Tashi Delek Cuisine

Really warm and inviting staff and the food is amazing. Highly recommend the grilled fish. Wonderful seasoning and light and flaky on the inside with a great dipping sauce.

My Nepalese husband and I love this place. Amazing portions and the sukuti is better than what you can get in Thamel in Kathmandu. I will say that their cuisine is more authentic so if you’re looking for thin skinned dumplings instead of thicker plumper momos, you will be confused and disappointed. The veggie dishes (I did the thali which has multiple sides), was just so good. Well flavored and delicious. Can’t wait to come back and bring more friends and family

Chicken was raw from the inside and this happened 2nd time to me. Even after notifying them, they don't really seem to care about it too much and completely ignored it. I like some of their other dishes, thats why I keep going back. But this is one aspect where they can do better and take the responsibility of their mistake.

I ordered one veggie Momo and I think I had the worst Momo ever because the momo thickness was too much and inside it was lot of spinach , it seems like i was having spinach only , not so good

This place was one of my fav back in the days. I was out of town for two year and back to Bay now and went in for some Nepali momo… but my recent visit got me thinking what’s has gone wrong with this place…? Could it be new management, new owners, new chef? I dunno 🤷‍♂️… I visited this place on 11/16/2024 for lunch and we ordered Jhol momo, Myan! we could not finish our momo because it was so bad. The momo was so bland, felt slightly undercooked. The Jhol itself had so much masala and lots of turmeric flavor… not gonna lie, it was one of the worst Jhol I had in my life. I am sorry to say it but the chef needs to know. Let’s talk about the service, no offense but the waitress turned her back towards the tables 80 percent of the time we were there… we were never asked how’s everything tasted or anything… do I wanna go back? Probably not.

While the novelty of having Tibetan dishes on menu is a definite plus, the taste unfortunately was very unsatisfying. Chicken Sha Bhaley had a near-forgettable filling and a pastry dough oddly similar to a store-bought Jamaican beef patty. The Buffalo Thukpa broth was very gamey (almost musky) and underwhelmingly spiced — hard to finish. Sad to say, but a first-time experience unlikely to lead to a second.

Arriving on a rainy weekday just before closing, my family revisited this establishment after many years, formerly a Thai restaurant owned by an elderly couple. We reminisced about our frequent visits until their retirement. Upon arrival, the restaurant was moderately occupied, with most tables already dining and a few finishing up. It took about five minutes for us to be seated, and a bit longer for menus and water, which arrived for two instead of four, despite our party of two adults and two children. Opting for Butter Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo, Beef Sha Bhaley, Chicken Jhol Momo, regular Naan, and Garlic Naan, we placed our order after a slight delay. Despite the lack of rush, service seemed preoccupied. The dishes arrived after a 20-minute wait. The Beef Sha Bhaley stole the show with their juicy, flavorful profile and accompanying sauces. The Butter Chicken impressed with its seasoning and smoky taste, though the chicken was slightly dry and shredded. The Chicken Vindaloo boasted robust flavors and satisfying chunks of meat. The Chicken Jhol Momo had decent flavor but erred on the salty side, although the accompanying sauce added depth. The Naan and Garlic Naan were passable, lacking in garlic flavor. The dhal soup, while offering a good curry taste, lacked substance with minimal split peas and an overly watery consistency, deemed unappealing by the rest of the group. Highlighting the Beef Sha Bhaley and Butter Chicken, I would recommend these dishes. However, the overall service left much to be desired, with lapses in attention evident, such as neglecting to provide plates for all members of our party.

Very nice place to sit and have tasty food. There was definitely wait time. But it was understandable. Looked like the restaurant was understaffed to cater to that many customers. The quality of food was good. Outdoor seating was very comfortable. Staff was very nice too. It would be good if you don’t allow smoking/vaping at the outdoor seating area.

Laphing is what i craved for & the taste hits the bud. Buff sukuti is also a must try here. The service is fast . Chowein however was just ok. Everything else tasted awesome.

It must've been a stroke of divine fate that led my cadre and I, all with a hankering for Nepalese cuisine, to the doors of Tashi Delek. A term that whispers of blessings in Tibetan, and indeed, what a serendipitous discovery it was. Tucked away in El Cerrito, this establishment presents itself with an understated chic, a hidden jewel just waiting to be discovered. Upon entry, the ambiance enveloped us--a fusion of warmth and cozy with service that was attentive and friendly. We started with the chicken Momo-fresh, juicy, perfectly seasoned little jewels of dumpling love. The Gobi Manchurian was tangy and with just the right level of heat. Our journey continued through a sampling of curries: Butter chicken, Chicken Vindaloo, and Shrimp korma, each a distinct note of complex flavors, harmonizing beautifully with the aromatic basmati rice. The garlic cilantro naan was a fluffy cloud of flavor, perfect for scooping the rich sauces. We rounded out our meal with the mango lassi-a perfect complement to this meal. Everything at Tashi Delek was a nod to refined tastes, though next time, we'll request our curry with medium slickness since mild was too muted for our taste. The chicken Momo alone was worth the pilgrimage, a culinary zenith not just in the Bay Area, but perhaps, beyond. As we departed, the name 'Tashi Delek' echoed in our minds--a promise of future blessings and exquisite dining experiences to come. Here's to more sophisticated indulgence in the new year.

