Shahnawaz Restaurant
| Address: | 18728 Pioneer Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701, USA |
| Phone: | +1 562-402-7443 |
| Site: | shahnawazonline.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | Closed 11:30AM–3:30PM 11:30AM–3:30PM 11:30AM–3:30PM 11:30AM–3:30PM 12–3:30PM 12–3:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
SA
Sai Doddi
This place can easily deserve 5 stars. As others have pointed out buffet on weekends is the best deal. The place gets very crowded over the weekends and it is mismanaged. There was no usher to greet us when I went there for the first time with my wife. So its a bit confusing when you enter the place. But I realized quickly that you need to pay before eating. I dont know if you need to leave a top here or not because it is self service and you dont get a waiter but I left an 18% tip. We were shown a table to sit at but it was so awkwardly placed that I had to get up twice while I was eating to make way for people that were leaving at other tables. Eventually I decided to rerrange our table and chairs so I dont get interrupted while eating. The food menu during the buffet is mind boggling. The mutton biryani was excellent. There are multiple dishes of chicken, goat and lamb. There is also fish and other meat. I found that the goat and one chicken was off as though it wasnt fresh..or may be it was just a flavoring but it wasnt to my taste. There is a lot of chaos in the place that can be avoided by good management and hiring additional staff. There are enough non vegetarian and vegetarian dishes that you will leave satisfied. The deserts are good and they also have bbq outside that I didnt try because I was full just by tasting some of the food I like inside the restaurant. Our neighbours dining next to us were kicked out and their table was occupied by some other people because they took a teeny bit long to return when they left to get their second serving of food. They had to find another table to eat poor fellas. Overall I liked the food. Ambience is bad because of the chaos. Staff is helpful but overwhelmed. I would recommend this place to anyone if they want to try good food. The price is right for people that have a good appetite or else it might sound a bit expensive but I think it is worth it.
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A Private User
Ive been here mostly for their Sunday brunch, a lavish spread of about 15 dishes, that features the best of North Indian cuisine with a smattering of the owners native Hyderabadi fare. The naans are always perfect, the tandoori chicken moist, and the paya (trotter stew) spicy and authentic. The nihari is great. The also serve goat and chicken biriyanis, various chicken and goat dishes, but their signature dish is the Hyderabadi Mirche ka Salan - Jalapenos in a sweet and sour peanut-sesame sauce. They also have the eggplant equivalent. If you havent had this, please do yourself a favor and drive there next Sunday. It is so worth the 20-mile drive for me! One thing I really like is that they are not stingy with condiments. Youll see heaping piles of fried onions, salad, chopped jalapenos etc. They also serve at least three types of desserts, which could be anything from semolina halva, creamy Indian rice pudding, the Hyderabadi apricot stew and gulab jamuns. My single complaint, and therefore the four star review, is the LOUD karaoke singers who perform Indian film songs while patrons are dining. It is extremely hard to carry out a conversation. But then you can focus on your food!
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A Private User
As far as the management of Shahnawaz goes, its horrible and I realized this on the Chand Raat event this EID-UL-FITR (2009). There was no organization of food stalls, no concepts of making lines. Pretty much if you want to buy a food you can just cut every other person who might be waiting for long. Moreover the security personnel were even worst. First off, there was no announcement of any sort, through out the program, when the program will end, even though they had a huge mic and speaker system setup. And all of a sudden at around 12:00 the security guys started kicking out people using all sorts of bad and insulting language. I really felt bad at that point since i was there too with my family. I would never ever go to or recommend Shahnawaz for hosting any sort of event. There food might be good but there overall management makes you think twice about how this restaurant is running after all Usman Chaudhri
RU
Rueben Martin
This place always gets mixed reviews and I guess for good reasons. We usually like this restaurant but the quality has been decreasing steadily. We come back anyways because the food is decent. the food was not the best, our Bihari kabob was burned and salty. The service has always been whatever, not terrible friendly, and they did not take our order a head of time. Their phone manner is known to be bad. Good Pakistani food is hard to find, I wish I could have given it at least a three, but having to protect our food from the flies cost the last star. The portions have decreased but cost is higher than before. Probably need to find a different regular Pakistani place.
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A Private User
I would stay away from this restaurant, the managements customer service is quite disappointing. I bought some gift certificates after I called and confirmed that they accept those certificates. However, on the day we wanted to dine there and use these certificates, I called again to make reservation and reconfirm if they accept the certificates.and they refused to accept it. I toll them about previous inquiry and they flatly and rudely denied it and showed no courtesy, I felt like they have no concept of valuing customers and showing courtesy. I cancelled my plan and went to another place near by. I wouldnt visit a place where customers are treated this way,.
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A Private User
I am from Pakistan and I know what a good Indian or Pakistani meal is. This restaurant serves the most unhealthy and horrible food. Tried 4 different dishes and none of them were cooked properly. Meat and vegetables were all just floating in the peppered oil. I ended up puking after eating a bit. On top of that the guy tried to overcharge. Made him aware of the actual price. He made correction on the receipt. But overcharged again on the credit card. Had to dispute though credit card company to get the money back. My advice - Never eat there unless you dont mind getting sick or dont mind getting fraudulently overcharged.
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Asim Bharwani
EDIT-- They moved to the Little India Village structure on Pioneer, and I dislike the structure so Im downgrading the rating. Top floor. Its a larger dining area but doesnt feel as comfortable. Didnt eat this time as it was buffet only. Will try the food next time-- maybe. I miss the original place. Love love love this place. I try to come by every trip to Artesia. Food is awesome, the best taste in all of the greater LA area. The actual dining area is a little dumpy but the service is great (especially a new server they have) and the food of course is fantastic!
KH
Khaleel Mohib
The food was great. I have never been to their older location but I have been to their Little India location too many times. Customer service wise, I think they do not shine but they are not too bad either. My only caveat with this place is that they need to keep the food hot and not warm during their weekend buffets. And please... please.... dont add sheekh kabob to the tikka masala.. I beg you. It really gives an impression that you are recycling yesterdays leftovers although I am not saying that maybe the case here. Desserts are a hit or a miss always.
