Nawab India Restaurant

I switch between this place and Bombay Garden on 3^rd Ave. I think the service is equally good and friendly. The Ambience is better at Bombay Garden and you can’t beat the variety they have there. However, I think the food at Nawab is just a little better. I think if you regulars at Bombay Garden get tired of the «wait» at Bombay during their lunch hour, then coming here is a safe and good bet.

Decent food.
(A bit on the greasy and spicy side for our taste)
Good take out service — the staff was very friendly they they provided nice containers for the food.
Overpriced.
I’d prefer Clay Oven, but maybe it’s b/​c I’m used to their style.

We’ve been wanting to try this place for awhile now since it is walking distance to my bf’s place so last Sunday we finally decided to give it a try.
It’s a smaller dimly lit place, but it really brightened it up as the staff gave us a friendly greeting when we walked through the door. We sat down in a cozy booth and decided on some samosas, a lamb curry, a chicken curry, and some naan.
After we ordered, they brought out some papadam with the mango chutney and cilantro sauce with my boyfriend was all over. I think he could have been pretty satisfied with just that. It was a good appetizer, I enjoyed the sauces, and I appreciated the complimentary appetizer.
The samosas were also very good. I liked that the filling was more of a mashed potato consistency rather than the dry separated consistency that many have. I also thought that it was seasoned perfectly with no one spice overpowering the other.
The curry part of the lamb curry was very tasty, but I guess I just wasn’t in the mood for lamb because I was not feeling the gamey taste of the lamb that day. I usually do like lamb, but this time I was content with the tasty curry.
I also enjoyed the chicken curry. Both curries went really well with the naan and the rice which came with the curry. Part of the naan was a little overcooked for my tastes. I like my naan to be more bready and half of it was kind of thin.
We will definitely be back here again. Maybe one afternoon when we are ready for a food coma we will hit up the buffet.

Nawab is one of a handful of Indian restaurants in downtown San Mateo.
Location: Downtown San Mateo, on the corner of Ellsworth and Baldwin. Street parking and parking lots are both available within a couple of blocks.
Look and feel: It’s a small place, with dark brown décor that makes it feel a bit dark.
Menu: I’ve only eaten there for the lunch buffet, so that’s what this review is going to comment on. I have no idea how their dinner service is.
The food:
I don’t recall the specific dish names, so I’ll just give my general impression. Meh. The food isn’t bad, but it’s just not that good. There is a decent variety, but none of the dishes were good enough that I had much interest in having any more.
Service: Service was fine. Water was filled, naan was brought, dirty dishes were bussed.
Value: Standard buffet prices.
Will I go back? Not if I’m making the decision. In downtown San Mateo, I rate this place a distant third behind Bombay Garden and Clay Oven.

Really delicious Indian food and great service. They go out of their way to make you happy. I have not tried the lunch buffet, only dinner a number of times. Love the chicken tikka masala and spinach dishes.
Just ignore the 1980s dusty rose décor. Although the casualness of the place makes it kid friendly. Or get it to go.

This is a decent Indian restaurant in downtown San Mateo.
I’ve had their curries and they were mild (not too spicy) — the kind I prefer.
There isn’t really anything special about this place and their food, but they’re my choice for the Indian restaurant to go when I’m in San Mateo.

As we walk back to our car parked in the underground garage across the street, a large white sedan pulls a parking space. Something under his engine catches on fire. Flames lick the fender from the wheel wells. The man in the car behind him yells, «Get out of the car!»
It’s a tense moment, smoke fills the lot, the two grab fire extinguishers and put out the flame. Somebody calls 911, firetrucks show up a minute later.
You won’t get this kind of excitement at other Indian restaurants!
I’ll be the first to admit, I’m no expert when it comes to Indian food. But I know what I like, and Nawab India Restaurant had it. The lamb was succulent, black beans creamy, and potatoes crunchy on the edges and flavorful.
One of my coworkers was disappointed, she ordered peshwari naan, hoping it would taste like the naan she had in London. It didn’t, and when our waiter asked how it was, she told him she was disappointed. He gave us another order, on the house.
The day after, we agreed we shouldn’t have pigged out for lunch. One didn’t eat dinner. The other ate antacid. And I took the peshwari naan home. And we all took home stories of the parking lot pyrotechnic spectacular. Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

Yuck. This place was terrible. I was not impressed with this place.
The décor was whatevs, the carpet dirty, and all the blinds down. there was no light! Were they trying to cover up the dirtiness? If so, shutting the blinds didn’t help.
The guy who seemed to run the place was rude and was impatient as we were trying to get some suggestions for our second dish.
The dishes are overpriced at 12.50 — they literally gave us 4 pieces of chicken in the tikka masala. AND I’m assuming the chicken was frozen or something because the texture of two pieces tasted NOT fresh. Gross!
The only thing I can say was decent was their nan. At least it was soft and chewy.
Last thing to complain about was that when they gave me the change, they just decided not to give me the actual «cents» — just because it’s less than 50 cents doesn’t mean you can just ASSUME it’s for you to keep.
me thinks NOT.

