Dera Restaurant

Great place for some Indian/Pakistani food. The staff was very hardworking & attentive. Our waitress explained the menu to us & what was or wasn't available at the time of our visit. Nice & clean atmosphere. The restaurant is pretty big & open so you're not squished to the table next to you. We got a variety of dishes & they were all delicious. We had samosa chaat, shami kabab, bhindi masala, chicken malai boti, chicken seekh kabab, chicken tikka masala, plain naan & muli paratha. Everything was hot & tasty. We also had their milk chai which was also pretty good. I highly recommend this restaurant.

No frills icon in Jackson Heights, Queens. Pulled up here on a whim and it did not disappoint. We ordered the aloo baingan (potato + eggplant), beef nihari, chicken tikka (not pictured) and plain naan. All dishes were cooked to perfection and spice level was very tolerable, didn’t light your mouth on fire. Complimentary raita (yogurt) and salad were a nice touch. For dessert we tried their falooda (ice cream + noodles + basil seeds + rose syrup). Ice cream portion was good, the rest was not. Would not get again. Chai was also pretty mediocre. Skip dessert and tea and focus on the food. Overall: 7/10

I have been coming to Dera Restaurant in Jackson Heights for many years. It is one of the most well-known South Asian restaurants in the neighborhood, serving Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi food. It has been around for a long time and is a familiar name in the community. Over the years, I do feel the overall quality has declined compared to how it used to be. The service is decent but not as attentive or warm as it once was. It is not bad, but it does not feel as consistent as before. The last time I visited, I ordered goat paya only. The paya itself was good, but what truly stood out was the naan. That naan honestly reminded me of how amazing this place used to be. It was perfectly made. The size was just right. There was no extra flour on it. The texture was soft with a slight crisp on the edges. The sesame seeds were evenly placed and added great flavor. It was fresh, well cooked, and very satisfying. Easily one of the best naans I have had in a while. They offer plenty of variety overall, including curries, grilled items, rice dishes, and sweets displayed at the counter. Vegetarian options are available, though it is not ideal for strict vegetarians. If you ask the staff, they will guide you on what can be ordered without meat. Parking remains one of the biggest challenges. There is no dedicated lot anymore. Street parking in that area is extremely difficult, and most options are paid. It can take time and patience to find a spot. Overall, it is still an okay place with some strong dishes and good variety. It just does not feel like the same restaurant it once was, though that naan was definitely a highlight.

The lamb chop was very old, extremely crispy, and dry, so it was not good. We were disappointed with that dish. However, everything else was good, and the rest of the food and service were fine. Overall, we were not happy with the lamb chop, but everything else was okay.

OMG Rated, Asli desee Palistani food ! It is Not just the amazing food here but I do want to mention is the desee restaurant Mahole / pakistani style restaueant experience. The desee ambiance add a lovely value to the meal. When you eat here, the sights, the sounds, desee food aroma and the whole experience. All together it is simply amazing. I ordered goat paya and haleem. Paya was mine favorite. Simply sticky juicy and delicious with just perfect mix of spices. Highly Highly Highly Recimended !!!

This would be my best spot just to eat food, absolutely real food served with reasonable price everything. Much larger place to dine in. 🥗 🔥

The Karahi Gosht has a strong gamy flavor in my personal opinion. The rest of the food are okay.

If I could give Dera more than 5 stars, I would. We first fell in love with the place when having their chicken karahi and the reshmi kebab (our kids loved them so much too). Next, I put in a large catering order with Touqeer Sahib (who is a pleasure to work with!). We ordered haleem, goat pula'o, samosas, reshimi kebab, chicken kebab, naans, mithai, etc. and the experience could not have been better. The taste (esp the haleem) was outstanding and the food was packaged so professionally. It was easy to transport. I had asked Touqeer Sahib for less spice, and the level was just perfect. Our desi and non desi friends alike were raving about the food. Thank you guys for a wonderful meal and service! We will be back again.

