Zareen’s

The chicken tikka masala is as good as they all say. It made me question if I’ve ever had good indian food until then; the chicken tikka masala here has set a new standard. You can tell, through all sauce, that the chicken was well made, in its soft tender, grilled-​ness.
The samosas and parattha were yummy too, but IF YOU’RE NOT A VEGETARIAN, STOP READING AND JUST GET THE CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the complimentary chai.
Very small restaurant, but don’t be disheartened, there’s wooden picnic tables outside a store away.

I was surprised that I had not visited this place so near by in south bay for Indian food.
Went there on a Saturday morning and tried :
Halwa Poori Chhole
Samosa burger
The halwa was super delicious :D. And the pooris were hot and crisp ! They were not super oily as well !
Their chai was nice too. We tried normal Masala Chai (which was free) and Kashmiri Chai (from the menu). Kashmiri Chai was just okay.
The place is very small and super crowded, which automatically reflects how popular it is :-)
Would love to go there again and try more things on their menu :-)
Totally worth a visit !! :-)

Ever since I first bit into the Silver Spoon Paratha stuffed with luscious Chicken Shami Kabab and chutneys, all wrapped up in a paratha roll, I’ve been a huge fan of the food and service here. This is our go-​to place for takeout during the workday week. Call ahead and order, and a delicious dinner is ready within minutes. They just expanded their interior space a bit, so it’s more comfortable now to sit in and dine too. Love all the design touches and warm vibes, including books, colorful wall décor and quotable quotes.
And they have FREE chai /​tea! You can drink as much as you want, it’s a great accompaniment with all the food. Coming to the dishes, our regular order is the peerless Punjabi Chicken Burger (optional cheese & jalapeño) and Masala fries that are tongue-​tickling with spices and soooo finger-​licking good. I mentioned the Chicken Shami Kabab Silver Spoon Paratha Rolls already, which are soooo amazing that we get them every single time. Zareen’s Chicken Mnemoni samosas and the regular potato samosas are great too. We’ve tried their Thalis as well, but we prefer the Chicken Burger and Paratha rolls.
When the craving hits for spicy, flavorful, comfort food, it is Zareen’s to the rescue!

Absolutely incredible Indian food, probably the best in this area. And that’s quite a feat, there are so many great Indian places in Silicon Valley!
The menu has a large variety, and provides options for almost fusion-​like dishes, as well as more traditional curries and samosas.
Of course, I love the free chai. Perfect to cut through the spice.
Only problem is the place itself is so small — definitely great for take out!

Extremely delicious. We tried:
a) vegetarian samosas, which had an excellent crispy outside and smooth inside, with great flavors,
b) beef shami kabab, which has a very delicate texture and a good balance between flavors (not overwhelming the meat but supporting it) and comes with a hot sauce that also has good flavor and complements the beef extremely well,
c) paneer madras wrap, which was mild and pleasant on its own, but came with a slightly sweet sauce that did a great job of taking it to the next level,
d) chicken tikka masala meal, which seemed closer to a butter chicken but was tasty and with good pieces of chicken… the meal was also nice with its salad, daal, rice, and naan,
e) paratha, which was excellent… fried but not too heavy.
Everything was simply delightful. We definitely plan to return and explore the menu more.

Right from catering my birthday 3 years ago to grabbing a to-​go dinner today, I am in love with the consistent authentic falovors by and at Zareens. Bful, simple décor, quick efficient service, food prepared with a lot of care and love, there is nothing more you can ask for from a local business.
My present fav is their chicken boti kabob naan wrap. I have tried their thalis, their chicken samosas, their halwa puri and I cannot stop raving about the quality and consistency. Great spot to grab a quick meal. About the catering, my party had about 40 people both vegetarian and meat eaters and Zareen helped me plan the menu and gave great suggestions like cutting a wrap in half so everyone could taste more variety and it didnt cost me a lot. I really appreciated the advice and how the food was available in a timely manner. I think its a great local business that serves you with care and Zareen’s deserve a loyal patronage!

This place was a VERY pleasant surprise!
The food was absolutely delicious! The salad (which is completely) the pita bread, the hummus, and most importantly the food we ordered were ALL delicious.
We had the chicken and beef shawarma plate and the lamb kebabs to share. Everything was out of this world delicious!
It’s in a strip mall near the Century Cinemas in Sunnyvale. We stopped by for a quick meal before going to see a movie and I think we’ll be doing that more often.
Also, they have really good black tea… the delicious type;-)

Great food, low price!
Marination and cook on chicken sizzlers was superb. Everything was tangy and kept my taste buds alive. I think this will be my favorite Indian fast food place for a while.

