Curry Up Now

I’m full and I’ve only had half of my rice bowl and rose-​mango lassi (delicious)!
Eli (the friendly cashier) led me in the right direction with the paneer rice bowl. It also has garbanzo beans and a touch of pico de gallo and pickled beets? I’m pretty sure it was beets. I inhaled them without investigation.
They don’t ask how spicy you want it. Just know you’ll need a piece of naan or a lassi to calm your fiery mouth.
Next time, I’m gonna try a naughty naan.
Super friendly and knowledgeable service. Good Indian food with some fun twists. And a mindful business: a tower of glasses (made of glass!) next to the soda fountain & sustainable to-​go cups.
And great music (MJ and Aretha are serenading me through my lunch).
Nice!

There is nothing wrong with some unpretentious, fast-​food-​style Indian diner. Located on Hamilton Curry Up Now serves the hungry for a small buck — main dishes and combo plates are around $ 10. Palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, basmati rice… you name it. Accompanied by a delicious mango lassi.
Good alternative to the more expensive food options on University.

Really enjoyed this place. Food was great and the service was quick. Definitely will be back with friends.

The Paneer Tikka Masala Burrito was delicious, and a delightful little fusion of Indian and Mexican food. A nice thing about the Paneer Tikka Masala Burrito was that the taste was uniform throughout the burrito, thanks to the «curry» nature of the filling, as opposed to regular burritos where individual fillings camp up in their own spots inside the burrito.
The Thali Platter had 3 vegetable entrees, 2 of them being curry based; both delicious. The Aloo Gobhi (cauliflower) vegetable entrée, though, was not good; it was so bland that it almost tasted like boiled cauliflowers. The portions in the platter were mostly satisfying, although I would suggest having an option to add another naan.

Very good curry. I love their cauliflower and vegetarian dishes. But you know– it’s spicy!!! Efficient service though!

I love that I can get my Indian food fix in the middle of PA. The 8 item Thali Platter with warm naan and fragrant basmati rice goes oh so well with the palak paneer and chicken tikka masala. There’s no talking, no holding hands, no romantic conversations. no conversations AT ALL when all I want to do is finish everything on my plate.
I’m a fan of the San Mateo location and this one too!

Love this joint! Been here couple of times. Food are so delicious. Totally recommend it for everyone who loves Indian food. Best thing about this place is «ALL OF THEIR MEAT IS HALAL». Thank you!!!

Cool clean place. The atmosphere is chill and the staff is very helpful and friendly. I got the Gobi Cauliflower Tikka Masala burrito and it was really tasty! It was a pretty good size too. Also their Mango lassi was pretty good. Overall this place is great and I recommend anybody around the area to check it out!

I’m a huge fan of curry up in general but I don’t like the food at this location. I would recommend going to the one in San Mateo if you really want to try their food. The menu is the same but the food tastes a lot better!

Larger menu than their food trucks. The gulab jamuns were pretty yummy with plenty of syrup. The samosas were great — good size, good fry. The tamarind and cilantro chutneys were great. Chai was delicious too. We were really happy with the thali platter. The chicken tikka had a good sauce and the cut of chicken was okay. I really liked the paneer saag. It was creamy and smooth. The naan was great too. Our server/​cashier person was super duper friendly. Nice roomy place with large tables.

Not great, and really expensive fast food.
Please do not get the fried ravioli. They are just tiny low quality fried mozzarella sticks in square shape.
The thali was okay. It was a lot of super heavy food — would be nice to have some greens in there.
Probably won’t return unless I’m really craving quick Indian meal.

If you come in here expecting any kind of authentic Indian food, street or otherwise, you’d be disappointed. Like many of the bad reviews below. I seriously have no idea how people can get so confused about what an establishment is trying to offer. Sure, you might get misled by the sub-​header «Indian Street Food» of their branding, but I am assuming one would be sane enough that once you are up at the counter and see Burrito on the menu you’d know you’re in for something else. Jesus.
Now, if you come in with the proper mentality, you’d be well pleased. First off, it’s downtown Palo Alto. Cheap, affordable, fairly nutritious (if not bordering on unhealthy), comforting, asian inspired cuisine is not easy to find unless you drive. Curry Up Now offers such a fix if you’re not ruling out indian spices.
Most of what I have from their menu is good as long as you manage you expectations as outlined above. I liked their burritos and quesadillas; the protein and the curry makes for a great alternative to conventional Mexican fare. Their Thali Combo offers an option for days when you are seriously hungry. My friends are also fans of their deconstructed samosas.
Sorry I’m not sorry if my reviews offend any natural South Asians. This establishment just isn’t representative of South Asian cuisine, and I think there’s nothing wrong with that. As an ethnic Chinese, I am also guilty of openly craving Orange Chicken on some days, so maybe I’m just crazy. Yay.

If you are trying Indian food for the first time.
PLEASE DONT START HERE. PLEASE!!!
The food is really not good. Definitely over priced especially given the low quality and tasteless food.
GOL GAPPA: a.k.a Pani Puri, these guys took it literally — served me Pani (water) and Puri. — tasteless. Paid $ 6 for that. So not worth it. I pointed it out they mixed some green chutney in the water.
THALI: is just slap on your face. You know when you don’t feeling like cooking but you are forced to cook. the outcome = this place’s THALI.

