Shalimar Restaurant

Great Indian/​Pakistani buffet. Light on the meat dishes but the vegetable selection was plentiful. The three chicken dishes were very good. Of course they had chicken tikka masala which was as it should be with a great tomato cream sauce. The tandoor chicken was the best I’ve had anywhere. They also served chili chicken which was new to me but I will recommend it without reservation. They offered hummus as well as several vegetable dishes that I had not sampled before, again all were worthy of a try.
As I write this review the dining room was packed. You won’t go wrong with this friendly inviting restaurant.
On a side note this restaurant should not be confused with the Shalimar on route 7 in Latham. The owner and staff here are very friendly.

We decided to have diner at Shalimar for the first time after hearing about it from friends. It was good to see on a Wednesday night that the restaurant was fairly full. The restaurant is fairly small and casual. Our friendly waitress greeted us and we ordered the hummus with naan bread for an appetizer and it was excellent. The hummus was creamy with a good amount of garlic and went very well with the naan. We ordered two different chicken diners and they were served on a sizzling hot plate (a nice presentation) and were very flavorful and grilled to perfection. The chicken was very tender and a little spicy but very good. All things considered including the reasonable prices, we will be back.

Three stars– one for a buffet I attended where I learned about their food. The restaurant was quiet, maybe too quiet– needs some Indian music, perhaps. It was a little too warm, and the food? Good, but my «mild» lamb was not that mild. Not what I’d call mild. The Naan was excellent, though. And prices good.

I hate to give places in my home town a bad review — especially since this place used to be so awesome. I come back from time to time to visit family, and I’ve been here a number of times over the years. Each time is progressively worse. I don’t know what happened. New management? Possibly.
Anyway, I typically come for the lunch buffet. The food isn’t inedible or anything like that — it’s just SO BLAND. Like no flavor whatsoever… which is not really what I associate with Indian food that’s supposed to be more bold and spicy. Maybe it’s because the average person is boring and likes mild food and the restaurant has bent to American tastes accordingly, which is sad. I just remember the last time coming here thinking «my water has more flavor than this food.» It was so bizarre.
I really hope Shalimar gets it back together, because honestly this was one of my favorite Indian joints a few years back.

I like this place, I really do.
It reminds me of the really good Indian food I used to eat when I lived in Woodside as a kid. Between the Tandoori chicken, Tikka Masala, Goat curry, and the Chicken stuffed naan the food is definitely the best you can get in Albghanistan.
So why 4 stars?
Well first off the Soup-​Nazi esque owner who I despise giving money to. Second, the weird, eye-​rolling kind of vibes I get from the staff. I tend to not want to stick around for too long so I try and go with take out or delivery when it’s convenient. Any time I have sit down to eat for the buffet, my bill is brought to me after one plate, even when I don’t ask, it sort of feels like I am ‘not worthy’ of eating here and that I need to be rushed out. I’ll continue eating here even though I hate myself for it simply because of the Tandoori.

Always premium Indian food. Love it!

I’ve been here before for the lunch buffet but last night the boys and I just wanted a quick dinner out. It was empty but there was only one server and she was taking phone orders so we waited a few minutes to be seated. It got quite a bit busier as the evening continued but that didn’t seem to influence the service much. We were able to order relatively quickly and the food came out soon enough. Everything was delicious. We aren’t all that familiar with Indian food so I can’t say if the flavors were accurate but except for the rice (which was plain and boring, not flavorful and fragrant like I was expecting), we enjoyed everything we ordered. The bill was quite reasonable for what we ordered, too. Also, I would have rated 4 ½ stars but I can’t do that on my phone. It was a good meal and filling too. We’ll be back.

Great food. First time there. Food was delish & came out hot, presentation was beautiful. We will definitely be going back.
*Update* 4/​2015-​We went back for the lunch buffet & it was delicious. Definitely worth the $$

I’ve been eating at this establishment for over 15 years, and have never had a bad experience here. The only complaint is that some days they seem a bit short on staff, and it ends up taking longer than usual. Other than that, both the buffet and the off the menu selections are always tasty, the price is reasonable, the selection is good, and they have take out and free delivery, for when we’re not in the mood to go out. They even allow BYOB if you’re not in the mood for a mango lassi. Some of my favorites there are the Lamb Rogan Josh and Lamb Makhani. From the weekend buffet table, I like the chili chicken, mixed grill, and goat curry. This is of our most frequented restaurants, and we’ve taken our friends and family there on numerous occasions.

$ 8.99 lunch buffet — yummy.
Very nice flavor and freshness. Pleasantly low on oiliness that sometimes appears on buffet style food.
Popular — full restaurant on Thurs lunch.
Recommend for the food/​casual atmosphere with friends or business associates.
Be aware it is located in kind of a yucky strip mall — tables are pretty close in an open rectangular dining room — definitely not a place for a cozy date or a private conversation.

The food here is generally very good. I’ve come for dinner and the lunch buffet on a number of occasions. My family and I had lunch at Shalimar the day after Thanksgiving to give ourselves a break from all the turkey. It was quite busy so the chafing dishes were somewhat on the empty side, but they were tended to often and I was not disappointed. The chicken tikka masala was not good that day, though — the meat had an odd, rubbery texture. We used a coupon (it was good for up to 4 people) so it was a good deal. The atmosphere is not great (it needs some updating, and probably a good scrub), and they do not offer alcoholic beverages (although I believe you can bring your own wine and pay a corkage fee?) but overall the service and quality/​variety of food is enough to keep us coming back.

