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I had to review Cafe Raj, especially if we go there at least once a month... :) Since we've been there, we have ordered the same entree and appetizers - Chicken Tikka Masala, Garlic Naan, Rice, and samosas in that green sauce! ALL yummy and have been consistent every time we go there!
Everything taste so fresh, service is always awesome, and the affordable price makes it all GREAT!
Came here last night for dinner with a friend. It wasn't our first choice, but it opened earlier than the one we had planned on meeting at. Here is the breakdown:
4 Stars - their hours. For those of us who like to dine a little earlier, it opens at 5:00 p.m. rather than some others that open at 5:30 p.m. for dinner.
3 Stars - food was okay. We ordered the Lamb Vindaloo and Aloo Gobi with naan and shared both dishes. I thought there was too much sauce and although we asked for it medium spicy, I didn't think it was spicy enough.
2 Stars - the gnats. Ick...flying around our food. Fortunately my friend had good reflexes and caught some...and he was ever the gentleman to suggest that I not continue eating when one landed in my food :-p
There are a lot of Indian/Pakastani restaurants in the Albany/Berkeley area. We intend to try some others as this area is ideal for us to meet mid-week since my friend lives in the City and I live in the East Bay.
Pretty dang good, and the price is certainly right. I ordered the chicken korma, and while I enjoyed the dish, I'm not sure it was really korma based upon all the times I've had it in the past. I'm a huge fan of chapati, but the version at Cafe Raj was somewhat dry.
I think the best part of the experience was seeing my boyfriend's face when he tried a salt lassi for the first time - so hilarious. I've never seen his face contort like that before. Let's just say it wasn't his favorite!
Overall, I think the food was so-so here, but would be willing to give it a try again in the future.
Yelp reviews seemed to like Cafe Raj and non-Yelpers have recommended it to me but I just wasn't impressed. I wondered whether it was because I requested the butter chicken to be mild. Though the chicken was tender, there was just no flavor. For appetizers, we ordered the vegetable samosa. No complaints there. Husband ordered chicken tikka which i tasted. He liked it. I thought it was ok. Service and prices were fine. Overall, I just wasn't impressed with the food. It's a 50/50 chance that I'll return.
Not a big fan of this place. The food isn't anything special. The service is quite bad. I don't know if it was just a bad day, but our waiter messed up our order twice and wasn't even that apologetic. The naan was good, but the paneer tasted terrible. It was easily the worst paneer I've ever tasted.
Cafe Raj is my local go-to place for Northern Indian and Pakistani food. The best thing about this place is that if you request your food "spicy" they will actually make it spicy. Since I like my food with extra heat, it really is a perfect place.
If you take a peek back into the kitchen you will see an army of women in beautiful saris cooking up your food. The food doesn't come out incredibly fast, but good food usually isn't incredibly fast. The service is friendly and the food is solid (and spicy if you request it).
I've always considered this place to be very good for its veggie Indian dishes. Which means, that with a carnivore for a husband, I don't get to frequent this place very much.
But when I do, there is no question about what my favorite, favoritest dish is here: the kofta mahlai. Those lovely little saffron covered veggie balls in that creamy yummy sauce, happily yielding to the gentle but firm weight of my spoon- yes I prefer eating with a spoon, it's a curry- slowly entering its gooshy gooshy inner goodness. I am already savoring them as I wait to be seated.
But then I remember. I have a carnivore husband.
At the table. Silent scanning of the menu. A look of hopefulness emanating from him...
Having no obvious meat dish recommendations for him, I let him choose anything, at random. "I want to try the lamb vindaloo," he eagerly suggested. "Vindaloo?" I counter with a quizzical look on my face. "Vindaloo," he confirms.
I think- I hope he is not disappointed.
And he wasn't, and neither was I! It was nice and spicy. We ordered the dish "spicy" which white folks are usually advised not to. Not being white, we cheerfully ignored the advice. Some of us like it hot.
Oh, and they didn't charge extra for brown rice. And the desserts- the kheer in particular, is decadently delicious.
So lucky to be able to walk to this restaurant. Thanks Raj!
