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Taste of the Himalayas
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Himalayan/Nepalese Indian, Himalayan/Nepalese [Edit]
1700 Shattuck AveSte A
(between Virginia St & Francisco St)
Berkeley, CA 94709
Neighborhoods: Gourmet Ghetto, North Berkeley
(510) 849-4983
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 3 pm
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Romantic, Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
John N. said: "As a neighborhood local, Cafe Raj is one of our favorites in the Solano avenue circus of restaurants. It's nothing fancy, but the food is consistently good and satisfying. The family that owns it works hard to provide a wide range of…" read more »
363 reviews for Taste of the Himalayas
Review Highlights
"Lentil soup was yummy, and naan was FANTASTIC."
(in 75 reviews)
"I love their garlic naan so much I dream about it."
(in 43 reviews)
"Mango Lassi $3.50- nice balance of yogurt and mango."
(in 35 reviews)
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363 reviews in English
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Review from Cassie S.
Berkeley, CA
2/5/2012 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Bought a yelp deal for this place, so my buddy - fresh off a plane - and I - congested and sinusy, eager for something spicy to help pep me up - schlepped ourselves to Taste of the Himalayas.
It seriously didn't disappoint. They bring you a yellow dal soup to start with which is lovely. We ordered some samosas as well and I would gladly bathe myself in the tamarind chutney any day. We also shared some palak paneer and aloo bhanta with the typical rice/naan combo. The palak paneer is easily one of my favorites in any restaurants I've had in the Berkeley/Oakland area, the aloo bhanta's eggplant was cooked perfectly, the potatoes were fluffy, and the curry was delicious and operated well on so many levles. And the naan - the naan was light and golden and still glistening with the ghee they put on it.
Oh - and our mango lassis were the bomb.
They were super friendly about honoring our yelp coupon, very attentive in refilling the water glasses of two quite parched ladies, and overall, so so pleasant.
I'll be back! -
Review from Alyssa I.
Los Angeles, CA
1/24/2012
The service and food here are absolutely wonderful. Portions are a bit small for the price, but that's the gourmet ghetto for you. We had the Chicken Tikka Masala (because we're on a quest to find the best Tikka Masala) and the Kerau Paneer. The Tikka Masala was very delicious, we ordered it mild, but I think it would have been better at a medium heat. The Kerau Paneer was also delicious, it had a sauce that looked similar to the Tikka Masala, but was a thicker gravy-like consistency that was quite pleasing to the palate. Each dish came with a bowl of basmati rice and lentil soup (which was very similar to Dal). The soup was a beautiful opener and had a floral fragrance that made the tastes resonate on the tip of our tongues. We also ordered plain naan which was fluffy but dense. It was good, but didn't quite taste how I would personally expect naan to taste. Next time I would spring for the garlic naan.
All in all a good find, we had a groupon which made the price a bit more reasonable, but they charge an arm and a leg for small portions and sides. I would definitely try it once, and if you like it and have the cash, you'll probably want to eat there again. If you like Indian or Nepalese food and you have some fancy relatives visiting, this would be a great restaurant to be taken to so you don't have to foot the bill. -
Review from Salsaboy S.
Oakland, CA
1/22/2012
Himalayan food is different, though similar, to Indian food. I prefer Indian, as the spices are a little different (though good Indian food is hard to find around these parts).
We started with an order of vegetarian samosas and vegetarian momos. The samosas weren't bad. They weren't greasy and the filling was pretty good, but the tamarind chutney that normally accompanies samosas was thin and flavorless. The momos weren't my thing. They were like chinese dumplings, but these were greasy and filled mostly with cabbage. I didn't like them.
My date ordered tandoori chicken and an order of special naan (made with cherries and anise, among other things). I don't eat chicken, though she loved it. She would have preferred it a little spicier, but loved the seasoning. I was impressed by the healthy portion of chicken that was provided as well. The special naan, I thought, wasn't great, but that's my preference. She agreed that this naan -- which wasn't on the menu but she had had on a previous visit -- wasn't as good as it had been the in past, but she still enjoyed it.
I ordered the saag paneer, at the direction of our waiter. It was okay. I also ordered garlic naan, which also was creditable, but nothing exceptional.
