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"Ok, so I love Indian food and I love little hole in the wall places to find them because those always seem to be the hidden gems. But this…" read more »
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Any East Coast transplants are well aware of the serious problems this city has with pizza. I have been told that the climate here is great for the much cherished sourdough bread, but for similar reasons it is terrible for pizza dough. I have no idea whether that is true or not, what I do know is that San Francisco's pizza, whether we're talking about the cheap by-the slice variety, or the more bourgeois gourmet style, are both fundamentally terrible forms of pizza.
Enter Zante's, with its pizza composed of Indian ingredients. Does it really count as pizza? Not really, just as Chicago deep dish pizza isn't really pizza either. Is it better than any other pizza place in the city? Absolutely.
They also, of course, have Indian food here, which I've found to be unexceptional. Come here for the pizza. They also have "regular" pizza here too, but I don't think I have the guts to see how that is. They also have ridiculously cheap pitchers of beer, so actually going to the physical establishment is a good idea. Delivery can be pretty rough, the last time I ordered from here it took over an hour and a half for the pizza to arrive, and as you can imagine it wasn't particularly fresh at that point.
This is the kind of fusion that either is really good, or really bad. Their Indian pizza is REALLY REALLY good. I love the vegan pizza and my wife loves the "Best Indian Pizza" (yes, that's what it's called).
The other Indian dishes are good as well, but the pizza is the real gem at this place.
Decor and ambience are not the focus in this place...so dont expect too much on those fronts. Have a Kingfisher beer with your Indian Pizza, and you will won't regret this dining experience!
I've been eating at Zante's for at least 12 years now, and stopped in today for some Indian Pizza and it still rocks!
Used to own a business in the neighborhood, so ate there a lot. Now it's just random trips to SF from the East Bay.
I also used to order the Indian Pizzas for a software company I worked for, for our team meetings. I got rave reviews from most people...of course others turned up their noses, but I don't care, I love their food!
I just have to say: These guys are amazing!!! No they're no five star classy restaurant, but I don't give a flying feathered frisbee if they can barely speak english! Their food is AH-mazing.
I have been ordering food for delivery from them almost once a week lately, and they have been prompt, friendly and consistent! How many delivery places can you say that about? The food is always piping hot.
As soon as the lid lifts off the pizza box, I swear I turn into a ravenous wildebeest and forget who and where I am!! Until I poke my head back out about 5 minutes later, with crumbs on my shirts, and my mouth stuffed, and I'm staring at an empty pizza box thinking... "what happened? I think I blacked out..."
I mean, really people! It's that good!
Just go.
Holy Indian Pizza Batman!!!!
Ok. I wouldn't want to dine IN here. But that Indian Pizza is AMAZING...…
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I was recently going downtown to my favorite Pakistani Indian place to pick up dinner, but had to bail because I heard on the radio that many streets were shut down due to President Obama's visit. So I went to Zante, in the Mission District instead.
I ordered lamb biryani for the wife. It was nothing more than rice with sauce slopped over it. Well, they stirred the sauce into the rice for consistancy.
I ordered a slice of Indian pizza, which left me with a nasty case of mudbutt.
The people that run this place ought to be ashamed of themselves for serving such crap.
Good pizza, but they're very chintzy with the shrimp. I bet they only use 2 or 3 shrimp on a large… Read more »
Those white tablecloths aren't fooling anyone. This place is a joint, delightful in its simplicity. The lighting is horrible.
I can't think of anywhere else that serves Indian pizza. If you go here, you must order a slice or a pie - either vegetarian or whatever meat variety they happen to have that day (ie tandoori chicken). It just makes sense. The dough isn't an award winner or particularly naan-like, but it's a decent vehicle for the perfect blend of spices and just the right amount of cheese.
Worth a trek to the outer mission/Bernal Heights, most certainly.
