Shalimar

I have only had Indian food two other times. I am always afraid to not be able to order without sounding stupid. Or having too many questions. This menu described everything so there was no confusion. So many yummy things. The portions were perfect for sharing or dining alone. I will eat here many more times.

Buffet is very good. Usually a few veggie dishes and chicken dishes. Sometimes curry goat is available which I like a lot (not for everyone as goat can be gamy). Make sure you as for drinks right the way as sometimes they forget.

Solid 3.25−3.5 star Indian Restaurant in the Capital Region. My friend and I came dinner and ordered Curry Chicken and Chili Chicken with generous helpings of naan. Their curry chicken was alright but I have had much better. The Chili Chicken was pretty good. The sauce is made from Chinese and Indian spices with the chicken fried but without breading with a cilantro top. Honestly tasted like General Tso’s Chicken with a hint of Cilantro. They also have a lunch Buffet which I will definitely need to checkout. I will update my review at that time.

Ordered food last night to be delivered and was pleasantly surprised! The quality was impressive and it was piping hot when it arrived. I had the chicken curry which was delicious along with their mixed vegetables appetizer. Everything was very good and met all expectations. I would certainly order again.

Beware the lunch buffet. The food is lukewarm. I’ve gotten food poisoning from it twice now and will not be returning.

We dined in on a Friday night. First impression was that it felt a little like an empty warehouse; it was not what I was expecting. No ambiance here.
It wasn’t quite busy yet and one of our servers seemed disinterested, almost like he was annoyed that we were there. I agree with some of the other comments that service leaves much to be desired here although our other server seemed very friendly but even he couldn’t compensate for the other server’s misstep.
We started with the chicken pakora, which is a delicious, spicy, flavorful version of a chicken nugget. It was delicious!
We then ordered chicken tikki masala and the mattar paneer. The CTM was spicy, creamy, and my only complaint was that the portions felt small. The matter paneer was full of flavor, and left me wanting more with every bite.
Take home message… the food is quite good, the service and ambiance are lacking.

This place was pretty good. We were staying in Latham NY for the night and needed dinner at 9PM. Shalimar was open late, was nearby, and we were in the mood for Indian food, so there you go.
I get the sense that this place is probably hoppin’ during all-​u-​can-​eat buffet time and maybe a little quieter during dinner? At 9PM we were the only folks in there, and there was no music playing, which always gives you that inner meltdown panicked feeling that it’s after closing time and you don’t know it and the people working there are silently hating you but not telling you the place is closed (it did, in fact, close at 10PM, so we were good). I live in Boston (which is certainly not a «late night» city by any standards) so maybe I’m just used to places being a bit busier later at night. Music playing would have been helpful.
This place is definitely pretty casual — ie if you order mango juice they just give you a bottle from the fridge with a straw. Which is fine! Just something to note. We ordered the Vegetable Pakoras, the Chicken Tikka Masala, and the Vegetable Curry. The man serving us wasn’t particularly friendly but he checked in on us a lot, and the food came out really quickly.
The pakoras were good; they came on a plate with these sliced round fried things that we did not order, but those were also good! (Looking at their menu again now I still have no idea what they were, definitely not pappadum … it’s possible they were Onion Bhaji if they fried an entire round of onion and not just the individual strings /​rings.) Chicken TIkka Masala was great, the sauce was super yummy, and Vegetable Curry was good, I’d never had anything like it before and it was kind of like a veggie curry stew. Their estimation of «mild» is a little spicier than most «mild» Indian food I’ve had but was totally manageable.
Overall, this wasn’t the best Indian food (or atmosphere) I’ve ever experienced, but definitely a good option for food in the area.

the chicken kabob had a funny smell to them. the biryani was good, but I don’t think I will return.

Ordered takeout, and it was delivered in 35 minutes. Huge portions and delicious food. Will definitely order again.

I have been to many Indian restaurants before, this one is not bad, but I don’t think it is going to be stable for me.

Every time me and my wife have ever attended this restaurant their food is absolutely delicious their service is very fast and considerate. Overall one of our favorite Indian restaurants. During lunch time they have an amazing buffet at a reasonable price.

First time trying Indian/​Pakistani food, can’t give 5 stars because I have no basis for comparison, but was happy enough to try Indian food elsewhere as well.
Food was good, waiter was nice, couple weirdos next to us, but not really the restaurant’s fault.
Overall a good experience.

We picked up some take out tonight we had Mixed appetizer, chicken tikka, lamb makhani, palak paneer, onion, garlic, cheese, and chilli naan. It was all phenomenal! Love love loved it. Would definitely do it again and look forward to dining in.