This is one of the reasons I love and appreciate Unilocal… once again, I managed to find a place in my neighborhood that I didn’t even know it even existed! Thanks Unilocal and Unilocalers, this was again another successful culinary adventure for me. Best of all, it didn’t break the bank as the food served here are mostly under $ 10 for a good portion, enough to fill you up!
Hubby and I ventured to this place we ordered 2 thali (combo/​meal) plates with Chicken tikka Masala and Bhuna Gosht (beef curry) and an entrée only order of the chicken shami kabab.
The thali came with ¼ of naan, rice, lentil/​daal stew, fresh chopped salad (cucumber, tomatoes and onion), and chutney (some kind of sauce, we asked for spicy and got the green mint-​yogurt-​spicy sauce), The portion was great for us (big eater, big stomach!), smaller stomach can probably eat it for two meals. The chicken tikka masala was delicious, perfectly seasoned and so was the beef curry. They were both delicious (though not mind blowing) but for the price it was a great deal for what you get in silicon valley! Certainly the pricing was on the lower end!
Shami kabab was mashed chicken, herbs, lentils made into patties and grilled/​pan fried. The texture reminded me of tuna patties with indian spices of course. A great protein addition to our meal.
The whole meal set us back a little less than $ 30. (the thali plate was about $ 10 each).
The place is certainly a local favorite. parking lot was small and always packed with people coming and going and so is the restaurant. There was always a line but it moved very quickly. You basically place your order at the counter and they give you a number and will deliver the food to you. There are about 10 small tables inside and about 2 tables in front of the restaurant. There is also a covered sitting area in the front under a tent. People comes and goes fast. this is not really a place to sit and chit chat for hours. Eclectic décor, cute and free indian chai was yummy.
Will certainly go again for easy, no frill, indian meals.

OK. Y’all must have found this place. It’s so popular. My last lunch, so good. So spicy. The location is slightly larger now. Go after the noon lunch hour. Or don’t go at all. Mo bettah fo me!

Zareen’s deserves every 5-​star review they’ve received.
We came in at brunch (until 3pm weekends) and I’m so glad we did.
They were packed, as usual, which isn’t a bad thing! It means fresh food and popularity.
I’ve tried a lot of Indian/​Paki food and this still sits at the top of my favorites list.
We got the:
1) Veggie Samosas — OMG! Delicious and perfectly crispy.
2) Paneer burrito (Vegan option, GF) — how in the world did she come up with a perfect combo for my taste buds? I wanted to eat more of this one and will be getting it every time for sure. Especially with the dipping sauce it came with! Didn’t get a chance to photograph it because we devoured it. Oops, next time :-)
3) Paneer Madras Meal (Vegan option) — yum yum! Especially the bread! It was perfectly fried and wasn’t super greasy.
I already think I’m going back this week, for sure! And the value is excellent.
By the way, Zareen herself is a doll, and really thrives on customer satisfaction.
See you guys soon! :-)

Amazing breads! Also love their milky tea. The chicken tikka masala was delicious. Great mango lassi. Everything was amazing!

We were here the second time and the food was great! The place is a little small so it might take you a while to get a seat, but totally worth the wait. I got the grilled chicken to both sizzler and sheermal, while the husband got one of the kebab meals. All the food was fresh and prepared well. Definitely going to come back here!

Can’t believe I haven’t written this review yet!
I’ll just come out and say it… this is possibly the best Indian (actually, Pakistani) food I’ve had in the Bay Area in the past two years. Without question.
Another hole in the wall WIN!
Came here with a colleague who, unfortunately, does not enjoy spicy food. He does enjoy Indian food though so it wasn’t a complete fail but it meant I wasn’t too interested in tasting whatever he ordered :)
Place is tiny… hard to find unless you know exactly where you’re going. Part of the allure, I guess. And did I say it’s tiny? Boy, try to go early or there’s no way you can find seating here with the Google lunch crowd. That also makes for a noisy environment since there’s always a line of people waiting to order takeout and the line snakes through the area where the diners are seated. More ambiance!!! :)
We go an order of the Memoni samosas to start — they were very good but nothing spectacular. For my lunch, I ordered the Beef Gola kabab — the menu said «melt in your mouth» and there has never been more truth in advertising. It’s served sizzler style and boy, did it turn some heads as it came out!!!
I can’t wait to return here and try some of the other things on the menu. All their vegetables and meat are sourced locally and I can validate that they are as fresh as you can get.
~ 5 solid stars. I hope they continue to maintain this consistency over the years as their popularity increases day by day. Honest, authentic food, priced reasonably and a quirky, fun atmosphere combine for a sure win!
# 318

