Clay Oven
Clay Oven
Special tea from East Himalayan valleys.
A refreshing drink with homemade yogurt and Indian Alfanso mango juice.
A refreshing drink with homemade yogurt.
Clay oven roasted, crispy spiced lentil wafers. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Homemade crisp patties, stuffed with fresh potatoes and peas. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Spinach coated in garbanzo batter, then deep fried. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Mixed vegetable fritters delicately spiced. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Eggplant dipped in Garbanzo batter. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Homemade cheese pieces dipped in garbanzo batter. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Lightly spiced calamari dipped in chickpea batter. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Fresh fish marinated with clay oven spices. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Breast cubes marinated with clay oven spices then dipped in garbanzo batter. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Cooked in clay oven. Served with homemade mint chutney and hot and sour tamarind chutney.
Delicately spiced lentil soup garnished with vegetables.
A delicately spiced chicken and lentil soup.
Homemade yogurt with cucumber and carrots mixed with spices.
Fresh cut assorted vegetables in stir fried onion, ginger, garlic and herbs.
Fresh cauliflower and potatoes cooked with herbs and spices.
Fresh eggplant cooked in clay oven on charcoal fire.
Fresh mushrooms and green peas cooked with chopped onions, tomatoes and spices.
Homemade farmer cheese and fresh green peas cooked with herbs.
Fresh cut vegetables cooked with creamy sauce, almonds, nuts and raisins.
Ground vegetables and paneer cooked with creamy sauce.
Fresh spinach cooked with herbs and spices with homemade cheese cubes.
Fresh cut vegetables and cheese cooked with herbs and spices.
Fresh spinach cooked with herbs, spices and potatoes.
Spicy garbanzo beans.
Lentils delicately spiced and sauteed with ginger and garlic.
Fresh cut okra cooked with chopped onions, tomatoes, and spices.
Green peas and potatoes cooked with chopped onions, tomatoes and spices.
Homemade cheese in creamy tomato sauce.
Fresh mixed vegetables in coconut milk.
Fresh mixed vegetables cooked with spices, apricots and potato straws.
Fresh spinach cooked with lentils.
Chicken cooked in a blend of tomatoes and spices.
Chicken cooked in hot spicy sauce with fresh potatoes.
Chicken cooked in coconut sauce and spiced with lentils.
Clay oven roasted chicken in creamy sauce.
Tender chicken cooked with spices and mushrooms.
Chicken in a moderately mild creamy sauce with nuts.
Strips of tandoori chicken cooked in a mild creamy sauce.
Chicken cooked with deliciously spiced cream spinach.
Tender chicken cooked with a potpourri of shopped assorted vegetables.
A North Indian preparation of hot chicken curry.
Chicken cooked Hydrabadi style with spices, apricot and potato straws.
An old favorite, diced chicken cooked with aromatic spices.
Clay oven roasted chicken cooked in butter sauce with spinach.
Boneless chicken cooked in mango.
Boneless roasted chicken cookede with hot spices, green chilies, tomatoes, vinegar and onions.
Classic lamb curry with garlic, ginger and onion gravy sauce.
Cubes of lamb cooked in hydrabadi Masala sauce with apricot and potato straws.
Lamb simmered in coconut milk.
A North Indian preparation of hot lamb curry.
Lamb cooked with delicious spiced creamed spinach.
Lamb cooked with fresh potatoes and spicy hot sauce.
Lamb cooked in mild cream sauce with nuts.
Clay oven roasted lamb cubes in creamy sauce.
Tender lamb pieces pan fried with a potpourri of chopped assorted vegetables.
Clay oven roasted boti with creamy spinach.
Prawn cooked with stir fried onions and ginger.
Prawn cooked with fresh potatoes in a hot spicy sauce.
Prawns cooked with deliciously spiced creamed spinach.
Clay oven roasted prawns in a mild cream sauce.
Prawns cooked with spices and mushrooms.
Prawns cooked with a potpourri of assorted vegetables.
Prawns cooked in a moderately spiced cream sauce.
King prawns cooked with coconut milk and spices.
Fresh fish cooked with stir fried onions, tomatoes, and fresh potatoes.
Clay oven roasted fresh fish cooked in an exotic blend of spices.
A Northern Indian preparation of hot fish curry.
Clay oven roasted fresh fish in creamy spinach.
Clay oven roasted fresh fish and prawns with sauce.
