Besharam

Food: 4Decor: 4Service: 4Came here for dinner with a party of 7 after booking a week in advance. Overall great dinner and one of my favorite Indian spots in the city. Parties of 6 or more are required to opt for the tasting menu.KHASTA pooris, spiced peas, chutneys, sev stonestreet sauvignon blanc, sonoma county DHOKLA savory lentil cake, cranberry chili glaze ENDIVE PEAR SALAD blood orange, lime mint dressing, walnuts NIMBU PANI mint, ginger, cumin MALAI KOFTA panner croquettes, cashew cream sauce roco pinot noir, willamette valley PULAV pea rice, beetroot chips, chili oil BUTTER BEANS ginger, scallions PARATHAS wheat flat bread RAITA cucumber, ginger RAS MALAI sweet caramelized milk, rose flavored paneer, pistachio Menu 85 Per Guest Favorites: khasta, dhokla, endive pear saladGin cocktail (top of cocktail list) was also decent.Service was good.

2024 was the year I was introduced to this restaurant with bold flavors that keeps your pallet wanting more! Chef Heena Patel is not only showcasing her regional Gujarati cuisine of India. She has curated some unforgettable dishes that satisfies your taste buds like no other restaurant I've ever been to before. Out of this world flavors!My favorites:1) CHEESY GARLIC NAAN with pine nuts, mozzarella, sunflower seeds. -AMAZING!!! I CAN EAT THE WHOLE SERVING TO MYSELF. But sharing is caring so sharing I must. =)2) DRUNKEN PANI PURI with semolina puffs, pea ragda, shallots, lemon tamarind water, mint, gin.-What a fun adventure to go on with this dish. The joy of pouring the lemon tamarind water into a delicious pea ragda and shallot filled puff. Fantastic! 3) LAMB MEAT BALLS plant based, vindaloo sauce-Yes! You got that right. It is plant base meat balls. But you'll think you are eating regular "meat" balls, can't even tell it's not meat. The Vindaloo Sauce is fire! It has a nice kick to it and your taste buds will keep wanting more! 4) HALWA caramelized carrot, cashews, nutmeg-This dessert is soooooooo delicious! It's nice and warm too. Sweet and savory! Great way to end the meal. I can eat this all day! So GOOD! We've tried other dishes on the menu too! Everything we've tasted so far is superb.Make sure to make a reservation! Otherwise you can eat at the bar, if it's not packed. Bartender Jesse is quite the mixologist and knows his way behind the bar. The cocktails are fabulous!! The atmosphere is always filled with great energy. The place is always packed. This is definitely a hidden gem and is worth finding. You've struck gold when you do! I always leave thinking about my next visit! That's how great the cuisine is here at Besharam. It's the most unique culinary experience I've ever had!

Besharam is truly a gem that left us enchanted and delighted during our night at an art gallery, accompanied by a feast of colorful and spicy food. The experience was magical as we indulged in a culinary journey that tantalized our taste buds. And we aren't vegetarians at all! Prepared to be surprised and tantalized by the great service and the fun vibes!The mains, including malai kofta and maska paneer, were delightful and truly stood out. However, the real stars of the evening were the curry puffs, mango salad, and flavorsome pani puri. These dishes were not just delicious but elevated the entire dining experience. If you ever find yourself at this art gallery craving delectable food, try the curry puffs, mango salad, and pani puri. They are an absolute must-have and will undoubtedly leave you craving more. And don't forget room for the cheezy naan!

