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Mehfil Indian Cuisine
Category: Restaurants Indian Indian [Edit]
600 Folsom St(between 2nd St & Hawthorne St)
San Francisco, CA 94107
Neighborhood: SOMA
(415) 974-5510
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 3 pm
Mon-Sun 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
805 reviews for Mehfil Indian Cuisine
Review Highlights
"The butter nan and chicken tikka masala are must haves."
(in 148 reviews)
"Lots of veggie dishes, and the menu changes daily."
(in 19 reviews)
"The SAAG PANEER is absolutely the best at Mehfil."
(in 52 reviews)
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805 reviews in English
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Review from Sean D.
Berkeley, CA
1/25/2012
The sit-in is okay, but you could come here twice a week for $5-7 takeout lunch and never be unhappy. The menu of 4-5 dishes rotates daily.
Takeout is cash only, but I forgot once and the cashier said "pay me next time." I paid him next time! -
Review from Cindy F.
San Francisco, CA
1/24/2012
This is a review for take out only.
Ordered take out through http://foodler.com. Order was processed correctly and timely and the order appeared at my front door within the designated time.
The food: the tikka masala was pretty standard. Chicken a little try, the sauce was a little smoky tasting. It could have been burnt flavor, but I liked it. The potato cauliflower curry was good as well. Huge chunks of potato - which I don't really prefer. Rice was included. Portion size was reasonable.
Overall, I'd eat here if I were hungry, but not the best Indian food in town. Three solid stars. -
Review from neil c.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
might have just been an off night for Mehfil or just that they don't do delivery well but we ordered our food and when it arrived we didn't get an entire entree and rice to accompany another.
after calling grubhub they helped get the food on it's way to us but that took another 30 mins. by the time it came we didn't really want it anymore and frankly it didn't taste that good either. didn't taste like any other tikka masala i'd had before from other places.
kudos to GH for giving us a gift card for our troubles. mehfil on the other hand offered us nothing. -
Review from Paul G.
San Francisco, CA
2/12/2012
I got delivery/take out from Mehfil this weekend and it was pretty good. I went with primarily the veggie options and the shrimp dopiaza which was very tasty. Plenty of food, fast delivery and it was just what I was needing. Will definitely try it again
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Review from Jason T.
Walnut Creek, CA
2/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
What more can you say about the lunch specials? You can get a great bowl of Indian food - rice and entree, for under $7, sometimes as low as $5. The menu changes daily, so even if you wanted to go back the next day, there are new items.
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Review from Brandon P.
Brentwood, CA
1/18/2012
Discovered this place when I worked across the street at CNET. Now I work a little further away but well worth the walk. Cheap(er) than most places in the area, delicious and very predictable/consistent.
The take out line is usually long so come early/later -- and make sure you have cash. Though, there's something about the dishes served in the traditional silver that I love and frequently come to sit down.
Highly recommended. Pricing and service has not changed in the almost-10 years I've been going here. -
Review from Erin T.
San Francisco, CA
2/4/2012 25 Check-ins Here
My husband and I are addicted, and eat take-out from here at least once a week. Now Matt (husband) places the order by calling in and letting them know that "It's Matt" and they have us hooked up within 5-10 minutes. Their service is great. Delicious Indian food, and for having come here 25+ times, they've only had one slightly off day. One word: Yum!
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Review from Geoff A.
Colorado Springs, CO
Updated - 1/27/2012
Still a great place to go, but the service has gone down hill.
I visited here for a lunch and dinner again this week and it is definitely not the 5-star place it was last year. Lunch was packed (a good sign, but not a plus as a diner) and the value for money was still exceptional. Dinner on the other hand was a little disappointing as the service was spotty, aloof and from one guy down right rude. Still, the food quality and blue are second to none.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/29/2011
Best Indian I've had in the US.
Ambience: A small place which makes it a little cramped, but it is… Read more »
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Review from Taraneh A.
Walnut Creek, CA
2/6/2012 Seated via OpenTable
We came here for a big (8 people) group dinner. The food was tasty, the prices were fair and the staff was friendly. My only complaint is that the place was a little cramped!
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Review from Yoni D.