One of the first things I do when I move to a new area is to find the local Indian restaurants. Why would I do such a thing, kind readers? Not only do I inevitably get a regular craving for various curries, but Indian food tends to be pretty consistent and easily accessible.
Nawab was one of the Indian places that most people seemed to enjoy from what I’ve read, so I decided to give it a try. This time around, I decided to order take-​out on a Sunday evening. I really wanted to like this place because of the super friendly guy who took my order over the phone, but, unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed. I ordered some garlic naan, chicken korma, and lamb rogan josh. These are my litmus tests for any northern Indian restaurant, and I have to say I was underwhelmed.
The flavor of the korma was great (my arteries are hardening just thinking about it), but the curry itself was thin and watery. Furthermore, I nearly cried when I realized there weren’t any cashews in it. So sad :(
The rogan josh’s lamb was tender and delicious, but the curry was thin as well, and didn’t have a lot of flavor.
Granted, this was a Sunday evening, and the first string probably wasn’t on today, but this first impression was not all that positive. I’ll be back, though, to give them another chance :)

Terrible. If you must have Indian food, do yourself a favour and drive down to Sunnyvale /​Mountain View. Shalimar, Shiva’s, and Passage to India will all do your dollar service than this pathetic attempt at inspired cuisine.
The paneer makhni was little more than a tomato based cream sauce with small cubes of ricotta cheese. Flavour was non-​existent, service size was tiny, and the décor and service were deplorable. Avoid except in dire circumstances. I wouldn’t eat dinner here again if you paid for my meal and gave me $ 30 to do so.

A long time ago I used to work in what was once the office for a Farmers Insurance agency next to Nawab. Do you know what the constant aroma of sweet curry every afternoon can do to a man? It was the beginning of an addiction.
This place is fan-bleedin’-tastic! The food is really well prepared and the vindaloo saucy and spicy. Much like Bombay Garden, the entrees are a bit pricy but the lunch buffet is where you can really get a great value. Unlike many other eatiries, the buffet section is very decent.
Conveniently located a block away from the San Mateo Caltrain station, Nawab is a pleasant diversion while train hopping through the peninsula.
The owners and hosts are always really friendly, extending their hands out always for a handshakes saying «Welcome back, boss!»
But if you want the best naan of your life, this is the place for it. Garlic naan, plain naan, every kind of naan you can think of! Warm, chewy, soft – mouthgasmic!
Put your tastebuds on red alert, you will not be dissapointed with Nawab!

Aside from being «overly cozy» and not serving Indian Coffee, I do not have anything to complain about.
Nawab has a great lunch buffet because the food is not overly greasy and the variety is nice. The dal is probably one of the best I’ve tasted.
I want to focus on the dinner service in my review. We went as a group of 3 on a weeknight. The place was busy, but there was seating available immediately. The waiter suggested a fine beer to go along with a lamb appetizer dish.
The lamb was insanely good. We ordered another round… of lamb.
The dal and rice was nice. The tandoori chicken was made to perfection, and not overly spiced. It was cooked fully too, unlike some other tandoori chicken joints.
The host was great, frequenting the table and checking regularly. The waiter did the same.
I can’t wait to go back for the dal and lamb.

This is by far one of my favorite restaurants — EVER. I have been eating here since early 2004, when I moved from San Francisco — and my previous fav. Indian eatery — to San Mateo… ALL other places — ESPECIALLY chains and popular places (i.e., Gaylords, Bombay, India Clay Oven, Amber)
My ultimate favorites are:
1) Veggie Masala
2) Vegetable Korma
3) Vegetarian Kofta
4) Tandoori Chicken
The Garlic Naan is to die for, and they make the best raita out of all the other indian restaurants… not a fan of the rice, but I don’t eat a lot of rice anyway… I’ve also had the tomato soup, and their Mango Lassi is phenomenal.
I usually take out from there, and do so multiple times a month… sometimes once a week…
They are SO kind and lovely at the restaurant, always asking what’s new, hooking me up with a (sometimes FREE) glass of wine if I arrive to pick my food up before it’s done, and just overall hospitable.
They will also deliver over to O’Niell’s on Wednesday’s Brain Stormer Pub Quiz nights!
I love to share this place with friends — especially if they are typically not fans of Indian food…
mmmm… hungry… might have this for dinner tonight :)