One of the worst Indian food I have eaten in a long time.
Pros:
Hmm.none
Cons:
Expensive
Stale food
Hard unpalatable rice
Super greasy oily
Non presentative of actual Indian street food
This place boasts of things it is not… try some much better restaurants in south or east bay like go chatz, dosa hut or Anand bhawan .or Mumbai chowk for chatz… AVOID this place or its food truck

It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Curry Up Now, and I had forgotten how much I like it! The restaurant itself is hip and edgy. You order and pay at the counter and they bring you your food, so it’s great for groups, despite the small seating area.
I normally get the chicken tikka masala burrito. The sauce saturates the rice and meat so the flavor profile is more uniform than a regular burrito, and it’s got a bit of a kick. This time though, I ordered the beef sexy fries and the quesadillix, both awesome. I haven’t gotten the quesadillix in awhile and I don’t think it used to come on a platter, but I liked the accompaniments. The sexy fries are waffle-​cut sweet potato fries loaded up with this yummy seasoned beef, peas, and onions. They also have a craft soda fountain and apparently it’s $ 2 for all-​you-​can-​drink soda. I thought the food was a little on the expensive side, but it’s way higher quality than typical fast food, so I’m not really complaining.

Curry Up Now is a pretty yummy place for a casual meal. Authentic Indian food? Hardly. But if you know that going in, you shouldn’t be disappointed.
I love the fun fusion menu items. My favorite go-​to is the deconstructed samosa. I just think it sounds cool, first of all, but it also tastes really good! I love the little mini samosas that come with the larger one. They’re a little pointless but I would be sad if they weren’t there. I’ve also gotten the burrito with the samosas inside, which is kind of the same thing in a different form. A little more aggressive though.

Parking: I’m usually in the area after 5PM– but if you’re here before 5PM, most of the spots for parking is a 2 hour limit, So if you’re in DTPA for long chit-​chat, no bueno. But after 5PM :) Park as long as you’d like (It’s nearby the Police Department, so you’re extra safer in regards to potential would-​be-​car-​thieves
Refreshment: just water in a cute little Curry Up Now mason jar
Dinner: Okay, their names are cute as hell for the foods.
— Punjabi by Nature: I got the chicken burrito, everything but the beans. At first I didn’t notice a little kick to it, then after awhile, my nose were just drippy. LOL But the burrito was delicious and the rice was the mushy softness that I liked. I would honestly go with a little less spinach next time though, after awhile I didn’t notice my chicken or rice, just the spinach.
— Hot Balls on Ice: the hot balls (Gulab Jamun) are dough soaked in honey. My friend recommended this item at another eatery awhile back, and I forgot how good it was! The ‘ice” is the ice cream-​ish part of the dessert. It’s a frozen dairy (Kulfi) — to me, I thought it was pistachio ice cream, had a crunch to it as well.
WiFi: I wouldn’t know, the only time I whipped out my phone was to take a picture of the Hot Balls on Ice.
Customer Service: the gentleman taking my order was kind, the phone was ringing and I had no idea what I wanted. He looked torn between helping an indecisive girl and the ringing phone. He struggled a lot longer than anyone else I knew. He eventually caved and asked if he could answer the phone. I waved him on and continued to not know what I want to eat.
** I have no idea if we’re supposed to pick up after ourselves or not. I was watching a movie on my tablet. So one of the guys came to see if I was okay, I told him I’m good, all done. He took the plate. But I do notice the plate/​cart for used dishes. Maybe we do clean up after ourselves? I’m still not sure, and it’s bugging me!

This is one of my all time favorite places… especially when I am craving a chicken tikka masala burrito… or a deconstructed samosa.
I finally branched out and had a quesadillix with aloo gobi… fantastic! Also, had the other half the next day and it was still awesome.
Great, friendly service… good choices, especially when you have a vegetarian with you.

Reasonably priced Indian dishes plus some Mexican favorites and a kids’ menu. Most dishes are different combinations of vegetable/​bean/​rice/​protein with naan or roti included. Their plain sweet potato waffle fries are delicious and crispy all by themselves but you can also add one of the lamb, chicken or beef toppings. Order at the counter and you will be served at your table.
Delicious meals without frills. It’s the friendly staff and modest prices that keep this place busy even though it’s not on the main business street.

What always drags me to Curry Up Now? Well, it’s their ‘Deconstructed Samosa Aloo Tikki’ with an added protein Paneer. It’s way TOO GOOD, if there is something more than heavenly then pick that word. It is always well prepared & is the most enjoyed chaat (it’s a hindi word describing savory snacks) that both my husband and I love to have it any number of times. It brings back our native memories, chaat craving days back in India.
Together, we’ve been to this place thrice already and it was our 4^th yesterday. We’ve tried almost all of their Veg menu except for ‘Thali Veg platter’ which we were pleased to try yesterday. I must say, it had great combo items with added Saag Panner — tasted out of the world & Gobi Cauliflower Tikka Masala. It comes along with white /​brown rice, a Naan — buttery & soft, papadum — crispy and veg salad (they usually serve pickles instead of veg salad, looks like they ran out of pickles for the day). I strongly recommend one to choose white rice instead of brown as it blends well with the sides (saag panner/​gobi cauliflower tikka masala/​chick peas variety) & gives you the true Indian flavored feeling. Overall, it was certainly decent.
Now comes the dessert part. Whenever we hit this restaurant, we won’t miss to choose their ‘Hot balls on Ice’ which is ‘Hot Gulab Jamuns with vanilla ice cream’. It’s THE BEST every time, any day. Gulab Jamuns are nicely made with Rose flavor essence, very soft & melts-​in-​mouth the moment you have it in your mouth. The vanilla ice cream comes with pistachio topping which completes the taste deliciously. And this is exactly how My Mom & Grandma used to make for me. It’s an absolute treat to get reminded of my good old home memories whenever I have this dessert.
Other scoring factors are 1) appreciable service & staff 2) Moderate Pricing.
Food is served very fast. The staff at the counter is friendly. The place is kept clean. The price per person will range between $ 11-​$ 30.
I highly recommend Curry Up Now & will be back as always !