San Francisco, CA
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place is so consistent it's scary. Service is very friendly with a hint of cluelessness (which I like). The food is awesome and the prices are ridiculously low. I've been here for both lunch and dinner just because any excuse is good to get your Indian craving butt in here.
The only bad thing I can say about Mehfil Indian Cuisine is that their sodas aren't refill. Oh, and that there's a good chance of a Belgian sitting the table next to you ordering a bunch of Diet Cokes. Hate those obnoxious Belgians. -
Review from Nokie N.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
I actually didn't want to go back there. I didn't like their poor service and small portion of nasty food. Did I mention overly pricy too... hell yeah it was!
But my co-worker insisted me trying their $5 to-go food. Decent size, decent taste and don't have to deal with their service. Ok - I really wanted to give this place another try so I can update my review. I got 3 options for their To-Go menu. I saw the cashier screaming at the guy in front of us. Then my co-worker was about to pay with a card then cashier guy put his hand in front of her and shouted NO CARD - CASH ONLY!!! I'm thinking... why are you putting your nasty hand in front of her face?? Just politely tell us and there was NO sign that says CASH ONLY!
Then I was pulling my cash out to pay for us, he snatched my cash. I looked at him and about to say something but my co-worker told me to calm down. Then I snatched my change back and told him I'm not coming back because of your ugly face! I was so mad it was not even funny.
Got to the office - 1 taste of the food... I trashed it. Wasted my $5 on something that was gross as hell. It was some nasty a$$ plain, water down Indian food. Gross Gross Gross.
BAD Service
GROSS Food
PRICY place.
Dude - If you're having a bad day... don't come to work where you're serving/dealing with customers. It's just stupid to take your anger out and screaming at paying customers.
NEVER going back and my co-worker who insisted me to go said she will NOT go back either. If I had an option to give No star this place would be it. I've never been so mad and disgusted with food in my life. This place is number #1 for being Disgusting!!!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/26/2011
One of the worse Indian places ever. The food was overpriced and not even good. The service was slow… Read more »
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Review from Larry L.
12/11/2011
Stopped by on my way home from Union Square and grabbed some takeout.
I ordered the Murag Saagwala, garlic naan and an order of the samosas. The guy taking my order was nice and asked me if I ever had the Murag Saagwala and if I liked spinach. I explained to him that I hadn't had the dish before but thought I'd try something new. I guess he wanted to make sure I understood what I ordered. I thought that was thoughtful.
The food was ready in a bit and was pretty good. I'd definitely come back. Although in the future, I think I'd make sure to call the order in. There really isn't a good place to wait while your dinner is being prepared.
One odd thing is they gave me the smallest bag ever; it was not the size of a normal takeout/grocery bag. The bag was busting out at the seams and the strap seemed to be under strain from the contents of my dinner. -
Review from Shauna S.
12/21/2011
Every once in a while we'll get Indian food at work and they tend to order from this place so while I've never stepped foot in this place (though I've passed it many times), I have eaten food from here quite a bit.
The chicken tikka masala is okay but always tends to be a bit dry. I love their naan especially with how well it pairs with the vegetarian dishes. The aloo gobi and Mehfil-E-Mix (mixed veggies) is delicious and I love them; they always hit the right spot. The saag paneer is kind of lacking as it mostly tastes of cheese rather than spinach but if you grab the gravy of the chicken tikka masala, it's kind of perfect. -
Review from Morgan C.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2012 4 Check-ins Here
Working downtown usually means $7-10 lunches but Mehfil's takeout has bucked the trend.
Walk in and order a takeout bowl at the counter. Glance at the menu (which changes daily with 4-5 options including vegetarian dishes) if you'd like, or just ask the lad for his favorite dish.
Your selection (you can ask for half of one, half of another or just one) will be served over rice and will cost only $5.
It always tastes great and fills me up. For an extra dollar you can get naan, and note that if you order chicken tikka masala instead of a menu item you'll pay $6.
Best value in the area, hands down. -
Review from Irina P.