I have no idea why the ‘selected’ review here is so negative, out of touch, and out of date… perhaps because this restaurant isn’t a Unilocal sponsor? If so that is deplorable.
This is easily the best Indian food in San Mateo. Bombay Garden was good in its prime but has fallen far from grace in recent times and is consistently horrible now with bland food and low quality meat. Clay Oven is ok but nothing special. Roti is good but pricey and less traditional.
Nawab is the real deal, the food is very tasty, the service is friendly, ingredients seem to be very high quality, and the most important aspect: it passes the tummy test.
The Saag Aloo is the best I’ve ever had in my life, it’s so good you could eat it for dessert. The Chicken Tikka Masala is very good. In fact everything I have had here has been good.
The only Indian place I have been to in the relatively nearby vicinity that compares is Saffron in San Carlos. I highly recommend Nawab.
4.0 stars.
EDIT: After a string of great visits, the last two times haven’t been quite up to par, so I am bumping down to 4 stars (from 4.5). By no means was it bad, just not as good as previously. I will update again after the next visit.
EDIT: visited again and this time it was just BAD. So I had three really great meals in a row, then 3 not good ones. I wonder if they lost a cook or something? It’s so frustrating when places are this inconsistent. Docked down to 3 stars but it’s really 2.5 at this point.

This is my go-​to north Indian restaurant in San Mateo. We usually order the channa masala and saag paneer. I love the way they make their rice and naan too. Even though these too items are Indian food staples, not every Indian restaurant prepares them well. The naan is light, soft, and a little crispy around the edges. I also like that their naan isn’t saturated with a ton of butter. The service is always friendly and quick.
Check this place out!

Went here last night on a recommendation from a friend and thanks to my entertainment book, I used an online coupon (buy one get one up to $ 16).
We decided to order Chicken Curry (may be we should’ve tried the Chicken Tikka masala — since that’s what my friend suggested, but I was in a curry mood) and we ordered a lamb j-​something (sorry, I cant remember what it was called) — in a tomato sauce with onions. We both thought the lamb was pretty good. My bf wasn’t impressed by the chicken curry, but I thought it was tasty.
I would go back again.
Their staff was sooooooo friendly and we had awesome service!

Summary: Best Indian food on the Peninsula.
For good taste and the friendliest people, there is no comparison anywhere on the Peninsula. Their buffet is not bad, but I primarily come here for dinner. Love their Saag Paneer, they make it better than any Indian restaurant I’ve ever been to coast-​to-​coast. They are also always open and the small-​restaurant atmosphere is enjoyable. If your’e in San Mateo, it’s an easy choice compared to Bombay India or the other one on 3^rd Ave with the pushy service. Nawab for the win.

We’ve been going to Nawab for years, and appreciate the consistently good food quality but also the warm friendly service. Last night’s service had me rushing to Unilocal to write a review.
On last minute’s notice I brought eight friends to have an indian meal, the staff was very accomodating. One of our friends was celebrating a birthday that night and the manager overheard this. Apparently during the meal he had one of his staff run out and purchase a birthday cake and surprised us all (and of course he didn’t charge us for it).
You just don’t get that kind of personalized service anywhere anymore.

Nawab is a regular lunch destination for me, I could live off their nan! Their buffett is good, they claim to offer a variety of dishes but it’s pretty much always the same but it’s still great every time. The staff is always very nice and attentive.
Dinner is a little pricey (easy $ 30 for a couple) but very worth the price. Pretty generous portions too.

So after the excellent Annapoorna recommendation by my Indian colleague, I rolled the dice again… he suggested Nawab in downtown SM for lunch.
Sorry, go straight to Jail, do not past GO, do not collect $ 200. The buffet was not horrible, but it was decidedly below average.
What the… !!! Well a key tidbit of knowledge, extremely useful in hindsight: My colleague is south Indian. Annapoorna is south Indian food. Nawab is north Indian food. Get the picture?
The foods are vastly different so know your source of recommendations. How can you tell? Look at your colleague’s business card. If the name wordwraps to the next line then he is south Indian.