Indian Pizza -- it's as good as it sounds, even though it sounds too good to be true (wait, does that make sense?). Seriously, every time I have it (whether homemade or from a restaurant) I wonder why I ever bother eating anything else. Still, for some reason it remains a cult dish, and few restaurants bother to make it, let alone perfect it. Fortunately, at Zante's the pizza is the signature dish, and you can tell right away that they've honed it into a masterpiece (with dough that would be the envy of any traditional pizzeria, I should add).
The only thing I was shocked too see is that they only make one kind of indian pizza (even the vegetarian toppings are just a subset of the regular toppings). What, no "chicken pizza masala"? No "saag pizzaneer"? No "pizzalu gobhi"? They clearly have the skills to make these if they tried, so I have to dock one star for lack of ambition. But other than that, eating Zante's is like eating in heaven (well, actually the interior looks like they took Naan-n-Curry and tried to starch-shirt it a bit, and it just ends up looking awkward. So I wouldn't blame you for going the delivery route if you can).
good stuff. the large pizzas are definitely large, so if you order that size- bring a big group. the sauce is flavorful and really tastes like you are eating indian food. the staff are friendly and when going to pay the meter, they tipped us off that they have a free parking lot in the back. probably would not go there on a regular basis, but it is good to know that it's around in case i'm craving some indian pizza.
Always count your change. And read your bill.
I haven't eaten in at this place in ages just because of the pretty bad to swindler-ing service, but oh my to I love their food.
Take out is the way to go.
1. You can order online and add comments on exactly how you'd like your food prepared.
2. Then they call you and confirm your order.
3. A lot of the people who take orders don't really speak English -- so calling is incredibly difficult. Order online.
You might be wondering what to order at this point. To that there is only one good answer: INDIAN PIZZA
Look under their Zatne's Specials and get that. It's addictively delicious, even if curry on pizza seems a little weird.
Those of you who have checked my review know that I seldom review anything that isnt great (or horrible). If I havent rated it it is probably average!
So, What is Zante's? GREAT or horrible?
The answer is GREEAAATTT?
The only time I have had Indian pizza this good was when I was in Mumbai. The Mango Lassi had so much mango that it seemed like a mango smoothie. GET ONE!
The menu beyond pizza looked great, but I seriously doubt I will ever try any of it. The pizza is too danged good!
Now, shut down your computer, get of you butt and get over to Zante's (btw parking is not easy, but it is worth the work if the walk it too far)
Chances are, you are gonna go here for the Indian pizza that you have heard everyone talk about. Chances are, if you are reading my review you are vegan or looking for vegan food.
This Indian pizza is quite novel. It is slightly sweet and has a ton of toppings all diced into tiny pieces just how I like my food. It tasted better when I added the chutney condiments to my slices. It also seemed very bready while still being a thin crust. It didn't blow my mind but it was pretty damn good.
We ordered a XL pie for 4 people and had way more than enough.
The service was SUPER friendly and totally hip to vegan requests.
Your breath will certainly be kickin' after eating here.
I'm the perfect person for this food, what I hoped was spicy delicious Indian on crispy crust ended up taking almost two hours to arrive cold cold cold. I know it wasn't the drivers fault, having only one driver for a cold foggy Saturday night is not acceptable. I don't think that they should be cutting costs on their service like that.
It actually was good once I re-heated it up on the pizza stone and slathered the mint chutney and other sauce on it. The crust was a bit bland but maybe it's one of those foods that you actually have to order in the restaurant.
For years, I've avoided trying Indian pizza. Yes, my pals have raved about how insanely yummy it is but honestly, it just didn't sound good to me. However, I had a few friends over last night
(and some wine) and they talked me in to ordering from Zante. It smelled okay, looked delish and tasted pretty darn good!! After piece numero three or four I was definitely changing my tune. I'll be ordering from Zante again. Maybe even tonight...
Delivery was a wee slow but it wasn't too bad. Just sit back with a glass of vino and salad at home while you wait.
No, no, no. Never, EVER again.