Philadelphia, PA
1/1/2012
Wow. Great place. We had their samosas (soooooooo good), palak paneer, and lamb tikka masala with their incredible butter naan. Very good food and tastes so comforting (which is funny because I didn't try my first Indian food until I was 15) and home-made. Very friendly staff, too.
Another day we did a take out, and they accepted credit cards and the wait wasn't bad. Can't wait to return! -
Review from Lindsay M.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
We found GLASS in our naan last time. Yikes! No more Meth-hill for me.
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Review from B. Y.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
Great casual neighborhood Indian food.
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Review from Tiffany W.
Fremont, CA
Updated - 11/21/2011
7:47 PM - delivery order placed online.
7:57 PM - I called Mehfil to ask them to add Yogurt sauce to my order, they said they hadn't received my order electronically yet, but would make sure to include it.
8:12 PM - doorbell rings; I think, we're not expecting anything or anyone else. Sure enough, it's our Mehfil delivery.
WOW, that was fast! Granted, Mehfil is closer to home than other places we order from, the delivery was still surprisingly fast. This was great considering I was starving.
This time around, we ordered Samosas, Veggie Pakora, Mehfil-E-Mix (Veggie Curry), Chicken Tikka Masala, Garlic Naan, and Vegetable Biryani. Yeah, that's a lot of food, but that also means I have leftover Indian food to look forward to for another meal!
Anyhow, the food from Mehfil is outstanding - everything is so tasty, nothing you order will be missing out on spices and flavors. I really enjoyed their Chicken Tikka Masala - the most flavorful version I've had so far.
LOVE Mehfil... this has definitely become our choice restaurant for Indian, especially delivery.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/14/2011
Yesterday I was craving Indian and decided to try Mehfil because of the good reviews and proximity… Read more »
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Review from Anthony R.
Berkeley, CA
12/6/2011
Five dollar lunches in SOMA are few and far in between, but I'd say Mehfil nails it pretty well.
Check out their site ahead of time, and select the dish you'd like most. Head on into the door and pick the dish you like the most (or pro tip -- pick two!) and be out in under a minute with an Indian rice plate for five bucks exactly.
The food is all delicious -- but the veggie options are definitely the highlight. The chicken dishes can be a bit bony, and the servers are more generous when dishing out veggies. It's not so much food that it'll overfill you, but it's enough that you'll be satisfied. -
Review from Anna T.
12/5/2011
You can order online or by phone then pick up your order. AWESOME!
Their chicken korma is so good. so so so good. I ate the left over curry the next day and it was even better.
Large dining area, so you can probably easily get seats. -
Review from Heidi M.
San Francisco, CA
12/18/2011
This is one of our favorite lunch delivery / take-out spots for work. The food is OK, somewhat spicy, and the takeout portions are fairly large. They do not charge separately for rice like so many restaurants here do. You definitely have to plan in advance as ordering near the lunch rest will result in a long wait for take-out and a REALLY long wait for delivery. But the prices for take-out can't be beat, so we just take lunch a little early when we order here.
As a sit-down restaurant, Mehfil is really lacking. Seating is very limited so the wait for a table can be extremely long at lunch time. Service is slow and a bit rude. They charge literally twice as much for each dish as they do for take out and the serving sizes are smaller in restaurant than take-out. I'll definitely continue to order from Mehfil for take-out but will probably never go back to dine in the restaurant. -
Review from Kim S.
1/8/2012
Friends took me here bc they love it. Unfortunately it was underwhelming to me. Overpriced for dinner. Dry chicken. Very dry rice. Naan was good but then again even Naan & Curry makes good naan - much cheaper too. Service was curt. Maybe an off night but won't return.
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Review from Tom L.
11/4/2011
My friend constantly raves about the samosas from Mehfil, and they definitely lived up to the hype.
The restaurant was packed at lunch time, it took around 30 minutes to get a table. I don't mind waiting because it is normally a sign that good food is coming your way. Once we got seated the food came out quickly and everything was excellent. The real star was definitely the samosas, which are served with three amazing sauces. They are so delicious that the second you finish your plate you want to flag down the waiter and order more.
If you're in SOMA definitely check out Mehfil. -
Review from DeathandFood b.
