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Lahore Karahi
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Pakistani Indian, Pakistani [Edit]
612 O'Farrell St(between Harlem Aly & Leavenworth St)
San Francisco, CA 94109
Neighbourhood: Civic Center/Tenderloin
(415) 567-8603
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 11 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Dive-y, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Cage H. said: "Some of the best food I've ever had was in Mumbai (Apoorva, which still exists, had phenomenal seafood), and I remember fondly the flatbreads and wonderfully spiced meats of south & southwest India. Gajalee specializes in Marathi &…" read more »
881 reviews for Lahore Karahi
Review Highlights
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"chicken tikka masala -- sooooo goood." In 128 reviews -
"Superb tandoori fish; absolutely top notch." In 115 reviews -
"The garlic naan was perfect and tasty." In 120 reviews
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- A Yelpy Insight: Vegetarians go nuts for this spot. See more places they like.
880 reviews in English
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Review from Bjorn R.
San Francisco, CA
5/9/2012
Used to be off-the-charts good. A completely different league compared to Chutney and Shalimar. Unfortunately Guddu sold this place and now its just ok. Bring Guddu back!
Edit: Yelp should wipe all comments and ratings for this restaurant. It's not longer the old Lahore Karahi it used to be when Guddu was running this business. -
Review from Charlie A.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 5/19/2012 4 Check-ins Here
I remember...it was 7:25 PM. May 4th. A Friday. The moment my heart was shattered into a million pieces.
This was when I was informed that Guddu's Lahore Karahi was no longer a part of our lives. My chest was in such pain , o my brothers, that I had to sit down and hold it all in. I pictured great Bog up in the sky laughing down at your friend and humble narrator. I felt I had to blast off for ever out of this wicked, cruel world. One moment of pain perhaps and, then, sleep for ever, and ever and ever.
Guddu- I miss your smile. I miss your broken English. I miss---ah fuck it.
What's the point!? Why Guddu? Why? Was it something I said? Did I not put the order on the slip myself?
Life sucks now, Guddu. And its all your fuckin' fault.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/16/2011
Christ!! Absolutely the best Pakistani/Indian food I've EVER HAD!
The garlic naan is delicious and… Read more »
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Review from Ben L.
Walnut Creek, CA
Updated - 5/11/2012
Tonight was one of those nights where you wish you'll wake up the next day and realize that it was all a dream Unfortunately, the reality hit me when I tasted the food from "Lahore Karahi" tonight, and the reality is simple:
Lahore Karahi is gone.
This yelp page should shut down and start over as they seem to be at "Lahore Karahi". I truly apologize to the new owners, who seemed nice enough, but to even pretend that your food is the same as that served up by Guddu is like saying that the Niners and the Raiders are basically the same team. The food was nowhere close to the same.
Where to start. The saag paneer (one of my favorites by Guddu) was a bit more leafy, not pureed as Guddu's was. But even more challenging was the lack of flavor to the saag. This seemed to be the trend in the dishes me and my fiancee had tonight. The karahi chicken was a tad dry and was definitely short on the flavors of before. The lamb vindaloo was lacking in tenderness as well as quantity of meat. Finally, the naan was just in a completely different league. The stuff we had tonight was a lot spongier than that served up by Guddu.
I would like to say sorry to the new owners for immediately reviewing rather than wait until they find their legs. However, tonight's food was such a drastic change from before that I felt it necessary to warn people who might be looking to see if the new ownership is close to recapturing Guddu's flavors. They're not. I gave The New Lahore Karahi three stars rather than two simply because I don't know if it's really all that bad of food. It just isn't as good as Guddu's.
Finally Guddu, if you are sitting there reading this right now just know that I was very lucky to eat your food. Just last month I tried you fish for the first time at your insistence and I am forever grateful that I did. You have a gift and I hope one day you will be ready to share it again with us. Thank you my friend.
P.S. The 5/7/12 5 star review is a bit suspicious to me. The only review a person from way out in GA has written is about a small Pakistani restaurant in San Francisco? Doesn't make sense.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/3/2011
It's a bummer to hear the negative reviews and the truth is:
-It is small
-The service can be slow
-You… Read more »
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Review from Lorena A.
Arlington, VA
5/14/2012
What a difference! I'd been waiting to get back to San Francisco for a Lahore fix for months. Finally got there last night. Slow..... finally my butter chicken arrived with side of rice. No plates for nearly 5 minutes. Then another 3 or 4 minutes for the naan to arrive. Meanwhile, there were only 4 bite-sized pieces of chicken in my dish of butter chicken. And how did they manage to make basmati rice sticky?
Guddu, please open another place anywhere. I'll come find you!
