Shezan

The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Definitely will go back for more!

So I went there last week to have some chicken biryani by myself. Super friendly and kind service. There was this really nice waiter who kept smiling all the way. I loved their chicken biryani and chicken kabab! Go for it!

Started out well with prompt seating and service telling us that if we ordered a drink off of their new cocktails menu, we’d get a free order of the appetizer vegetable pakoras. The drinks were good and very strong — was not expecting them to be as strong as they were at all, but hey, no complaints here. Vegetable pakoras were solid.
For dinner, we went with the Nehari and the Kahari chicken. Both were nicely spiced (in no ways super spicy), and the garlic naan was delicious. Great portions for the price.

Best Indian/​Pakastani restaurant on Castro St by far. Even though it’s not fancy, it’s clean and the service is very welcoming – they’re not trying too hard like waiters at a chain restaurant, they’re actually nice. The food is really good and fresh. The curries taste bright and lively and fresh. Their take on the chicken tikka malsala is one of the best I’ve tried, their karahi curries (tomato/​onion/​ginger sauce base) is mouth watering.
They just started to make their own cocktails and I’m not a big fan; overpriced and not that good. They do, however, have a surprisingly good beer (bottles) and wine list; decently priced and good selections. So go get fancy cocktails somewhere else and stick to the beer/​wine/​lassi here.

Good, well priced food and nice service. This is your average (ambiance) indian/​pakistani restaurant on Castro.

The waiter was especially cordial. His attention made this experience much more comfortable for me.

I have been to Shezan twice, and I was pretty disappointed the second time. Everything we’ve had — naan, biryani, eggplant, tandoori chicken, spicy beef curry — was decent. We decided to give chicken korma a try, and it tasted literally like carcass. We didn’t touch it after the first bite!
In short:
— Try eggplant /​tandoori chicken!
— Stay away from chicken korma.

I came here for dinner.
I got lamb chops and garlic naan. I felt that the naan and the lamb chops had some burnt parts, but overall were tasty.
Staff was friendly.

Super friendly staff !!!
The food is heaven, love the chicken tikka masala !! Super recommend this place :)

One of my newly favorite places. I went yesterday with my cousin and I cannot stop talking about Shezan. The service was great. Our waiter was kind, patient, helpful, and so funny! I am kicking myself that I did not catch his name.
We ordered the Taj Mahal beer. First time trying this beer and it was refreshing and exactly what we needed on a Thursday night.
Our waiter recommended the Nehari, Gobi Masala, and Mattar Paneer. All were delicious and had a nice kick (we like spicy!).
We finished our meal with a mango lassi. Heaven.
Until we meet again, Shezan.

Really enjoyed our dinner here last night! With two of us, we got chicken tikka masala, Goni gosht (mutton) and at the server’s suggestion, palak paneer. We got whole wheat roti to go along with it.
Everything was very flavorful, and the palak paneer had a slight kick to it too. The servers were great, offering suggestions as we were picking a few different items to order, explained which ones were similar so we don’t double up. Food was served quick and hot. Pricing is pretty friendly at 9 – 13 a dish. Will be back again to try other dishes!

Last time I came here, the food was average. Now it’s horrible, the chicken was under cooked in tikka masala. Palak paneer had no salt.
Not coming back ever again!

Ordered the chicken biryani– spicy. The biryani turned out to be bland.
I told the server the order was for spicy biryani. He brings in red chilli powder to up the spice.
Crazy stuff !

Pros:
Convenient location
Good selection of dishes
Good service
Cons:
It’s right near Sakoon which is my ultimate favorite Indian food place

