Good BBQ, but their curry needs work. I am a big fan of the beef seekh kabob. The staff is really polite which is a big plus. I basically go there as often as possible mostly for the good food, but also for the professional service.
Armando C.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Hayward, CA
The food is decent, the service is pretty bad. I place an order over the phone to be ready when I arrived and when I showed up the said that they had no phone orders. I even had to give my phone number when I placed the order, I recognized the voice of the person who took my order and they acted like I was crazy, they were not apologetic for their mistake. In previous visits they have made me feel like they were doing me a favor, you don’t feel appreciated as a customer here. There are way better options in Hayward with better or similar food and way better customer service.
Sana C.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Francisco, CA
Great friendly service. Delicious affordable food. What is there not to love! If you are a fan of desi food go to Pakwan. Your taste buds will thank you!
Bounty h.
Rating des Ortes: 2 San Mateo, CA
Pakwan used to be my favorite couple of years back. Now their chicken curries suck. First I had bad experience with Chicken tikka masala. It smelled like beef! So next time I tried Chicken kadai. It appears they are using same sauce for all preparations now. Whatever is the reason, I wont pay $ to throw away food.
R K.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Hayward, CA
Certain dishes here are good. It used to be a better restaurant in the past, food and everything else. They are over crowded on Sunday’s due to the buffet. The line is outside. They need more room to cater people on that day. It’s ridiculous. I have gotten sick here a few times, but have given them a fair chance. They definately have poor hygiene issues and need a wake up call. I also feel the food doesn’t seem to be fresh and has also lost it’s oomph. Customer service is lacking immensely. Cash only place, but they do have an atm inside.
Don F.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Orinda, CA
Been there several times and every visit provides great joy. Sunday brunch is delightful. Many great dishes, all flavorful and full of aromas and fresh. Many diners ensures continual flow from kitchen. Expect a queue but it moves pretty fast. Weekday evenings are less busy. Food is just as tasty and fresh. Chicken Tikka masala is unique with a smoky flavor and rich and thick gravy. Biriyani are done perfect. Rice grains are distinct and cooked perfectly, not too dry nor too moist. Solid quality basmati rice. All super fresh ingredients including the fresh mint and cilantro. Mutton tonight could have a bit more tender or evenly cooked. Pieces seemed from a different batch. Minor flaw, really nit picking here. Rotis are superb. I love nan that are thick and soft. No place does it better. Large, soft, moist, fresh, steaming hot for a buck. Can not be bettered anywhere. Grilled meats all have that uniquely Pakistani smokiness flavor and smell. Even chicken mince kabobs have full flavor. Prices are very reasonable and hard to beat. Best value around. Best authentic quality, no matter the price. A must visit place.
Sunny D.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Union City, CA
Worst Food and service… Employees are rude … They gave us under cook Naan. We complaint about that Naan one person said don’t worry we will give you Another one… And another guy name Imran went in kitchen and tell them to gave us the same naan… same naan came and it was burned. Biryani was so dry And un fresh … Taste like they is leftover and they warm up in microwave… Chicken was cold in biryani… We tell them about that too and they seemed like they don’t care… won’t come back again… Not recommend to any one…
Sep D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Mateo, CA
I drive a long way on Sundays to get to their Sunday’s brunch buffet. Let me tell you a story how I found this place. I was searching for the 7 wonders of the world, and somehow Pakwan restaurant came up in google’s search result. I was kind of surprised and clicked the link and saw someone mentioned their Sunday brunch is truly one of the 7 wonders of the world. I tempted so much to try and man! it’s more than 6 years once every few Sundays my mind can’t think of anything else. Their Sunday brunch has very good quality. Nothing got sacrificed. Good kabab, tandoori chicken, halim, biryani, everything you can imagine. Even nice desserts like Halva, Kiri, and ice cream. Too many choices for everyone in the family. The price is also on the reasonable side. Just make sure you don’t kill yourself by eating too much. I am a good pacer in eating food, but honestly with this place and their delicious food, there were a few times when I got so close to the edge of explosion. Since their food is great, expect a little crowd. Also their parking lot is not that huge, and street parking gets filled up quickly, but you know what? They are popular and that’s an indication! So don’t wait until the last minute to get to the buffet, even though if you do get late they are very generous and refill the buffet until the last moment.
Naheed K.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Leandro, CA
I just love love love their food, my only halal favorite restaurant. Let me mention here, it’s real Lahori, Pakistani food. Nihari, halwa poori, Chana Masala, biryani, Haleem, naan. I feel like I am at food street, Lahore. Ok every business have some rules to follow. I have no problem at all with there buffet rules on Sunday. Anyone who wants to try paki food, just try Pakwan. This is amazing, at least, once a week they have buffet.
Maro I.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Hayward, CA
I always loved Pakwan, but today was a big disappointment for me and my family. We ordered chicken biryani and asks the guy on a front counter to make it extra spicy. After 10 mins our food was ready. I asked my husband if we ordered plain white rice. The biryani looked bad, no color, no spice, no onion no taste. Come on guys u can do better then this.
