Palki Best Indian Cuisine

Excellent service, clean room, great food.
We enjoyed a great meal here recently.
I believe this restaurant offers the best combination of value,
service, quality of food in NV for Indian food.
They asked us how hot, so no surprises. Also very attentive
with the water jug, as we drank plenty of water.
All around a very pleasant experience.

The butter chicken was bland and the delivery driver lacked basic manners. I will not be returning.

I’m visiting Vancouver for holiday and I went there for dinner, great food and service too. My favorites are garlic naan and Beef curry and chicken tandoori and I recommend you all to order one at least.

With the closing of Maurya on the other side, these guys are clearly the nicest, classiest Indian restaurant in North Van.
Always been meaning to come here again but due to work objectives in trying as many as different restaurants, as well as it’s all the way out here, but I digress.
We came here for a business meeting, and made a pact to not go for the buffet due to our early New Years resolutions, but that sure went to the trash can when we first walked in, the buffet smacked in front of our eyes — clever marketing, these guys are taking away my job lol.
for $ 12.95 at this quality, you can’t beat it. Taste & selection better than Ashiana on Kingsway, imho.
easy repeat.

Great value, great volume, great culinary virtuosity.

Very very good. We have been here many times and the food and service are great. Once we overheard some UK tourists saying that before they left home they were told that Palki was a «must». So they bussed all the way there. The service is always great, everything hot and fresh. I have a vegan in my family that loves it since there are many vegan options that are absolutely perfect — I have them myself. Easy to get to, right off Lonsdale in North Vancouver.

While in Vancouver, my family and I went to Palki Best Indian Cuisine for lunch. As it turns out, their lunch offering was a buffet with salads, rice, assorted curry dishes, and tandoori chicken.
The food at Palki Best Indian Cuisine was good. The curries/​stews were not unreasonably spicy, so I believe that most people would enjoy their lunch buffet. The service was okay, but there was room for improvement — It would have been more enjoyable to have a more attentive server.
Recommendation:
–Lunch buffet: it offers a variety of dishes to sample
Verdict:
While not my favourite Indian restaurant, I’d return.
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ³⁄₅
Overall: 3.5÷5

Very good authentic Indian cuisine!!! We started out with the vegetable pakoras and I had the eggplant Bhartha and naan. Yum! Delicious!!! I ordered mine mild-​medium and it had a good kick to it! Service was good. Restaurant was modern and nicely decorated. Next time I’m in the area I will definitely go back:)

Won’t go again ever. Although the cooks were talented, the staff made us (2 of us) feel as though they couldn’t care less whether we were there or not. And, it was our anniversary! We had to ask for dinner napkins, we weren’t done and the server came to take the plates away, and when the manager? owner? man brought us a second glass of wine each, he was so disinterested, he didn’t bother to ask which of us had which kind and brought two glasses of the same kind. No one came to collect payment so we paid on the way out and the older lady staffing the til didn’t bother to stop her phone conversation to take the money. Ugh! Good thing we weren’t depending on them to make our special day feel special!
*******Mr. M replied with offer of a dinner on them for both of us to make up for this experience. A very kind offer.******

Palki is the best Indian food on the north shore. The lunch buffet is a steal of a deal and offers everything you could want and more. I would recommend the palki for its hospitality and good quality and authentic food

Nothin about this place was authentic! We had takeouts from here twice! All we tasted was unflavoured cheap meat drowned in sauce, they call «curry». I am quite passionate about Indian food and it’s disappointing that this place fails to put in the effort. So far, we ordered chicken vindaloo, chicken briyani and chicken korma. The breads were not bad but the food is despicable. You can literally taste the chicken thighs gamy and old. Definitely not fresh meat/​ingredients. Im sorry will not be ordering from here again. Indian fusion on lonsdale is much better.

One of our regular stops when passing through Vancouver on the way to Whistler due to their convenient location off the TCH on the North side, ample parking and good food. A highlight is gluten-​free roti bread! Worth keeping on your list of reliable cheap Indian joints.

Not bad, we’ll actually visit it again for sure. I lived for over 7 years three minutes from this restaurant and just because I’ve always been a bit reluctant to the Indian curry (it’s just about the taste and cultural difference, nothing else), I never went there. Big mistake! And it just happened I visited the rival Indian Fusion restaurant on Lonsdale sooner (and we liked it too).
We ordered a similar «mixed grill» platter as the one we usually order at Indian Fusion. Similar plate, about $ 3 more, but with slightly more meat and bigger shrimps. Tasty, but too many onions on the plate and no other vegetables (it’s like the owners want to make sure at $ 24 the plate we absolutely need to order also something else?!)
Another difference was on the «special effects»: at Indian Fusion we get the similar plate burning and making a delicious noise, it’s like it was just picked up out of the oven. At Palki… nothing!
But Palki looks like having more variety in its menu, with plenty of plates at ~$ 12, which is very decent. We’ll try for sure most of them in the next few months.