Yelp, can you re-start Lahore Karahi's reviews to coincide with the change in ownership? It's too deceiving to people when they think they're getting the same old Lahore. -
Review from Fannie S.
4/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
Food = delicious. Reasonable portions. Water and chai tea is free. Saag paneer, delicious; chicken tikka masala, hot and delicious; their basmati rice (I'd rather not repeat that.) Their tandoori fish is very delicious, served on a sizzling plate and plentiful!
Service = self-service. Order at the counter, sit down and wait at the table (and wait you will, it takes 20+ minutes for the food). Get your own silverware, plates, water, and good luck finding the napkins.
When you're done eating, go back to the counter and pay. If you want to take home leftovers--get your own containers from their station.
Prices = reasonable. Pay in cash.
Overall, I'd be back but I'm not going out of my way to do it again. -
Review from Casey L.
4/16/2012 1 Check-in Here
BYOB and write up your own order! My friend decided on Lahore and Karahi and opted to even bring the wine and beer. Grabbing a free table, hellos were exchanged and foolishly we didn't realize we had to write out own menu, good thing we caught it early on and the person with the most legible handwriting wrote up the menu.
Wait time for our food was longer than expected, but we did read how there is one chef making everyone's order so good conversation mixed with alcohol helped pass the time.
Samosas were a good bite but wasn't as crispy as I wanted them to be.
Garlic naan took awhile to get to our table, and luckily we got them in two separate intervals so the second batch was fresh and warm...yumm...
Butter Chicken - Tandoori chicken pieces cooked in a creamy/buttery sauce was just perfect to scoop up with the garlic naan.
Lamb looked and smelled amazing, but I couldn't have any at the time, but the general comment was it had a nice strong spicy kick to it.
Eggplant was a nice change of pace to our palates, by means of nonmeat, but it was good and spicy as well, so I found myself sucking down on water by the end of the night.
Parking can be atrocious in the Tenderloin if you opt to find a free meter after hours. Décor was nothing special, and felt cramp most times, but for the food we received and the experience we got, I'll gladly suffer anytime. Food overall had a nice spicy taste so be warned for those who don't like spicy food, but the flavor hits the mark and that's all I could ever hope for. Make sure to grab a free table or prepare to wait, write your own menu, and grab a bottle to help lighten the mood. Yes, prepare to wait if you don't see a free table, and the food will come out relatively slow if there is a packed house. -
Review from anila s.
Lawrenceville, GA
5/7/2012
Recently i visited SF and i was looking for authentic Pakistani/Indian food.. i finally i found this amazing place called Lahore karahi. Food is really delicious..i ordered Nehari(Beef Curry), Chicken Tikka Masala and Daal. all are very tasty speciall Beef curry(Nehari) so tender and mosit.. This restuarant is under new mangement.and renovated. The new owner Mr.Iqbal is super nice..amazing customer service..
I highly recommend this place... -
Review from Scuba Z.
San Francisco, CA
4/12/2012
Authentic (but mild), delicious and cheap! The tandoori, curries, naan and rice are all fantastic. You can close your eyes, point to any random item on the menu and be happy with your selection.
This place is a bit different with the self service policy. I had to ask other patrons where to find the napkins and was told to "check behind the counter".
You also have to be patient here. The kitchen will get backed up because the place gets crowded and there's only one person cooking. -
Review from DJ R.
San Francisco, CA
5/11/2012
**********PLEASE READ THIS**********
I don't know where to start to tell you how disappointed I am. This is a personal tragedy for me and it has forced me to finally sign up for yelp and share my heartbreak here. It's very sad that I didn't review this place before, mostly because I never expected Guddu to sell it and leave.The 'old' Lahore Karahi would easily be 10 out of 10 stars for me.
I have been a ferociously avid Lahore Karahi fan for over 2 years. I'm there pretty much once every week to taste the most authentic and gloriously 'different' Indo-Pak food over n over. The word 'different' is in quotes and is extremely important because the taste of each n every dish all across the menu is 'different' in the most tastiest way possible than most if not all Indian/Pakistani restaurant all over Bay Area. I have tasted nearly 100% of the menu over 2 years, and being a South Asian I can pretty much bet my life on the fact that the food Guddu(previous owner) cooked cant be replicated by anyone maybe even back home(well at most places!) Being in the States for over 5 years I have tried out this cuisine in over 100 restaurants here. Its pretty much the same ol' tasting staple dishes at 99 of them but Lahore Karahi was the most different,most authentic and the absolute tastiest amongst them all.
For those of you who don't know, Guddu has sold this place and it is under a new ownership now since past couple of weeks. And from what i have read and seen, the new owner's prime focus is not on the food but on ways to milk most money from different avenues. So it is pretty much safe to say Lahore Karahi is dead, it's history. But again without Guddu the new owner can never achieve that level of taste but he could have at least tried to get closer if his focus was on THE FOOD (damn it! that's what we care for at such hole in the walls , not your fancy lamps and liquor license...BYOB rules!).