The food is consistent and tasty. Was glad to have this option in Delmar. However, it isn’t the best that I have had. I was horrified to learn that the owner does not share the tips with the wait staff. That is unacceptable!

Boring food. The Kofta themselves were OK but the Malai sauce had virtually no spice. I have never added salt to an Indian dish before, but I did here because I needed to increase flavor somehow. The rice was dry and bland. Maybe the buffet is better, but I won’t return to find out.

Food at shalimar is not very good. The rice is pathetically dry and flavorless… for an Indian restaurant, that’s ridiculous, as most dishes are served with rice. Not horrible, just not very good. Watch for the owner… can be seriously moody when he’s not offering fake smiles.

Excellent food. very tasty and full of flavor tried a bit if everything and all was great. Only hitch I had for not 5 start was the slight attitude of the owner over a nut allergy. and lack of care towards it. definatley worth the money HAD to edit to ad this I got the buffet and. Had one small piece of tandoori left so I figured I would ask if I could take it home with the take out. and holy hell you would have thought I was asking for a free meal, after this I will not be returning here again

When you have Celiac Disease the thought of going to a buffet is quite scary but based on their website which says the majority of their dishes are gluten free and after reading other reviews here on Unilocal!I decided to give it a try. I have SO missed Indian Food since going gluten free. We were seated right away and I made sure to ask the waiter if he could tell me what was gluten free on the buffet. He informed me everything, with the exception of the naan (obviously) was indeed gluten free. YAY! It was nice to be able to sample some things I’ve never tried. Some things I LOVED (vegetable korma, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, vegetable rice) and some things were just a tad too spicy for me (chili chicken, which was REALLY good, but just too spicy for me).
I will most definitely be back! At $ 7.99 for the lunch buffet, including drink you just can’t beat it!

Yum! We stopped here for an early dinner after a movie. Indian food was the pick me up I craved. They offer a $ 9.99 dinner buffet. There was so much food and such a great variety. There was garlic and plain naan, samosas, goat curry, masala, dessert rice with cabbage and carrots, and much much more.
They encourage you to take only as much as you eat, so I recommend starting with small portions before deciding to commit to larger portions. In either case, I recommend trying all they have. They’re constantly refreshing the food and promptly clearing your finished dishes. A winner all around.

This used to be my favorite indian restaurant in Albany. Although in the past couple years the food seems to be less flavorful and salty. I find myself always pouring tons of salt and pepper on my meal to give it a kick.
All in all, not bad. I prefer Darbar on Del Ave in Albany. I haven’t been since it opened in December, but I was blown away by how good it is.

My review is for the buffet only.
There are hardly any non-​veg items (only 3) in the buffet and still the buffet price is $ 7.99 which is little expensive compared to other Indian buffet restaurants in the area. I find all the items in the buffet are just ok but not tasty. No fruits and only one dessert in the buffet. Most of the other Indian restaurants have many non-​veg, veg items, fruits and atleast 2 desserts in the buffet for $ 6.99 price.
Bottom line: I will not go back for the buffet.

This review is based on the Lunch Buffet.
Shalimar Restaurant opened its newest location in the Delaware Plaza next door to Subway. This restaurant serves Indian and Pakistani cuisine and they advertise a coupon special for buy 1 dinner get the second helf price on their takeout menus. I believe that deal is dine-​in only Mon-​Tues-​Wed evenings. There’s also a Lunch Buffet ($ 7.99 plus tax) offered 11:30AM-2:30PM and drinks are included in the buffet price (Coke fountain drinks or iced tea).
I arrive here around 11:45 AM and the place has a couple tables of customers already eating. There was one guy running the front of the house, seating diners, bringing out drinks, clearing dishes, and cashing folks out. Everyone arriving here got the buffet. The dining room is cozy relaxed atmosphere with the cashier/​takeout counter in back, nice décor & articles/​certificates on the walls, and rows of tables covered in yellow table cloths (plate glass dining surface).
I was seated close to the buffet and started immediately. The buffet had around 12 main dishes, plus salad, raita, and sauces. Some of the items on the buffet included tandoori chicken, vegetable pakoras, vegetable korma, chana chat (cold chickpea salad), chicken tikka masala, chicken do piazza, green beans, vegetable rice, vegetable biryani, dal makhani (lentils), warm naan, and kheer for dessert.
I made a few trips to the buffet trying out each item. The star of the show was the Chicken Tikka Masala, which was delicious and had very tender chicken. The rice dishes and the vegetarian dishes were decent, not too spicy. However, I did not care for the kheer (rice pudding) which was too thick and «Kozy-​Shack like» and not milky and refreshing like the great rice puddings I’ve had at other Indian restaurants (mostly in the Greater Boston/​Southern NH area). The place started to get busy fairly quickly after I arrived. The service was very good, dishes were always cleared when I returned from the buffet and I was given a free refill on the Diet Coke.
Overall, the Lunch Buffet and drink is a great deal for $ 8.63 before tip since you can get a sampling of the popular dishes.