Lahore Deli

Good cheap eat, however food is pretty mild for indian taste buds. This is literally a hole in the wall place, somewhat hidden after the famous housing works book store. Its quite easy to miss the store while walking on Crosby street .
Usually they have a spread of veggie entrees and checked biriyani. I had kebabs which were ok, and so where the Samosas and chole, however the star is the CHAI.
The only issue is you need to come here with cash and be prepared to wait in a queue during the peak hours. Has an A sanitation grade and you can enjoy a good meal below 10 bucks.

In NYC for the weekend and generally hungry all the time, I decided to pop into Lahore Deli and grab a samosa or two. Lahore deli is the absolute definition of a hole in the wall, its nothing more than a tiny little room with one guy behind the counter and a dilapidated display case with food in it. I was in in love the minute I walked in. The Urdu was going strong and taxi drivers were going in and out of the shop. I thought I had stumbled upon a real gem. I was sorely mistaken. The samosas were kind of sad looking sitting at the bottom of the display and looked like they had been there for a day or two. I asked the guy behind counter and he confirmed that they were made the day before. I ordered one just for the hell of it and was appalled when he put it in a plastic bag and popped it in the microwave. 20 seconds and 1 dollar later, I had a soggy stale tasting samosa all to myself. The seasoning was marvelous and I know for a fact had he not microwaved the damn thing and just toasted it it could have been an entirely new experience. Unfortunately I could taste its age, and the old oil mixed in with spice was borderline horrifying. The samosa was only a dollar so maybe if you go to Lahore Deli at the right time and get a fresh samosa it might be worth your time. I was sorry I stopped here and spoiled my appetite in the greatest city in the world surrounded by the best food you could ask for. 2 stars because I saw potential.

The food was not bad but it also wasn’t the best.
When I first walked into this hole-​in-​the-​wall, I thought it smelled delicious in a very pungent way. I ordered lamb on top of the seasoned rice. He said it would be spicy but I didn’t really taste anything of the sort. The food ended up tasting good but it wasn’t anything that I would crave or willingly get again. I’m glad I tried this place out because it was tasty, but I probably won’t be coming back for more only because calories are precious and shouldn’t be wasted on mediocre food… in my opinion anyway. A lot of people seem to like this place so you should definitely at least try it anyway.

Do yourself a favor and try the food at Lahore! Don’t let the tiny space with barely no seats scare you. The food is so good (ok, I don’t understand much about pakistani food) and dirt cheap (where else you can get lunch for as little as $ 3 in Soho?).

This is the kind of place that makes me happy to live in New York City. $ 6 for a delicious quick meal (and authentic I’m told) and $ 1.50 for a chai. You’ll never know about it unless you’re in the loop or find it here on Unilocal.Let’s hope the landlord doesn’t try to pull any funny business w/​raising the lease. It’s happening everywhere else. Long live Lahore Deli.

A fun random find while walking by. The chai is good, but let’s slow down on it being amazing. And I tried the samosa just because, not great (and microwaved). But a fun little spot that smells delicious.

Hidden gem with incredible prices. Samosa w/​lentils and chutney for $ 3 is one of the best values in the city. Limited seating inside, but some parks nearby.

I’m from Lahore (born and raised) so to see a place like this was great. I take my caucasian friend here all the time and he loves it! Simply put, you cant beat the price for how much food you get? Is it the best Pakistani food in town? Probably not. But its still very authentic and definitely Pakistani.
Oh and the tea (chai) is the best you’ll have in the city and that too for dirt cheap. I dont hold its «hole in the wall» location/​décor against it because its not like you shouldn’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Just get your food, find some space if you can. If not, just take it home and have the chai outside the restaurant. Great place.

They’re out of half the menu most of the time but just look in the hot case and point. I tried the lamb curry over rice last time. Keep in mind that most of the meat dishes are bone in, which I like but can bother people who aren’t used to it. Also try the samosa with sauce and chickpeas, that is the most filling meal you can get in the whole city for like $ 3.50. 5 stars on value alone.
For those who are apprehensive about the quality of the food, imagine this: Taxi drivers buy from here, and then go back and sit in their taxi and drive for 6+ more hours. If it screwed with them, they wouldn’t be able to keep coming back here!

Yum yum yum! Discovered this little hole in the wall by accident after someone with purpose walked in. I say «with purpose» because he looked like a local and had the confidence of someone who knows good food.
Lahore Deli is more of a takeaway place though there are bar– styled seats for the lone traveller (like me). They serve meat (chicken and goat) and vegetarian (lentils, chickpeas, spinach) meals. I chose the goat with rice (small) meal and it costs only $ 5. The long grained basmati rice is cooked beautifully and the goat is cooked kurma style so it isn’t spicy. If you’re not a big eater like myself, this meal is just the right size. On the side, you can also add for free some acar (pickled vegetables) to your meal. Be warned though, acar is quite an acquired taste! Some find it too sour and salty but I think it complements most curry or kurma meals beautifully.
This isn’t a fancy joint and perhaps doesn’t quite fit in to the neighborhood but I believe this is exactly what makes it pretty awesome. It’s affordable, tasty and pretty authentic to say the least. Looking at these guys, I don’t think they’d change their recipes anytime soon which makes it awesome as I always find traditional recipes make the most authentic meals.

Best chai in the city. I would recommend this to anyone looking for amazing tea. Everyone working here is friendly and it’s a great hole in the wall.

