Mike L.
Yelp
Despite having tried numerous restaurants along West Portal over the years, I can't say I ever made my way to Clay Oven. Admittedly, their location all of the way at the far end of the street had something to do with it, but also because I just never had much of a reason to. That is, until one of my buddies came back to SF for a visit. Since this was one of his go-to spots when he lived in the area, this seemed like a fitting pick for us to grab lunch and catch up! Which, in hindsight, was a rather unfortunate decision...
Maybe it's because of the white tablecloths, but in years past, whenever I would happen to pass by Clay Oven, I used to think this was a fairly clean restaurant (stress on "used to"). Once we stepped inside, it should have made us a little wary to see that it was practically empty during the lunch hour, but we liked not having to worry about grabbing a table or feeling rushed to leave. Looking over the menu, their collection offerings is actually pretty extensive, though most things are pretty standard. Not that it mattered, as even before we sat down, we already knew we were going to be hitting their LUNCH BUFFET ($16.95).
Offered daily, there are typically about a dozen different dishes laid out for you to grab and also includes naan, which you order with the server for them to bring out to you. While I can't say if the lineup of items ever changes (my friend mentioned that, pre-COVID, it might vary slightly, but it was otherwise mostly consistent), what I can say is that there was a decent variety to choose from - Rice Pilaf, Fish Pakora, Goat Curry, Chicken Tandoori, Chicken Tikka Masala, Mushroom Matar, Saag Paneer, Dahl Makhani, Green Beans, French Fries, and Gulab Jamun (we also got the Garlic Naan).
Even though I didn't try the Fries and the Gulab Jamun, the vast majority of everything else was very...bleh. On the plus side, the Garlic Naan was good, the Fish Pakora was surprisingly crispy, and the Chicken Tikka Masala wasn't bad (creamy, but very mild). As for everything else, it ranged from underwhelming to just not good. The goat meat was really tough (even for goat), the Chicken Tandoori was super dry, the Dahl Makhani was watery, the Paneer was oddly firm, the Green Beans were overcooked, some of the grains of the Rice Pilaf were rock hard, and I didn't care for the taste of the Mushroom Matar.
Beyond how unsatisfying most of the food was (FWIW, my buddy noted it wasn't as good as it used to be), the other issue I had was with how half of the trays didn't have active warmers underneath them. And not in the "just went out" sort of way either - the Chicken Tandoori, Dahl Makhani, Saag Paneer, and Mushroom Matar were COLD. Certainly not a safe way to serve food, as evidenced by the stomachaches that we both had afterwards. Ugh.
Oh how I wish that reason to come here had never come along (not that I wasn't happy to see you, bud).