Also, I totally support the other guy on yelp who said that Yelp needs to be notified so that Ratings and Reviews of Lahore Karahi is nullified and should start from scratch. Otherwise many would question the credibility of Yelp once they go to eat there after checking the current rating of this establishment. Or the owner should just change the name. Also, the new owner better take down the shitload of Awards and Recognitions by leading food reviewers and critics hung on the wall, which Guddu received over the years.
Finally, a shout out to Guddu..Dude I'm not sure why you did what you did but I'm sure you have major reasons. But if you read this someday I would request you to kindly reconsider and open some kind of no-frills food establishment SOON.
I mean it in the most humblest and grateful of ways- God's purpose for you was to cook your extraordinary food for the ordinary people. R.I.P. Lahore Karahi! -
Review from Gina C.
2/24/2012
What a great little find - sketchy neighborhood, but once inside you forget all about that and just enjoy the hussle and bustle of the restaurant. Self service really means self service - you write up your own order ticket then wait for a table.
Once you finally get a table you can relax and wait for your order. The food is flavorful - good value at a reasonable price. Not super hot temperature wise but still good.
This is a great place to meet friends if you want a casual, inexpensive meal, and your are not in a hurry. Definitely an enjoyable experience.
Oh, the free chai tea while you wait is a nice added touch. And the owner/cook is very friendly, seems to really enjoy what he's doing and takes the time to say hi to the customers. -
Review from Irene L.
4/11/2012
The food is good here, but not amazing. I liked the cutesy small SF restaurant atmosphere feel. Self service (you even write your own order), but they take credit card. I had the roasted eggplant curry dish. It was good, but a little spicy. Also had the garlic naan and it was ok. Saw two other groups of people who had brought their own drinks (six pack of beer) w/ them. Service was kind of fast, waited about 10 mins for our food and getting a seat wasn't too bad. Stopped in here on a Thur evening, probably would try other places before I come back here.
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Review from Carson L.
San Francisco, CA
2/16/2012
This place is awesome
Its never open though, kind of like that nightclub Eclipse thats only open twice a year.
The food is remarkable, best in the area by far.
I always get some serious fire hole after a night at Lahore, and any of these previous Yelp-istas that say they didn't... Well... They are lying, because they dont want their boyfriends to know. Whats with that.
Anyway, super nice owner/operator/chef, classy guy.
TRY IT -
Review from Dario B.
2/17/2012 1 Check-in Here
And I thought Shalimar was unbeatable...
Was I wrong...
It was truly a phenomenal experience, from the naans to the tandoor fish and the intriguing complexity of the biryani. Nothing greasy, everything packed with intense perfumes and flavors.
You guys have a new regular. -
Review from McCrea C.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 2/19/2012
Still above & beyond the typical indian/pakistani eatery. Yes, I'm a lil biased. But if you have taste-buds Guddu will surely satisfy them ALL! Yes, you may have to do self-serve for refills or napkins, but it all balances out once you chow down.
Just stand outside and take in the aromas. Many props for staying True to the game!!Listed in: Cheeeeep Eats!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/29/2006
Very friendly atmosphere. Very tiny joint, but clean & presentable. If u can overlook slow service… Read more »
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Review from Yfa K.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2012
Love this place. Great tikka masala. The service is hit or miss but the food makes it worth it.
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Review from Vrushali P.
San Francisco, CA
4/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
Whole in the wall south asian place with stellar food! I had the palak paneer with tandoori roti. The palak paneer was off the charts on the flavor dimension and spicy just the way I like it. The tandoori roti was made fresh and the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. My only complaint was the the paneer wasn't as great as it could be.
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Review from Joanna M.
Lahore's new mantra is somewhat like Pink Floyd's, but instead of, "we don't need no education", it's more like "we don't need no service."
There used to be a waiter. There used to more than one person doing all the cooking. It used to not take over an hour to get your food.
I just don't care. The food is even better than it was before. The sole chef is back in the kitchen non-stop. Sometimes he doesn't have time to take your money, but you better wait and pay. You'd get a karmic asskicking if you didn't give monetary thanks for this amazing food.
The lamb biryani at Lahore is unrivaled. The lamb is tender, and the biryani cooked to perfection. Recently had the matar paneer, and it too had an interesting flavor combination. The naan are standard, except for the one with the dried fruit, which is a treat and almost a dessert on its own.
