Pakwan Restaurant

Stopped by for dinner here on a Sunday night at 9pm. My friend who is a SF native mentioned how Pakwan is one if the best South Asian restaurants. We ordered samosas, chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, and the tandoori boti. You grab the menus from the front kiosk, sit yourself, and once you know what you want, you go up to the cashier and pay first. It took about 15 minutes for our food to be ready, I noticed there were a lot of to-go/delivery orders. Everything was also self-serve, which I honestly don't mind because its a no frills place.For the food, my favorite of the dishes we ordered was the samosas -- mainly because if the chickpea sauce. It had a very subtle but good kick to it. The chicken tikka masala was what you would expect. Garlic naan was very yummy and soft! The tandoori chicken boti was not as good as I expected -- it was a bit dry and the flavor wasn't that strong.

One of our go to take out spot since the start of Covid! Good food and their pick up service is quick.

We got the lamb and beef curries, and also the chicken tikka masala with a side of the garlic and cheese naan and basmati rice. Everything was extremely flavorful. The lamb and the beef curries were by far the best, with tender succulent meat. The chicken tikka masala had tough chicken but flavors were good. The naans were decent but not outstanding.

Have not gone to Pakwan since the Covid pandemic started in 2019, but the urge for their Chicken Bharani was too strong to resist. The tables were 70% full but got one near the cashier. I had to beg him for help since I a disabled and cannot walk with a cane and some luck. The bill and tip came to $27, a hike in price since going there last. However, their portion is twice as nice and actually was three meals out of that main dish. Excellent to the max. Afterwards, cabbed out of that awful Tenderloin area to my home Tenderloin location. Next time I have the urge for Indian food, will want to visit a full sized restaurant with a full line of desserts - especially their puddings.

5 stars if it weren't for location and upkeep outside the restaurant. The food is delicious and priced great. Must haves include the chicken tikka masala, which is much more tomato based than other places I've tried. Another highlight is the beef seekh kababs, spiced ground beef with bits of onions and chilis. Everything is spiced very well and served hot. The mango lassi is sweet and creamy. Service is minimal. You order your food, and everything else is self serve. You grab your tables plates, cutlery, water, and napkins. When your number is called you go to the counter and pick it up. All dishes are served family style.The one downside is the upkeep of the sidewalk outside. There are double doors that help, however the street outside has a pungent smell that drifts inside. I have seen other businesses in the area preventing this by regularly power washing their sidewalks.

Amazing good.. it's a place in disguise . We really ended up from Yelp and loved their chicken Karahi , sheekh kabab and chicken biryani. My whole family loved the food .. great experience!!!

They have a self-serve counter where you grab utensils and dishes, and we kept trying to go up to get dishes and every other one we got was very obviously dirty. This was pretty off putting. The food itself was good (and fairly spicy), but the lack of cleanliness brought down the whole experience.

Authentic flavors! My go to for weekend feasts. Highly recommend lamb biryani, Bihari kabab.

Was visiting San Francisco recently, and my partner and I came here for lunch. We were craving indian/pakistani food, and this place hit the spot.We ordered their:(1) lamb biryani (rating 4.0/5) -- Not the best I've ever had, but it was fairly yummy and the portion size was very generous.(2) chicken tikka masala (rating 4.0/5) -- Same as the biryani, this wasn't the best curry I've ever had but it definitely satisfied our craving. The chicken was a little dry though.(3) garlic naan (rating 3.0/5) -- This was not as light and fluffy as I'm used to for naan. It was a little chewier, not in a bad way but just different than most naan I've had. The taste was fine but kind of "weak", like the garlic flavor / seasoning was toned down. Service Notes: No complaints. TLDR: Overall the food is pretty good but nothing to write home about. The portions that they give you make this place a decent value though, so if you're just trying to satisfy an indian/pakistani craving, give this place a try. Just FYI on the location though, this is in the Tenderloin neighborhood and it was not a nice view when looking out their window.

Slow service and no sense of urgency. Was the only one in the room and my food didn't get our food started until after twenty minutes of waiting.