Chicken marinated in yogurt, ginger, and garlic, and roasted in a clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Boneless cubes of chicken breast marinated and roasted in our clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Succulent cubed leg of lamb marinated and roasted in the clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Jumbo prawns marinated in yogurt and spices then roasted in the clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Fresh fish marinated in special spices and cooked in clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Minced leg of lamb mixed with herbs and spices, then cooked in a clay oven. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Free range, natural rack of lamb marinated in clay oven's signature recipe of yogurt Indian spices. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Assorted clay oven specialties. Cooked in charcoal fire in clay pot.
Papadum, vegetable samosa, raita, saag paneer, dal makhani, nan, rice and kheer.
Papadum, vegetable samosa, raita, tandoori chicken, boti kabab, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, nan, rice and kheer.
Saffron flavored basmati rice garnished with green peas.
Saffron flavored basmati rice with vegetables and nuts.
Fruits and nuts cooked with rice.
Saffron flavored basmati rice with spiced chicken and nuts.
Saffron flavored basmati rice with spiced lamb and nuts.
Saffron flavored basmati rice with prawns and nuts.
Basmati rice fried with potatoes, eggs and green peas.
Leaved bread baked in tandoor. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with homemade cheese. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with onion. Oven baked.
Leavened bread stuffed with fresh garlic. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with raisins, nuts, coconuts and cherries. Oven baked.
Leaved bread stuffed with minced lamb. Oven baked.
Famous whole wheat bread. Oven baked.
Buttered and multi-layered whole wheat bread. Oven baked.
Whole wheat bread stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with fresh chili. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with fresh spinach. Oven baked.
Nan stuffed with fresh mushroom, homemade cheese and fresh chili. Oven baked.
Garlic nan, onion kulcha and plain nan. Oven baked.
Dessert made from basmati rice cooked with sugar and milk and served cold with almonds and pistachios.
Authentic saffron flavored Indian ice cream enriched with nuts.
Milk dumplings in rose flavored sugar syrup.
Fresh homemade kulfi with mango pulp.
Fresh homemade ice cream with delicious coconut.
Indian Lager beer (22 oz.). Must be 21 to purchase.
Indian royal lager(22 oz.). Must be 21 to purchase.
Merlot red wine (bottle). Must be 21 to purchase.
Cabernet bottle. Must be 21 to purchase.
Tandoori mixed grill (lamb, chicken, prawn)
Saag Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala
Interior
inside
inside
Interior
Love this place! They have the best vindaloo!
window
Saag Paneer
Papusa
Wall art
Spinach (saag)
Vegetable Samosa
Chicken Curry
Hair piece i found on my plate.
Chicken tikka masala curry
Chicken Tikka Masala
Menu
Excellent food! Just how we requested. Very good service!! Will be back for some more. Oh the Egg Bhurji is phenomenal and flavorful.
Butter chicken
Menu
Saag paneer
oysters and mussels, food
Craig W.
Feb 3, 2025
Clay Oven is an old school family Indian restaurant in San Mateo that has been around for 36 years. The food and the service are exceptional.Love the tandoori grill and the chicken tika masala. Highly recommend!
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Jasmin S.
Oct 17, 2024
The food was so incredible that I barely had time to appreciate anything else--no pictures, no distractions, just pure enjoyment. Every bite was an explosion of flavor, from the perfectly spiced curries to the tender, melt-in-your-mouth naan. The service was equally impressive--warm, attentive, and welcoming. The ambiance is so peaceful. My husband and I enjoy coming here for date night. It's rare to find a place that gets everything right, but exceeded my expectations in every way. If you love Indian food or are just curious to explore, this is the place to be. I'll definitely keep coming back--next time, I might even remember to take a picture!
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Jaky Y.
Feb 17, 2025
Came to Clay Oven for dinner. We ordered a few items like a curry, chicken, and naan. Service was friendly and food came out hot. Everything tasted okay (not super memorable or amazing) and portion sizes were definitely on the smaller side. Restaurant was pretty empty for prime dinner hours.
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Zoe G.
Mar 13, 2024
I enjoyed Clay Oven's service and overall ambiance! The food was good, not incredible, but I'd go back.My friend and I got the Chicken Tikka Masala and it was tasty. We both got mild spice and it wasn't spicy at all. The rice was good too. We also got the naan basket with plain naan, garlic naan, and onion kulcha. The plain naan was my favorite, the onion kulcha was tasty too, and garlic naan is always good! Almost forgot - we also got the vegetable samosa which was a litttttle spicy for me but tasty!
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Kao S.
