Star India

I visited Star India in San Francisco and really enjoyed it. The ambience is warm and welcoming, and the food is excellent. Portions are good, the flavors are really authentic, and the prices are surprisingly affordable for San Francisco. I liked the chicken korma, garlic naan, and stuffed cheese naan ,all very flavorful and satisfying. The gulab jamun was served warm and made a perfect finish to the meal. Service was attentive and friendly, which made the experience even better. If you’re craving Indian food and don’t want to overspend, this is a spot worth checking out. Highly recommend.

I recently visited this Indian restaurant for their buffet, and I was really impressed! The food selection was excellent — a wonderful variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, all rich in authentic flavor. The biryani, butter chicken, and paneer curry were especially delicious, and everything was fresh and nicely presented. The restaurant maintained a clean and comfortable atmosphere, and the service was quick and attentive. The manager Sue was exceptionally friendly and made sure guests felt welcome, checking in personally to ensure everything was satisfactory. Overall, it was a great dining experience with amazing food and warm hospitality. I’ll definitely be coming back and recommending it to friends and family.

Great place with a great atmosphere, music and ambience! The staff were comforting and made us feel welcome. We got the lamb tikki masala and lamb biryani, and the spice was there in the best way. Portion size was more than expected! I know a lot of people get their food delivered, but eating in restaurant is just as great! Will be coming back for the lunch buffet special!

Went for dinner with friends, but the experience wasn’t great. The service was poor — the server was unhelpful and dismissive when asked for dish recommendations, just saying “everything is good” without any real input. We ordered Gobhi Manchurian, Goat Curry, Chicken Pasanda, chicken biryani and Garlic Naan. Food portion was less for the price. Gobhi Manchurian was more like a regular sabzi — not crispy or coated well. Goat Curry was okay. Chicken Pasanda was the best dish — creamy and flavorful, would recommend. Garlic Naan was soft, buttery, and well-cooked. The biryani tasted more like pulao, with oversized onion slices dominating the dish. Overall, not a satisfying experience. Would not visit again.

Friendly host and cozy environment, with speedy service (15 minutes from entering to getting food). The $25 mixed platter and naan is enough for two people, and came out sizzling

This is a very cozy place with good ambiance, good food and great service. I had madrasi chicken and it was very creamy and spicy. My spouse had malai kofta, it had a flavor of sweet and spice. For breads we had Naans, garlic and chilly cheese, they were very soft!

Me and my boyfriend love to restaurant-hop, and while we don’t make it to San Francisco often, we’re huge fans of Indian cuisine and have tried many spots all over California. Driving past this restaurant, we decided to stop in—BEST decision ever. The coconut curry was absolutely divine—rich, flavorful, and perfectly balanced—and the naan was warm, soft, and addictive. Honestly, it was so good I ordered extra just to take home. This place has officially become my new San Francisco favorite. Not only is the food out of this world, but the service was warm, attentive, and genuinely welcoming. If you love Indian food (or even if you’ve never tried it), do yourself a favor and eat here. You’ll thank yourself later!

Star India on Geary Blvd is a great spot for authentic Indian food. They have an unlimited buffet with both veg and non-veg options at a very reasonable price. The food is fresh and flavorful, and the service is warm and welcoming. Perfect place to enjoy a hearty meal with friends or family!

Inner richmond gem. Excellent service. High rating from my family: chicken pasanda, lamb krahi, and last but not least, garlic naan.

It's been a while since we dined at this old stomping ground, and I'm happy to say the food remains as consistent as ever. The owner always greets us with the warmest smile. Before the pandemic, this spot was our go-to at least once a month for an Indian food fix. Afterward, when they did away with their beloved buffet, we just ordered takeout. But tonight, to our surprise and delight, the dinner buffet has made a return! The dinner buffet is available only on Fridays and Saturdays for now. For just $23.99, you can indulge to your heart's content. As we filled our plates, a basket of fresh warm naan arrived at our table. They had all my favorites, from creamy, flavorful saag paneer to rich perfectly spiced chicken tikka masala. And let's not forget the chai, the perfect companion to any meal. To end on a sweet note, I enjoyed a bowl of their rice pudding, which I found to be the perfect balance of creamy and lightly spiced. So if you're craving Indian food, this is the place to be. Stop by, give them a try, and you just might find yourself coming back again and again--just like I will!