This is authentic Pakistani food. I think the food is absolutely amazing. Majority of the main dishes have amazing seasoning. The service is good, they are attentive. There are times especially the weekend when the restaurant is extremely busy. Other times, like weeknights, it's less people. Ambiance is decent, nothing extraordinary. What I recommend to get: I love the chicken and goat palak curry - it is one of the best I ever tried. The butter chicken is really tasty. They give a large portion. The garlic naan is incredible. It is so soft and tasty, I could eat it by itself. Definitely worth the price.

Jackson Heights is the heart of all kind of sub continent food and Dera has made a name for itself in the Pakistani Community. Pluses: Plenty of seating; Service is fast; A lot of variety of food to choose from; decent dessert options and plenty of attendants. Negatives: Food is ready made, basically they will just warm it for you. Gives you a sense of a cafeteria. Place can be messy and the bathroom is a disaster. If you have a larger group, this is a decent option.

The food is just OK, but the prices are impossible to argue with. I tried dahi vada, papdi chaat, chana masala, and garlic naan. The naan in particular was good, evidently fresh with raw garlic and butter on top. The chana was a bit flat in flavor, but adequate. The two chaats were a bit too similar to each other, but the papdi chaat was nice for its texture. This cost is just $8 per dish and $3.50 for the naan (total $35 with tax and service charge), and this ended up being too much food even for two people.

This was on the NYT best 100 list, and I checked it out since it was across the street from my apartment. It always looked busy, but I thought it was just a regular diner. The food here was excellent - cheap, plentiful, and flavorful. We thought the chicken tikka would be butter chicken, but it was actually just grilled chicken. That's definitely our fault, and it was excellent. I loved the samosa chaat, the garlic naan, the spinach dish, and the okra dish we got - basically everything. Definitely worth checking out.

I ordered goat pulao, goat curry, chicken keema and chicken curry. The chicken curry had a lot of bones, and hardly any meat, but taste was good. Chicken Keema was made well, tasted great.. The goat curry and goat pilau were NOT goat. They were Lamb meat.. Even though I asked several times to confirm that it was goat. Both These lamb dishes had mostly large bones, completely devoid of any edible meat. It's going to be a while before I order any "goat" dishes from Dera

This is one of the best Pakistani , Indian food restaurant in Queens, Amazing food , Always Fresh and the service is outclass You must visit this restaurant if you are in Queens

So I had the chance to eat here last weekend. I was sooooo surprised by how economical it was!! Everything seemed to cost half or even one-third versus what we have to pay here for pretty mediocre food in KY. Anyway, what we ordered and how it tasted is below: Papri Chaat.... 5/5, ample quantity Chicken Seekh Kebab... 4/5 Bihari Boti... 4/5 Chicken Boti.... 4/5 Beef Nihari... 3/5 .. found it bland n tasteless Naan... 5/5 Lassi... 5/5 Highly recommended!!!!! Tea... 5/5 The accompanying raita n salad were fresh and tasty too. The only thing I'd have preferred was if they'd focused a lil on presentation and at least cleaned the rims or serving dishes before serving. But that's a small thing and I guess, easily ignored coz the food was fabulous!!!!!

Goat Pulao is always so good! Including the garlic naan and veggie samosas. I order here all the time and they serve good portions. I would say a little more salt for me personally but it's good. Prices are great for the type of dishes you get!

The food is really excellent here. Top quality, very fresh. Spices are perfect. It's really popular and the staff and service is great. Very convenient with subways. Highly recommend!

I've posted so many photos and checked in here way before Yelp became popular and I just realized I have not even reviewed this place! LOL. I just want to keep this place to myself and don't want others to know about it! It's our go to Indian and Pakistani food. I've ordered to go, dined in, and even got trays for my baby shower over a decade ago! Food tasted good then and is still good now (the only difference is it costs more now - same as all the pricing in NYC). They used to be open 24hours but now close at midnight. Still a good place to go to esp. for late night dining.

A very average south Asian cuisine. Nothing special about the food. A decent size sitting place and service is okay as well.