San Francisco, CA
11/12/2011
Pretty average Indian food with below average service at dinner time. It's a fine place to go for lunch. the food comes out quick and it's pretty cheap. At dinner there isn't that many people there but the service is comically absent. We had to wait to be seated, had to flag a guy down to take an order and had to flag him down to get the check all while there were only five tables with people. They did seem really focused on the take out orders.....
The food was average northern Indian. Not huge portions, tasty but boring. Not bad, not great, just meh. -
Review from Alon B.
Austin, TX
1/3/2012
Please understand that I'm coming from Texas so my experience won't be as broad when it comes to Indian but this might be the best Indian food I'd ever eaten. most Indian food seems to have tough chicken and even if the sauces are good the meats will be lacking. Here the chicken was incredibly tender and moist and delicious and the naan had just come out of the oven and was incredible. It's a simple place so only go for a casual meal but that casual meal will be incredible
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Review from carlos l.
12/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good spicy cauliflower naan. Everything was good and prices were ok.
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Review from Joe M.
I hadn't seen my pilot buddy in a while and it was high time we grabbed some lunch and caught up. With a meeting immediately afterward, I needed to stay in the SOMA area so we chose Mehfil for our lunch spot after a brief glance at their menu. For some strange reason eating in costs twice as much as taking the food togo.
Their menu is pretty limiting and we opted for the saag with potatoes and the chicken in basil curry. This came with a salad (oddly to share) and some lentil soup, rice, and naan. Portion sizes are pretty small here and the flavors were just alright to me. The curry was kind of watery and the saag a bit on the bland side for Indian food. Overall, I wasn't very impressed.
The service is kinda spotty and awkward here and certainly not refined. The restaurant gets a bit crowded and cramped with the lunch rush and the takeout really is the way to go, not that I'll be back. No part of the experience really blew my mind and next time I won't risk it, we'll head to HRD instead!
Food: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Price: $$
Atmosphere: 6/10 -
Review from Susanna W.
Palo Alto, CA
11/6/2011
Came to Mehfil to celebrate a friend's birthday.
AMBIANCE: Narrow dining area with somewhat dim lighting. FYI the bathrooms are through this strange, ridiculously steamy/hot, pungent smelling antechamber. Very weird.
SERVICE: Nice, but was a bit odd when it came to ordering. Wouldn't let my friends order certain item, instead forcefully "suggested" we try other dishes.
FOOD: Pretty good, but nothing super standout.
- Korma-e chicken ($11.95): Good but not memorable
- Achaari gosht ($11.95): Same as the chicken, except tougher.
- Paneer curry ($8.95): Something with pomegranate in it. The sauce was very runny but the paneer was delicious.
OVERALL: Coming with a group of 12+ people was a mistake IMO. I think the staff ended up adding random side orders (rice, naan) onto our bill, but it was such a madhouse at the table that no one knew exactly which food items were theirs. I'm not a super huge fan, but I wouldn't discourage friends from trying this place. -
Review from Pete C.
San Francisco, CA
11/11/2011
Ordered delivery 1 hour and 30 minutes ago... and I'm still waiting.
Called the business 3 times and each time they told me 5-10 more minutes. -
Review from Kristine W.
Oakland, CA
9/28/2011
I have never been asked if I was done with my food so many freakin' times AND by so many freakin' people in my freakin' life! I mean, I wanted to be pissed but it was kind of hilarious; like I was on an episode of Boiling Point (except I didn't get any money and had to pay my bill)! The restaurant was more than 3/4 EMPTY before 6pm too! Definitely made our dinner uncomfortable (and irritating). But the food was good, albeit overpriced for the portions--probably because of the location.
* samosas: Standard, but kind of on the dry side.
* garlic naan: HEA-VEN-LY. Probably some of the best I've had. But I am a sucker for carbs+garlic.
* chicken tikka masala: yum
* aloo maatar: delish
The food was yummy but the prices are too high, especially when you go a blocks to the TL and get the same food for a few bucks less. Yet again, cheapness trumps ambiance in my book! -
Review from Koshika S.