Don't come here for lunch if you don't have a hour or two to spare, and I certainly wouldn't recommend going before a show in the area unless you have ample time. But do come when you slow your roll. You won't find food this perfect, this inspired, and this affordable everyday.Listed in: Subcontinental Specialties
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/29/2008
Lahore is one of two blessings of working in the TL (the other being those precious preschoolers who… Read more »
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Review from Kenny L.
11/2/2011
Closed until December 1st due to family emergency! :(
Lahore (not "Tha Whore) possibly serves some of the best tasting and cheap Indian/Pakistani food around.
Tip: Get to the counter. Fill out the check yourself with all the yummies that you want, then fill yourself up some delicious free chai!
Got the chicken saag, lamb vindaloo, sesame naan (don't recommend this one), and basmati rice.
This will make you go "Mmmmmm" in the TL. -
Review from Greg P.
San Francisco, CA
10/24/2011
I ate here tonight, and my experience was stupid. It was a stupid experience and it made me angry. This is Yelp, and Yelp is a place where I'm going to talk about my Emotions, and my Emotions after eating at Lahore Karahi were as follows:
(1) Stupid.
(2) Angry.
But hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first. What did I get? Well, I'm glad you asked! I got the tandoori fish. It was delicious. It was spicy and zesty and sizzling and really kind of unique. I don't know where else in the city I'd get tandoori fish. So good work on the tandoori fish, Lahore Karahi! You tandoori'ed the heck out of that fish. That fish had no idea what was coming to it, and what came to it was a tandoor.
Better still: the menu was generally impressive, and there were a lot of things that I don't normally see on Indian restaurant menus that I wanted to try.
And oh man, that naan sure did look good. It looked very good! It looked better than any naan I've ever seen in my life, and let me tell you, I almost certainly have seen a greater-than-average amount of naan in my life. (Provided you take the average across Americans, rather than a worldwide average, in which case it's actually quite possible that I've seen a lower-than-average amount of naan in my life.)
Which brings me to the "stupid" part of my review.
Look, I'm no restauranteur, so I may be talking out of my butt here. But it seems to me that the problem of taking orders and serving customers has been encountered innumerable times throughout the history of the world, in practically every corner of the planet. Surely the top handful of solutions to this problem would have been determined by now.
For instance, an example methodology might be to have hosts to seat customers and waiters to communicate their orders to the kitchen staff. This is by no means the only possible methodology, nor the most efficient one in every case; it's merely an example of the sort of thing I'm talking about.
Furthermore, the benefits of adopting one of these efficient service methodologies seem clear: increased customer throughput, higher accuracy in fulfilling orders, quicker service, etc. Even if you don't give a care about customer satisfaction, the sheer economic logic of increasing customer throughput seems to demand that you adopt one of these time-tested methodologies.
I mention all this, because as soon as you walk into Lahore Karahi it is apparent that they have closely scrutinized the book of well-established customer service methodologies, stroked their metaphorical chin thoroughly for a few seconds, and then promptly tossed the book over their shoulder with a dismissive, "Naaaaah, we don't need that."
As far as I can tell, this is how it's supposed to go at Lahore Karahi:
- Walk in, grab your own menu, and seat yourself.
- Decide on what you want.
- Walk up to the counter and write down on your ticket what you'd like to order. (!)
- Hand this ticket to someone working behind the counter and sit back down.
- After some indeterminate period of time, someone will walk over to you with your food.
- When you are done eating, you go up to the counter, whereupon someone there will know what you ordered and how much to charge you. You pay and are done.
It is entirely mysterious how they are supposed to know who you are and what you ordered.
It is considerably less mysterious once you consider that they appear to get it wrong a lot of the time.
And this, THIS is what gets my goat. This is the whole point of this ridiculous essay I've written. Concretely, it's because I ordered a garlic naan and did not get it. Abstractly, it's because I'm an engineer, and it's my job to obsess over things like efficiency and fault-tolerance. This is my trade; it's how my brain works. I simply cannot believe that Lahore Karahi's byzantine order fulfillment methodology is the most effective possible solution. And this fact saddens me, and it hurts me inside.
Heck, if this system were *practical* at the expense of pure efficiency, I would be okay with that. Maybe the most theoretically efficient system is weird and difficult to explain and impossible to get people to participate in. But the thing is: so is Lahore Karahi's system! I mean, who the heck has ever written down their own order on the order ticket? How is that a normal thing at all in California? How is anyone supposed to know how to do this a priori?
So you get the worst of both worlds: a system that regularly gets people's orders wrong, yet still burdens the customer with a weird learning curve.
Anyway, that it. That's all I've got. Maybe I'm being a jerky jerk McJerkface for writing this idiotically long and ranty review. Maybe I'm just a close-minded dummy who perceives everything different as being weird and terrible. Maybe I just need to relax, chill out, and recognize that sometimes, occasionally, stuff ain't perfect.