I love this restaurant and eat here a few times a year.
The food is consistently delicious and as other reviewers say they will give you spicy food if you ask. Very cool. It makes you feel like they trust you with the real stuff. I love the Kofta Mahlai, a veggie dish of large veggie balls in a rich sauce. My kids adore butter chicken and the samoas. In my opinion, the Indian food at Cafe Raj has a clarity and just rightness I haven't found at other places.
Decor is simple, restaurant clean and the service is friendly.
IT's my favorite Indian Restuarant in the east bay! The chicken tikka masala is a favorite of mine! The rice is good and the Naan bread is DELICIOUS! Small cute little place, it hits the spot!
I think Indian food is a very misunderstood cuisine, at least it was to me. I must admit that before I always turned away Indian food, mainly because I couldn't handle such a potent smell, and never even bothered giving it a chance. Boy was I wrong! This is only my third time eating Indian food but I love it! I have always been a fan of Thai curry but I think Indian curry is so much better and the meats are so much more tender.
I came back to Albany yesterday to have dinner with my parents and we were going to eat at Sushi Solano because I had a gift certificate for it but it was closed! My mom suggested we come try Cafe Raj because she has always passed by here on her walks and she said it is always extremely packed. Like myself before, my dad was a little hesitant too but once I expressed how much I like Indian food now, he agreed to go too.
All three of us are totally new to the menu and didn't know what to order, but I think we chose some pretty delicious things. We ordered the CHICKEN VINDALOO (boneless chicken and potato with a spicy pepper sauce) LAMB SAAG (boneless lamb and spinach curry) and MUCHLI SHAI KORMA (mahi mahi in a curry saffron sauce with almonds, pistachio, and cashews) Each dish comes with either white/brown rice or naan bread. All three dishes were VERY good but I LOVED the lamb and mahi mahi. The lamb was extremely tender and the spinach so soft and good. The mahi mahi melted in your mouth and the sauce, that I can just put on everything! I ordered a KEEMA NAAN (naan stuffed with spice beef) to go for my roommate because she loves naan. Based on the description, I thought it would be naan stuffed with chunks of beef, but it looked more of a beef paste? Nonetheless it was still good.
My mom had told me that Cafe Raj used to be a really small restaurant and throughout the years, it expanded twice its size. I'm not surprised. It's a great little restaurant with great service hidden in my little hometown. I'll definitely come back!
We were craving Indian food so we looked up Indian food on Yelp and saw great reviews about this place. Good pick everyone. I'm not too familiar with Indian food except for the basics such as chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken so I think I'm gonna close my eyes and point at something on the menu when they take my order next time. I'm sure whatever I end up with will be good.
I love this place- is casual and kid friendly. The service is good. Moreover if you ask for super spicy hot it really is hot! But they do milds that are mild enough for the kids.
Visited these folks on a weekday for lunch - the Beef Samosa was very nice, I had some dal and also a "Chicken Curry' that was basic, flavorful and spiced appropriately for a first visit.
The service was appropriate for casual lunch, the setting was clean and pleasant, and I'd eat here again without hesitation.
Café Raz was a surprise find - and while the sparse decor and lo-fi vibe is upfront at first, giant dishes of great food await in the kitchen at a price anyone can afford.
First, to the food: Chicken Tikka Masala stood out for it's giant pieces of grilled white meat breast and thick, tomatoey sauce. The Malai Kofta were also huge, with an almond-butter smoothness. The basamati rice - eschewing the yellow saffron bits for simple nakedness - was flavorful (although a bit too buttery). We ordered a cheese naan too, and it tasted great despite being "wetter" than other naan. (note: I prefer fluffy, large naan without any butter at all - this naan had a ton of butter on it, and I had to use my silverware to eat it - but it was still tasty all the same)
If I had to be 100% honest, Cafe Raj might fall closer to a 3.5 - but the service, amount of food, quality, and price make this a great choice any time of the week. Check it out!
This place is fantastic!
The service is fast and friendly and engaging and the food is delicious.