Burlingame, CA
12/22/2011
Really nice service hence the one star...but the most tasteless Indian food I have EVER had. Am really shocked at all the rave reviews..it's so blah I didn't even take my leftovers home. If you want cheap and tasty, Naan 'N Curry is MUCH better.
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Review from Grayson K.
San Francisco, CA
The high rating of Mehfil lured myself and my coworkers here for lunch, 4 of us in total. I really liked the succinct menu but was a little concerned that they switched it up every day. This was bound to be either amazing or a disaster. Unfortunately, it was the latter.
We we're brought out a rather boring cucumber salad and an under-seasoned lentil soup in a little metal cup. The waiter asked each of us what type of naan we would like - fooling us into ordering an ungodly large basket fit for 15. I ordered the salmon, being rather curious about Indian fish. It was literally the most overcooked salmon I've ever been served. When I cut through the center of the filet, it crumbled apart - dryer than the driest canned fish ever. Totally disgusting. I wouldn't have been able to swallow the damned thing had I not been given a glass of water with the dish.
I didn't hear any hoots and hollerin's from the rest of the table, and afterwards everyone confessed to having had much better Indian food elsewhere. What a shame. -
Review from Roy B.
San Francisco, CA
11/21/2011
Food is great!
Ordered from http://seamless.com.
Estimated delivery 30-45min. Actual delivery 1h 15min.
Driver was a nice older man who didn't speak great English but seemed to have gotten lost. Granted my street is small. But man oh man, did I have hanger when he finally showed up.
Typing with a satisfied stomach, feeling indifferent. -
Review from Vittorio L.
Oakland, CA
9/24/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Had this for take out one night and man was I surprised. The food was spicy, sauces were yummy, and the Naan was good. They even made something for me that wasn't on the menu when i asked for it (out of curiosity) and it was delicious! The service was quick and gracious.
Recommendations:
Butter Naan
Saag Paneer
Raita
Rogan Josh (ask for spicy) -
Review from Andrew M.
10/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
The food here was pretty good here. The portions were perfect for my girlfriend and me to share. I really enjoyed the chicken tikki masala.
The reason I dinged two stars from their score was because the server said all of five words to us. When he came up to take our order he just stared at us and I had to assume that he wanted us to order. It made the evening a little awkward. I wanted to ask what was good on the menu but did not think that I would get a response.
Nevertheless the food was good and the restaurant was not too loud. -
Review from Chrissy H.
San Francisco, CA
10/3/2011
Butter chicken is incredible--chicken is pulled, and very tender. The eggplant dish is also superb, though I am a huge fan of eggplant so I am sure I am biased.
The one thing I was very unhappy with was the Cheese Naan which the owner recommended--way too salty, and completely not worth the money or calories. All in all, great indian food, but honestly I think they could cut down on the oil. -
Review from freckle b.
Westminster, CO
12/29/2011
Wow - delicious. Korma and Saag Paneer were great. Garlic naan was a little on the thin side, but not overcooked and had plenty of garlic. :-)
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Review from Van L.
San Francisco, CA
8/31/2011 13 Check-ins Here
This is probably the best place for lunch if you're sick of eating sandwiches and you want something quick and ethnic!
Now this place is definitely not the best Indian food I've ever had, but for $5/$6, you can get a bowl of rice and two of their options listed. Try and tell me thats not a steal! Instead of picking two things, I usually just opt for their chicken tikka marsala. While this dish is super creamy and always leaves me in a food coma, I think its the best thing they have here. I am a huge fan of naan and I got it once here, but I don't think I will again. It was unusually thick and bland so I suggest you save your $2 & skip their naan.
The lines go pretty quick, and in my experience, I've been in and out in less than 5 minutes. They also have a pitcher for water and cups by the door for customers which is nice. The only inconvenient thing is that its cash only, but that probably won't stop me from coming here. -
Review from Rebecca w.
San Francisco, CA
12/10/2011
So happy we discovered this place! Super fast delivery, and really good food! The lamb and chicken are great!
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Review from Lia A.
San Francisco, CA
2/6/2012
food is great, portions may look small but are pretty filling, but the prices are a bit high. i'd say 4 stars for food, but -1 for value. no qualms otherwise.