You can love Dera, you can hate Dera, or you can be indifferent to Dera. But you simply cannot deny the significance of Dera as a Jackson Heights institution for the Pakistani diaspora in and around New York City. This restaurant has been around longer than I have been alive, and I am as old as the hills (don't ask me which hills, I am geographically and geologically challenged). When I talk to the Pakistani aunties and uncles who left their homeland during the previous century in search of bigger and better opportunities in this wondrous concrete jungle that dreams are made of, they often speak fondly of Dera (including when it was operating under a different name - Shaheen - I believe). Dera is a spacious restaurant that occupies prime real estate at the corner of Broadway and 72nd St in the middle of the incredibly diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights. The food is consistently tasty, albeit a tad heavy on the use of oil. The culinary style leans towards the cuisine from the Punjab region. Service is adequate; not particularly convivial (or even very attentive), but they get the job done. I will continue to undertake the trek out to Queens to enjoy the food from the Motherland.

Typical hole in the wall place in jackson heights. There was plenty of seating and servers were friendly. They had a buffet but decided to order off the menu. We ordered an assortment of items from halwa puri to grilled kabobs. The nihari, chicken tikka and halwa puri were my favorite. The qeema naan and beef bihari were solid. I would come back here

Salams all I am going to keep it short and simple Place is clean Variety of curries, biryanis and all sort of BBQ I loved this place and used to visit it religiously But whats with lying on face about dishes !!!! They proclaim that there curry ya salan is made of goat and biryani is also made of goat. Now lets be honest.. someone who grew up eating goat ya goat ka salan which we call it... how is possible that u tell me that i dont know the difference between them.... Are you serious You are lying straight out loud.... I never expected this from Dera i swear i used to priase this place. Check the pictures. Most of there stuff which they say is goat is actually L Keep it real...

Best mithai ever in town! I will definitely get again. highly recommended! Loved so much

What a scam!!! They charged $8 for a white rice. I ordered clearly for a white rice and they charged for $17.42 for 2 white rice. That is totally B.S!!!!!

This was my first time here. My sister heard about Dera Restaurant from a couple of friends. Since we were in the area, we decided to try this place (my regular place was closed). It was a very large space with plenty of tables, sort of like a cafeteria. We walked up to the open counter display to look at all the food that was available. I didn't know what I was looking at, but the staff here was very friendly and I asked a lot of questions they helped me understand what I was look at. Normally at other Indian restaurants in the area their staff does not speak English and its a challenge trying to order anything. There were a few rice trays different chicken, beef and goat choices, plus more. Once we decided what we wanted we ordered a few things to take home. We ordered their samosa (potato and peas), Aloo Paratha, Chicken Biryani. Everything was good, since most of the food was already cooked and in the display case everything needed to be heated up except for the Aloo Paratha that was cooked to order. I looked around to see what everyone else was eating and their Tandoori Roti and Sesame naan seemed very popular. Almost everyone had a some at their table. Next time, I am going to try their butter chicken plus definitely get a few fresh baked breads.

Food (5/5) - Fair warning, spice level is higher than usual! We got the chicken Karachi, chicken keema and the beef tandoori kebab, and were especially impressed by the quality of the chicken dishes! The chicken keema was probably our favourite, the mix between vegetables / potatoes and ground chicken was not too starchy or too greasy, and went very well with parathas. While Naan is an obvious option to eat the food with, we also really liked the parathas. We didn't love the beef kebab, it was a little on the dry side instead of the melt in your mouth texture that we would normally expect tandoori to have. Price (5/5) - very much bang for your buck. With all the food we had it was probably 15-20 per person. This is including a service charge that is appended to all dine-in orders (15%). Would be a great place to take out from if you'd prefer not to pay that!