Their menu is varied enough to satisfy a variety of food preferences:
vegetarian and vegan, non-vegetarian and grilled meat.
There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant but we've never had trouble finding street parking.
*Butter chicken: Tandoori grilled boneless chicken breast in a tomato-saffron masala, with almond milk, slivered almonds, and raisins.
Lush, buttery, milk tender meat.
*Aloo-Keema: Spiced ground beef and potato.
A huge portion of nicely flavored ground beef. When you get spicy, it is. The good kind of spicy. Warm and flavorful and just slightly painful.
*Sahbsi Masala: Pureed mustard greens, broccoli, and spinach in a tomato-ginger garlic curry.
All sorts of green goodness in one fell swoop.
*Vegetable and chicken pakoras:
Tasty little battered nuggets. These aren't too oily and the accompanying chutneys cut down the richness even more.
*Garlic naan:
Abundantly garlic laced naan is a perfect compliment to the curry.
I often forget about this restaurant. This section of Albany is kind of sleepy and quiet to me. But when I do make it out here, I'm always so happy that this place exists.
I LOVE Cafe Raj. In fact, we ate here just a few days ago. We must have been to this place at least 1/2 dozen times.
The wait staff love our toddler boy and he loves their naan. We tried the cheese naan for the first time a few days ago and DUDE, I am so hating the fact that I have gestational diabetes because that stuff is soooooooooo good. After I give birth, I'm going to come here and order two cheese naans and eat to my heart's content.
I miss Cafe Raj so much.
Samosas are delicate, not too greasy, but crisp.
Naan is sooo awesome, perfect texture of flaky and chewy. The whole wheat and garlic naan are my favorite.
The dishes are spiced just right, and the meats are tender, moist, and cooked just right. The chicken tikka masala and daal entrees are my favorite.
Mango lassi is not too sweet and not too thick or thin.
Service is great. The ladies there are warm and attentive.
Nice small Indian/Pakistani restaurant. The menu offers a lot of selection and the food is reasonably priced.
We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Chana Masala, Tandoori Mahi-Mahi, and Chicken Vindaloo. We also started with Chicken Pakoras for our appetizer.
The Chicken Pakoras were delicious - the chicken tasted juicy and fresh. However, the mint chutney it came with was watery and bland.
The Tandoori Mahi-Mahi was a generous portion of fish, however it was not well marinated and it was served with the same bland, watery mint chutney.
The Tikka Masala and the Vindaloo were pretty good - their texture could have been a little smoother, but the flavors were definitely good.
I capped off my dinner with some Masala Chai, which was very good - however, they did not bring me a spoon to stir in my sugar so I had to swipe one off an empty table nearby.
The service was friendly, but not very competent. When I needed them (as in the spoon/tea incident above), they were not around. When I was mid-conversation with my dinner companions, they were interrupting me to ask me if everything was okay. Pay attention, people!
Overall, good food for a reasonable price but definitely not a destination restaurant.
On a chilly Monday evening, I thought I wanted sushi until I realized that (A) sushi is cold, and (B) most Japanese restaurants are closed on Mondays. Since I was already on Solano, I wanted something nearby and remembered enjoying Café Raj during the Solano Stroll. Hot, spicy curry sounded perfect.
The saffron walls and traditional Indian paintings created a warm, pleasant atmosphere, though it was a little odd to be facing a scene from the Kama Sutra during dinner. My lamb saag (grilled lamb curry with spinach) was quite tasty, though I wasn't overly impressed with the basmati rice - a bit flavorless, it was more of a carrier and counterpoint for the curry. Feeling adventurous, I ordered it "spicy" despite the server's concern for my well-being. It had definite kick, but if you really like spicy, this won't do it for you - my eyes weren't watering and I could still feel my tongue afterward. The whole-wheat naan was ok, but not especially savory. I'm not sure what variety of tea is used as the base for the chai, as it tasted more bitter than most I've had. Overall, the food was tasty and satisfying, and the prices were very good. I'm looking forward to eating my leftovers for lunch, and I may well swing in for apps again sometime.