Used to be a huge Zante's fan years ago. Unfortunately, this place has slid right into the crapper and is now simply coasting on it's old reputation.
Ordered delivery last night. Third time in a row I was told 30 min and it took well over an hour (I live less than 1/2 mile away). But this last time was too much--my delivery took almost 2 hours!! And when I got the food--it was cold and sucked! And one of the two entree I ordered leaked and spilled out of the cheap, crappy containers they all over everything else in the bag and leaked out through the bottom. One entree completely wasted--which also reminds me, this place isn't cheap anymore either. What a complete waste of my time and money!
this place is the shit.
INDIAN PIZZA? NAAN WITH CHEESE AND CURRY AND CORN AND SHIT?
i'm there homes.
everything was affordable and lovely. we got the samosas. get those!
we also obviously got the indian style pizza, which is [pasted from their webiste] Topped with Spinach, Egg Plant, Cauliflower, Ginger, Garlic, Green Onions, Cilantro, Lamb, Tandoori Chicken & Prawns. since i don't eat meat 75% of the time, we just got it with the prawns and NO EGGPLANT CAUSE THAT SHIT IS GROSS. it was pretty delicious.
also, if you're gonna order a corona, expect to ask for a lime. and if you're gonna ask for a lime, ask twice cause i only asked once and the dude never gave me my lime. he was really nice though, and gave me plenty of water.
BAWMB. Chutney on flat pizza....mmmm. Must try more of this
When my particular Virgo pal told me about this pizza I have to say I had some thought such as "hold on, buddy" and "um.....you know I hate pizza right?". Yeah. Boy was I wrong.
It was amazing, the chutney was key and I will never doubt him again!
Well, until he cuts down the neighbors bamboo, then maybe.
What to do...what to do...Pizza or Indian? Pizza or Indian? Hmm...let's see what Yelp has to say. OMG Indian Pizza?! SOLD!
So that's what we did one lazy ass afternoon when we couldn't even get up to the kitchen to check out what was in the fridge. We ordered Indian Pizza from Zante's and this is how it went:
Online ordering system with enticing pictures? check.
A quick confirmation call and delivery faster than promised? check.
Friendly Indian guy telling us that he made us a great dinner? check.
Opening up the boxes and unwrapping tin foil to find delicious, steaming food that looks just like the enticing pictures? CHECK CHECK CHECK
We had a medium Indian pizza, spicy daal, mango chutney and samosas. All yummy and devoured in a very short period of time. No doubt we'll be order again soon, next time laziness sets in.
These reviews are part of a series where my Vancouverite friend wanted to try a bunch of food carts all weekend. We ended up deviating to some other cheap eats.
The contestants: Lers Ros Thai, Fritzj, Adobo Hobo, Pizza Hacker, Gumbo Cart, Lumpia Cart, Bi-Rite Creamery, El Farolito, Bacon Dog Cart, Pho Garden, Zante's Indian Pizza
This review is about Zante's Indian Pizza. It was somewhat interesting how we got to eating at this restaurant. When we were talking with all the food cart guys and swapping good eats, one guy mentioned that a place called Zante's was incredible for Indian pizza. Of course this piqued my interest as I love Indian food AND pizza so I made a mental note of it. Then towards the end of our weekend of cheap eats, we were going to finish off the night at a place called the Limon Rotisserie but apparently it was too far out of the way for a friend so she recommended a place called the Front Porch in case we didn't have enough grease. When I called in to make a reservation for 8pm, they weren't able to accommodate us right away so I hunkered down for the wait. That's when a completely different friend mentioned that there was a supposedly great Indian pizza restaurant nearby called Zante's! Apparently this place always had a wait but we figured we might as well wait for it and if our rezos at Front Porch came along first, we could just walk over. Well, lucky us the manager was willing to seat us right away!
