Chutney

I haven’t eaten Indian and Pakistani food before. When I studied in San Francisco, I met some Saudi and Lybian friends. They took me to Chutney Restaurant. I want to recommend this restaurant because the food here is awesome. When I went to Chutney, there was a long line outside. I asked my friends for the best food suggestions. They recommended chicken masala and naan.
The first time I saw chicken masala, it reminded me of chicken curry in my country. Chicken masala is an orange color same color as chicken curry in my country. However, it is better. A taste of chicken was tasty. The masala sauce was creamy. It was marvelous. Moreover, I ate chicken masala with the naan. Naan is a type of bread. It was crispy because they made naan in the oven. When I ate naan with chicken masala, the taste of the naan was soft and juicy.
One more thing I like about this restaurant is the sauces that I ate with. They have 2 sauces. One of the sauces is a green color. It was not too spicy, not too salty and not too sour. They mixed the ingredients together and it was very good. Another sauce is brown color. It was sweet, but not too sweet. I like to eat both together.
After that I went to Chutney again and tried more food. I recommend that you bring your friends because you can order different dishes. I love Chutney!

For my first time eating Indian food this was a great place, I loved the garlic naan chicken tikka masala and the Bengan bharta (Mesquite smoked eggplant cooked with onions, tomatoes and spices). These 3 items were delicious but I definitely have to explore some other Indian restaurants to see if this was really the best. Overall I would definitely recommend going here.

I’m a New Yorker who loves my great dives. My fave Phở Tan Hoa place up the street (see review) was closed at sundown and I was starving. Frankly, scared to walk the block past crack heads again. Thankfully, I saw Chutney full of patrons that clearly braved the dangers on the street so it must be a sign. Crowd was diverse including women who were clearly more brave than me to get tasty Indian food at this Zagats 25 food rating dive! This was my first time so I cannot speak to the consistency of the quality.
I had the lamb vindaloo, veggie samosa, papadam and naan. I’m not sure why they offer free salad as it was one thing I wouldn’t touch.
If you are in NY, hit the Bukkhara Grill lunch buffet in midtown. It’s the place for «in the know» lovers of Indian buffet. Very high quality.

Okay, so this place came as a recommendation. And while the food overall was good and cheap, there were a few negative things that stuck with me. The samosas lacked flavor and weren’t crispy enough. And they ran out of dessert. While it was Christmas Day and very crowded, Indian dessert seems like a staple.
However the chicken tikka masala and paneer tikka were very flavorful. And the rotis were v big and fresh, and bihriyani rice was full of flavor.
Oh it’s byob, but there’s a beer/​wine store across the street in case you aren’t prepared (like me)!

I am making an update to my previous review .
A few days ago, i’ve ordered seekh kebab and it was lunch time, and it was spoiled meat. And at the first time when the same thing happened couple month ago, I thought its just a mistake, but this time, I think I have to let you guys know about it. Meat was spoiled and even smelling bad ! It was very bad ! I usually eat in this place at least 2 times a week, and this was big disappointment for me !

There was a lot of hype around going to chutney when I visited SF. Unfortunately I didn’t meet my expectations. I expected a busy and crowded restaurant since it was Christmas Day and we didn’t get a table till 930 after waiting for over 30 mins. On the plus side there was a beer store across the street so we bought some and drank while waiting in line.
Onto the food… which was nothing out of the ordinary. To start the samosas weren’t good at all. The crust was very soft and the filling was not tasty at all. We ordered chicken tikka and paneer tikka masala. The at the counter said they had different tastes and he was right! The sauce of the chicken had this smokey flavor which was great. Paneer was standard. The veg biryani was okay quite oily though. On the plus side, the roti was gigantic! Definitely something to get. We were told they ran out of kheer and gulab jamun which are dessert staples for Indians.
Overall, this place wasn’t any different than other Indian restaurants I have dined at. For me, the samosa is the benchmark good for determining the quality of the restaurant and here it didn’t not taste good.
Very cheap food for the portions so that’s a plus.

This place is DELICIOUS AND CHEAP! There’s no better combo.
I came here with a group of 7 or 8 other people. It was a little cramped but we made it work. It’s a budget restaurant with budget décor, but I can’t stress enough how good the food was. I got mixed vegetable tikka masala, some pickle (saltier than other pickle I’ve had and a little less spicy, but good), and raita (a little watery). Others got lamb vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, and the cheese cube masala (paneer?). Everyone said it was great. We got a big basket of naan too, two vegetable biryanis, and one thing I’d plain rice. We had tons of rice left over and didn’t finish the raita, but everything else was gone.
Food came out relatively fast.
I have no idea what the difference is between Pakistani and Indian food – it seemed the same to me, but I guess I’m not really educated about it.