Got a call from my ex co worker inviting me out to lunch — but of course no co-​worker, let alone a natural blonde lady, would invite me out to lunch unless there was a catch –read on!
It’s the last week of October, and the wife and I are headed over to Zareens right over in the Shoreline Movie Theater complex in Mountain View on a Friday for a lunch date with my ex co workers. The wife comes along, more as my handler, as we read all these stories of how ex-​co workers have come back guns blazing.
We are there a few minutes before their 11:30am opening, waiting for the others to show up a few minutes late –but right on government time! They arrive in Ms Grand Cherokee’s brand new SUV –yes she’s from the industrial Midwest, as who else in the Bay Area would buy a gas guzzling Grand Cherokee?!
The others include The Boss, Mr. Mazda 6, aka the lunch driver, and of course our naturally blonde Ms Compliance Officer. They wanted to make sure Ms Compliance Officer was safe from ex-​employee like me going postal!
Friday 1130am, opening bell, and there’s nobody here– despite what I’ve read in earlier reviews. 14′ wide hole in the wall restaurant, with our 6 people taking up almost a third of the entire table spaces.
We go up to the counter, place our order, pay for our food, grab water and utensils, and wait for our food, just like in a fast food restaurant. Self service so no walk outs in this restaurant!
Books hanging from the walls, more for design than to pass the time away, with compliments from customers on the food, some in Asian Indian dialects. Thought I would add to the compliments by writing ‘For a good time call Jennifer at 650-​xxx-​xxxx’!
Service is quick as there is no line, and food arrives in about 7 minutes.
I get the Tikka Chicken Marsala, which comes on a large circular tray, with bread, vegetables of diced carrots, tomatoes, and white onions, and a lentil slurry. The chicken Marsala is delicious, but the quantity of chicken is just average, as most of the dish is the sauce and potatoes.
The wife gets the chicken Madras, which is spicier, but comes in a red sauce, with similar side dishes as mine.
I finish everything on the plate, including the vegetables and lentil sauce –well presented and very tasty. Average quantity for a $ 10 dish.
Meanwhile Mr. Mazda 6, like the bachelor that he is, finishes his chicken, but leaves the vegetables, and lentils –no Mommy here to make him eat his vegetables!
Lunch finished, the wife and I head over to my former workplace, to clear out two refrigerators for cleaning –nobody wanted to do the job, and so Ms Compliance Officier paid for my meal.
This was in late October, and I haven’t been invited back –apparently I didn’t meet the minimum work dress code, with my shorts and Joseph Seibel ‘Debra’ sandals. No worries as the wet cold weather has put an end to that. Or they were waiting to see who I would embarrass in my latest review of going out with ex-​work mates. Couldn’t be the curry smell in my clothes and hair!
Come here during rush hour, or while there is a concert playing, and you may not be able to get in or out, especially to/​from south 101, due to the monumental traffic to and from Google, LinkedIn, and the 18,000 seat Shoreline amphitheater!
Wife goes home and has an extended bathroom stay –she likes Asian Indian food, but not vice versa!

Great little hole-​in-​the-​wall place! Fast service, nice people, yummy food, fun décor, and free little cups of hot chai! The only negative thing was that since the place is so small, and there are always people coming in and out of the door (they do take out as well as sit down), I was freezing the whole time (we came on a winter night).
Anyway, I had the chicken tikka masala burrito, which was great! Just the right amount of spice, proper ratios of everything, and well constructed. I also tried the spiced fries, which came with a spicy mayo dip, and they were good as well.

yess! Walk into Zareen’s and you think you’ve entered a book store, or a nice cozy sidewalk café in Europe. but enter the smell and you realize you’re actually in the best Indian food place you’ve been to in awhile!
Zareen’s serves up some bomb chicken tikka marsala. Order the combo platter with the naan and grab some tea and a table. get comfortable, stay cozy, and great ready for some amazing indian flavors.

Absolutely love coming here either before I goto the movies or afterwards. The location is prime for all things cinema or amphitheatre related.
Their service is quick, so do not let the long queues deter you from coming.
Plenty of seating space ever since they somewhat expanded their spot, and also outside seating as well!
I love their mango laasi and chicken tikka, but everything they serve here is amazing! And don’t forget about the free chai tea that complements the rest of your meal.

I went here for the first time last night and it was delicious. It was busy but not overly crowded (Sunday, 7.15pm). You order at the counter and they serve the food. I had the chicken wrap (burrito) and it was delicious and huge. The right amount of spiciness and the warm sauce on the side was good too.
We were asked about if this is our first visit and I thought this is strange. But 3minutes later we got 2 complimentary mango lassis. Wow, thanks again, it was tasty too.
Overall a very good dining spot for a fast, cheap but fresh dinner when you are hungry.

I was taken to Zareen’s after fasting the entire day. This is an adorable little restaurant located near shoreline cinemas and shoreline amphitheater. The location makes it the perfect spot to grab a healthy meal before a concert or movie.
We ate chicken samosas, Punjabi chicken burger, shami kabob thali. The food was tasty, well spiced and filling. The books on the wall are a nice artistic touch.