We ordered an extra large Indian pizza, some curry that was supposed to be just like chicken tikka masala, chicken tandoori, samosas, naan, chicken and vegetable Pakora. The Pakoras were a hit! The samosas and chicken tandoori were only okay unfortunately because I LOVE samosas but by far the most disappointing item was the chicken tikka-like curry. It was pretty darn bad is all I can say. That teaches us to order curry when the restaurant is famous for its pizza. Now for the pizza. The first words to fly out of my mouth were that is was interestingly GREAT! I don't even know what was all in the pizza because there were so many toppings but it was great and all the ingredients all worked well together. I remembered the shopped shrimp being a delightful surprise. Well worth all the other obstacles (bad curry) to get there. One thing to note was that I did not feel too great when I got home. One of the girls I spoke with later told me that when she went to the bathroom during dinner she saw mouse droppings all over the staircase! I personally didn't see it but that would explain my queasiness. That being said, what I didn't see didn't really hurt me so I would still go back to try out the pizza again and see if it is still as good as I remembered!
I'm craving some Indian pizza right now. So so good. And they sell by the slice! I wish I lived in the Mission for reasons like Zante PIzza.
When six friends can go out to sit-down dinner in SF and get beer, pizza and an appetizer for less than $55, that's pretty great. Not to mention the Indian pizza was brilliant. Finally: naan, meet melted cheese.
The waitstaff was VERY nice too!
I'm only rating on their delivery, for the Indian pizza.
Pizza...doughy. It had lamb (which one cannot even taste.) Plenty of tandoori chicken, curries, and veggies. (I wonder if they should just use naan hybrid dough instead of what they currently use...) Good flavors though. It is a bit addicting...although, it just makes me want basmati rice and finish the meal with kheer...lol
It was $27.99 for the XL which fed five of us. We asked for a certain time, and they came nearly an hour before then...(early is not bad, except if...we hadn't been home! duh!)
I'll try this place again, maybe...
There's something about this place that brings me back every time I'm in San Francisco. When someone told me we were going to an "Indian Pizza" place in Mission, my mind started spinning. What could it possibly be? What makes it "Indian"??
An excellent curry sauce on some tasty naan bread, topped with an interesting array of delights such as shrimp, eggplant, and cauliflower ensured I would not leave without eating to "I'm gonna puke if I take another bite" status. As other reviewers have noted, it's well-priced and has a range of dishes. The more traditional Indian dishes (I had the Benghan Bartha and a couple of other vegetarian plates) were also good. Service has been slow, and the ambiance is not the most relaxing, but it's got a pleasant bustle from all the delivery orders. The only thing that didn't quite work for me was the rice pudding! Too syrupy or something.
Miss ya, Zante! Wish you were in San D.
Zante Pizza & Indian is this very unassuming establishment in the mission with KICKASS food!!!
My first experience here was for dinner... We ordered quite a feast and it came out to about $30... not bad for a full dinner for two, including leftovers! Personally we had great service- they were extremely attentive, efficient and helpful. That may have had something to do with the fact that business was pretty slow, but still! A+ for the service!
My second experience with Zante was when we wanted to get indian food delivered. They delivered free of charge, had it to us in about 45 minutes and drove all the way to NOB HILL!!! Pretty damn stellar, if you ask me.
I have yet to try the indian pizza, but it does sound rather intriguing...
AWESOME INDIAN PIZZA.
Me, Friday get-together in SF 7pm, several months back, as my friends said they were gonna get delivery from Zante: "what's Indian pizza?"
Me, Friday get-together in SF 8pm, same evening: "oh my lord, this is incredible pizza."
Flavorful. Different. Wonderful. Addictive. Ask me though what the toppings are from the taste, and I'd be hard-pressed to rattle off the ingredients without seeing their menu -- but the orchestra of flavors creates a symphony in your mouth. Nice chewy dough as well. And my friends had the foresight to order the chicken curry for dipping.
The rest of the food ordered was good -- but dear lord, that pizza. Since that evening we ordered twice again, all three times delivery was within an hour. I've only done delivery so cannot speak to the in-dining experience.