Oh man. What a find! It’s definitely a tucked-​away-​in-​the-​corner gem of deliciousness… and one worth looking for.
The biriyani was sold out by the time I stopped by on a Friday evening, so I opted for the chicken over rice and a samosa. Just $ 7 for a spectacular and filling dinner. If I was in the area more often, I’d make this a regular pit stop. It’s that good.
Someone after me ordered a chai and it smelled divine. Next time I’m getting here earlier and most certainly ordering a chai to-​go.

Lately, this rugged hole in the wall with a filthy-​looking inside has to be one of my favorite spots downtown and one of the few honest place available in Soho (at least that I know of).
Food doesn’t appear all that fresh as it seems all pre-​made, but for some inexplicable reason carries tremendous flavor. Both the Chicken & Goat curries are the right amount of spicy and the meat is very tender don’t ask me how. I’ve also had not-​always-​there items like the roasted Chicken Leg (pretty decent) and the spiced Fish Fillet (a little dry and salty). Their Samosas are available year-​round and are ok if you’re super hungry or in the mood for a quick snack.
You can tell by the lack of Soho-​types wandering through here, how good this food must be.

The food is exceptional and authentic and very inexpensive. I recommend the 2 vegetable samosas with lentil chutney. Ask for the sweet sauce and yogurt. They make the chutney even more amazing! Also order the sweet tea. Its chai in its heavenly form!
The space is very small with only 3 chairs. Dont let that stop you! If there are seats available, great! If not, grab some delicious Pakistani food and cop a squat at a nearby park.

4* for the samosa — it is spicy and flavorful
3* for lamb curry and rice. Don’t get the chicken kabeb burger — patty made from ground meat so texture is not great.

Cheap and tasty indian food. Lamb Biryani with that spinach thing. SO GOOD! My apologies for typing like a barbarian.
There’s not much space, just a couple of seats. Well, it’s not a restaurant really. You won’t get that experience. It’s more of a cheap on-​the-​go option, but quite nice. It’s preferable to halal food in that you could actually sit down and eat inside. And they give you tap water.
Cashier was friendly as well

Well the search is over. This place serves up some seriously delicious Pakistani/​Indian food at incredibly cheap prices. I don’t think it would be possible to have a smaller restaurant but they have managed to squeeze it in.
The portions are huge, the food is spicy, and the people who work there are incredibly friendly. Highly recommend the samosa with chickpeas, yogurt sauce and sweet sauce it is absolutely delicious, 3 dollars, and super filling. Highly recommended

In NYC a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of rent –
– and I can’t figure out how Lahore Deli can afford theirs, in SoHo of all places, while never raising prices. Granted, this very hidden hole in the wall is barely more than 100 square feet, and it’s a popular spot for cabbies filling up at the gas station across the street.
Really, the vegetable samosas are worse than any I’ve had — flat, soggy, greasy, with a crumbly potato filling that might be considered too generous with coriander seed and ginger. They’re probably fried off-​site, and therefore arrive to you hopelessly wilted. Everything gets popped in the microwave for serving.
…But as contextualists might say, the mediocrity of the food is unimportant. SoHo otherwise mostly lacks cheap, non-​fussy, non-​tourist-​trap food, and Indian cuisine has an inherently high baseline for deliciousness. I’ve been coming here for a few years now, after a fateful bout of ravenousness while waiting on line in front of Housing Works Bookstore (
) for an event. And I’m going to keep eating these veggie samosas, because I have $ 3 in my wallet and a little bitterness about otherwise spending 6 bucks on a couple of churros (cf.
).
It’s a very cramped space, not recommended for the very tall or very wide, with a few barstools for lingerers. A short menu is posted on the wall (listing each vegetable samosa at $ 1, but they really charge $ 1.50). For those with less tested palates, you can buy packets of Pepto Bismol arranged along on the wall! But don’t worry, the food has never made me sick.

I prefer the Pakistani Tea house but they’re not so close to each other in distance that you shouldn’t just go to whichever one is closer. My small chicken plate came with chicken and dal over rice. They add some oil to the rice making it extra savory and the chicken and dal are well spiced with a little heat.
The samosa I had kinda sucked. I mean they’re gonna get soggy when you microwave them. Facts. So don’t do it. If I wanted to eat a soggy samosa I’d save the carbs and oil and just eat the potatoes and peas.

This place is as discreet as entering Diagon Alley. I really thought we would have to knock on some bricks to find it, but alas, we didn’t.
After reading about this place on Unilocal,I was determined to stop by there while exploring SoHo. It’s very easy to find if you have the address on your smartphone, since the place itself isn’t that visible apart from its menu hanging from the window. It’s right next to the Housing Works Bookstore. What you can expect when you enter: tiny little place with about four stools, a bathroom, and a selection of hot, piping food ready to sizzle your palate.
And oh, the food. Who cares about space when you have savory goodness? We made the bold move of staying in and found ourselves wolfing it down in seconds. We had the rice with goat and the meat was so tender, juicy, with just the right amount of spice. The yogurt sauce added that extra kick and the rice was so moist. Although I do like extremely spicy food, I think the food was perfect for any New Yorker who didn’t grow up eating chili peppers on a daily basis. I definitely preferred the freshly made dish to the microwaved chicken patty, which tasted more like a fluffy croissant with meat stuffed in. The chicken patty wasn’t bad, but it definitely doesn’t compare to the rest of their meat and rice entrees.
Hands down, probably the most affordable place in SoHo which might be why it’s so hidden. The $ 1 vegetable samosa was delicious and the cheap chai was exactly what I needed for a cold day. The service was very friendly and helpful.
As my boyfriend said while we were leaving, «That was some Harry Potter shit right there.» Magical indeed.
Will definitely come again… if I can remember the right bricks to tap.