They call it Star India, but it should be called 5-Star India!! Great selection of food and RARE to find an Indian buffet that's open for both dinner and lunch. AYCE!! Food was hot and fresh and delicious. I also love meat dishes so this place 100% delivered. Tandoori chicken, lamb curry, and butter chicken were super tasty. Great value and not super crowded when we went which was on a Sunday at 6pm. Nice music and environment as well. Best bang for the buck in SF in my opinion. =)

the food was very tasty. service friendly. but cleanliness was below standard, and critters were seen. unfortunately I could not return.

We came for lunch at noon but looks so quiet here. food is good, service is great with reasonable price! Hopefully they will be busy after we left. Also get ready to dance while you eat. After the meal I found myself on top of the table dancing to the incredible music playing in the background.

Wow!!! super delicious Indian food. They have my favorite "BUFFET" for lunch! I love all the dishes at the buffet super friendly! Great customer service thank start India (5) stars

Me and my girlfriend love coming here very close by and the service is very fast and friendly I like this restaurant because it feels like a hole in the wall super lowkey and if you're around the neighborhood neighbors know this spot smacks! Me and my girlfriend order the basamati rice with medium chicken tikka masala

How in the world is this place rated so high? It's absolutely horrible. The Dahl soup was watery and bland. The chai tea tasted like they washed out the drink dispenser with bleach then added some chai leaves. The server was missing in action. The chicken tandoori and Tikka masala was skimpy and they didn't refill it. I love kheer as a dessert and this is one of the worst kheers I've ever had. The palak paneer and Nan was the only thing worth eating. The vegetables were watery and bland. OMG skip this place for lunch buffet. Horrible...horrible...horrible..

Welcoming and Attentive customer service! The ice cream is a MUST have, and the buffet is filling!

More of a 4.5, but that's still pretty good! I ended up coming to Star India after watching enough Ted Lasso to want to find something even remotely good as the Indian food in London. Initially, I had been seeking another spot for their Butter Chicken, but was utterly disappointed when the other place I had intentionally driven to was "closed" due to there being issues in the kitchen. First thought in my mind was, "I am f****** tired, and it seems like so many things are not working out this month!?" Decided to try to be flexible and do what is contrary to my nature: be spontaneous (lol). And I was reminded that the alternative, open door has an advantage that you might not have considered: a lot of delicious Indian food options in the form of an affordable buffet. A lot of places charge $16+ for just Butter Chicken, but I hit the jackpot when I found this place. Not only did they have perfectly seasoned butter chicken with a generous amount of tender chicken, but they had other favorites like Palak Paneer and Tandoori Chicken (all-you-can-eat for $21.95). My other personal favorite was the Dal Soup! Wowza. The service was fine, and the place itself is pretty spacious. I wasn't impressed with the ambiance, but at least they are organized and clean. If you're the type who likes variety and are looking for a great deal, I would check out Star India!

We came in around 8pm on Friday and to our surprise it was completely empty and stayed empty during our meal until we left. We ordered veggies, lamb naan, butter chicken and meat samosas. -veggies where lighted breaded and tasted great with the sauces they had. They were not oily and were filling. -meat samosas were on the oily side and didn't really have any taste. Just a ball of unseasoned meat. -butter chicken didn't really taste like butter chicken. It had a very strong coconut taste and the portion size for the price was a bit disappointing. -the naan was great! Aside from the meat not adding much to the flavor the naan itself was very tasty! Warm and crunchy on the edges. Service was excellent, it could had been because the restaurant was completely empty but we never had to ask for more water and the food came out very fast so we absolutely loved that. The restaurant was also very cute. It has some awesome paintings on the walls.