Zante, one suggestion: Open an East bay location or deliver to Oakland? Pleeeeeeze??
Not a fan, based on this experience (delivery)
I had what appear to be the usual problems with delivery -- place order online at 6:05, receive confirmation call at 6:10 "45 mins to 1 hour". Called at 7:20 to see where it was...after much discussion in the background and repeating name and address, "driver's on his way". Um, yea, right. pizza arrives at 7:50. No surprise, completely cold.
But unlike many of the other reviews, I thought the pizza itself was meh. Had a large indian pizza; thick chewy crust (and not in the good way) and very sparse toppings. Was there actually any cheese on it? Hard to tell.
All this for $30+ with tax and (small) tip? Hmmmm, don't think so....
zante's rocked my face off, i mean seriously this was good, i'd had it before yes, but there was something special this time, and i really loved eating it. HINT: get mango chutney to dip your crust in.
Right on!!!
We picked up an Indian Pizza to-go on Saturday night... I had been sick and sad, and my boyfriend had a feeling it would be the right thing to make me better.
The service was fine for us, and it wasn't long at all before our order was ready.
Did I mention they also have ONLINE ORDERING from their website and deliver anywhere in the city for free?! I dig that.
Anyhow, the first bite of that pizza rocked my world. I love Indian food, so Indian food on a pizza? YEAH! It really was delicious. It was the perfect combination of spices and flavors. I went from having no appetite at all to devouring about half of the pizza, ready and willing to fight Marcelo for the other half. I had a butter knife nearby and probably would have used it.
I do have to say that I didn't eat there... This review is REALLY just based on the food itself. Maybe that's the way to do it, just take it home. Sounds like the service is sub-par at best.
But this pizza is delicious to the max!
This place has been recommended to me several times. I finally realized that they deliver to my place and tried them out. My first experience with them was good. Both the pizza and the Indian food were very good, if a bit pricey for what you get.
The second time I ordered, was shocking. My pizza showed up after 2 hours, and several calls. The guy on the phone was very rude. Each time I called he would say that the food would be there in 5 minutes then hung up.
Finally, when the pizza arrived, I asked the driver why it was so late. He said that we were too far and they didn't pay him enough to come that far. If he has a problem with the delivery area, he should take it up with them, not with me.
Of course, since the pizza was so late it was barely above room temperature.
Between my experience and that of other yelpers, I'm not planning on ever ordering from here again.
Indian pizza?! What? Best in SF, wait a minute...
I never heard such thing as an Indian meat pizza, minutes later....wow, this is really good. Order the mango juice, it's quiet impressive.
As my little cousin would say, DEEWISHOUS!
I heard so much about this place I had to give it a try. Lets see, nothing to fancy inside but the dining area, Indian music that was a little too loud and a few folks behind the counter. A nice man greets us and seats us.
After a few minutes we decide on, The Best Indian Pizza, lamb samosa and 2 Lassai drinks.
Mango Lassi-Personally, I didnt like the drink., reminded me of a GoGurt.
Lamb samosa- YUMO
For all you people who like Indian food and love dipping your naan into every sauce you could dip it into, this pizza is the perfect creation. You no longer have to dip! The pizza contains so many flavors and so many toppings, its like a party in your mouth.
slather chicken tikka masala all over garlic naan, add deliciously seasoned & slow roasted vege Moussakaa (eggplant, chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, chard, and a cauliflower garlic melange), PRESTO, "PIZZA" PERFECTION! always been easy to order & accurate, quick delivery. I dunno after 9 years what else they serve, i've never had a reason to stray. Last time I ate @ Tasty Bite on the other Cortland corner, all i could do was compare & stare sadly across the street @ the Zante's awning. If I was a kid in the city, I'd stay home "sick" just to get this order all to myself!
Damn this place is deep. I mean, I thought that about Front Porch and about The Knockout and about the Dovre, all of which went whooshing by as we continued to head down Mission. Forever.
