aren’t afraid of a little dinginess, and love finding a great deal.

This seems very authentic. I am not too familiar with Pakistani food but it was great! Service was awesome and the selection was good. The owner came by and asked about the food and service which is always a nice gesture.

This place was absolutely terrible! We came for the Eid buffet, and it was a bit pricey but we were willing to give it a try. We got there at around 6 pm and the restaurant was empty. There were a few options in the buffet (not a big by any standards) but the food did not look appetizing at all. Unfortunately, it tasted even worse! All the curries had a weird underlying taste to them and the «tempura fried chicken» was cold and nothing unique. The haleem was completely bland and tasted weeks old. Biryani was mushy and clumped together.
Overall I was really disappointed in the place. We spent a good amount of money for 2 adults and 2 kids but the food was gross. I will definitely not be coming here again.

We found this place through a very cheap Groupon. Expectations weren’t high — perhaps the Jim’s or Denny’s of Indian-​style food?
In actuality the buffet was a nice surprise. People native to Indian and Bangladeshi culture were dining there — good sign number one. They had more than the standard Americanized dishes — good sign number two. They were kept fresh — good sign number three.
The saag paneer was subtly good and my wife praised the okra masala (I’m not an okra fan). Fresh green salad and several beef and chicken dishes. The best was a pepper beef dish very similar to Mexican picadillo called beef keema — fantastic texture and blend of mildly spiced beef against hot serrano.
A great find and someplace I’ll probably come back to for lunch. It’s also a good sign that this neighborhood is diversifying!

The guy at the counter is perhaps the most annoying person i have yet to encounter at a restaurant; if you tell him the food is bland, his reply «whats the big deal, you add some spices and its all good». Tempura from Houston has franchised this location which is great, but the food is far from the quality served at the Houston locations. Place is still dirty and greasy. The buffet is marginally improved over previous and has a hike in price. They don’t have the fried parathas either. All in all, i feel like the people running this place are going to give Tempura of Houston a bad name. Wouldn’t take my family and sit with the awkward crowd this restaurant attracts.

New Restaurant amazing food and very good service. Too many delicious dishes on buffet. I wish atleast i can eat everyday.