Indian Oven Restaurant

Doesn't Recommend

vprashant

Joined 8 years ago

Egregious service, average food. I went with many expectations. I have sampled indian food from almost all good restaurants in the south bay and the city and I wanted to know what the noise about this place was all about. I expected a wait, so the half an hour wait was not a bad start. But the services was absolutely 3rd rate. It took almost an hour and when the food arrived, it was as if they had forgotten about the order and had created a bad concoction in a hurry. The taste was average and the after-effects (within 10 minutes of leaving the restaurant) were terrible.

I think the restaurant is frequented mostly by non-indians who do not often have a good idea of what authentic indian food is. This place merely rides on the reputation which it has and absolutely does not deserve to be in the "Best of CitySearch".

Recommends

Joanna Currier

Joined 8 years ago

A popular choice for Indian in the Lower Haight.. In Short
With a reputation built on strong word-of-mouth and several local awards, this slightly upscale, white-tablecloth restaurant reigns as the most sought-after Northern Indian cuisine in the Haight district. Regulars favor the tandoori -- or clay oven -- dishes which feature bubbling, baked, marinated chicken, lamb and seafood. Spicy curries, ample vegetarian options and plentiful naan keep lines out the door, despite slightly higher prices than surrounding Indian restaurants.

Recommends

shawnleslie

Joined 10 years ago

Good food, horrendous service. In spite of making reservations, our party of six was forced to wait for 45 minutes (with no apology!); we were told, each time we went to check on our table, that they were cleaning it. Once we were seated, it took almost an hour to get our food. They forgot one of our salads (and then just brought it with the main courses once reminded). The interesting thing is that, in spite of waiting an hour for our food, the waiter was mysteriously able to replace a dish within five minutes after dragging his sleeve through the sauce (and being asked to take it away). While the food was good, the service was SO bad that I would recommend going to any of the hundreds of other indian restaurants in the city.

Recommends

lyrics_song

Joined 8 years ago

Absolutely delicious!. I took a couple of friends here for New Years Eve. We made reservations so seating was prompt. Service was decent. The waiter came to check up on us several times to make sure that things were okay and even suggested some dishes that turned out to be delicious! We had the combo tandori dish as our starter. The lamb was delicious and tender; the chicken tikki was heaven. The curry was also really good. The best thing I had that night was the Onion Naan. It was amazing!! Will definitely be visiting again.

Recommends

thermador

Joined 9 years ago

Good/great food; service is marginal. I've never been to India so I don't know how "authentic" Indian food should taste. I've been to several Indian restaurants around the Bay Area and this one I like (a lot). I'm a bread lover and their naan is wonderful, even when its past "slightly" burned! The sauces have been great - not runny or too thin, but with just enough texture to hold together. My lamb hasn't been overcooked (but my chicken was) and the eggplant and the mixed vegtables in the garlic sauce have been awesome - great flavor.

Service is routine to rude; the place is too cramped (tables are too close together); upstairs is often stuffy; the table near the front door just past the partition is a joke: that has to be the WORST restaurant table I've ever seen! And, unfortunately, there are just too many parents with their kids and strollers!

Doesn't Recommend

sacrilicious13

Joined 9 years ago

Why the hype?. The decor is nice, but that's all that impresses about this place. The food doesn't taste authentic and the service is indifferent to rude. There are so many much better Indian restaurants in the 'hood (including the venerable Raja, the brand new and delicious Rotee, and the cute and convenient Naan 'n' Chutney) that there's no reason to waste your valuable meal dollars on this mediocre offering.

Recommends

aniam

Joined 9 years ago

Best Consistent Indian food in SF. This place is very reliable for the best Indian food in SF. The staff is very friendly and make you feel welcome, especially if you go there a lot.

It's worth waiting for a table downstairs. The upstairs area does not have as nice of an atmosphere.

Doesn't Recommend

satsuma

Joined 9 years ago

Worst food & service I ever had. The Indian oven is an enigma to me as it seems to get high ratings from all around. This is by far the worst curry I've ever had, and so confused, I've been back 3 times to confirm that it is truly awful. There are so many better curry houses in the city, that are far nicer and far cheaper.

Not content with terrible food the service is bad too, once is forgivable, but not two out of the three times I've been. Last time we had to wait 30 minutes to get food and then a further 20 minutes while it arrives in dribs and drabs, without reason or apology.

Doesn't Recommend

sfgurl02

Joined 10 years ago

Never Going Back Again. Okay, the fish tandoori, seafood curry, rice, and naan were really good, but it took them 30 minutes to serve our food. And someone that came after us got her food before we did. If you want value for your dollar, don't go here...try Naan 'N Curry instead!

Recommends

ceestarr

Joined 10 years ago

yummers. I thought this place was really tasty. More money than i normally pay when i go out to eat, but it's a nice place to go when we have visitors. Weekends are BUSY! That's always a good sign.