As very regular customers, the last time we ate there was extremely disappointing. Shezan was our go-​to restaurant for 5 years, and we had 200+ meals there (lunch and dinner). Weloved the warm and friendly service (especially the mother and daughter), and the food was absolutely delicious. I am not sure what happened this week — the food (tikka masala and palak paneer) tasted stale, dry and with a very odd texture — exactly as it would if it came from a package (off the shelf!). I know Indian food very well, and I’ve ordered these dishes for years at Shezan. I am also familiar with packaged meals because I used to taste test these during college. Palak paneer (a dish I’ve had thousands of times) tasted exactly like it came from a package.
We were getting ready to gently explain that this doesn’t meet Shezan’s standards to the wait staff, but the wait staff never checked in during our meal. We were ignored the entire time. At the end of the meal, no one asked about the food or the experience. In fact, no one even spoke a word — while clearing the table and when giving us the check.
What was also odd is the amount of time it took for us to wait for the food. Again, we had been at Shezan hundreds of times, and the wait was much longer than usual. Our lingering suspicion was that we were indeed served food from a package, and the wait was extended to simulate average cooking time. We took the lack of interaction during the meal as a signal of shame. And it is a shame — they’ve just lost very loyal customers.
This has never happened before at Shezan. I am not sure if ownership has changed. We very much miss the yummy and very friendly service. Very disappointing.

This place has solid chicken tikka masala! That’s always my go-​to dish here, paired with the Okra dish. Beware: The okra dish can be overly spicy at times so ask for mild if you’re a pansy like myself.
The garlic naan is tasty as well! Get the Chicken Tikka Masala, Okra, and Naan and your stomach will leave satisfied! But it might not be so gracious the next day if you catch my drift!

Really good food… maybe they are high in calories but so what.
Service was good too, they came to ask if we needed anything for several times.
If I want some good Indian food, I definitely will consider going back.

My former work associate wanted to get together for lunch while his car was being worked on locally.
I searched for highly rated restaurants on Castro Street on Unilocal and had him pick which one he wanted to have lunch at. He chose Shezan and I am glad he did.
Shezan features both Pakistani and Indian Cuisine featuring Tandor oven cooking.
They have a lunch buffet, but since I have sworn off buffets after having terrible experiences and John Ascuaga’s Nugget Seafood Buffet and at Las Vegas Hotel Orleans when I became so sick I was incapacitated.
The menu is set up to let you know if the meat has ‘bone in’ or not. I found this very helpful.
Fortunately for us they will allow you to order from the menu as well which made my day.
I helped my former coworker navigate the menu and find something to his liking.
He ordered the Karahi Kabobs ($ 10.75)
I ordered the Tandori Lamb Chops ($ 12.50) marinated in garlic and herbs with spicy green sauce to drizzle on your plate.
They also accommodated us with a fresh salad of lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and a Rati dressing we could split between our plates.
We ordered the basmati rice which appeared to have a hint of saffron in it.
We also shared an order of Garlic Naan Bread.
We received excellent service and they made sure our water glasses never got lower than half way.
My former work associate was ecstatic to receive such great food, large portions, and excellent service and lunch for two at just above $ 30.00 total!

One thing that struck me most about this restaurant is their service. They are always so attentive and very polite. That is rare in a $ or $$ restaurant. The workers appear so happy to serve you and they smile!
Now onto the food, I ordered shrimp masala and I don’t know the name of the other dish but they all were good. Wished it was spicier though…
The price is very reasonable being around $ 10 – 11 for one curry. Very affordable! The only bad thing is that the food come out soooooooo long, they must be hunting the chicken and plucking the feathers or somethin…

This is my new favorite Pakistani place! What a delicious gem. Service is quick, friendly, and warm. The food comes out quickly.
Here are some of the dishes I recommend:
* Vegetable Samosas: No doubt some of the best samosas I’ve had. Very generous portions, and nice umami flavor. They use a soft dough and not too much grease. Yum.
* Chicken Tikka Leg: This is the authentic flavor of Pakistan right here. They get the hot spices spot-​on. Absolutely grilled to perfection.
* Nehari: OMG. They win my ‘Best Pakistani Restaurant’ vote with this one. I don’t know of other places that offer this dish. The beef in our nehari was so tender, so delicious, that our first-​timer friends were surprised they hadn’t known about this dish before. Smaller portion than I would have liked, but top notch flavor. Very authentic.
* Mattar Paneer: Holy moly, the best mattar paneer I have had, even better than homemade. Surprisingly delicious red cream base for the peas and cheese. Everyone finished this dish first since it was the star of the show!
I am craving their food after leaving this review. Oh man, I need to visit them again soon!