Address: | 2197 White Mountain Hwy, North Conway, NH 03860, USA |
Phone: | +1 603-356-0123 |
Site: | shalimarnorthconway.com |
Rating: | 3.2 |
Working: | Closed 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM |
RO
Roshan Thomas
Oneliner review: If you have food from here, you will regret it. We were a group of five on our way back from White Mountain, NH to Boston, MA. We did a day long trecking and were craving for some hot Indian food and thats when we stumbled up on the sign board Shalimar of India. The Restaurant looked good in appearance and we didnt bother to check the review. If we had, we wouldnt have had food from there or better - wouldnt have decided to write this detailed review. Since the five of us were really hungry, we ordered the following - Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Jalfrezi, Lamb Jalfrezi, Beef Masala and Beef Curry. We were hoping that it being an Indian restaurant we would get to eat something authentic. It was written in the menu that all these dishes come with rice. Without much delay, the food was served and to surprise all the gravy of all the dishes tasted exactly the same. All of then had the heavy taste of canned tomato puree. I can understand why restaurants have to use canned tomato puree for making dishes, but the overwhelming similarity of the dishes made it evident that that gave two flying hecks about the dishes. The names in the menu were just a way for them to make it look interesting. This would have been OK if it was a restaurant which charged you only 8-ish bucks for a main dish. But unlike the really good restaurants in Boston urban area the USP this rural area restaurant was pricey and untasty food. Each dish coated around $15 and was absolutely inedible. When they served initially they gave only two bowls of rice. (It should have been 5 as we ordered 5 dishes) So as we ate we asked for two more bowls of rice. The additional bowls which they brought were too small with hardly 3-4 teaspoons of rice. When they gave the cheque surprisingly we were charged an additional $4 for the rice. So we asked them and the answer was as follows. The initial two bowls which they served were apparently equivalent 4 bowls of rice and they gave one to us for free. (How considerate!) The last bowl was charged $4. I have no clue where on earth would people charge $4 for four teaspoons of rice. However they were extremely prompt to add 18% service charge aka tip without any fail. My advice: If you see this board, just drive past and there are Thai and Chinese restaurants down the road. Go there. Seriously!
KA
Kathy Tremblay
John and I have been going to Shalimar almost since the day it opened in the mid 1990s and it truly is our favorite restaurant. I know that all Indian restaurants are different, and each reflects the part of India the hosts are from. This is northern Indian cuisine from what one of my friends from India says (and they have enjoyed it too, when they are visiting). John is partial to Punjabi Lamb - it has the ground lamb in the sauce as well as the chunks of lamb. Im partial to the Saag Paneer and Lamb Saag. I REALLY dont like eggplant, and I mentioned it once, and they brought out a small dish of Baingan Bhartha for me to "just try!" and so I did - and I actually liked it! I told them I dont quite like it enough to order it for myself, but now I understand why its a favorite of one of my friends who goes there (also a regular). Although I rarely order any other drink other than the hot masala tea (which I really love - its lightly spiced w/ milk) Ive had the mango lassi as a treat, which I loved. Sometimes I order the vegetable pakoras - but I get too full for my lunch after that! Its coated with chickpea flour, rather than wheat flour which is good for me since I dont eat much wheat. One thing I have tried and tried to duplicate at home, but cant seem to get it just right is the delicious dal soup. Sometimes we order an extra quart or 2 to go, just because we love it so much. When I am eating wheat, well order the garlic or coconut nan (John prefers the coconut and loves it). Ive had the grilled chicken too, when Im in a mood for something a little lighter, and have enjoyed that. Because weve been customers for so very long, Ive had an opportunity to peek into the kitchen on occasion to say hello - and I can tell you that it is VERY clean. So are the restrooms. Spotless. We try to eat at Indian restaurants everywhere we go, and always come back to say, "Its good, but we like Shalimar the best!" So, although we are not of Indian descent, and we may not be familiar with too many other styles of Indian food (northern vs southern), we just love it.
SH
Shashi Dara
Caution before you go there. !!! Well, if there was any option for negative ratings I would have chosen one.Well from it was a bad experience right from the time we entered the restaurant. We waited for about 5 mins to be seated, it wasnt like it was fully occupied. Hardly any guests yet they had taken time to even look at us. Food was a terrible experience. Even a non Indian cook would have made a better food I guess. We ordered chicken reshmi kabab as appetizer n chicken tikka masala for entree. Appetizer was so dry with hardly any spices in it, felt like few days old chicken taken out from freezer, boiled , added some salt and was served. Chicken tikka masala tasted like rotten tomato soup. Chunks of chicken added into a whole lot of tomato ketchup. Cook certainly need some lessons on how to cook. An average Indian can cook far more tastier food than this. Definitely does not justify it to be Indian cuisine. Promoting bad taste of Indian food. Either management needs to change their cook or dont expect people to visit more than once. Indian cooking is an art and needs to have spices to have real taste. People who wants to try Indian food, this is not the place. Waste of dollars and time .
SH
Shadligh Dale
As a British expat living in North Conway, I can tell you now this is nothing compared to the Indian restaurants back home. Is it terrible? No it isnt. But its also not that great either. For starters the fact you can ask for a Vindaloo or any of the other dishes in different spice levels is just awful. The hottest are just more chilles and spices to make them hotter. If you have a real prepared Vindaloo (which is always one of the spiciest dishes on the menu back home) it isnt just laced with spice it has many layers of taste as well as heat.. Also only two toppings for poppadoms, a sweet and sour sauce and a chopped red spiced onion chutney. No myriad of toppings like coconut, mint chutney, or the many others you would get at a traditional Indian fare. And as others have stated, the meats etc are kind of bland and have a previously frozen lack of flavor.. If you cant be bothered to travel elsewhere or even cook your own Indian food (even if you arent very good at it, you will get better results just using a slow cooker, some meat, veggies and some store bought Pataks sauces) then yes its just OK. If you want real traditional Indian food, Id go elsewhere and save your money.
PU
Pur Vik
VERY POOR service and pathetic quality. This place is a disgrace on Indian food! Trust me comes from Indian family. The owner or manager (chubby lady) is SUPER MOODY and ARROGANT as this is only Indian restaurant around. Wish they have some other Indian restaurant and competitor in Conway area soon! FOOD: As you see many non Indians will not even realize the actual food served up as Indian and write a review. The naans were half cooked or baked with raw dough showing inside. Chicken masala was loaded with sugar or corn syrup. Tandoor was broken...claimed the lady owner. Chicken and goat curries are pathetic at best, made from frozen and stale cut meat pieces. Spinach looked right out of frozen cut bag and half cooked. AMBIENCE: This is most weird part. They have a dingy for an actual kitchen. Very shabby and dirty kitchen if you see it going on the way to restrooms. Plus the family or workers stay there in the same business in the basement and top floor. Oh and if this helped we saw a big rat outside right below the deck entrance. Will never go here again.