I want this place to cater my wedding. Sometimes at night I listen to old Cindy Lauper songs and envision a life with an exotic Indian girl who can cook Food like this. Until I meet my future Bollywood princess I will continue coming here and savoring their lamb kabobs and perfectly grilled tandoori chicken. This place is better than shalimar. Mujhee is jagah see pyaar hai

Came for quick takeout and was pleasantly surprised.
So I initially ordered a mango lassi and an order of samosas. While waiting, I watched one of the chefs make a keema naan and knew I had to try it. So I asked if I could change my order and did with no questions asked and then patiently waited. After about 5 mins, i received my order and the server said he added on the samosas as well. So obvs an extra star for kindness and free food!
Also obvs waaaaay too much food for 1 gal, but I went for it. I’m so glad I ordered the naan bc the samosas were terrible! So oily and too much bland potato mixture. 1 bite and I was done. But, wow the keema naan definitely made up for it. The keema was perfectly spicy, favorable and evenly distributed in the naan. Also the mango lassie is amazingly decadent and a great drink/​dessert.
So why only 3 stars? Free food is money, but only if it’s actually good. Also the restaurant was filled with smoke from the kitchen. Just in the 5 min I was there, my eyes were watering and my clothes smelled like they had been in a terrible fire.
Bottom line, worth a try, but maybe call ahead for takeout and skip the samosas.

Omg they do take outs too!
I love their food!
Sadly it did take a while to get my take out, but you can have Chai tea while you wait, and that’s if you dont get completely convinced to stay more due to the delicious smell of the food!
I have been eating here very often; but I will start doing take outs more.

Best Indian food ever! Grabbed a quick and delicious dinner before leaving to the airport and Wishing they would deliver to LA!!!
Five stars… Order the Chicken tikka masala, the naan and cumin flavored rice. Can’t go wrong with authentic Indian food!

I have been going to this place for more than 3 years, this place is most authentic Indian food.
Still the food very tasty and delicious.
Affordable price and great food.

This place is without a doubt the worst Indian food I’ve ever eaten. Ever.
I came here with high hopes, after being slightly disappointed with the Indian fare at another popular SF spot. I knew it was a hole in the wall, and honestly that is an advantage in my book because it speaks to the restaurant’s authenticity. Or so I thought…
My partner (who was born and raised in India) and I came in somewhat late and were encouraged by the large crowd in the restaurant. That’s usually a good sign! We ordered at the front counter and the guy taking our order was really friendly. We ordered the chicken tikka masala and bhindi gosht (lamb with okra). Our food came out within 10 minutes of ordering, along with a couple of naan and some raita on the side.
The chicken tikka masala looked good but was bland, bland, bland. Besides a slight spicy (hot) kick, it tasted like chicken that had been plopped into some cream. The chicken itself was dry as a bone and not chicken tikka, which is normally what you see in chicken-​based curry dishes (especially a dish called chicken TIKKA masala). The dry chicken was especially difficult to choke down as we had not received water or anything to drink at all.
My partner’s lamb with okra was very bland and tasted like plain stewed okra with lamb meat. The okra was limp, slimy, and cooked to the point where it was beyond mushy. There was very little spice to it at all. He is usually the type to finish any dish even if it is mediocre, but he left over half of the serving untouched.
All in all, I would recommend that people go elsewhere. I don’t care that the food isn’t really all that authentic– I know everyone has their own take on certain recipes. But the food here was bland, heavy, and left us wishing we had eaten elsewhere. The whole area is chock full of Indian restaurants. I suggest choosing one of the others– any of them– besides this one!

Food has been great traditionally but recent couple of months has deteriorated and the hygiene has also gone down.
last 5 out of 10 times I have had a bad stomach after eating the food.

The infatuation recently came out with a first timers guide to Indian restaurants and Chutney fit quite nicely into its qualifications of a legit indian restaurant: They were terrible service, less than updated ambiance, no wine list, and packed with Indian families. Obviously this doesn’t hold true for every single indian restaurant, but by and large I feel like the food suffers a little when the restaurant focuses on being fancy/​nice. (I can think of a handful in SF)
My point is, this is one of the better Indian restaurants in SF and you just have to put up with some of the shortcomings in terms of service in order to get to the delicious food. When I went, you order at the counter and I felt kind of rushed because they already wanted to get to the next person in line. Once you order they bring out your food and thats it. We were missing a fork and when I went to ask for another one I was pointed to where I can get them myself. Same for the chutney sauce. But then, you taste your food and its so good you completely forget about everything I just mentioned. I would rather have great food in a sketchier place than mediocre food in a really nice place.
The food truly sets itself apart from most Indian restaurants in SF (which, there are a lot). It isn’t a sort of Naan-​n-​Curry extremely thick-​creamy-​greasy food, and it also isn’t watered down. I was so glad to have finally found a decent Indian place in SF that compares to the Indian food in the East Bay (I’m just gonna say it now… the East Bay has better indian food overall than SF).
WHAT I GOT:
Because this is getting long, let me just get to what I actually had while here.
Naan (was perfect and fresh! fluffy and warm)
Samosas — small but good
Chicken Vindaloo Yees
Baigan Bhartha Yeeees!
Saag Paneer YEAAAS
Mango Lassi — Standard
One more thing I liked about this place is they aren’t afraid to spice your food if you ask for it. I asked for Spicy and spicy is what i got! The only other comparable Indian restaurant in SF that I found thus far was in the Outer Sunset. So this is the real deal. Your taste buds AND wallet will thank you.