This place is fairly near the RH store so we made a slight detour for a quick lunch. This is a fairly large space and when we entered at 12:30 PM on a Saturday it was probably 70% empty. Although there were plenty of four Tops available, we were seated at a two top. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but my philosophy would be to seat customers so that they can enjoy a little more space. The tables are placed pretty close together so when it's crowded, it's crowded.Our server was a pleasant person who greeted us and filled our water glasses. We ordered some masala chai since the room temperature was cool, but not unpleasantly so. The first thing to know is that the masala chai is made in a large batch and is heavily sweetened. That would be the "street" way to do it, so I guess that's what they're aiming for. Most Indian restaurants, in my experience, do not follow this practice and instead allow you to sweeten to taste. I would suggest they follow this practice, perhaps by bringing some honey or agave syrup and some turbinado sugar to the table. My wife was not happy. She asked for unsugared but was told they make chai in a single batch and she could not accommodate. For $8 you should be able to make a custom cup. My wife ordered the masala mushroom omelet and I ordered the avocado toast and we also ordered the samosa bites. And they were small and sadly with even less filling than you might get at, for example, Rooh. Strangely, they only serve the samosas with the green sauce and not also the red. My avocado toast was served on half a ciabatta and piled high with rocket. The egg was in there somewhere as I discovered once I tried to slice in along with some tomato. The rocket gave a nice peppery taste and I enjoyed my meal. My wife's omelet was mildly salt-forward as it should be, although she felt it a little too salty. it's a matter of taste, but generally in an Indian omelet, you can notice the salt. At least that is something I've always noticed. It was filled pretty well with mushrooms, which may explain why in appearance it looked more like scrambled eggs made in an omelette pan. That brown aspect wasn't there, but it was still good.They automatically add a 20% tip along with what they say is a 5% charge mandated by San Francisco, so our total meal of two masala chives, the Samosa bites, omelette and avocado toast came to a total of $95. Wow!Of course, we knew it was going to be something like that from the menu prices, but the additional 25% was still a little surprise for us suburbanites Perhaps it is disclosed at the bottom of the menu, but I didn't notice it I believe this placehas great reviews on check please for dinner, so we may come back for that. For our next visit to RH, we will probably eat there. :-) I'm sure it will be as expensive or more, but there is more space between the tables and it is a beautiful space and you might even be able to take your food up to the roof. You're allowed to take your drink up there at least. The view from the roof of the San Francisco skyline is pretty spectacular.I should note that next-door to the restaurant. There are several galleries that were open and so we had a nice little stroll through a couple of them after our meal.

The first thing we knew to do when coming to SF was going to Besharam and it went above expectations. We had to change our reservation to another day and they were very accommodating. On top of that, we arrived 45 minutes early and they made room for us, the service was exquisite. There wasn't a time we had to look around for them.We wanted to eat everything, but started simple. We had a drink each - the khoobsurat and kabhi khushi kabhie gham. Both were amazing. We started with the drunken pani puri and gobbled those up within minutes. How they were able to bring in all that flavor was amazing. We ordered dahi vada which was the perfect crispy and yogurty! The next app we had was dabeli parantha. Another item that was packed with flavor. We went with one last app the kachori dumplings and three words - OH MY GOD! We had one entree- samosa dhokli - two things we both love. Such a unique take and tasted better than the OG!We finished off with shrikhand cheesecake! The berry compote was an amazing addition that provided the amazing tart! We loved it!Too bad Chicago is so far away, otherwise we would be here everyday!We wanted to do the tasting menu, but chose a la carte instead and as Gujaratis loved all the food! Great work Chef Heena! We will be back (but please come to Chicago!)There was plenty of space and the noise levels were perfect for a romantic dinner.

Besharam is a gem! This Gujarati Indian restaurant is right next door to a fun art gallery, which adds to its unique and vibrant atmosphere. From the moment you walk in, you're greeted with a warm vibe that sets the tone for a delightful dining experience.The food and drink options are delicious and varied, making it hard to choose just a few dishes--I wish we could have ordered more! The flavors are authentic and truly satisfying. Whether you're a fan of Indian cuisine or just looking to try something new, Besharam is definitely worth a visit.Highly recommended for a memorable meal and a great time!

my friends and i got a reservation saturday night. we got a lot of dishes to share. loved every single dish. all the dishes were so flavorful. they did forget one dish but fixed it up quickly. service was otherwise phenomenal.

Delicious and interesting take on Indian food, great service, and worth trying.The location is in Dogpatch, so it was relatively easy to find parking. They open for dinner at 5pm, but if you reach early you can take a stroll in the gallery next door. If you are a party of 5 and up, you have to get their tasting menu. Since we were a small group, we opted for a-la-carte. You need to order your order of appetizers and entrees at once but they serve one after the other.The food was delicious, especially kachori dumplings with sesame rasam, dabeli paratha, malai kofta, ringan nu oro (eggplant bharta). Roti and cheese paratha were great too.The patra kadhi and cocktails were okay. Their Shrikhand cheesecake was perfect- not too sweet.Overall would definitely recommend.