Would I return? Unlikely. It wasn't bad, but didn't do anything for me. Swad's Indian in Lafayette used to be exceptional, though I haven't been back in over six months. The past few times I've been wasn't as good as it has been in the past. The quest for good Indian continues. -
Review from Andrew S.
2/5/2012
This place is slightly better than House of Curries, Naan n Curry. I got the chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. The portions weren't huge and it was a little pricey but it's def more upscale than the aforementioned restaurants.
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Review from Adriana V.
Berkeley, CA
1/9/2012
The Himalayas don't really taste like much.
Our meals were really flavorless and the servers had some sort of perma-scowls.
A friend and I went for lunch recently; she had a Groupon.
I ordered a vegetable curry; she ordered a vegetarian tikka masala. We both ordered them medium. I had a bite of hers and thought it to be bland.
Mine was some sort of over/under-cooked pablum with absolutely no flavor. I'm pretty certain that baby food is spicier than that. (The potatoes in my curry were overcooked, the zucchini was undercooked. They served it with a side of eggplant, of which some pieces were over- and some were under-cooked.)
One star. Plus one star for the fact that (after I went up to the stand--neither of the dining room staff even remotely stopped by to see how the meal was) they re-spiced my vegetable curry (and when I got it back, it was a spicy-ish medium.) The re-spicing didn't remedy the horrible consistency of it all. -
Review from Amanda C.
Fremont, CA
2/2/2012
Great food, adequate service, nice environment, very popular place to go for Indian food. My only qualms with restaurant were that I had to sign the customer copy of the receipt AND they left me with a pencil to do so. Hence, they get 4 stars.
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Review from CrapulentMoose ..
Sacramento, CA
11/18/2011
This place was just another disappointing Indian restaurant/money pit.
My girlfriend and I shared the mixed tandoori rubber chew surprise, mango lassi, and some other entree thing that isn't memorable enough to remember. What I do remember is thinking how greasy and awful tasting even the rice was.
Maybe this place has better food usually, but I couldn't help feeling like $40+ was a lot to spend for a completely dissatisfying meal. -
Review from To The Point K.
Oakland, CA
10/28/2011
POSITIVE
great food
friendly service
nice dining room
NEGATIVE
close early
WILL I RETURN?
yes -
Review from Jeremy G.
12/29/2011
Little did I know that I had such great Indian food so close to my doorstep. I have frequently indulged in korma dishes, but never with shrimp. I am not a believer even if the shrimp were a tad overcooked. Garlic naan here is quite fresh and a perfect vehicle for korma or curry dipping. I also was a fan of the fact that almost all dishes come with rice and a cup of lentil soup. Solid service too. This might become my go to Indian place.
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Review from lu H.
Berkeley, CA
11/22/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
It's really different taste curry from the most common India restaurant.
The Garlic naan is my favorite. -
Review from Jeffrey C.
Thousand Oaks, CA
12/23/2011
Oh man, just reading the name of the restaurant in my mind just makes my mouth water! First time my girlfriend and I stumbled upon this place was when we were walking down Shattuck trying to find a place to have lunch when we stopped the sign for "lunch buffet", I think it was $7-$9 at that time. After that, we were hooked! Starting buying a lot of http://restaurant.com coupons and went there pretty frequently. The place is always crowded during dinner so get there early. Service is exceptional too (excuse me!).
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Review from Amy H.
Berkeley, CA
10/14/2011
TIP #1: Portions for the main dishes are a little bit on the small size. You'll fill up on rice, though, as they give a lot of it and it comes with almost every dish.
TIP #2: Order the momos! The tomato chutney that comes with it is just divine.
TIP #3: You can order from 3 levels of spiciness! I love it when you can customize your dish like that. We wanted our dishes to be extra spicy, and that's what we got!
I called to confirm that they're still taking http://restaurant.com coupons--and they are. So don't hesitate do buy those deals, especially when they're having a ridiculous sale. The bill came with the extra 18% gratuity added on, so we didn't have to try to calculate it ourselves.
My boyfriend and I ordered the lamb momos, the vegetable dish with peas and mushrooms (I can't remember the name of it for the life of me), and the butter chicken. The meal began with hot little cups of savory yellow lentil soup--creamy but not too heavy, a great way to start the meal. The momos were nice and steamy too, and the dough of the wrapper had just the right amount of chewiness. There wasn't so much dough that it overwhelmed the meat filling, but it was substantial enough to keep the lamb from falling out. We absolutely devoured the tomato chutney that came on the center of the plate--the coolness of the savory sauce really complimented the momo well.