Date of Visit: Sunday July 27 2014
Time of Visit: 7:30pm
It had been a while since I have had some good, tasty Indian food, and I was having a total craving from naan bread and curry sauce, so, based on a recommendation from a friend and the reviews on Unilocal,I decided to have my work dinner meeting at the North Vancouver Indian restaurant, Palki on Lonsdale on Sunday evening.
The restaurant wasn’t overly busy, which at first, caused a little worrysome, but I soon realized that it was still super nice outside, and the sun was still shining, that most people are probably out having BBQ’s at the park or on the beach.
We were greeted and sat down right away, and had water brought to the table instantly. We soon ordered beers, and those two came within minutes. Service was great so far, and I had a cold frosty glass for my beer, so I was already happy.
My friend and colleague told me to take over the ordering since he would eat anything I ordered, and I was the one who was having the cravings, so I knew exactly what I wanted! So we ordered the following:
— Vegetable Pakora
— Paneer Pakora
— Coconut Chicken Curry, Medium spice
— Matteer Paneer curry, Medium spice
— 1 order of naan bread
— 1 side of regular rice
(food porn pictures attached!)
First off, everything was delicious and came out piping hot! The pakora’s tasted great, and were not overly greasy which was nice. Portion sizes were quite large for an appetizer, and they came out within five minutes of ordering.
The coconut curry and Matteer paneer curry were very tasty as well. I preferred the paneer over the chicken though, as I found the curry itself just had a bit more flavour. Both dishes were served in a metal round dish, that had a candle underneath them which kept the food hot the entire time, which was crucial as my friend and I were talking so much, if the food hadn’t been in these dishes, it would have gone cold.
The only thing I would mention is that I was surprised how mild medium was. I read a review on here saying that their food was quite spicy, and not to order the food too too hot if you don’t like too much heat. So I opted for medium thinking I would get a little bit of heat, but not so bad that I can’t taste anything and my mouth is on fire! However, medium was very mild, and I never broke a sweat once… so if you want it to be a little more hot, I would definitely try more than medium.
All in all, great experience overall. Food was delicious and the service was great! Would highly recommend to anyone, and I would definitely be going back in the future!

Wow, wow, wow. I cannot say enough good things about Palki. My family has been eating here for years. We generally do take out, although I went to Palki for my 20^th birthday with my family. Interior is really nice and simple, on the more formal side. The staff is very friendly.
And the food is remarkable. My favourites are the kofta dil bahar, chana masala, naan (of course), and the vegetable pakora. I am a pescetarian now, but I previously ate meat and the butter chicken and rogan gosh are to die for. The biryani is also very good.
Highly recommend!

I don’t know about you, but I think every person should have a «go-​to» Italian, Indian, Chinese, and Thai food restaurant wherever they live. Somewhere they know exactly what they are going to order, what kind of service they will get and how they will feel once they have polished off their plate.
With that being said, we should not be hesitant to try new things!
My other half is very critical of Indian food. He is from Trinidad and enjoys spicy, very fragrant food. So I just listen to him for the most part. He orders and I eat. One thing he feels strongly about is Butter Chicken and lamb. He orders Butter Chicken and a lamb dish every time because the best way to judge Indian restaurants. Apparently, it’s crucial to a passing grade.
Whatever, order it cause I just want to eat.
So the decision as to where we would order from took time. Of course we Unilocaled the best places first and we came across Palki. This place is kind of hidden. It’s behind the Shoppers Drug Mart on the corner of 15^th and Lonsdale in North Vancouver. Definitely easy to miss. The sign is red and white under an awning in a strip mall so you must pay attention.
We ordered Lamb Saagwla, Butter Chicken (of course), Gobi Aloo and Garlic Naan.
First of all I have never seen garlic naan as big as theirs. And it wasn’t just brushed with garlic butter, it was grilled with roasted garlic. Yep!
The Lamb was excellent. Very different to other curries I have had. The spinach was pureed in the sauce so it was a dark green colour. I definitely recommend this for people who like lamb but don’t like overbearing curries.
The Gobi Aloo was fantastic. The cauliflower was cooked perfectly. I always get this when I have Indian food. It’s my first choice veggie dish but it is very hit or miss. Palki’s was a definite hit!
The prices are reasonable for Indian food. I think it was worth every penny.
And the BF approved, which is key.
We just did take out but i recommend dining in if you can. The place is very clean and has beautiful décor. I think it would add more to the experience than sitting on a floor in an empty apartment with a cardboard box as a table. Yep… we did.
Oh and don’t use a knife and fork, eat it properly with your hands, that’s what naan is for. You’ll feel super cultured by the end. Promise.
Enjoy!

