Shalimar
| Address: | 307 S Main St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA |
| Phone: | +1 734-663-1500 |
| Site: | shalimarrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 12–3PM 12–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
A
A Private User
I have never in my life received such bad, rude, and outright nasty service before. My friend and I were tired after a long day of shopping in Ann Arbor, its around 4pm. So before leaving town, we wanted to sit down and have a soda while munching on something simple. This was BEFORE the dinner rush. We walked into this place, it was almost totally empty. We get seated at a small table for two in the front of the restaurant and proceed for our waiter to arrive. He hands us full dinner menus (its only 4pm, we are not hungry for dinner) that we politely decline and inform him we would simply like to order sodas and a small appetizer. He stops pouring us water, snatches away our menus and proceeds to tell us in a very hostile and short manner that we need to get up and go to the bar NOW. We found it funny that he stopped pouring our drinks, and actually took the WATER away from us - clearly we were not even worth pouring water for. We sit there in shock. He walks away to the hostess and proceeds to actually yell at her in front of us about her seating us at a table instead of the bar. We are sitting there in shocked silence. After he is done yelling at the hostess he comes back to us and proceeds to resume rudely ordering us to get up and go sit at the bar. It is 4pm, the place is vacant with tons of empty seating, why cant we sit at a small table? There was no harm in us sitting there, and certainly no need for this guy to go off the handle. We walked out - didnt stay, will never return. Easily the worst customer service experienced ever, anywhere.
A
A Private User
Ignore the bad reviews. Having grown up in Punjab, I can vouch that the flavors and preparation at Shalimar are authentic. Based on our two recent dining experiences and comparing the food and ambience vs. other metro Detroit Indian/Pakistani restaurants, I cannot give Shalimar anything less than 5 stars. Keep in mind that this is Northern Indian cuisine and the flavors/recipes are different from Southern Indian. So, if you are not used to Northern Indian food you may think the food was prepared incorrectly, which is not the case. The curries we tried were true to the flavors that my mother used to make. The breads were excellent too. The deserts were superb. The wait staff was excellent. The restaurant is clean and unlike other local Indian restaurants you wont leave smelling of curry. Our freshman UM daughter gave it the nose test before she agreed to eating here. She definitely did not wish to go back to her dorm smelling of curry and she did not. This kid is a very picky eater and she demolished everything we ordered. Pricing for us was not an issue. We dont object to paying a little extra for excellence! We have eaten at the cheaper places and they dont compare.
JE
Jessica Rosenberg
We went here last night for Restaurant Week. My original review (with 3 stars) said "Shalimar has absolutely delicious food." I think I forgot just how very delicious, though. I was Mmming constantly. I mean constantly--to the point where it must have been really annoying to sit near me. I must have Mmmed through half of the meal, at least. Maybe 75%. Beginning to end, it was a tasty feast. AND I felt like Shalimar was generous: - appetizer - main course (the stuffed chicken... holy hell... they stuffed it with manna, I swear) - giant bread basket (MINT naan! among others...) - dessert - tea Many of the restaurants that say three courses for Restaurant Week mean three courses. Shalimars extras were greatly appreciated. Especially because they were all so good! So why still 4 stars? Its still so expensive. But Im now willing to say that the food can be worth the price. Solid service, too.
FI
Fib Narj
The food was fine, but for the lack of flavor the prices seemed a bit steep. The atmosphere of the restaurant was fine, not exceptional. BUT, the main thing about me and my familys experience here was the TERRIBLE SERVICE. They were not friendly and barely regarded us, not to mention kept us waiting a TREMENDOUSLY long time. We had to go great lengths to flag them down. The waiter did not write our orders down and as such, kept forgetting things and took 5 to 10 minutes to rectify it. Not to mention, they added a steep gratuity to our check, citing the number of guests as 6 (we had 4 people), which we only noticed days later. Terrible service, mediocre food (for the price). Ann Arbor has much better establishments available.
CH
Chris Woelkers
Why should you go? The rice and the bread. If you havent tried the rice on its own do so. Im not certain what they cook it with, although cassia bark, whole cumin seeds, and cardamom are on the top of the possible list, but it is flavorful and could be eaten all on its own. The garlic naan(bread) is very good as well. It has chopped garlic salt and something delicious, but unknown, cooked in. It is not overly garlicky but the flavor is there, even a garlic lover will be able to find it. The Chicken Korma was very good. Fair warning though, if you have an issue with spicy foods ask for no extra spice. The medium that I tried was on par with a spicy Mexican dish. Good but possibly overdone.
SA
Samadul Chowdhury
The food is good. Service is terrible. Pricing is terrible. I walked in waiting to be seated for 10 minutes. A couple different employees walked past us and made eye contact on what had to be at least 15 different occasions. But one after another, each and every one of them ignored my date and I. A small "welcome to Shalimar! Well be with you as soon as possible" would have sufficed. And the phone, the phone kept ringing and ringing but no one came to pick it up ! Id also like to note that the food is way overpriced when compared to other indian restaurants in Ann Arbor like Cardamom or Raja Rani that serve the same dishes of equal taste and quality.
A
A Private User
Love Shalimar. Great curries & super friendly staff. I usually eat at the bar and the bartender is not only beautiful, but hilarious. She makes a killer dirty martini. When I eat at a table, I always request Tanos section since hes by far the most knowledgable & provides amazing service. Foods not that pricey, anyone that says so is mainly just being cheap (10-16$ for an enter seems reasonable to me). Decor is beautiful. Food is very authentic and is the best Indian food you can get outside of India.
A
A Private User
LOUSY SERVICE and terrible attitude outweighs the good food and nice decor, too bad. Lately we have gravitated towards the other Indian restaurants in town that appreciate our business. A couple of experiences with exceedingly rude waiters and the equally rude owner at the hostess stand sort of sour one on the place (not isolated instances). Food is good and the atmosphere is a step up from most Indian in Ann Arbor. Just don’t be shocked if the staff are rude from the owner on down
DA
Danielle Anderson
Food was very tasty. I cant speak to whether it was americanized or "not spicy enough" but i would put it about mid way up the buffalo wild wings sauce scale. Our server was very kind and explained what everything was, going out of his way to accomidate veganism and nut allergies. Many delicious vegetarian options. My favorite was the tomato soup. Also, the fried cauliflower dish..I dont remember the name. I had never had Indian food and this place didnt upset my digestive system.