I have been a loyal customer here for a long time. As soon as I'm seated, the wonderful staff already know my go-to dish. The service is consistently, excellent, and the food never disappoints.

Mmmmm great chicken momos, large size and held together nicely. The tomato cream sauce was tasty and definitely had spices and heat elements, went well with the chicken momos! Also got the chicken tikka masala which comes with 8oz of rice and lentil soup! Char-grilled boneless chicken is in a silken tomato-cream curry (Nut-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free). I chose the "spicy" level and the curry was too creamy and sweet. If you want some heat, you are going to have to choose a spice level way higher than "spicy". The chicken momo's tomato sauce was way spicier than my chicken tikka masala! I'd come back here again just for the chicken momo. I'll likely try a different curry next time though.

I ordered for immediate pick-up and was pleased with their prompt turnaround and quality. Their serving sizes are standard for the price - I ordered 3 dishes for 2 people and had enough leftovers for lunch the following day. Ordered their Jhol Momo, Thukpa, and Pulled Flat Noodle Chicken Soup. Everything was delicious and repeatable! I am sensitive to spicy foods, and their medium was borderline too hot for me! If you're sensitive to spicy foods, I recommend ordering mild or no-spice.

Tashi Delek is a household favorite! In highschool I would walk over to enjoy a great meal and study. Their entrees are consistently great and the portion sizes are very fair! My favorites are the chicken tikka Marsala and the chicken/beef Momo! My mother loves their veggie thali which is a South Indian must try dish. Don't forget to order their mango lassi and chai tea! Service is as great as it can be! It can get busy sometimes and their staff size is limited, but they are always sweet and accommodating. Ambiance is beautiful, the restaurant is adorned with Tibetan art and the walls are painted colorfully. It's such a wondering experience eating amazing food and looking up to see unique textiles/paintings/artifacts. Will forever be a loyal patron of this restaurant, I hope to see it live on forever.

Yummy food & drinks, I greatly enjoyed the Savory tomato based vegetable korma with hearty potatoes, broccoli, and peas. The lemonade was perfectly tart, and the service was top notch.

My search for the Nepalese food I experienced in Nepal has come to an end. This place has exactly what I look for in Nepalese restaurants all on one menu. Chili chicken, lollipop chicken. And most importantly C-momo (IYKYK) They also had Jhol momo and chips chili. This was a post bday lunch for myself. I opted for chips chili (French fries, with homemade Nepalese chili sauce) and Chicken chili momos. They have Buff momo option, which is buffalo, but I'd only have that in Nepal. I also order iced spice tea ( which is Chai, minus the milk), they made that while waiting. Server asks how spicy, I told Nepali spice. The food came and I was instantly transported to Bhatkapur. The young lady serving was nice. It is almost Tihar and asked her where I could get sel roti (delicious ring style donuts, made out of rice flour and ground rice and deep fried to perfection). These are normally made on special occasions. She asked the cook and came back with a number of a family member who will make them if I ask. I am definitely going to ask. So if you want an authentic or want to bring back the memories of your food adventures in Nepal, give them a try. I will definitely be back.

Great food and good service every time Their must try's are Chicken Steam Momos Chicken Shabhaley Chicken Tikka Masala & Garlic Naan

Ordered delivery for my brother and his family. They said the food was great! Posting the review only to say that if you're interested in delivery, Grubhub has their full menu including all of the entrees where DoorDash weirdly only has apps, sides, dumplings etc.

Tashi Delek is so good! I love real food with flavor and spices such as the dishes served here. The food is authentically cooked to perfection and although I'ma pescatarian, everything veggie/ seafood has been great. I particularly love their Dal aka Lentil soup. It's great anytime of the year, but I particularly love it on a cold day. My go to meals are the Garlic Cilantro Naan, Saag with no Paneer, Aloo Baingan, and their Fish Curry. Each of these meals always comes with rice and a small Dal soup. The service is great too! I've been coming here for years now and they've always been so kind. Whenever a rare mistake has been made, they've been quick to ensure a fast correction. I order out a lot, but every now and then will eat inside and love the small, but cute ambiance of this location. The music they play is nice as well. This is actually one of my top five favorite places to eat in the Bay Area. Try it out! You won't regret it!