I have been here twice. MY first impression was that the establishment is just running on the fact it serves "halal" and has a "Pakistani name". My experience was 3 stars. 2nd trip, ie the one I am writing the review for was no different. I went to see if, may be I was biased, well I wasnt. One of the most stale samosas ever. The smell of the oil on them was indescribable! Only good thing was some BBQ Tandori chicken, rest was not worth it. The problem with most South asian spots is inconsistency, bad customer service, inattentive servers and lack of cleanliness. They assume that since they are serving "ethnic food" they are doing a favor! Nope I am sorry you can do much much better. I would have given the place 2 stars, but I know food industry and its hardships and that may be the only reason I did not! Well like we say, I wont go to this Dera anymore!

Indian bucket food at its best, that's how I'd describe Dera. You can never go wrong with delicious Biryani or the different chicken curries that they have on display. Reasonably priced too. If you order their Malai Kebabs or Chicken Sheekh Kebabs, they are always made to order and so taste absolutely fresh and delicious and are cooked to perfection. The kebabs are marinated for a good 48 hours ensuring all the spices and juices are sucked in by the meat. They have a very attentive staff, friendly and alert. Paying cash will get you a discount!

I'd go again in a heartbeat. But there's so many restaurants, so few meals (esp while on weight watchers). It looks like a giant catering hall but that's misleading, anyone can go in for a meal. We didn't know what to order so we got an Iftar box to share. A good sampling of many dishes (I wish this was always an option). The chicken palak was life changing. Took home a quart and spent my weight watchers points for the rest of the month (I think). But so worth it!

I would have never imagined ordering from a 3 star rating restaurant but my mother recommended this place. Since she is normally not a fan of takeout food, I decided to go with her choice. I'm so glad I did. This place is definitely underrated. Since it is takeout in the time of Corona, I really wanted to support local businesses in the area. I ordered goat biryani, goat curry (I know. I OD'd on the goat. I was really craving goat!), and two pieces of naan. All were really decent priced (and goat is generally expensive btw) and the flavors were fantastic! The food was super warm when it arrived and I could tell the food was fresh. It was the best goat biryani I have ever had so far and the naan was so fluffy. Both my parents raved about the biryani too and they normally only like Bengali style biryani, so this definitely gave them a whole new perspective. I was also super impressed with how quick delivery was. I ordered from almost a mile away and they delivered right up to the apartment. It's a shame I don't have any pictures of the food (I was too hungry. Lol) but curry and biryani are a little hard to get aesthetically pleasing pictures with. You really can't eat with your eyes here. However, please take my word for it and try this place out. You will love it!!

I ordered 2 items: Biriyani & Behari Kebab. Biriyani : Taste- 4/5* Quantity- 4/5* Beef Behari Kebab: Taste: too much spicy 2.5/5* Quantity: 5/5*

If you're looking for appearance this is not the place to go. But if you're hungry And wanT to eat good food without spending so much this is def the place to try out. My total food was 28$ Which included two can sodas. Some servers are good and some are good. The server we had was Awful I had to chase her around to ask about our Order and for the check. I wouldn't trust drinking their water or using their utensils. I always request plastic spoons or Cups. Overall the food is what matters. I enjoyed their food. Second time at this spot. Nevver disappoints with their food.

Last time i was in this location was about 2011 or 2012 and it was jammed packed with people. Today not so much. We sat down and they served a light cucumber, carrot lettuce with watered down yogurt dressing. We had ordered chicken, naan, eggplant dish (because they were out of aloo gobi), chickpea dish, and 2 canned drinks. Food was ok on the pricy side as oppose to take out. Im assuming the extra food charge is the waiters tip even tho they dont do much. Bathroom is filthy. Better to do take out than to have to use their facility.

This place is a very casual, no frills, and affordable establishment. It's a nice restaurant to bring friends or family as they have a lot of seating and can accommodate large groups. They serve larger portions of food at the restaurant than via takeout or delivery, so make sure to eat at the restaurant if you want to get your money's worth. They give you a small salad with yogurt dressing on the side without additional charge - but you have to ask for it. The naan is thick and soft, and the goat dishes are full of meat and bone marrow. The service is also fair and the food comes quickly.

Order chai and Samosa chat, very disappointing. Chai was so watered down it tasted horrible. Chat was not great either, a lot of Channa and no samosa pieces. Would not recommend.