Our rice came in one bowl even though we ordered two dishes separatey--we hoped/assumed it was a larger bowl than the two single bowls of rice that the couple next to us received. The rice was a little bit dry and some of it was clumped, but we were going to slather it in curry anyway! The vegetable curry dish delivered a punch of unexpected spice even though we had specified level 3 spiciness! It paired with the rice really well. The butter chicken was beyond delicious--I think the combination of creaminess, saltiness, spiciness, and hotness, as well as the texture difference between the tender chicken and the grains of rice, really made each bite one to savor.
Now the low points. The ones I've already mentioned are the dry rice--which I can overlook. But the chicken was not very apparent in the dish--they were drowning in sauce (though the sauce was delicious). The dishes came in small bowls. And finally, the service. Oh, the service. There was one woman who took our order who seemed to be the experienced hostess--she was fine. But the younger woman who failed to take away our dirty dishes from eating the momo appetizers before trying to place on our table the rice, two entrees, and new clean plates--that was awkward. I didn't know what to do with my original plate, which had tomato chutney ALL over it, when she was poised to drop the butter chicken down on the table.
All in all, I would go back again if I had a http://restaurant.com gift certificate. It was delicious, yes, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to pay for slightly smaller portions and okay service. -
Review from Nat V.
San Mateo, CA
11/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is the place that made me like curry for the first time in my life! I hate, hate Indian food and was hesitant to try Himalayan food as I thought it would resemble Indian. I was so wrong! We came to the restaurant with friends that choose all the food for us and we loved every single dish!
In addition this restaurant has a very nice atmosphere and a super sweet owner.
Cannot wait to come back to this place! -
Review from Mateo L.
San Francisco, CA
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Solid! Great lamb tikka masala. And the momos ... oh, the momos ...
Agree with others that it's not worthy of four stars. It's fairly common Americanized Indian/Nepali food. It's very good, but nothing out of the ordinary and definitely not unusual or unique in flavor or presentation.
But we liked it. I would eat here again. Very friendly and attentive service, convenient to downtown Berkeley, and a cool painting on the wall. So, recommended - but still looking for that knock-me-out Indian place. -
Review from Ana W.
Berkeley, CA
1/1/2012
The lentil soup was fantastic. We asked for very spicy... they did not disappoint here! The overall flavor was delicious and layered, but I didn't like that the butter chicken had these very tiny bite sized slivers of chicken... it should've been more substantial pieces. Otherwise excellent!
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Review from Alyssa C.
San Francisco, CA
10/31/2011
Came here w/ 2 others on a $25 http://restaurant.com gift cert.
Overall the food was mediocre, the wait time was too long (about 45 min), not enough portions for 3 ppl, and it was overpriced for what we got.
There are better Indian restaurants out there! -
Review from anthony t.
Emeryville, CA
12/23/2011
Nice restaurant with good, tasty foods and really nice service. The menu offers something different from typical Indian food.
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Review from Miss C.
Berkeley, CA
9/27/2011
I had high hopes from all of the yelp reviews and first and foremost suggest getting a reservation if you plan on dining on a Friday night there, waited for an hour outside before we could finally be seated. Which I took to be an even better indicator of the food, we (group of 2) were in company of many others waiting for a seat too.
The Vegetable Pakora was really inexpensive and ok, not full of flavor, but all right.
We had the Chicken Tikka Masala (not a fan of this version, and I normally love Tikka Masala), Okra (really greasy and dripping in oil, plus still quite slimy), and an Egglpant dish (not a fan either) plus Naan and Roti. The Naan I was also not a fan of but the Roti was very good, even held up very well the next day as a leftover, whereas most Naan don't.
The Chai was ok, I did have a Mango Lassi that was pretty good. I don't like to give few stars, but I had high hopes for this place and won't be returning. -
Review from Marck n.
10/3/2011
Went here for lunch per a suggestion of my friend who really likes this place and the authenticity of the food. Ordered the simosa for appetizer. It was large and tasty. Nicely deep fried with chick peas and peas.