Or maybe everyone needs to just recognize that I'm right about everything, all the time, forever. -
Review from Theodore O.
San Francisco, CA
10/21/2011
Great, cheap Indian/Pakistani food.
I got the chicken vindaloo (i wanted lamb but was vetoed) and butter chicken. The butter chicken was so tasty - 5 stars good and the vindaloo was just as good as others I've had in the past. With 2 orders of rice and 2 orders of naan and veggie samosas too the bill was only about 25$ which is awesome!
The only thing I could take a star away for is the cleanliness of the place. It has a bit of schmutz, which also gives it some character. Dude behind the counter knows how to cook his stuff to make it really tasty - try it out! -
Review from Mike G.
10/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is the best indian food I've had in the city! The chicken karahi is unbelievable, and the garlic naan is no joke either. The dishes are actually spicy which is more than I can say for most other places. I can't wait to come back.
I've heard that they have up to two employees, but right now from what I've seen, this is a one man show, so be prepared to wait--but boy, do good things come to those who wait! It seems like any bad reviews here are focused on dinner taking 45 min or more for the food to come out, which I just expect if I'm getting Lahore Karahi... -
Review from Chris B.
San Diego, CA
1/6/2012
this place is great. the varied menu, the great food, the low prices, the BYOB aspect. YES.
this place is weird. the fluorescent lighting, the fill out your own order slip, the seat yourself and maybe share a table, the cash only pay on your way out. YES.
GREAT, CHEAP FOOD + WEIRDNESS = HELL YES. -
Review from Jang David K.
San Jose, CA
10/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
If you have over an hour to waste after you order the food, you found the right restaurant!
If you want to get your own plates, water, utensils and WRITE DOWN your order to hand it to the server in the front, you found the right restaurant!
You wait and do all the work to get your food here. It's self seating and gotta go to the counter to pay as well. I'm surprised they didn't ask me to cook my own dish and clean the bathroom while waiting.
One chef in a small open kitchen cooking one order at a time, this place just tests your patience. Their garlic naan and the chicken tikka masala may have brought all the forgiveness from this impatient fatty (didn't like their fish tandoori however). It was so authentic and tasty. Garlic naan was fresh, thin but slightly chewy and went so well with their tikka masala's sauce. Great pricing as well. -
Review from Robert M.
San Francisco, CA
10/9/2011
So, they got my order wrong and it took forever to get our food.
My recommendation?
Phone in your order and be open minded about what you get because...
Good god, you will love it.
There was ONE dude back there churning out this EPIC grub and he seemed just giddy to be doing it! It was awesome. Pure passion. It's the Tartine Bakery of Pakistani food.
THE best naan in the city. Trust me. -
Review from Karin L.
San Francisco, CA
3/14/2012
I am kicking myself for only just discovering this place -- it's less than two blocks from me, and now I am moving. First, gotta say I am really happy I read reviews first before going to this place. I felt prepared for what to expect in regards to service and waiting a long time. I went in and ordered at the front for take away. I was told to come back in 1/2 hour. So I ran some errands and came back and my order was waiting for me. When I brought it home it was super hot and smelled amazing.
What struck me right away was how saucy it was -- I know that sounds very "duh" but it seemed more saucy than any Indian food I've had before. I wasn't sure how that would be, but the food was awesome. So unbelievably flavorful. All dishes were veggie ones - and all were incredible. Also got the garlic naan...hands down the best naan I have ever had! Also, the prices at this place can't be beat. Will be returning soon. -
Review from Jamie C.
9/5/2011
I'm loath to give Lahore such a bad rating, but our experience here was just so bad!
Their system is self-service, so when you walk in, you decide what you want to eat, and then you write your order down yourself and hand it to the cook/waiter. I'm not sure if you're supposed to pay at this point, but we didn't because no one really paid attention to us. I felt lost and ignored, and even the owner didn't bother trying to alleviate our unease because he was so busy filling orders.
The seating is self-seating, too, so we had to wait around for a seat to let up. We went during a super busy time, but they still only had 3 people on staff: two cooks and one waiter/busboy. There were a ton of tables that weren't cleared. When seats finally became available, we bused the dishes of the customers before us ourselves. The water is self-serve, too, but there was chronically no water because the poor busboy didn't have time to refill it.
We waited an hour for our food. Some of ours came earlier, and by the time they were done, the rest of our food hadn't even come yet. The food itself was very good, but not so good that it balanced out the terrible service.
The entire experience was so stressful. I wish they would just employ and extra person to help out with waiting and busing tables. Maybe I went into it with too high expectations because this was rated so well on Yelp. I won't mind going back again, though, and hopefully my next experience will be better.Listed in: Tenderloin Eats
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Review from Kat F.