Not bad, my friends, not bad at all.
I had my reservations coming into this place because it reminded me of Naan & Curry from the set up and ambiance — but rejoice the food is WAY better both in terms of quality and flavor. The chicken tikka masala tasted like fresh roasted tomato sauce, the masala prawns are DELICIOUS, and the papadum — YUMMMMY.
This is a hole in the wall, so remember to keep ambiance expectations to a minimum — but in their defense the food makes up for the interior.

Oh yes… Oh yes.
On a block FULL of Indian restaurants — this is the one that stands out. No wonder the other Indian restaurant next door got converted into a chicken wings joint.
OK let’s be clear here — If you’re expecting absolute cleanliness and great customer service… YOU SHOULDN’T BE AT A CHEAP INDIAN FOOD RESTAURANT! Yeah, this place looks crappy and smells funny (depending on the day it could smell real funny). BUT — If you want cheap, quality food that makes your eyes teary because you asked for «mild» and you got super-​spicy, come on right in! You’ll be coming back for more!
Dishes are under $ 10 and full of flavor. Seriously though, be careful what you wish for when you say «I want it spicy, please». I’m a big fan of the chicken biryani here and order it with a side of raita, and the chicken tikka massala is great every time with that side of garlic naan!
Tip: Go to the back for free chai tea.
Tip 2: Whatever you’re wearing there… Throw it in the washing machine right after you leave. You can’t smell it on you, but everyone else can.

For the price, it is incredible. Definitely worth the 25 point Zagat food rating it received.
Sort of a self-​service where you walk up to place an order and are given a number where the waiter brings out your food. Carls Jr. style.
I really think the Chicken Tikki Massala and Chicken Briyani were amazing. Really good.
Complimentary tea was served.
Naan is huge and fresh. Samosas are great too.
One of the best small restaurants in the area for sure.

Yummy! Delicious! Mouth watering!
Just an average looking kinda restaurant in downtown San Fran with excellent quality of food.
I was blown away with the variety of selections of appetizers and entrees you can choose from. That’s right, the prices were literally cheap.
I ordered my usual — lamb vindaloo with naan and it immediately hit a nerve.
Well cooked, not too spicy, the meat was tender and had a distinguishing taste with the curry.
Highly recommended if craving for Indian food!

Cet endroit est particulier comme ce quartier. Ce restaurant ressemble à une vieille cantine. Les plats indiens/​pakistanais sont bons, les prix sont très réduits et l’ambiance très orientale vous entraîné ailleurs. Une bonne adresse pour se dépanner en cas de petits creux.

I crave soup for lunch after a night of drinking. For dinner, I crave Indian food! Not sure why. It’s just warm and comforting to me. I can never make the minimums for delivery when ordering for myself. Plus I’ve been bored with all the Indian places in my neighborhood. Last Friday, I decided to pick up take out by work on the way home. Ordered via
since I had a $ 2 off code.
*Vegetable samosa (2 pieces): crispy puffs filled with potatoes and green peas ($ 3.99)
–The Samosas were big and the shell crispy. I like that they gave me 2 sides of mint sauce since I normally need a little more than one for both samosas.
*Chicken tikka masala: boneless chicken cooked with special bombay sauce ($ 7.99)
–Yum! I loved the creaminess of the sauce. Wished it were a little spicier since I like a kick with my curry.
*Onion naan: naan topped with chopped onions ($ 1.99)
–I wasn’t a huge fan of their naan. I liked the chewiness of it, but it didn’t have much onion flavor.
*Garlic naan: naan topped with garlic and cilantro ($ 1.99)
–Same with the galic naan. Not much garlic flavor.
*Rice pullao: saffron flavored basmati rice ($ 1.99)
–Good base for the curry. I normally don’t want rice when eating mains, but with curry, they just pair so well together, I have to have some!
I wish there were better Indian options like Chutney in my neighborhood. At least I have great options like this by work!

Klassischer, einfacher von Pakistanis geführter Inder. Einfaches Lokal, hervorragende und preisgünstige Küche. Grosse Karte und gratis Tchai aus der Thermoskanne.