My entree was the special they had for the chicken. It was in a yogurt sauce with spinach and chicken pieces marinated in the sauce over night. The taste was okay. My partner ordered the Kukhura Saag, which was more flavorful. The garlic naan was very tasty.
Overall it was a good tasting lunch. Better for dinner though, as the meal was heavy. A plus to come back and try the other dishes offered. -
Review from Jack C.
10/1/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is a regular joint me and my roommates frequent. We always go in with either a http://restaurant.com coupon or an entertainment book coupon which cuts the bill in half. Taking that into the account the food is definitely worth the discounted price. Probably come less if we had to pay full price because the dishes are not cheap by any means.
The meal always starts with a complimentary cup of lentil soup which is a nice bonus. It usually has a bit of a kick which I enjoy. The chicken tikka masala is solid and is very creamy. My personal fav is the chicken nauni (chicken cooked in butter sauce). Of the veggie curries, I have tried the palak paneer, pretty standard. What I enjoy most is the naan whether its the plain naan or the garlic naan. It's fluffy and oh so buttery.
The service is top notch. Every server is very friendly and accommodating so much so I feel bad for using a coupon each time I come. I hope they stay in business for years to come! -
Review from Kristy K.
Berkeley, CA
12/12/2011
I went here recently to eat dinner. The portions were a bit on the small side but the food was amazing!
We had the chicken momo and papad for appetizers. The momo was okay, the dough was a bit rubbery but still good. It went well with the tomato chutney. the papad was very crispy and a bit salty. It was still good.
The lentil soup they gave us was very good too.
For main dishes we shared the Chicken Nauni, Bhindi Tarkari and Lamb Tarkari. I liked the chicken nauni the best. The sauce was creamy and the chicken was very good. We ordered it medium spiciness, but it wasn't spicy at all. I liked the Bhindi considering that I don't really like okra. It was good and went well with the rice. The lamb was okay too. This one did have a slight kick to it with the medium spiciness.
They were out of the dessert that we wanted but the waiter offered something else. It was some mango-spiced infused ice cream. It wasn't that good though and left a strong spice after taste (it kind of tastes like chai latte). -
Review from Pauly Fish F.
Castro Valley, CA
1/20/2012
Awesome!!!! If your looking for a quality dinner, go here!!! Yay whoo yea
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Review from Chat H.
Berkeley, CA
12/12/2011
"Welcome to Taste of the Himalayas: may we take your wallets?"
As one of only two establishments serving Indian fare between University and Solano Avenues, Taste of the Himalayas (TOTH) has nearly cornered the market in the Gourmet Ghetto. And just as the Crane Flat gas station on the way to Yosemite doubles their fuel prices with impunity, TOTH has no problem charging upwards of $14 for an entree. The North-Berkeley clientele fit right in: moneyed, green, and trendy, they seem to enjoy TOTH's effort to be, unlike most of its competitors, a real restaurant, complete with a wait lasting longer than 30 seconds. The décor is pleasing (though the picture placement on the walls would be considered misguided by any expert on Feng Shui), and in spite of the poor climate control and a mildly defective chair, we managed to enjoy the temporary life of luxury afforded us by the full table service.
The start to the meal was less than optimal, consisting of a warm, frothy mango lassi over ice (?!), and the discovery that the papad ($2) was not, in fact, free. Our fury was mitigated by the arrival of (free) lentil soup, which was quite tasty. This was somewhat slowly followed up by the main eigendishes of the evening: aloo cauli ko tarkari (basically aloo ghobi, $11), and a lamb special ($14). The cauliflower was pleasantly firm, not overcooked, and reasonably spicy. The lamb, while a tad chewy, sported a wonderful combination of spices. Strangely enough, the real standouts were our naan selections. The regular naan was quite good: soft, buttery, and crisp on the bottom. The coconut naan, on the other hand, was heavenly: salty enough to accompany the main dishes; sweet enough to eat for dessert. Thankfully for our digestive systems, requesting more than one $5 order was financially untenable.