Dec 22, 2023
Ok. I've been here too many times and just realized that I have yet to write a review. I usually try to wait til I patronize the business a couple times before writing one so here I am after maybe what 10-15 times??? lolIf you follow me here on this amazing platform Yelp, you know I eats all kinds of cuisines. Indian is one that is on my cycle of rotations roughly about every 2-3 months maybe. As with all cuisines it's hard to find a good one and on top of that, one nearby home. This place is pretty much easy to find as it's in the heart of downtown San Mateo in the restaurant district where you can find a plethora of business to dine at. However you might have a hard time finding parking as it's usually super busy during the lunch and dinner hours. The restaurant is peaceful with background music or the tv playing as you eat. Soft cushioned seats with China settings and decent stemware to make you feel elegant. They have a really good menu with plenty of choices from apps to dinner and drinks. Service is really attentive and pleasant. Sometimes it does take a while for the food to come out but most of the time it doesn't bother me as I'm relaxed watching the tv or having a drink. Fairly priced meals and drinks and great portions that will keep your belly full for quite a while. My usual go to is the Tikki Masala, Curry Chicken, The Okra, Biryani, Naan (Garlic and Kashmiri) and the Vegetable samosas. These have never failed me and every now and then I'll change it up with other type of meat and flavors. What are you waiting for, country it out and come back and tell me how you rank it.
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Alex K.
Aug 4, 2024
Always looked at this place but never went in and am glad I did. It was very easy to get a table and the ambiance is cozy but also nice with linen tablecloths. Service was good (although our first server may have not spoken fluent English, he had someone else answer our questions). After dinner they were so nice and gave us complimentary rice pudding!My friend and I got the samosas, chicken tikka masala and the naan basket. The naan basket had a lot in it. All were good but plain was my favorite to dip in the sauce. The food was good, but I still have other favorite Indian restaurants. The service was so friendly though that I'll definitely go back.
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Matt C.
Aug 8, 2024
Let me paint the picture here. It starts on a Thursday afternoon-almost-evening in downtown San Mateo. Naturally, I've been drinking at Barrel Bistro, also recommended. A smoked old-fashioned or two-maybe-three since you asked. No judgement. I'm off on Fridays, and don't be jelly.Anyway, suddenly buzzed and ravenous, I stumble into the nearest Indian restaurant and ask for a tikka masala prepared "extra-extra-extra-extra-not-White-guy-hot." Oh. I should note that I'm offensively White. Like, dude-bro Silicon Valley douche-supreme White. I can't help it, people. Born this way. The result of being so cliche White, other than being instantaneously punchable, is that nobody believes I'm also addicted to XXX anus-melting spicy foods. I am. To the point that I've been to the ER a time or two because my mouth wrote checks my stomach absolutely could not cash.Okay, back on track here. The gentleman at Clay Oven questions my seriousness. I reassure him. And off he goes to see that my order is prepared as asked. I'm happy to report that despite my overwhelming Whiteness--again, usually resulting in a 70% debuff or more in spiciness--this plate comes out dark red like nuclear molten lava, and I've no doubt the same Mordor fire will be melting San Mateo plumbing systems at some point soon.So if you legit like spicy foods, I highly recommend the tikka masala assuming you also ask for it extra-extra-extra-extra-not-White-guy hot. Also, as tikka masala is not typically the spiciest of dishes, I can only surmise that other offerings will be even spicier should you ask for themButter naan also good.Thumbs up to all spicy fanatics.
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Pauline W.
Dec 23, 2023
5/12/23We've gone to Clay Oven a few times, but the first time we got food from Clay Oven was via takeout. I remember that I got a chicken vindaloo that was supposed to be spicy but to me, it was barely spicy at all.One night, we decided to go in to the restaurant to eat and Zach personally loves Indian food. When we got there, it was fairly late so parking wasn't an issue (we got a parking spot right in front). There was currently only one table occupied besides us. Here's what we got for dinner:- Garlic naan (to share)- Saag paneer (his)- Vegetable samosa (to share)- Rice pilav (to share)- Chicken coconut curry (to share)- Papusa (given by the restaurant)The staff were all friendly and polite. One employee even got Zach a cold, delicious mango lassi when he saw that Zach was sweating profusely from the extra spice he asked for in his saag paneer. The food in the restaurant tasted way better than what I had when I tried their take out before. The spice level in the chicken was perfect and the chicken itself was tender, and the curry was creamy. I tried a little of the saag paneer but since it was extra spicy I didn't eat anymore than that initial bite. The samosa was good, nice crunch on the outside with soft potato filling. The garlic naan was good too. The rice pilav was basic and not outstanding. Overall, Clay Oven is a decent spot for Indian food. I wouldn't say it's the best, but it definitely satisfies the craving.
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alejandra s.
Mar 1, 2025
10/10!! The food was delicious!! Best chicken tikka masala I have ever tasted! The people were so sweet and generous!
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Al P.
Feb 24, 2025
Everything was great! Especially the service! I would highly recommend this restaurant!
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