Never understood why people love naan so much but garlic naan is just amazing! Its orgasm after orgasm in your mouth. Talk about foodgasm. The tandoori chicken & sauce was great too.

Good food, reasonable prices courteous staff must try Lamb Chops

While service has always been sub par it was expectionallt bad today, we waited 90 minutes as they lost our order 3 times. No one cared about anything.

It's been a while since I have been to Dera The parking for guests is closed The food quality has dropped quite significantly- was bland and the behari kabob has fridge smell Dissatisfied and would not visit again

We were in the area and wanted to try some Indian food so we helped it and decided to come here. They have a parking lot. The place is Indian, Pakistani food. Whatever you wish to eat you must order, they do not have specials or combo meals. We went as a group and they were able to set us up instantly. We had a little of various dishes of tried everything almost. The naan (bread) was yummy. The food is quite tasty and portions pretty good. The place was busy and many customers were also ordering to go.

Was in NY and happened upon this lovely restaurant. When you walk in the door the smell of all the spices greets you. For me it was like a little piece of heaven. I ordered the chicken biryani and chicken keema and can honestly say the flavors were amazing. I always thought vindaloo was my favorite, but no more. This chicken keema has made me an addict! The gentlemen behind the counter were so helpful in explaining what everything was as well and let's not forget the dessert case . You can't go wrong visiting here for a meal.

This is the definition of brown comfort food. My boo and I come here when we are craving something hearty and savory to eat. My go-to order here is the chicken makhani and he likes the chicken karahi. I would love it even more if they offered chicken tikka masala (which is one of my top five fave foods), but the makhani is a close option. The rice is soft, fragrant, and good too. The portions are pretty big if you dine in. Also, they give a small salad for the table. The service is what you would expect from a mainly take-out place. Sometimes the servers look like they can't be bothered/are having a horrible day and just don't want to deal with you right now, but nothing so rude nor bad.

Amazing food, I've been going here since it was called Shaheen in the 1990s. Great naan, butter chicken, Haleem, biryani etc If you want authentic Pakistani food this is the place to go. Sure it's a little run down and tends to have dirty floors sometimes but overall I love to bring the family here when we are in town. Delicious food. Oh and their chai is amazing as well!

I started off loving this place, but it quickly made a turn for the worse with undercooked chicken tikka. I started with the goat curry. I didn't know until the waitress recommended it, but it is possible to get a half portion of the curries. So for $6, I got a half portion of the goat curry which was definitely enough for me since I also got the chicken tikka. The goat curry was decent, but I wish it a bit more spicy and served at a hotter temperature. I've definitely had better goat curry, but it was satisfying. The tandoori naan was really impressive. It was freshly baked in the tandor and had a great chewiness. I'm used to naan being brushed with a layer of clarified butter which this wasn't, but I didn't miss the butter. I also got a tandoori roti, which was also good. It's made of whole wheat so it's more dense and doesn't rise. It wasn't nearly as satisfying as the fluffy naan, but still good. I wish they would have let me order a small portion of rice, but even the half potion was $4. So I figured I'd get both the naan and the roti instead. Okay, now on the why this is a two star review. I also ordered the chicken tikka (on the bone). It looked excellent when they brought it out and it tasted FANTASTIC. Like some of the best chicken tikka I've ever had. But as I got to the center, I realized the chicken was undercooked. And not like it was a bit pink by the bone. It was like I bit into completely raw meat. I'm a pretty lenient person, so I figured it was just that piece, so I tried another and, again, the center was raw. Of the six pieces, three of them were a bit smaller, so those were cooked through and I could experience the amazing flavors of the chicken. It comes with some yogurt sauce to dip it in. I brought it up to the waitress and she apologized, but did not replace the item or take it off the bill. I enjoyed my meal and I was really impressed by the flavors of the chicken tikka, but I can't excuse grossly undercooked chicken. It's like on Top Chef. Undercook something? You're definitely the one to go home.