Overall, while not all of the culinary offerings were outstanding, the solid performance of the main dishes, the tasty lentil soup, and the exquisite naans push TOTH up to a four-samosa rating; however, the prices were off the scale: three-plus rupees, to be sure. This leads to a conundrum: is the samosa-to-rupee ratio a generous 1.0? Or does it trend toward 0 as the rupees compound exponentially with each additional appetizer? We'll let you be the judge. Needless to say, unless you strongly value a full-service experience, or happen to be suffering from an acute case of naan-deprivation while walking through North Berkeley, we recommend that you aim elsewhere for your four-samosa victuals.
For more of Yogi & Chat's reviews of Indian restaurants in Berkeley, visit our blog: http://masalachaat.wor.../ -
Review from Nyla J.
Bay Area, CA
8/3/2011
When I eat Indian Food, I need to not eat for a solid 6 hours before I begin to endulge myself with Spicy Chicken, Samosa, Shrimp Curry and Biryani with Lentil soup to start.
I came here with Elana and we were impressed with the art on the walls,cleanliness and presentation of the dishes . IT was not the best Indian food that I tasted because the spicy chicken tasted like it was mirowaved and not freshly prepared like the other Indian experiences that I had. The shrimp curry was decent but it was a little watered down.
The Biryani was delicious!! I ate the entire bowl which was the majority of my meal. The Samosas was not that great either because I kept having to spit out what appeared to be the hardeing of the pea shell, or the skin of the green chilles. The filling was not gounded out to smooth perfection.
The main server was rude too. We were trying to have a conversation after dinner and she returned to our table assuming we were ready to pay. When we told her, "Not Yet", she and the other servers kept looking at us and watching us untill we put down our debit cards.. We felt rushed. It was very uncomfortable, and rude.
If you want a cheap, convenient , dining experience and yourn for Indian food, then come to this place. If you want to enjoy your dinner at your own pace,with fresh,spicy exotic,rich flavors that does not taste like 5 day old leftovers , then go else where.. Not here. -
Review from Kamille R.
San Francisco, CA
9/2/2011
Food: mediocre at best
Well at least the entrees anyway. BLANDSVILLE. The garlic naan was delicious as were the samosas but i dnt know how you can really mess those up.. -
Review from Tim W.
Berkeley, CA
It's been a long time since I've been to this restaurant, so when I saw the Groupon for it, it was a no brainer to get it. I remember how tasty the food was and how it was my first real experience with higher end Indian food (aka not House of Curries).
I came here with the gf on a Saturday night around dinner time and it was pretty empty.
They start you off with a lentil soup, which is nice and flavorful. We ordered the Momo combination as an appetizer(they remind me of a Himalayan xiao long bao) which is a nice choice if you can't decide on which kind of Momo to go for. It comes with 3 veggie, 3 lamb, and 3 chicken and comes with a tomato chutney. I thought the fact that each kind of momo looked different made the presentation more appealing and also made it easier to know which one you were eating. All 3 varities had their own unique tastes and textures. The lamb was extremely rich and exploded with juice when you bit into it. It was a little on the oily side and definitely the densest of the 3. The chicken momo was a little less juicy but also lighter than the lamb. Finally, the veggie momo wasn't really juicy but had a good taste and had a refreshing and flavorful filling.
For the main entree we split the Chicken Nauni, which according to the menu is a Himalayan style Butter Chicken. It was rich and I liked how the chicken was cut into manageable bite sized pieces rather than giant blocks. It made the meat more even cooked and tender and saved me the trouble of cutting it up. The butter sauce was rich and creamy, but I wish it had a little more herb and spice. The dish comes with rice, but we also ordered a plain naan, which is probably some of the best naan I have ever had. It's super fluffy, with a good char and brushed with some butter.
Overall, the food is very good, but the prices are rather high, which is what prevents this place from being my go-to place for Indian food. -
Review from Tien P.
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place was alright, nothing really special in my opinion. The service was slowwww and unfriendly and unhelpful. I really like the chicken tiki masala (but I generally like it), but the lamb moms were just alright. Overall, I wouldn't mind coming back if a friend wanted to come here, but it's not something I would pick on my own or not a place I would crave randomly or anything.
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Review from Clayton C.
Berkeley, CA
11/30/2011
Their food is simply fantastic. Easily the best Indian food in Berkeley. So far, it's my favorite in the Bay Area.
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Review from Gene G.