Big D.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Oakland, CA
I don’t know why there are a bunch of two star reviews… This is the best Pakistani food in the Bay(and possibly California). If you come expecting elegance or something then you’ll be disappointed. It’s a self-serve, cheap, always consistent everyman’s Pakistani joint that has been my staple for over 5 years. If you want the best Pakistani/Indian food, come here. If you want fluff, well, fluff off! Order Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, Veggie Biryani, and a seekh kabob… I dare you not to fall in love!
Sadia P.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Sunrise, FL
This place has horrible customer service, it sucks!!! You have to pay extra for salad, Chutney, rihta(yogurt). They do not serve you the food you have to go get it yourself. I would not come back here again and I would not suggest to come eat at this place. The buffet is there but not avaliable at this time. You also have to go get your own plates and utilities. These people do not know how to interact with customers. My husband went to use bathroom and it stinks! I highly DONOT suggest!!!
Raj S.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Sunnyvale, CA
Poor on hygiene(there was a hair in the sooji ka halwa!). lateron when I checked on Unilocal,I realised many people have complained about hygiene on this forum. Food was not fresh(kheer was going sour). Staff were rude(while we went to get a second plate for the buffet, they removed our chairs!). Definitely not going there again, totally not worth the $ 16 you pay for the buffet. UPDATE on owner’s reply(11÷11÷15): No, that hair was deep embedded in the sooji ka halwa and was waiting to be served at the buffet. So no, its origin was not from any customer.
Mandi T.
Rating des Ortes: 5 Menlo Park, CA
On the way back to the Peninsula, this Pakistani restaurant is worth trying. The best dish is Chicken Biriyani. Great place for groups.
Subail S.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Santa Clara, CA
Went to have brunch on Sunday. OMG never seen so many people waiting in life ever in my life. I used to count how many people are on the waiting list before me, here I counted number of pages. Yes, our name was after three pages(full of people waiting) of the serving page. Food was ok. Nothing special. My rating: 4⁄5 Ambience was over crowded, noisy. I can understand its not their fault. 4⁄5 Service was average. As it was a brunch buffet, they were talking away plates in every 10 – 15 minutes. But I found some dry gravy in the fresh plates. That’s uncouth. For hygiene: 2⁄5 They also put the AC very low I guess. It was freaking hot inside. I was sweating while eating. May be it’s part of their business plan so that people don’t eat a lot! Haha JJ… Joking apart my rating 2⁄5 for overall environment. May be won’t come again for Sunday brunch buffet.
S S.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Newark, CA
Paya, Nihari, Seekh Kabab, Kheer, Biryani, Haleem, Fish Pakoda. These are my personal favorites and eternal part of my buffet picks. Some of these are hard to find in other Indian restaurants and all of them taste consistently better. There was a time my wife and I spent every Sunday at this place for their lunch buffet until I came to know about my high sugar levels(not blaming Pakwan for it of course). With almost zero visits these days, I must admit, I miss different and unique ambiance this restaurant offers: where people care less about dining etiquette and focus on business(food, family and friends). Crowd here gives you a feel as if you were attending some marriage in India or Pakistan. Only side effect is, I cannot get that annoying song(annoying mentioned here in comic way) they played again and again — ‘Jumme ki raat me’. Hope, next time they will play something different or add some variety. Even if they don’t, who cares. :) This place is the best buffet ever. Parking improvement would be a plus.
Jessica C.
Rating des Ortes: 1 Fremont, CA
Probably wouldn’t come back here. Chairs are very dirty & threadbare. Plates had bits of dried food that wasn’t cleaned off by the dishwasher. I don’t mind that the place is self service. You’d think that would actually help to save on overhead costs. But the place is pretty pricey considering and not a good overall value. For 2 people and $ 38 later, we ordered samosas, 2 meat dishes, naan and mango lassi. There are other nearby Indian places that are a better value for the price paid.
J W.
Rating des Ortes: 3 Alhambra, CA
Lamb Brain Masala was super spicy. Luckily I had mango lassi. I don’t think the mango lassi is freshly made, I think it’s one of those store bought comes in a gallon jug type. the beef stuffed naan was pretty good. No bike rack and not a pole near enough.
Salman H.
Rating des Ortes: 5 San Mateo, CA
Their Sunday brunch buffet! omg it’s amazing! perfect home cooked paki food for $ 15/person! There’s a long line up by noon so get there early-buffet opens at 11am.
Deborah W.
Rating des Ortes: 4 Pasadena, CA
Not sure what the big deal is about the lack of service when they run things as a self-serve type of place. It’s pretty simple actually; just order your food at the register area, get your plates/utensils/drinks, find a seat and wait for them to call your order! There are other places that do the same thing, too, and so what’s the difference if Pakwan chooses to do the same also? My family and I normally come here to order the food and not for the buffet. As you can probably tell, buffet quality isn’t always the best when they’re trying to serve many people at once wanting the hoard all the food in one sitting. Whoever makes their tandoori chicken needs to come over to my kitchen and make me more. It’s seriously that good and because I live in SoCal now, I have only found one other place(out of many that I’ve tried) that somewhat compares but isn’t even that close to that of Pakwan’s. It is quite dirty here but the food is worth coming for in my opinion. Side note: Their prices have gone up for orders and buffet!