I took the opportunity to sample their fare during the Solano Stroll, and it was sufficiently tasty… Read more »
Before I get to the food at Cafe Raj, I first have to explain that for the last week, doing my paperwork (i.e. opening my bills and rending my garments) has been my NUMBER ONE TOP PRIORITY "MUST DO THIS BEFORE I DO ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS LIST"
Which is why I have been a) exercising two times a day b) weeding my front yard c) doing laundry, including the hand-washables d) helping other people buy clothing for their college reunions and e) reading SELF magazine from cover to cover. As my bf is fond of saying, WTF?
So tonight, realizing that it was time to face reality, I made this little bargain with myself: I will treat myself to dinner out, but only if I open and actually deal with my mail. My criteria was tasty food, not expensive, casual, not greasy, and they won't give the single diner the bum's rush.
Cafe Raj just so happens to meet all the above criteria. I pulled out all my bills and papers and they took my order. Then I started opening and sorting. They brought my appetizer and a glass of wine. In between tearing up checks from predatory lenders and tossing the 2,314 Bed Bath and Beyond coupons I received in the last week, I sipped on wine and munched on a samosa. I dined on aloo saag (spinach and potato) basmati rice, chappati, and tandoori chicken. By the end of my dinner, which was delicious, I had a pile of trash, a stack of bills to pay, another stack labeled "ignore until they send the pink ones," and a little pile of papers I like to call "miscellaneous." I'm partial to keeping those in my purse until they are completely crumpled or no longer relevant *whichever comes first.*
The waitresses are efficient and friendly. If you ask for your dish very spicy you will get it. The food is not too oily and is consistently good. Their portions are generous and I never fall out my chair when the bill comes.
So, I'm full and happy. Citibank will avoid bankruptcy once again now that my finance charge payment is on the way. And I hope Wachovia enjoys their envelope with the extra bonus splash of spinach and chutney. I threw that in for free. What can I say? I'm a giver.
You know how sometimes when you go into a place where you can choose your level of spiciness (i.e. Korean, Thai, Indian) and you tell the server "spicy" and they give you some watered down Anglicized version of spicy that barely causes your tongue to tingle?
I totally hate that.
My friend Maddy told me the secret to getting it as spicy as I want it is to look the server dead in the eye, make my eyes big, and go "SPICY". I tried that this evening at Cafe Raj.
Yeah, it totally works. My "SPICY" chicken tikka masala caused me to perspire. They serve a huge portion of white basmati rice (you can choose from brown or white basmati, chapati, or plain naan) with each curry entree. Their garlic naan isn't quite as garlicky as I prefer, but it was really good.
Great spot for late(r) night dining - they close at 11pm on the weekends.
Cafe Raj serves great Indian food for decent prices. I really enjoyed my mango lassi - it was exceptionally good. All of the food was fantastic and the service was friendly. I think I will make this place my go-to Indian restaurant from now on.
I think this place is fabulous! Great Indian food! The Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the best! It has a Masala not as creamy as the House of Curries version. Nice ambiance. Nice location. FANTASTIC GARLIC AND PLAIN NAAN!
Ok, so I am biased, because I used to work here, but I think the fact that I ate food from Cafe Raj at least 3 times a week for over a year, and still go back at least once a week should say something. This place rocks - the food is always good, the service attentive and lovely. The owners are amazingly sweet.
My recommendations:
Mater Paneer, mmm
Cheese naan
Butter Chicken
Veggie samosas
They also have the best gulab jamun I have tried.
This would be a five star restaurant but the service was so incredibly bad that it can't score above average. They brought someone else's food to our table. They brought the wrong dishes for the wrong people. They never brought my friend his second beer. They screwed up the check. Wow. Looks like their waitstaff chose the wrong week to stop using black tar heroin. They were SO disorganized, it was too frustrating. Though the food was delicious, we won't return.
I've been going to Cafe Raj ever since it opened and the food has always been stellar. It is family owned and runned which I love. Get the butter chicken - it is the best I've ever had!