Was pleasantly surprised with my experience at Besharam. A fully vegetarian restaurant with a tasting menu that's $75 pp. First of all the name Besharam translates to Shameless. What a name. Secondly, our service was amazing, Sal our server truly took care of us.We loved the lively atmosphere & decided on the tasting menu & added on the (impossible) vindaloo meatballs. Chutney & pickles- a great sampler of different flavors of sweet, tangy, & spicy. Khasta- stuffed pooris were a burst of flavor. Really liked this one. Mooli salad - (mooli translates to radish) however this reminded me of a beet salad subbing paneer instead of feta. Light refreshing & the flavors complement each other. Personal preference- Would have been ok without this one but still good.Gujurati Daal- hot and sour lentil soup, a tart tasting daal that was addicting to taste & a change from the other flavors. Nimbu Pani- translates to lemon water, their own lemonade as a palate cleanser. Kaju Masala & Butter beans had a similar profile for me. One was spicer than the other. I didn't think they stood out from each other. They even look similar but both were layered with flavor. Malai kofta- you can never go wrong with paneer kofta & they did a good job here with a cashew cream sauce. Pulav- so good! Basmati rice is an art to perfect & they did a great job with flavor & form. The rice went perfect with the curry & Raita. Parathas- also delicious just like mom makes them! Went perfectly with the curry dishes especially the malai kofta. Meatballs - this was the show stopper. Made from impossible meat the vindaloo spice flavor & texture of these meatballs was mind blowing. Lastly, the Ras Malai was light floral & refreshing. A light dessert after a heavy meal is exactly what we needed.We got the Sakoon & Salman Khan (both whiskey cocktails) both delicious but quite strong. Ambiance 5/5Service 5/5Food 5/5

Quick Summary:- Located within the art gallery- Reservation recommended, although we didn't follow this method- Vegetarian option- Noise level - medium-high- Indoor seating only- I liked how on the website menu it included images with itThe restaurant is attached to the art gallery, but the entrance is separate from it. An easy indicator is the vibrant pink neon sign that glows in the night. Inside is a cozy size; one side of the wall is all windows, so you can view the art pieces while eating. The other side of the restaurant is a bar. Once we entered minutes after the clock struck opening hours, the staff asked if there was a reservation. We didn't, so they offered two tables closest to the entrance. For just the two of us, the table was small but not too small that our legs were bumping into each other. The table was always cleared out when we finished eating, so there was never a moment when the table felt cramped.The portions were unexpected; through the images it felt like the portions were light and we will leave hungry; however, in the end three dishes with dessert filled us up unexpectedly well. I want to thank the staff who guided us through the different menu options, and hinted at us that when ordering dessert we should split the cheese cake in half instead of eating it individually. That was a wonderful advice.We ordered the Malai Koftas with a side of Pratha, and Dahi Wada. For dessert we ordered a Shrikhand Cheesecake with chai tea. My favorite was the Dahi Wada. If you are a fan of pani puri, this had similar ingredients. I would have ordered a pani puri, but this one contained alcohol, which I wasn't feeling like eating with at that time. I loved the texture of the Dahi Wada. It has a crispy base and there was a punch of sourness.The Malai Koftas came alongside the Pratha. Without the staff explaining to use what the dishes were going to be like, we would not have realized that this dish needs a edible scooping agent like a naan or a Pratha. We chose the Pratha for the light crispiness. This dish had four fried patties suspended on a cashew sauce. We used the Pratha to scoop up the dish. In terms of the sauce, the flavor is strong but it's not salty. However, without a naan or a Pratha, I wouldn't be able to eat this like soup. To finish the dish, we cut up a slice of the cheese cake and drank the chai tea. I liked how the chai tea wasn't sweet and had a floral element of cardamon. The cheesecake was on the sweet end in my opinion, especially the crust. In each bite, we tasted a bit of saffron.