Biryani House

I’m not at all surprised that this place closed down. I developed really bad food poisoning after eating the Chicken Tikka Masala and garlic naan here.

A friend from Pakistan took me here because he said it was the best Pakistani food around. I’ve been addicted ever since. The Karahi Ghosht is unbeleivable. My favorite restaurant in Berkeley.
Again, this is my favorite restaurant in Berkeley.
I hope the closure is only a remodel because otherwise I am going to leave the country.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
Come back!!!
I used to love the chicken tikka masala, and many others.
I gotta admit the service wasn’t 5 stars, but then again it was a self-​serving restaurant…
Most of their plate were really authentic in their taste, according to some Pakistani friends.
Please come back! xD *tears*

I came here on a Friday night craving naan. The place was pretty empty, with only a couple of customers, but the woman who took our order was still spot on with customer service, even cracking a few jokes with me and my friend. The naan was $ 1 each piece, but the pieces are HUGE and come piping hot. I thought it was well worth the price. I’ll probably come back here again craving something else.

I had biryani only at this place and one of worst biryani in my life.
Service also 1 star

Not sure why this place is given 3.5 stars for the price this place is worth every penny. The service is quick and the food is definitely fresh and authentic. We ordered chicken biriyani, chicken tandoori leg, chicken sheesh kabob, garlic naan, paneer tikka masala, and chicken Karahi for four of us. All the food was fresh, hot, and the meat was tender and well cooked. The spices were right not too hot that u feel like ur tongue is on fire. The garlic naan had the right softness and the biriyani was bomb made out of basmati rice. I am a great sucker for good biriyanis and this place has good one. The Karahi was not too oily which was perfect and the meat was tender that it melts in your mouth. I am surprised this place has got 3.5 stars. Oh they also have complimentary tea which is hot and right for your palate after a comfy meal. Only downside the quantity is less for the price maybe cost inflation maybe the reason.

I’m so sad to be giving biryani house 3 stars but a lot has changed in terms of quality and portions from 2 years ago.
My second year, biryani house was THE place for Indian food (although it still didn’t taste that authentic).
I went here for dinner yesterday expecting the same quality and portions and was sadly disappointed.
Chicken Vindaloo (²⁄₅): I got 3 very small pieces of meat and 2 potatoes for $ 8
Paneer Tikka Masala (³⁄₅): 5 – 6 small cubes of paneer and a bunch of sauce
Daal (3.5÷5): this was good but we got so little
Naan (⁵⁄₅): huge pieces of Naan, so warm and fluffy
On another note, this place has a TON of vegetarian options, more than other Indian restaurants.
The workers are very friendly and if I’m ever on shattuck, this would still be the place I’d go to!

Chicken tikka masala is the go to dish for me at any Indian restaurant and there’s was pretty solid. I like the flavor and when paired with the hot naan it was delicious. Apparently this place is pretty good as my Indian co-​workers always want to come here when they have a chance to stop by Berkeley.

Biryani House has gone down the tubes. I used to come here all the time, but unlike a fine wine, it has not aged well. Gone is the tasty food. Gone is the lively atmosphere. Gone are the large crowds. In fact, the only constant is Rosie, who has taken my order without fail for years.
With veggie korma that tastes like tomato vegetable soup and is just as thin, and with aloo naan that tastes like cheap canned potatoes or is unavailable altogether, I don’t see the point in coming back. House of Curries has stepped up its game, so I started going there instead even though it is further from home.

Ok, let’s start with the good: the masala lamb with a naan tasted great. I really enjoyed the taste. It wasn’t overly spicy but not plain either.
Now the bad: the portion was a darn joke. For $ 9.27 I got a decently sized round naan and about 6 1.5in pieces of lamb in masala sauce. Now, if this was $ 4 I wouldn’t have a problem with it but for close to $ 10 I expect more for my money. Maybe I should’ve opted for rice instead but either way this is ridiculous. They need to either be upgraded to $$ on Unilocal (by weight more like to $$$) or make their portions a bit larger for the money.

Pros:
1) Chicken vindaloo, I highly recommend (red spicy sauce and potatoes)
2) free chai tea
3) garlic naan, delicious
4) lunch specials, lunch for 2 for under $ 20
5) I reiterate, good prices
Cons:
1) Sub-​par Chicken Tikka Masala (tastes like chef boyardee)
2) Portions are on the medium/​small side, but still decent.
3) Restrooms are pretty run down
I have to admit, I likes this and I’m going back again tomorrow just for the chicken vindaloo. Maybe I’ll try the tandoori chicken or the spiciest thing on the menu (whatever that may be). Afterwards, I will become a very hairy man.

I’ve only been here once, actually today, and the prices are very reasonable. The lunch special was tasty but nothing special and the portions were small. Almost all three stars were earned for the delicious Aloo Naan.
The free chai tea actually was not that flavorful, but it was nice that it was free.
And honestly, the place could use a little more panache with its interior décor.