This is how dumb I can sometimes be: I ordered my food "spicy plus plus" thinking it was the middle option on a three-plus spiciness scale. In reality it's closer to a nine out of a possible ten. This is how dumb my friend can sometimes be: he ordered his meal spicy plus plus because he didn't want to be showed up.
In between the resultant fits of internal bleeding and my face catching fire, we enjoyed a great Indian meal. I hear from Indian friends that the average Indian dish around here is too oily, but Raj takes pains (and says so on their menu) to limit the oil and ghee they put into their meals. Dishes are supposedly made to order, and some healthier options are available, like basmati rice.
The samosas may have been a little dry, and my friend gave the spinach and lentil soup a subpar reception, but the saag and vindaloo were excellent. Great lassi too. Not much ambience in here -- no real separation between kitchen and dining area -- but the waitstaff were very friendly and the food came quickly.
I would put more of a 3.7 rating, so I'll just round up. I had an enjoyable time here eating a semi-late dinner. The place remained lively (albeit not packed on a Monday night) and we were seated and served promptly as well. The food was good, things tasted legit, and it had that addictive quality that all good Indian food has - you know, that feeling that you just wanna keep soppin' up all the sauce with your rice or naan. I didn't get a chance to fully investigate the menu, but it was full of what you'd expect with the masalas, tandooris, samosas, etc.
I would say that the prices are teetering on the expensive side, but that's just coming from someone who usually eats Indian food as a quick or lunch thing.
One of the better samosas I've ever had, a good start. The garlic naan actually had the garlic as a filling so it wasn't messy like some places I've been to with the garlic on the outside. The veggie biriani and bindi (okra) is very good, and the tandoori chicken was very flavorful and delish. A nice homemade feel to the dishes.
I am a channa masala freak and order it at every new Indian restaurant I go to. Now I've had enough channa masala to know that it's not always vegan so I usually ask to clarify as some places add cream or ghee to the dish.
Cafe Raj thoroughly confused the shit out of me. For starters-online they have a vegetarian/vegan menu but then you get to the restaurant and you're on your own. You're given one big menu with no asterisks, vegan leaves (a la Flavors of India), not even a little carrot or pea pod to note what the vegan dishes are.
So I ask if the channa masla is vegan. The beautiful server looks me dead in the eye and says, "No. There's no vegan in it." I ask again and get the same response. Now I'm thinking to myself, does she think vegan is a type of poultry or seafood? Are there dishes served at Cafe Raj that actually have vegan in them? And if so, are they vegan???? These are the questions that keep me up at night.
But we ordered it because she was certain that they don't use cream or butter in their masala sauce. We also ordered the veggie samosas to start out with along with the Vegetable Shai Korma (mixed veggies in curry with almonds, pistachios, and cashews), and garlic naan.
Samosas were baked (in what was similar to a won-ton wrap) and fine but I prefer mine deep fried. The channa masala rocked along with the Shai Korma, subtle curry flavor with perfectly tender vegetables. Skip the garlic naan unless you like big chunks of garlic in every bite.
Atmosphere is nothing to brag about but it's just off 80 and is a great place to get some take-out or to hit up before catching a flick at the Albany Twin across the street.
I'll definitely be back to try out more on the menu but next time I'm ordering my channa masala heavy on the vegan. Gotta have my protein.
Good Indian restaurant, but slightly above average prices - which can be worked around...hehe.
Cafe Raj used to be my go-to Indian place when I lived in Albany. They serve consistently decent Indian food, but I found their prices to be slightly higher than your typical Indian places elsewhere (but still fairly reasonable [$7-$12]). You will most likely find Cafe Raj to be fairly crowded any day of the week during dinner, but I don't think the wait time is too bad though, so it's not one of those places you need to get to half an hour before hand to get a seat.
I always used to get their beef samosas. You would get two samosas that were decently large, so it would be an adequate appetizer for two people. The dipping sauces were scrumptious. I'm a big fan of sweet and savory sauces, so I'd tend to drench mine...=) The Lamb Roghan Josh has always been a favorite as well.
To get the most value from your meal, I would recommend getting the meal to go. Because they provide you with a good amount of curry, you can proportion it to last two meals (thus the slightly higher prices becomes negligible if you split it into two meals..hehe).