The best food I had in my life. I've been drained of my woes and I will never want for more in this lifetime.

Homemade food and nice ambiance. If you're graving for the spied up your life, this hits the spot!

Solid food for a great value. Come for the $20 lunch buffet that comes with both meat and veg options and some bottomless chai tea. They bring fresh naan to the table as well as part of the buffet package. I like coming here on weekdays; it's never too packed and I can work on my laptop over lunch. The servers are also sweet, just keep in mind they don't seem to have a lot of staff so there may be wait times if there is any sizable amount of people here. Overall a good bang for your buck.

Yes, the buffet is pretty good; it's a smaller selection of well made dishes. The veggie dishes are yummy. And u get a couple of fresh baked naan bread slices to boot. The goat curry was good; and the tandoor chicken was sorta ok. Palak paneer was very good. Two kinds of veggie curries too. Mini salad bar is included with various dressings. Basmati rice good tasting as well. Includes: chai tea. $21.95 AYCE Buffet till 4 pm. Not sure which days are buffett, you gotta call them. Parking: I got lucky and parked two blocks down Geary. You may get luckier! Customer service : very good. Decor: ok, music gently plays. Bathrooms: meh. Low key place.

Had chicken madras and chicken biryani. The chicken madras was so tender and sauce had a great spiciness to it. It was delicious and not overwhelming at all. Really great flavors typical of all Indian food. The chicken biryani was a bit overwhelming for me. For some reason, this dish had certain herbs in the rice that was extremely strong. Would definitely come back for the chicken madras though.

Star India is the OG buffet of the 90's... I remember stuffing my belly for under $10 even just 10 years ago and then the pandemic shut the buffet down. Well here we are 2023 and their buffet is now $22!! Featured: Tandoori chicken -- little dry Saag paneer -- classic Lamb -- absolute highlight Vegetable curry -- good blend Tiki masala chicken -- basic and dry Daal -- didn't try but looks standard and they had some other type of veggie curry that I didn't try Chai tea -- I like that you can have it unsweetened They bring basic of naan to your table. Service was pretty attentive. We came around 1:30 on a Saturday and the restaurant was pretty empty. There's metered parking in front or you can look around for residential parking that's not too far away. $22pp is pretty expensive for what you get but if nothing else, you can get your money's worth just by eating two plates of lamb curry like I did!! They also offer free mango ice cream for checking in -- but it's not included with the buffet... ;-(

Our city lost many of its Indian buffets after the pandemic, but Star India does a great job with filling that void. The food station had a great selection of meats and veggie options - the standout was the very tender lamb. The staff was attentive and made sure that any time a dish ran low, it was almost instantaneously replenished. This resulted in the food being fresh and hot! We also enjoyed the chai, and be remissed to not mention their homemade mango ice cream. So delicious and ended our meal nicely!

I recently spent the day in the city with my Mom and Dad, due to one of them forgetting an important item, we asked my niece to bring the item and join us for dinner. We were going to be spending the night and we were starving after a long day running errands. It was time to find something to eat and knowing that my Mom and Niece are fairly adventurous (more than I am), I suggested Indian food. My Niece's boyfriend was joining us and he is less adventurous than any of us. But we made it our mission to get him to try the food in front of him. Boyfriend is usually agreeable when trying things he is unfamiliar with. The previous week I had talked my Mom and Dad into trying an Indian Fusion Restaurant in Sausalito, which my Mom found absolutely amazing. Dad opted out of this dinner excursion. We chose Star India by the location closest to the Inn we were staying at as well as the reviews. We ordered butter chicken, saag paneer, rice, garlic naan, aloo gobi and Boyfriend chose his own item which was tikka masala chicken. Boyfriend did a good job on his plate and brought his leftovers home to share with his sister, who loves Indian food. Overall, the service was a tad slow and there was not a lot of traffic in this location, but the food was good. The building was a little older and the staff was having a hard time communicating with us when we asked questions about the food. I'm all about trying new dinner spots out. This one did the job, but we may move on to the next one for comparison.