I truly wanted to like this place; I swear I did. I’ve never had Pakistani food before so I was hella excited to get out of my comfort zone. Never the fuck again.
I had the chicken biryani and was disgusted. It was 95% spices and 5% editable. It was so bad I tried to look up methods of lighting over spiced meals. Ugh. The amount of almond milk I tried to drink to balance this dish!
In the end I threw away the biryani and money, fuck it all. I wish I could give a negative zero.

This place was not the place I thought it was. I got it confused with the place down the street. How many Indian places can be successful in one block? Anyway.
This place was ehhhh. The food was relatively quick, but all the beverages are self-​serve, and they forgot my rice. Womp.
I had chicken curry, and my friend had the chicken biryani. Both adequate.
The good: quick food.
The bad: interior is a little janky. The mural is something to stare at, though.

Being half Indian and half Thai, having lived in India for a few years, it is safe to say that I’ve earned the right to be SUPER picky of my Indian food, don’t you think? This place, I shall say, pleases me. Their best dish is of course, the chicken tikka masala and unlike many other Indian places in Berkeley, they do not burn your naan but they make them perfectly puffy! And the price range isn’t too bad either. SOOOO GOOD!
They’ve even started to play great Indian/​Bollywood music too! The chicken tikka masala is so good here, for my wedding, I had their curry for the guests, even though I married Mexican, the whole family, Indian-​Mexican-​Thai-​American, they all loved it!

I’ll be honest with you — I’m completely weaksauce when it comes to spicy food. So thank goodness for their bottomless chai tea!
Seating is plentiful here, so you can choose how far your party’s personal bubble extends. Everything is self-​serve besides the actual food, which can make for a good faux-​workout. Or you can have your friend fetch everything and absorb yourself in the continuous Bollywood set playing on their mounted TV screens.
I was at a loss for what to order when I came, but figured that I couldn’t go wrong with Chicken Biryani at a place using it as its namesake. My friend chose her default Chicken Tikka Masala. Our dishes arrived pretty quickly, and within the first three bites I realized my taste buds were out of their league.
Biryani — imagine your average fried rice. Now octuple the number of ingredients. I was probably alternating between tears of happiness and tears of heat-​induced pain, made worse when I bit into the whole cardamom seeds. The chicken pieces still had bones and were a little overdone, but still tender. Since the dish itself was fairly large, I decided for the safety of my mouth to opt for a take out box.
The hues of the Chicken Tikka Masala were dyed with more crimson and the sauce less viscous than those I’ve otherwise encountered. It comes with a small plate of basmati rice that’s perfect for drizzling over, and after eating my biryani I wasn’t able to feel the heat of this dish at all. Just delicious, cubed chicken and creamy goodness.
Considering the cafeteria-​like atmosphere of the restaurant, their bathrooms are surprisingly clean. The smell of cleaning agent was pretty strong, but it’s an odor far more preferable than the other possibilities!

I should have listened to everyone else who talked about the Chicken Tiika Masala being very tomato-​y. It definitely tasted like tomato and not so much like indian spices. The food was just okay. I do really like that they have unlimited refills of chai.
It was really weird when one of the employees was cleaning up a table and she broke a cup. She kind of made a scene and didn’t bother to hurry up and clean it up. She kind of just let it stay there for a while and finished cleaning the rest of the table. She didn’t even say sorry for the mess to the table right next to her. They kind of just looked at her and it was really awkward.
Needless to say, I am definitely not going to be back.

So bad !
Greasy food which made me feel sick
Was still tasty but please cut down on grease and let us live a little longer !
The naan was excellent
But prices weren’t great for the portions
I would not go here again

I first discovered biryani house when I was still a student at cal. Oh, how I miss their delicious chicken tikka masala and endless free chai!
Their garlic naan is pretty good-​though I do recall that some portions of the naan can get a little crispy, there are also very soft bread-​y parts as well-​and as you can probably infer, I recommend the chicken tikka masala.
I’ve tried the chicken tandoori and a couple of other curries, and they were pretty decent.
There’s a lot of space for big groups. One of my former roommates had a going away dinner here and I’ve also had a book club meeting here once (yep, nerd alert… we were reading Middlesex).
Street parking actually isn’t too bad, but get here early to find a spot if you need to get here by a certain time.
Compared to house of curries and naan and curry, I’d say biryani house is pretty comparable. Stop by and try it!

B-​House is one of my favorite restaurants on Shattuck.
The inside of the restaurant isn’t the nicest, but it feels comforting to me. The staff is very friendly, and I never have to wait very long for the food.
I usually get the chicken tikka masala with garlic naan. The dish is always well-​seasoned with just the right amount of spice. It’s best washed down with a refreshing glass on mango lassi, which is always done right at B-​House.
This place is awesome. I eat here probably about once a week, and I don’t think I’ll get tired off their food anytime soon.