8/17/2011 8 Check-ins Here
Dreadfully disappointing - like watching a beloved relative waste away into a shell of their former self.
By the number of times I've checked in here, you can see that I used to absolutely adore this place. The quirks and inconsistencies used to be tolerable, even cute, because the service was warm and genuine and the food delectable. I had previously had so many lovely experiences at Lahore Karahi, but that era has sadly ended for this Tenderloin dump. If you click Rating Details next to the business address you'll see the steep decline in recent months that other yelpers have also noted.
Upon each visit, more and more basic elements of a properly run restaurant were taken away - the new 'ordering system' demands that customers grab a pad of paper from the entrance podium and write down their request (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). No number is assigned nor does anyone take the order once you've written it down, so you're really at the mercy of the organization (read: there is none) of the simultaneously frazzled and disinterested servers, who are grossly understaffed. The staff didn't speak to each other and barely acknowledged customers, which was troubling. Owner Guddhu was in the back cooking as usual but seemed completely uninterested in the debacle unfolding in the dining area.
70 minute wait for even a morsel of food - an acknowledgement or apology + overall terrible experience = no return visits. -
Review from Jeff W.
Daly City, CA
3/12/2012
I've lived in the Bay Area for 14 years now. I ate at Lahore Karahi last night for the first time. Wendy and I ordered a number of dishes. All were absolutely delicious. (The standouts for me were the tandoori fish -- now my favorite dish ever -- and the chicken biryani.)
Interestingly, ordering and most service is self-service. If the food weren't so ridiculously good, I'd dock a little. But the food IS ridiculously good. Best food I've had in my entire life, and I say that as someone who has never been a huge fan of Indian and Pakistani food (though I do loved highly spiced food). -
Review from Mark A.
I used to have this theory that if you used Yelp correctly, you should never have a 1-star experience. At least here in SF, with so many great options available for any cuisine, there's no excuse to end up at a bad restaurant. Thanks to Lahore, that theory is now busted.
You see, at the time of this writing, Lahore has a solid 4-star rating with 830 reviews. Pretty safe bet, right? Wrong. So wrong that I'm busting out my first 1-star review just to express my disappointment in the most bizarre dining experience I've had lately.
It all started when we showed up about an hour before we had to be at a party down the street at Bourbon and Branch. A perfectly generous amount of time, even though it had taken a little while to get served here in the past. The first sign of trouble was when we had to actually take our own order at the counter. Not just give our order at the counter to someone who'd ring it up, but actually write it down on a waiter's pad and deliver it to the chef ourselves (It was so weird that I had to capture photographic proof: http://www.yelp.com/us...). We laughed about how this couldn't be very efficient, but in retrospect I think it was the most efficient thing about the restaurant.
Once the order was placed we found a seat and waited. And then waited some more. 30 minutes later it seemed weird that not only had we not seen any food come out of the kitchen, but we hadn't seen a server or anyone else come by our table either to let us know what was going on. When we could track down the server and ask what the holdup was, he quickly said our order was coming right up. Slightly placated, we returned to waiting and got distracted by a Bollywood movie playing on TV. This kept our attention long enough to make it through four dance numbers and some google sleuthing to figure out that it was called "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" and was the highest-grossing Bollywood film in foreign markets when it was released. Obviously this occupied a good chunk of time, and when we finally looked at our watches again it had been a full hour since we ordered.
A normal person would have realized they'd been played and left. Crazed by hunger, I instead set my iPhone's timer for 10 minutes and declared that we'd be leaving if we still hadn't been served when the timer went off (60 minute wait? No big deal. 70 minute wait? Inexcusable). For the next 10 minutes we sat and watched the clock, joking how our food would come out as the timer was buzzing. Then, like magic, our order appeared with 1:18 left on the timer. Instead of any sort of acknowledgement about the wait, the server just dropped our dishes off without a word and disappeared back into the kitchen. Stunning.
If you are still reading this, I can only assume you are stuck sitting at Lahore Karahi, waiting for your food and reading reviews trying to figure out where you went wrong. To save yourself some grief, may I suggest you get up now and head over to Shalimar, Chutney or Little Delhi? It's not going to get any better here. -
Review from Mike L.
8/8/2011
One star...yup, haven't given out one of these in a while. I guess I've been pretty fortunate so far with where I've been (which is something I'm quite appreciative of). But then, it's not everyday you see a ROACH while you're eating. Yeaaaaah....game over. Thanks for playing.
Now, before you write this review off as a one star just because of a roach...well, you're partially right. Seeing a roach certainly put this one a one star path, but it's not like I found the rest of the experience that fantastic anyways. Unlike other Yelpers, I didn't find the food that remarkable the first time I was here a year or two ago, and it really wasn't any different this time around.