Chicago, IL
8/5/2011
Some of the best South Asian food I have had. My girlfriend and I ordered the Shrimp Tandoori, the Chicken Tikka Masala, and (most importantly!) the Garlic Naan. The Shrimp were really good, but the Chicken outshined them. It was succulent, creamy, savory, and delicious.
The owner bragged that the Naan was the best we'd ever try. I tend to be skeptical of such outsize claims, but when he's right, he's right. It was absolutely the best Naan I've ever had.
Give this place a try, you won't be disappointed. -
Review from Traunza A.
Albany, CA
11/25/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Went here tonight with a couple of friends, used my Yelp Deal coupon. I was the only vegetarian but we had:
1) Complimentary lentil soup--souper tasty :-)
2) Veggie momos with tomato chutney--also tasty
3) Aloo Bhanta (eggplant and potatoes in a curry sauce)-- a little bland but good enough to order again
4) Himalayan Balti (mixed meat and veggies with spices)--being a vegetarian, I didn't eat this but my friends liked it
5) Mango Lassi--agree with other reviewers it was a little thick but I enjoyed it
6) Mango Kulfi--yum
7) Plain Naan--some of the best naan I've ever had, and I eat Indian a lot
So we enjoyed our meal, and found the service to be good, not rushed at all. (Notable that the women servers were not at all friendly, barely cracked a smile when I told one of them how much we enjoyed the soup, but the male servers were over-the-top nice and made us feel very welcome.)
Overall we had a lovely dinner and although the prices are a little high, we'd return here even without a coupon in order to support a local business. -
Review from Damon L.
Brookline, MA
11/21/2011
I bought a http://restaurant.com voucher after calling the restaurant to find out if they would accept it for take out. They said yes on the phone. The http://restaurant.com website does not say "dine in only" but I wanted to confirm.
When I got to the restaurant, they did not want to accept the voucher for take-out. After arguing, they agreed to accept but still added 18% gratuity even though it was take-out.
I understand that gratuity policy was on the voucher but just not a good customer experience. The automatic gratuity is meant to keep people from skimping on the tip... not for charging gratuity on takeout orders. Maybe they intended the voucher to be dine in only, but they didn't make that clear until I had arrived to pay.
The food is overpriced for the quantity (especially things like naan and amount of meat in the meat dishes). Quality is average. 3-stars normally; 2 stars because they didn't seem to care about me as the customer. -
Review from Thai Hien H.
Los Angeles, CA
7/4/2011
I didn't think that the food deserved four stars, but I love the feel of the place. Everything down to the service - I went to this place when it turned into the Karma Kitchen. I just love that concept. Giving what you can so that everyone can enjoy the food.
If you haven't been there, Karma Kitchen is on Sundays. You can come in and order whatever you want and you pay $0! Why? They don't charge you because this is the day that the store lets you "donate" what you can to the establishments - for future days. So for those that do not have alot of money, they can come eat seconds and thirds and just give what they can. I don't know if anyone does do that. But that concept still stands.
Furthermore, everyone besides the cooks that day are volunteers - they're not getting paid! The day I went, our server had never served before, so the service wasn't the best because they were short staffed - they even asked the customers if they really wanted to taken in the Karma Kitchen experience and help busy tables for others to enjoy the meal.
Now as for the food, I don't know if it's the best food out there and as I said before, I don't think it deserves 4 stars in terms of taste. The food isn't bad - it's just not as good as what I would expect. There wasn't a lot to order from on the menu - we had a taste of everything there was (four items) and it was just so-so - except the naan. The naan was delicious because it had so much butter!!! I also ordered the mango lassi - I didn't much prefer that drink either. I've had better ones that weren't so thick. For those that do like very thick lassis this is your place!
I don't know if I should have given this place 4 stars, because they food is 3 MAX, but the ambiance is what makes it so great! -
Review from Monelle P.
San Francisco, CA
7/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
What makes the delicious food here even better? When you've only paid $16 for $50 of delicious food! Using one of http://Restaurant.com's ever-present sales to buy a $25 gift certificate for $5, I've been able to have several feasts at Taste of the Himalayas between $15-20 total (balance after applying the gift certificate).
But even without my gift certificate, I would vouch for the delicious food here. This is my second foray into Nepalese food, my first being Kathmandu Kitchen on Solano Ave. in Albany. I find the food here to be much better.