Absolutely love Palkis !! They have the best Indian food around !! However don’t order the hot if you can’t handle it because their hot is burning !! For sure try the bitter chicken as its by far my favourite.
Palkis has me ordering once a month at a minimum !!

There isnt one reason that this place doesnt deserve 5 stars.
My family has been coming here forever. The owner and his family are always around and so friendly, their manager is so great too. Their butter chicken is to die for, their onion bajia is addictive, I love the papadam and the naan. Despite having come here for years upon years I can’t order anything besides the butter chicken because it is so good!
This business deserves to be busier and get more exposure.

I always have such a hard time reviewing my regular go-​to places… I am beyond biased about Palki. I love it… even more so since the remodel.
I started coming to Palki over a decade ago and the butter chicken was the best I had ever had. My family has some Scottish and English roots and we often host big get togethers here, and the food and service are great. Ever since, I have been to Palki every couple of months, and the food is consistent. My absolute favorite menu item that I have regularly is the kofta dil bahar… It is a vegetarian dish with paneer, veggies, nut and spice fritters in an amazing creamy tomato sauce that has such a beautiful and unique taste. I’m not a vegtetarian and yet I am drawn to eating this everytime I go. I get laughed at now by the owner because that seems to be my nickname here «oh look its kofta!» lol. I never thought I’d be that predictable.
The other menu items they do so well are the paneer pakora (paneer is perfect texture and their mint and tamarind chutney’s are amazing), paneer and spinach stuffed naan, prawn pakora (never overcooked, delicate), anything lamb from the tandoor, the «mixed grill», tandoori prawn, vindaloo (good but not the best out there), prawn dilwala (interesting fusion dish), dal makhani, hari bhari sabzi, and their kulfi for dessert. These are all dishes I have had often and have never been disappointed by.
I wish I could list the butter chicken still as my favorite, but it alas has changed from its original somehow, and although very good, is not as amazing as it once was. I also believe they water down their sauces during the lunchtime buffet… uncool. The same goes for their regular naans, samosas, their rogan josh, saagwala, saag dishes, and other desserts… all are passable, but I have had far better elsewhere. I think this is typical though of most restaurants that try to cover a diverse culture’s dishes in one location… everyone seems to have their specialties that represent the area they are from while representing other dishes very generically.
The owner and the «infamous» waiter everyone always speaks about have actually been part of the reason this place holds such charm for me… they know you by name and they remember your last visit. They are true characters… they constantly try to destroy my uncles, cousins, and dates who challenge them to make it «crazy hot», which I have seen get to hilarious extremes, including raw chili eating contests with laughter and tears flowing, creating true «wings from hell» and bringing out their personal hot sauce creation with a large spoonful for each of us. They can also adeptly handle my slightly racist older relatives with flair, coming back with well-​deserved witty retorts, all the while being personable and charming. They are not fake friendly or trying to impress you, and if you are rude or insulting, expect to get back what you give, and be sent to Nando’s…maybe its where you belong…

I’ve lived on the North Shore for over a decade and this was my first time going. I had heard from a family member they had a terrible experience (maybe 6 – 8 years ago) so it made me never want to go. But I was in the mood for Indian and didn’t want to drive far.
I was actually pretty impressed with the restaurant. Although really dark, the atmosphere and ambience was good. We (2 of us) ordered a lamb curry dish ($ 13, wasn’t on the menu, I think «methi» or something) and the chicken tikka ($ 13) with normal naan ($ 2) and the keema naan ($ 4, meet filled). Everything was good. We got the curry medium spicy and it was the perfect amount.
Felt like dessert and got the ras malai, which was good.
Altogether, we ended up paying $ 41 (incl tax + tip). It was a pretty good value for the price — the portions are pretty large, compared to other restaurants. Three or four people could eat with 3 dishes + naan/​etc.
We asked for some pickled chutney/​chilis and they brought some really horrible salty stuff (tasted right out of a jar filled with extra salt), but took it back when we said how bad it was.
Suggestion for the restaurant — tell the waitresses not to call it «naan bread,» it’s just «naan.»
You could drive ~20 minutes and get better food at a much better price, but if you’re looking for something good that’s in the neighbourhood, try this place out.