Between my two friends and I, we ordered the Garlic Naan, Regular Naan, Butter Chicken, Fish Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chicken, and the Saag Paneer. As a whole, nothing really stood to me as being anything special. The Fish Tikka Masala was definitely the best of the bunch, as they did a good job with cooking the fish. Even then though, it didn't strike me as amazing flavor-wise. Decent, but not great. And while none of the dishes were bad per se, it's not like you can't find something just as good (or better) elsewhere in the City or the Bay Area.
Considering the fact that we had to wait almost 40 minutes for our food and that they still forgot our order of Tandoori Chicken, Lahore already wasn't going to be getting anything better than two stars before the roach showed up anyways. Now, I'm not so naive to think that roaches aren't a problem at other places, including those that I'm actually fond of. However, there's a BIG difference between suspecting or thinking they might be around, and then actually seeing the damn things on the wall.
If people want to keep coming back because they think the food is still great despite it all, then by all means. That just means the lines will be shorter somewhere else. I just know I won't be back, and I wouldn't even give it a second thought. The only part that I'll still be thinking about is whether or not it was a good or bad thing that we didn't see the roach until towards the end of our meal. Ugh...disgusting regardless.Listed in: Hit It and Quit It
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Review from Maggie R.
Portland, OR
2/13/2012
Great little spot for Lahori cuisine with great prices and friendly staff! There are a number of restaurants serving Indian/Pakistani food in the area and this one is the best I've found.
Pros:
The owner is so nice and friendly!
Choley! Daal! Nice texture and seasonings.
Inexpensive
Great for eat-in or take-out
Brown basmati rice
Cons:
Samosas were not freshly fried -
Review from Kevin D.
Oak Park, CA
3/10/2012
This place is somewhere that is all about the food. If your in search of ambiance, and great service (if at all) then don't expect to find it at Lahore Karahi. The owner/chef is full of smiles and is eager to engage his customers in friendly conversation. Everything made here is all home made from what I can tell, and the food is outstanding, and very reasonably priced:
Vegetable Samosas... 2 Large, flaky, aromatic boys for $3
Tikka Masala... Not your run of the mill same old shit, traditional and un-real! $ 7.50
Lamb Korma... Succulent and tender pieces of lamb in a zesty curry only $7.50
Saag Paneer... So far the best spinach and cheese ive ever had. $7
Garlic Naan... He was kneading fresh balls of dough as he made ours fresh... $2.50
Basmati Rice... Somehow this rice stood out all on its own among great dishes... $2
Bottom line... $30 for a meal that would probably cost at least double this much at any other of the so called "traditional" indian joints here in the city. Expect to find good food at a great price with a very casual and laid back atmosphere at Lahore. -
Review from paula s.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Heads up; you cannot be shy here, you grab a table/seat where ever you can find for your party, then grab a menu from the counter and fill out your own order slip and hand it over to whomever will grab it.
Next, get your plates/cutlery/napkins.
Finally, wait. It's worth it.
We walked by this place years ago and the smell was freaking amazing. We didn't go in because we were there to take a friend to a certain restaurant (#fail), we finally made it back and will continue to frequent.
Nomnoms:
We inhaled the veggie samosas, daal makhani, butter chicken, and garlic/regular naan.
Also, on the way, our cabbie asked us where exactly we were going, once we told him, he started raving about the place and said he'd just found it the night before... He also ran inside with us, placed his order, and said see us in a bit when he comes back to pick it up :)
Summing it up, this place teeters on my list of possibly the best Indian/Pakistani food I've ever eaten. I would say 'locals only' but then it would make the tourists flock here. My boyfriend says I'm not allowed to tell the tourists that they'll be mugged if they go here. -
Review from Michael L.
Pleasant Hill, CA
1/14/2012
Just went here last night and a cockroach crawled up on the table. The owners didn't seem to care at all.
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Review from Emmeline S.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 9/2/2011
Lahore Karahi is as delicious as ever! And, as it seems to be with every delicious downtown eatery, less accessible than ever! Hungry diners, be warned. If you plan on popping in during SF-dinner-rush-hour, (6-8pm) hoping to order-and-eat in a span of two, even three hours... well... lol. Just, lol.
The problem, my group realized, during our two-plus-hour dining experience, is that there is only one, max two chefs, cooking each order, lovingly, one at a time, be it rush hour or not. So the creamy, stewy daal makhany you ordered? Yeah, it's going to take at least 20 minutes on top of the time it takes Chef Guddu to make everything else.