Nepalese food seems to be a cross between Chinese and Indian food, witha heavier emphasis on the Indian influence. I generally start the meal with an order of Assorted Momos (dumplings). There are 9 Momos total: 3 chicken, 3 lamb, and 3 vegetarian. The momos are served with a tomato chutney cream sauce. These are delicious and filling!
After the momos, the complimentary lentil soup arrives. On a cold Berkeley night, there's nothing more comforting than a bowl of this thick, yellow lentil soup. I really enjoy the fennel seeds and curry flavor of this soup.
I then order the Chicken Nauni (butter chicken), Chicken Tikka Masala, and Saag (either lamb or tofu). Chicken Nauni is similar to Tikka Masala, but with less spices and well, more buttery. All of these dishes are great. I'm happy that the chicken breast pieces in the tikka masala are never dried out and the the lamb is not gamey.
Each dish comes with biryani rice, but try the garlic naan here! It's really good and generously flecked with alot of garlic.
The servers here are friendly, but service can be hit or miss. Once, I did not receive my Momos until the meal was almost over and did not receive an apology. Luckily, the food is good enough to keep me a repeat customer. -
Review from Andie C.
Berkeley, CA
11/29/2011
I had never had Indian food til my visit here and I was pretty impressed. The staff welcomed us and were very nice. I got the garlic naan which was quite tasty and tikka masala. I had never had this before and it had good flavors. The prices were reasonable.
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Review from Bevy M.
San Francisco, CA
6/26/2011
Wow! Flavor-packed foods, made with fresh ingredients and served with gracious warmth.
The restaurant is gorgeous -- a huge color-saturated mural fills one entire wall, and I could literally spend all day enjoying its details and beauty. The chairs are each a work of art, hand-carved -- making me feel as if I am royalty.
I thought I'd found the very best Naan in the world (at Aroma, in Castro Valley), but then I tasted the little puffs from heaven here... OMG! The naan alone is worth the trip!
Other reviewers have correctly identified the chicken tikka masala as excellent. Oh yes! Try it here, but also be sure to try some of the Nepalese specialties. Everything I've tried was absolutely delicious.
Prices are reasonable, there is an adjacent parking lot if you can't find street parking, and the noise level is moderate. Enjoy! -
Review from laurie c.
Berkeley, CA
11/25/2011 Purchased a Yelp Deal
Himalayas is a great restaurant. I used a Yelp coupon/deal and they were awesome about it. The food is great, service to get our check a little slow (no biggee, you just gotta get their attention when you're ready to leave) but overall, a wonderful experience. Convenient location as well.
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Review from Erich V.
Oakland, CA
11/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Himalayan cuisine is really just Indian cuisine without a cream sauce or Indian cuisine is really just Himalayan cuisine with a cream sauce.
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Review from Kenson K.
10/1/2011
I heard that this has very authentic indian flavors from an Indian person, so we decided to check it out. It was a bit different from the standard "fast food" indian fare. I'm not sure if its because this restaruant has a more himalayan taste, or what I've been eating all this time just wasnt authentic Indian food . in any case the food was delicious.You also get to choose the level of spiciness in your dishes. I opted for medium as the server said hot was really hot.
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Review from Amy J.
5/14/2011 1 Check-in Here
I had wanted to try this place for some time and I also needed to use my http://restaurant.com certificate so I grabbed a friend and took him here. We ordered a curry dish, chili chicken, samosas, naan, and tea. I wasn't terribly impressed with my dish. It didn't seem to have enough chili in it but I had plenty take home afterward. The samosas were surprisingly not too greasy which I liked. The naan also was light and fluffy.
The food is pretty good though. The staff were decently helpful. Even after the gift certificate all this food was about $20 including tip. Prices seemed a little steeper for some items than most places. The atmosphere is nice and it's about what you'd pay if you're in the Gourmet Ghetto. -
Review from Sunil R.
6/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
I have been to Nepal when I was a child but don't remember the food and have been meaning to try this place out for a long time. Unfortunately, Just couldn't feel this place and don't understand the raving reviews.
Everything was just average or below. I am not going to hold the parking hassle against this place. The ambiance was just OK. Service was just OK, the food did not come out in the right order and took a long time. The food itself...was just OK too. The quantity was small and the food was a good 30% overpriced IMHO.