But Zante's is pretty dope if you're looking for Indian pizza. It's dope for two reasons: 1. it tastes really, really good and 2. um, who else actually makes Indian pizza? you don't really have any other choices.
I'm a little hesitant to order delivery just because I live really, really far away from this place so I find it impossible, no matter how fast or competent the delivery guy is, to have hot unsoggy pizza delivered. But...I will warn you...dining in is not spectacular either. You have to go here because you're dying for Zante's and nothing will stop you until you have some piping hot delicious indian pizza that can only be found way the hell deep in the mish in a dingy, awkwardly quiet dining room because at that moment it is the perfect, perfect food.
Kinda like Harold & Kumar.
This place is awesome. The Indian Pizza is super good!!
If you are a pizza lover go check it out... it's the most beautiful pizza I've ever seen.
I'll definitely add this to my faves in San Fran.
I have some news for the owners and "staff" at Zante Pizza.
The taste of your pizza, while undeniably very, very good, is *NOT* worth rude, incompetent delivery people and spending a very long time trying to explain (instructions also given ad nauseum while ordering) where I am standing, outside of my building, at a major cross-street, money in hand. Really. For the second time. I'm not going to pay you to be rude to me, that would just be stupid. I'm not sure why the delivery guy couldn't tell me where he was, but maybe he should invest in GPS if he doesn't know. The attitude certainly didn't help...and again, it was the second time, same experience.
So while I do very much enjoy your pizza - I won't be ordering again. Not worth it.
Tandoori Chicken Pizza is amazing, the delivery service was fast, the call back verification was perfect.
Now one of my top places for pizza in SF!
in fact...that may be the plan for this weekend...hmmm
On a lazy Saturday, wake up late. Really late, like 12 noon or 1 pm.
Don't even bother to get out of bed. Grab your phone (or go online) and place your order.
Yes, of course, you HAVE to get the Best Indian Pizza (with meat, sister! with M-E-A-T) and you might even get Veggie Samosas on the side.
So, the voice on the other end of the line says "ok, about 40 minutes"
Well, 1 hour later.... (yes, it is true what everybody says here about the delivery time)
My pizza wasn't piping hot, but not cold either. Warm pizza, yeah, I can live with that. I take a bite.
And then....
There was a MYRIAD of tasty explosion in my mouth! Is it the tandoori chicken? the prawns? the lamb? curry sauce? spinach, eggplant, cauliflower, ginger, garlic, green onions or cilantro? The folks at Zante's pizza were wise enough to put this on a thick crust. It just makes it all the more filling.
BTW, our order came up to a total of $24.65 (I don't know how that came to be, because the medium pizza costs $19.99 and the samosas were $4.99)
Guess we got a discount!
Indian Pizza? I thought only Italians made pizza...
A great fusion of pizza and sauce mixed with the flavors and spices of India. We ordered a Large with Tandoori Chicken, Spinach, Cauliflower, Garlic, Green Onions & Cilantro. The first bite was incredible. The flavor was amazing, and the taste was like nothing I had ever tasted. I think I could of ate the entire pizza by myself but I only had about 3 slices.
The delivery guy was really nice too. He called me to let me know that he was having trouble finding it but he was actually already here.
A different option to just ordinary pizza.
OVER TWO HOURS FOR DELIVERY.
And while I love spicy, this stuff had so much heat it was inedible.
NO NO NO.
NO.
Wow. I never realized that two of my favorite foods could come together in such a unique and delicious marriage of deliciousness. Indian pizza??? With chutney to dip the crust in?? Incredible. Now that I've had it, I don't know how I lived without it. Side note: I'm not usually a huge eggplant person, but I couldn't even tell that it was on the pizza because things were chopped tiny enough and the flavors mixed together so well. So I'd recommend leaving it on there - for nutritional value that you can't tell is there (and that is probably countered by the cheese ... but hey, you're eating pizza here, not a salad).
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