Not realizing this, my group of four crowded in at 7:30, wrote down our order via the new-fangled self-service process, watched the tab slip into Guddu's pocket, and sat down to wait. And wait. And wait. And then wait some more. When, 45 minutes later, the single waiter hurried out with an urn of hot chai, everyone made a mad beeline for it, hoping to refuel their starved bodies with the sticky, hot concoction of caffeine, milk and sugar. It was gone within 10 minutes, and would not be replenished.
An hour and 15 minutes later, we went to check on our meal ticket, which was still lying, crinkled and forgotten, in Guddu's pocket. Realizing this, he pulled it out, chuckling apologetically, and placed it in front of all the other meal tickets, which were being arbitrarily assembled and sent out. 30 minutes after that, we flagged down the harried waiter, who asked if we wanted some naan in the meanwhile. We did, and it came out buttery and hot, within five minutes. Having made this awesome discovery (that naan is the only thing that will come out in under five minutes) we called for more, and when we were finally satiated with the puffy rounds of bread, the dishes started coming out, (at this point, past the two hour mark) staggered, one by one.
The food wafted up to our noses in fragrant curls of steam, and every bite of my chicken tikka masala was tender, silken and spicy. I enjoyed it greatly, despite the fact that I didn't order chicken tikka masala-- I ordered butter chicken, but whatever-- I really didn't want to wait another hour for that to come around. The kabobs were deliciously smoky, and the aloo paratha yielded comforting, giant mouthfuls of spiced potato and fresh cilantro.
At 9pm, the atmosphere crackled with the bipolar swing of ravenous irritation and silent content. Merry beer drinkers gave way into irascible finger-tappers. A displeased Indian family dissolved into smiles when their tandoori fish finally made it to their corner table. There were no foaming crack addicts slumped over tables this time around. (They probably wanted to avoid the dinner rush as well.)
All said, it would probably be easier to know a Pakistani mama who can make similarly delicious food for you, but if that isn't obtainable... Come full so that you can digest your food during the two-hour wait and then be hungry enough to eat again, or just come really late. 9:45pm should do the trick. You'd have to be a real trooper to eat here regularly.
Happy eating!
Bottom Line: Epitome of the ridiculous foodie experience.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/20/2010
I could sing endless praises about the food, but to get here & eat here, you do have to wade through… Read more »
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Review from Nancy B.
Los Altos, CA
3/4/2012
We really loved the flavors of everything but of the four dishes we ordered, two were wrong and it may be because we were there late last night, after 10 p.m. And he ran out of BENGAN BHARTIIA - And pawned the plain daal on us. We think our garlic naan went to wrong table so we got the sesame naan towards end of meal
The lamb boti was very good, but take it off the sizzling plate as soon as it arrives at your table because it quickly over cooks and inedible (took remainder home to our dogs)
Our favorite was the saag panner. The mango lassi was weird.
I don't know if we will ever go back because the whole process of writing your order and getting all the plates and drinks in a cramped smoky setting was not worth it to us. Even though the other diners were fun and friendly and asking about what we ordered.
It is the best of all the Pakistani restaurants in the area, we usually alternate among all of them
But trying to sneak wrong dishes leaves a bad vibe....... -
Review from Gabriel C.
San Francisco, CA
3/1/2012
Best Indian food in the city! Plan on waiting a few minutes if you want to find a seat. Definitely worth it though, and you can bring your own Booze so drinking while you wait makes it all the more fun. If you have to choose only one Indian food place in the city to go to this should be it! Don't let the kitchen probably smaller than tyhe one you have at home, paper cups galore, and smoke-filled air of the establishment deter you from the AMAZING food and fun environment. So cheap and so good. CASH ONLY. BYOB.
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Review from Ali B.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
Wouldn't repeat. Not that the food and service weren't good. There are better indian restaurants in SF.
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Review from Jen Y.
San Francisco, CA
2/29/2012
Fish tandoori, shahi paneer, tikka masala paneer, and potato naan are all amazing dishes. I diligently wait 40 minutes every time for the amazing food. Sometimes I even wait days. Warning: Guddu opens when he wants, but he can. His food is that good. Every person I've brought here converts just as I did when I first tried the fish and the curries. This is one of the best spots in the city.
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Review from Aasim K.
7/7/2011
Hands down one of the best Indo-Pak joints in the city. The owner, Guddu Bhai, is a phenomenal chef and host. He is OCD about the quality of his food and has a militant ownership of the cooking responsibilities. I can respect that.
While all the dishes are amazing my favorite is the Tandoori Fish. I've never had anything like it except at home. It is unique to the sea of south asian restaurants and really makes LK stand out.
The lamb biryani, tandoori chicken, and other standard items are also far and beyond other places in the area. The food is meticulously seasoned and not too greasy.
As the other reviewers have noted, this place is packed and takes some time (he cooks your food fresh) - but is well worth it.
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