The food was great, and most of it was above average. After a 2-hour Shiatsu massage, I was hungry and decided to make a U-turn as I passed a sign that read lunch buffet on Geary. The server welcomed me to an empty restaurant, which I was a little worried about, but as I got closer to the food for a look, it smiled right at me, and I knew right away I was in for a treat today. They had about eight traditional dishes aside from water, chai tea, nan, rice, and side salad options. The Nan was fantastic! I requested another order and tipped the man at the end of my meal for bringing it to me as soon as it was ready. Yum. I highly recommend this. In the dining area was a small family of plants and pleasant Indian artwork that made my brain pop to give me a more profound Indian ambiance that I can take with me and recommend to others.

While the food is tasty ... the price vs portion size is the key factor why I would not say..... yes you have to go. The biryani is sufficient in size but all other meals are small. I hear the buffet is popular but that shuts down at 4 pm if I am not mistaken. I hope they can a few more waiters ... that would help with the service. If you go please let me know what you think. Cheers and happy exploring.

The ambiance was so warm and lovely, the walls had these lovely murals- All the meat was incredibly tender, I had the coconut lamb curry and I loved it! It was late, just us and another table so it was very chill and quiet, perfect energy for the night.

Food was tasty and delicious. The owner served us and was very hospitable. Good food and ambiance.

Food was delicious service was really good and ambiance was warm and inviting. Will Come back soon thanks.

The food is incredible, the staff is super nice and attentive, and their buffet is so goooooood! It's also very nicely decorated inside. I would give 10 stars to this restaurant if I could!

Really salty! Mulligatawny soup had pools of oil on top. Waiter gave no recommendations and food took a long time to come out. They were closing the buffet so I had the dinner, but I was underwhelmed, to say the least. $34 for soup, vegetarian dish with okra, chapati, and a beer. So definitely not bargain food either.

This is a really nice India resturant. Great customer service and delicious food. Great atmosphere and very clean. If you're looking for delicious India Food, this is a really nice place to visit.

We ordered the tandoori chicken pizza on Doordash. The dough was raw. You can see the difference between the cheese and dough in the pictures.

My husband was craving chicken vindaloo from scratch but instead of me making it he went and some from bought this place. I don't usually eat food not homemade but this food was incredible. if you ever need a break from making Indian food from scratch just order some this place.

Food: 10/10 has all the traditional options including vegetarian options! chicken tikka masala is a must. also have drinks like chai & man Service: 10/10 super friendly, nice lady let us walk in and check out the buffet (offered from 11am-4pm weekends and weekdays) when deciding where to eat. also ordered us naan for the table Ambiance: 10/10 nice Indian music playing in the background, decor is inviting

I'm surprised that this place exists in SF downtown area despite so many famous Indian restaurants around it. What's good: Veggie pakoda and bread. What's bad: everything else Chicken kabobs had no flavor in them and only spice was through the chutney served alongside which was also cold. Veggie tikka masala was more like a vegetable stew with no spice or heat at all. Their signature dish is Chicken tikka masala and it was so bland that it felt like just tomato sauce. Biryani was just rice soaked in chilli paste. Absolutely the worst Indian place in Bay Area!

Food was super yummy and authentic! Service was incredible! The waitress is super nice!! Chai was a must have!! ambiance, so pretty and I feel like I'm at home!! (::

I was craving some chicken tikka masala and went to Star India. The chicken tikka masala was a little different from other places I have tried but it was good. I will have to try their pizza in the future. A good solid place in the area for Indian food.

Its was ok. Super dead inside but we had a pretty loud group. The food was fair. The chicken tikka masala was water down. I'm sorry to say naan and curry on Irving is better

Wonderful food and really great prices! The buffet is back and for a very reasonable price I was able to eat my favorite Indian dishes. The service is great! Will definitely be back!