I would recommend Cafe Raj for the Albany native looking for good Indian food.
We were on our way to see "Slumdog Millionaire" and found this restaurant for lunch.
We started with Papadam. I had the Lamb Tikka and my wife had the Chicken Tikka Masala. Both ordered with Naan. Regular Lassi for my wife and a Mango Lassi for me.
To begin with the Papadam was outstanding. The Mango Lassi was fresh with the sour/sweet taste I love.
I received three nice pieces of Tandoori lamb nicely cooked and very tasty. The Naan was warm and fresh.
I stole some of my wife's Chicken Tikka Masala and found the sauce to be very good. It was not your usual bland yellow Masala sauce, but thick spicy and complex. The chicken was tender and well seasoned.
You can see I have given them only four stars. I reserve five stars for my favorite overseas Indian restaurants. Cafe Raj was as good as any Indian cafe I have eaten at in the US.
Great food at even greater prices. There are many varieties of naan bread for less than a few bucks. Staff is friendly with a nice family-run atmosphere. P.S. The butter chicken is AWESOME! Call in and pickup a few items for lunch, you WONT be sorry! I am making myself hungry just writing this review, headed over to Cafe Raj now! :)
Deeply umami
complexsweet
subtly fragranced
savorysalty
tingly spicyhot.
Thicksmooth
pebbled
rough
crispythin cracklecrunch
densetender
fluffy.
The most delicious exercise your mouth can have. Sweat it out now!
The food here is great and the pricing moderate. The curry dishes are delicious and if you ask for extra spicy - they deliver. Everything was fresh and tasty.
The staff are friendly and the vibe is pretty chill. It is a good sign when you have to wait a few minutes to be seated on a Tuesday night. Highly recommended.
Delicious, very reasonable Indian. I love the rogan josh, and saag. The paneer is really the only thing I've had here that is not up to snuff: very rubbery. The only down-side of Raj for take-out is the curry pieces tend to be quite large, so it's easy to end up with a vat of sauce and no meat when sharing with a group.
Eating in the restaurant is very pleasant, especially if you're seated so as to see into the cooking area, in my opinion. It really seems like everything is made very fresh and I love watching all the scrumptious industry. Glad to have this place close to home!
I love this place, the food is super good. I don't think I have eaten there and had something I did not like. The butter chicken and lassis are so damn good as well as the Nan(spelling?). We buy a bunch and bring them home to eat later.Really tho the food, drinks and tea are great and sit outside to people watch, very nice.
I eat here so much and yet I always forget to post. This place is so consistent is scary. I love the food, even my picky parents have eaten here!
Yum! Expensive but the food is delicious. None of that vegetarian garbage, these Indian folks serve meat. Lamb, chicken, beef. Not sure about the beef.
If you order spicy, it's really spicy. Like "you'll pay" spicy. Be a man. Try the spicy.
We order the Chai Tea. It's a rip off but we still love it. My favorite dish is butter Chicken. Doesn't taste like just butter & chicken. They put almonds and ... I think masala sauce all over the thing - great. I would eat here more often if I made more than minimum wage. Actually, no I wouldn't, it's a pain in the ass finding parking around this area.
Anyway it's great.
If you're not satisfied afterwards you can visit the tennis store across the street.
P.S. This place has THE CLEANEST bathroom I've ever found in an Indian restaurant. I would not mind using the bathroom here if I was a girl. The toilet seat cover doesn't stay up when you pick it up (for guys) so watch out. I guess girls should watch out too because guys might accidentally pee on the toilet seat cover when it falls down. I'm SERIOUS!!!!
I am an obsessive connoisseur of Indian cuisine.
This is my favorite Indian restaurant in the country.
I can watch the cooks make my food.
Hot sauce that is hot.
I am writing this like a haiku.
period.
Neighborhood: East Solano Ave
Category: Indian
Albany, CA
Category: Indian
Berkeley, CA
Category: Indian
Albany, CA
Category: Himalayan/Nepalese
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: Indian
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