food was good but nothing extraordinary. the place was sooo packed and usually is always like this so it's hard to find seating and it feels really right no matter where you sit. workers are not that friendly and are usually in a rush to get to all the customers. prices are fair (much cheaper than the kabab king nearby)

This place hits he spot when it comes to Pakistani food. The food comes fast and in large portions, and is reasonably priced. Unfortunately, they were out of samosas when we came for dinner. The Naan is very good! It came to us warm and soft. The beef nehari was really good- the meat fell apart easily and was easy to break apart when eating with naan. The chicken makhni had great flavor, however was a little sweeter than other standard butter chicken dishes. Chicken seekh kabob was good but had very strong herb flavor that was almost overpowering. They also don't have beef seekh kabob, unfortunately. Mango lassi was also delicious. I would come back again!

First ever been to this restaurant and I will never recommend anyone bad service food taste not good .

Ordered chicken biryani and aloo baingan. Biryani was aromatic and chicken was flavorful. Aloo baingan was the best I ever had, hands down. The price was fair and not overpriced like other restaurants. Definitely trying again.

nan and chicken is the best. spacious and had to wait for service but its worth waiting. been there 2 times and defo going back there again soon

Amazing food, freshly made, service amazing, ambiance good. Butter chicken was amazing and authentic.

I had been longing for haleem and Dera delivered! It was amazing--not as good as my mom's but just splendid.

Wow the food on this restaurant is insanely good. Cheap also! I ordered 3 entree with rice and naan and it only cost $35. Bring cash so you dont have to pay taxes lol. Is the place clean? It is fine and what you expect from restaurants near Jackson Heights. I suggest to not drink their water and use utensils. Ask for plastic utensils. Other than that, this is place is good. Try it and see!

Not the best time to go during ramadan as it was fully packed and service was compromised. We were told tamarind chutney is finished, after we order 20 Chicken samosas though chicken samosas were on spot!! Behari kabob were slightly burned. Haleem was served without the condiments.

Great food, extremely affordable, and super friendly staff! I had the chicken kabab skewer, samosas, and a dessert, and it not only tasted great, but it was so cheap! My whole bill came to under $10. Highly recommend this place.

Dera serves delicious Indian and Pakistani food. It is one of the better options in the area when it comes to these types of reheated pre-made food restaurants. The food is tasty, the portion size is pretty big, and the food tastes fresh. Dishes don't come with rice, so order some naan like the locals instead. I had the chicken palak (chicken cooked in spinach), garlic naan, Kashmiri tea, while my friend had the goat feet (soup). The garlic naan was loaded with garlic, but you don't taste it much when you dip it into your food. I would suggest sticking to the regular plain naan which is half the price. The chicken in the chicken palak was tender and the spinach was delicious and not overly oily. The goat feet is messy to eat, wash your hands before and after. The soup has a little bit of spicy to it. The Kashmiri tea is a pink chai tea. I wasn't a fan, but it was only $2. The teas are premade and dispensed from a container. There are a lot of tables and it always seem busy. It gets packed during dinner time. The atmosphere is pretty casual. You never feel rushed to finish up and leave, so people tend to linger here.

Wow they have the best naan that I have ever tasted. Super soft and fresh. I feel like my eyes have opened after eating that naan. We also tried their tandoori chicken and will recommend, it is very tasty and authentic. I especially love their dessert section. The best Pakistani restaurant food. However, their service was just okay. You have to wave the waitress down to get anything. They also were very stingy with water. However, you can't beat the price and the food quality.

This place was a staple during childhood, any time we went to New York. Initially it was always annoying, but I grew to appreciate it as a family tradition. Consistently, we would take back seekh kababs and tandoori chicken because it was THAT good. Back then, it was close to 5 stars. Unfortunately, my father recently went back to the restaurant during a trip for personal business, and stated the quality had become low. He brought back some seekh kababs, shami kababs, and nihari. The quality I once knew from Dera was gone. The seekh kababs was dry and unappealing. The shami kabab literally crumbled like dry DIRT, I had to stop eating. Next time we come to New York, we're not coming back to Dera. There goes a family tradition.