I stopped in for the Lunch Buffet at Shalimar of Latham. The Lunch Buffet is offered daily for $ 7.99 (weekdays) and $ 8.99 (weekends) until 2:30 PM. I stopped in here around 1 PM and I took a seat at a small table in the center of the cozy dining room. The buffet station tables are situated along the right and back walls of the dining room.
On my visit, the buffet was stocked with around 20 items including chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala, goat curry, aloo paneer, vegetable korma, bhindi masala, chana masala, naan, mixed pakoras, raita, salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber), basmati rice, chicken biryani, chutneys, mulligatawny soup, and kheer (rice pudding).
The food on the buffet was the standard fare found at most Indian buffets. The food for the most part was good with several dishes tasting spicy. The chicken tikka masala was my favorite main dish. The pakoras (onions, eggplant, potatoes) were chewy. The dessert (kheer) rice pudding was okay, which was very sweet and had a thick texture, not like the milky texture version of kheer with cardamom, raisins, sliced almonds, and rose water I’m used to having at other Indian restaurants.
The service was acceptable and my used dishes were cleared often. I cashed out up at the register when I was finished. The lunch buffet was filling and it was a good way to try several dishes and items offered at Shalimar at a very reasonable price.

Very reasonable lunch buffet ! I love their nun, curry and the best rice pudding ever !
If gets pretty crowded during lunch by locals and some international customers. Highly recommended for Asian customer who miss spicy food in the region.

Food is really good, friendly staff & service. Shahnawaz, the owner is very friendly & accomodating, one of the better“desi” restaurants in the area.

This restaurant has great food and fantastic service. The Chicken Tikka Masala is the best in the region.
If you like Indian food this is the place to go.

This is so far the worse Indian lunch buffet we’ve been to.
The food was cold, more spicy than other places, and I only got cold naans.
The service was really lacking. During the entire time we were there, the two guys at Sharlima were just standing behind the counter and talking to each other, rather than refilling our water or taking away our dirty dishes.
The lunch buffet was $ 6.99, but we were charged an extra $ 1.50 each for tea. The tea cup is tiny, and no refills. Don’t get the tea, it doesn’t worth the price.
Overall a terrible experience, we will not visit again.

One of the rare reviews from me that will get the extra star largely because the place is a bargain. This is purely for the lunch buffet, as we haven’t tried single-​dish takeout or dinner.
For $ 7 each ($ 4) for the junior member of the party) we got a perfectly decent subcontinental buffet that had salad (meh), soup (yum, citrusy), naan (including yummy garlic naan), basmati, chicken vindaloo (good, if a bit on the bland side), chicken biryani, daal (mediocre), pakora (excellent), tandoori chicken, veggie curry (decent), roasted chickpeas, and a number of other reasonably savory pan-​Indian specialties, topped off by a little rice pudding at the end. The meat is a little sparse, and there’s no beef or lamb, but that’s probably where you’re saving the $ 3 — it’s basically a vegetarian cuisine anyway and the meat is more to Western taste.
The spicing is just a little higher than the usual toned-​down American-​style Indian food, which is to say it was a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10 with occasion brushes with a 3. We consider this a pity, and will continue to hope for finding more authentic spicing intensity.
It ends up being decent comfort food and the pricing is excellent compared to the other Indian-​style lunch buffets we’ve been to in the area. Newbies should definitely note, though, you have to go up to the counter — waiting to be seated or for the buffet will delay you, you can just take a plate and start shoveling away if you want to. It’s more of a cafeteria than a service-​plus-​buffet style place at lunch. (If you’re coming for lunch or takeout, you have to chase down the single server, FYI/​fwiw.)
We also had warm service and friendly conversation with the server/​front of the house guy, who turned out to be from Bangladesh.
The ambiance is pretty much dim strip-​mall store front with South Asian contemporary soundtrack, so I wouldn’t suggest it for a romantic trysting spot, but it was clean.

LUNCH BUFFET. That’s all you need to know. A mere $ 6.99 to get your grub on. Spend a few extra bucks and get a mango lassi to wash down all the food you will undoubtedly eat.
They have all the favorites like chicken tikka masala, rice, naan, kheer (rice pudding), and a rotation of other dishes. My favorite is the mattar paneer (peas and cheese). There’s something for everyone, vegetarian/​meat dishes, spicy/​non-​spicy, sweet/​savory.
Dinner and takeout are also very good, and I always have leftovers.