Food, service, and ambiance were all through the roof. When I eat out I usually get Indian, and out of all my Indian food dining experiences in the city this one really stood out. We ate completely vegan and they even had vegan mango lassi!!!! All the food that we got was not only delicious, the presentation was delightful. We got the aloo gobi, Chana masala, pilau rice, garlic naan, and samosa. Also the service was 10/10:)

Awesome friendly service. Good music. And ambiance. Loveee the Indian buffet. tikka masala and lamb dish was delicious. I liked the little dessert ball things. I'm really glad the buffet is back, as it was missed. I hope to visit soon for some yummy chai

We went here on a Saturday afternoon for their lunch buffet ~$21. The food was delicious! My second time getting Indian food and I'd come back to this place. I'd definitely come back even just for the service. The man working was really nice and attentive. Got us water right away and naan bread. He also asked if we wanted other drinks as well and wanted to make sure we were happy with our food. Always came back to make sure we had our waters refilled. Around 12 it was pretty slow but it picked up after an hour.

I had the delicious lunch buffet which costs $22 on weekdays. Convenient street parking if you go early for lunch. There were at least 12 hot dishes, salad, and soup. Hot fresh naan was served at our table. So tasty that I had seconds on the naan. The level of spiciness was perfect for me which is on the milder side. Service was fast and friendly. They also have fresh mango ice cream (not part of the buffet) that they make in house. It was the best mango ice cream I ever had. Be sure to try it!

The food is exceptional and the service is great. Had the chili cheese naan and garlic naan with lamb coconut curry. Food was delicious. My favorite part was the tamarin sauce they have on the side!

Food and environment were great! Glad I found this spot. Definitely recommend the chicken tikka masala.

Great place for Indian food! One of the few places in San Francisco serving awesome Jain food too! I took some of my friends to the restaurant one day and they loved the food!! They offer variety of Indian food options. The owner is really helpful and provides amazing service! The ambience is great too with soothing Indian music.

Loved the poori so much! It came so warm and it the bites are the perfect amount of chewy. The prawn coconut curry was great. The prawn was cooked perfectly and the chicken tikka masala was good too. However, I didn't enjoy the lamb biryani very much.

It's a great looking spot for a very pleasant and calm dining experience. Excellent and friendly service. The menu has a huge vegetarian section and is fairly priced. I usually get the Chana saag which is technically not on the menu but most places can make it easily. Rich flavor with and excellent spice blend very generous portions that often require a take home container . Once again very cool decor and a great place for a meet up . Always ample space . They also have an excellent buffet costs about $22.00. Definitely worth it great selection from vegetable pakora ,papadum and an assortment of main courses. Last time I had it although delicious I had a hard time moving around later because I ate so much . Highly recommended.

My fiends kidnapped for dinner and before I knew I was at this interesting Indian restaurant In had never been to. The festive interior is well kept and clean rewards you when entering. The guy who served us was methodical and patient. You could tell they get allot delivery business. We dropped in with a group of 6 on Thursday and we were the only diners inside. We ordered the usual faire if Garlic Naan and Tika Masala, Palak Paneer and some other dishes. I ordered the hot Chai as well. I have to say the subtlety of the dishes, and freshness of the curry rolled over my tongue in a refreshing light. You can tell the time and attention they take to each dish and taste the freshness. In many ways two curries are not alike and their dishes delight and have a fresh clean taste you don't get in some of the massed produced places. I would will definitely go back again!

Amazing Indian food! We got the tikka masala, and vindaloo, definitely coming back. The service was very kind and quick.

Great food and great hospitality! Value buffet close to the Indian Consulate, really enjoyed the pakoras.

Start India is a family favorite! For ordering in and eating there. The lunch buffet is delicious and for dinner we love the alo gabbi, chicken tandoori with garlic Naan but anything from here is 10/10!

Service here is some of the best in the city, as well as the food. The Vegetable Samosa was perfect, Chicken Madras was tender and flavorful, and the garlic naan was plenty garlicky. Great vibe inside all around