Just had early lunch here right when they opened. There was no one inside but us it was nice the place was all to ourselves. It's a small cute place, they had traditional chanting music which I enjoyed (I'm into that stuff) unbeknownst to us there was a party of 11 outside, I did not know you can eat out there. The waitress was very nice and polite. I wanted to try dishes I haven't had yet and so we ordered our dishes. Which were chicken momo (dumplings) beef gya thuk (noodle soup) and gobi manchurian (fried cauliflower) Then came a surprise dish, server accidentally gave us a platter and I thought it was like their version of a banchan. That platter was really good it had rice, veggies, soups and chicken. The dumpling were very filling and pretty huge. The cauliflower was very well seasoned and tasted very yummy. However the beef gya thuk was more on the bland side. The beef was a bit dry (not sure if it was intended to be that way). So I'll be doctoring that up at home to eat again for dinner.

I stopped here for lunch. There is free two hour parking out front. Restroom is clean. I was seated right away. They use sustainable dishware. I ordered the chicken tikka masala & a coke. Each entrée comes with dal (lentil soup) and rice. I got my masala with medium heat and it was great. You always want a masala that has that tomato sweetness, a wonderful cream base and packed with flavor, and this did not disappoint. Since this also is an Tibetan & Nepali restaurant, I definitely will come back to try their Momo & Thukpa! Price: $21 (w/ 20% tip)

Everything I've had here is amazing! The vindaloo, the korma (unbelievable), the curry. Especially terrific are the mixed chili momos. The staff is wonderful and I cannot recommend this little place highly enough.

We were looking for a place nearby serving Nepali food options and this came with some favorable reviews. And it was right. Service here was good and atmosphere was small but intimate. We ordered the butter chicken, mixed momo plate and garlic naan. This was very filling for 2 people. Definitely a place I'll come back to as well.

Great food and very nice service. Wish we had this restaurant closer to where we lived. Chicken Thupka was my personal favorite and chicken Sha Bhaley was very delicious. Definitely recommend this place.

This place is my favorite place to get momos. I tried the chili momos and momos with jhol! The momos here seem to be extra delicious! They also have a bunch of items you won't find in typical Indian restaurants.

Pretty good food, but shady business practices. The food here was flavorful and well seasoned. The highest spice level isn't that spicy. Bigger issue he is their honesty and respect for customers. They called to inform me they were out of an item (Buff Chilli) for an order I placed on Toast. I said no problem, remove it from the bill - they said sure. You can see in attached receipt they did not check it as included in my order. I waited for my CC charge to process a few days later, and nonetheless the Chilli was still charged on the bill, despite them confirming they would remove it. I've submitted a CC dispute against them, so hopefully this serves as a wake up call to the owners to treat your paying customers with respect. Double check your bill here and if they're out of something, make sure you watch them remove it from the bill, as this place does not deserve our blind trust.

Perfect spot for spicy chicken curry with naan, and the momos are the tops! This is my go to for Nepalese, quite affordable and comes with complimentary soup.

Humble but helpful, and very friendly staff. Comfortable, clean interior. Very very tasty curries and momos. This is one not to miss out on! SO YUMMY (and so very full right now....)

I usually don't write reviews but this place deserves it. The restaurant is well taken care of and super clean. They are original, ingredients are fresh and customer service is excellent. They have the BEST chicken wrap ever created! I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who appreciates TOP tier quality food

TLDR; Try their momo and chili momo (if you like spicy)! And order online! I was craving paneer curry and decided to try this place. We ordered: - Paneer Tikka Masala: Pretty good! Their paneer is smaller than other places, but I actually liked that because I felt like I could eat more pieces of it haha. - Chicken curry (very spicy): My boyfriend got this and really enjoyed it! - Chicken Chili Momo (written as Chicken C Momo on their online menu) - We both LOVED this dish; however, be warned, it is VERY spicy. I'm not sure if spice level is variable based on batches of chili, but this was sooo spicy. My boyfriend loves spicy so this was his favorite dish since it was even spicier than his chicken curry. As for me, I loved it too, with a few "heee hooo heee" fire breathing breaks in between. The sauce is so tasty that I keep going back for it even with the crazy spiciness! - Lamb Momo - this one was my favorite dish! The lamb was really well done and it's just such a good flavor in the momo! I also dipped this in the Chicken C momo sauce - SO GOOD! - Lamb Tandoori - Hear me out, on the first night the lamb was kind of tough. We had leftovers and after reheating for dinner the next day, the lamb was soooo tender! Plus the seasoning had more time to marinade so we liked this dish more the 2nd day than the 1st! All in all, super yummy. We'll definitely be coming back! Their online ordering system is easy to use, and their estimated time for order pickup was perfect. Serving sizes are good too - between the two of us we had enough food for 2-3 meals!

The best momo place in the Bay Area. Everyone here is super nice and friendly and all of the foods are delicious. Love the momo, laphing, shabhalay and lasay. Place is also very nice both indoor and outdoor. And has great customer service. Happy 10 years!

Got the Thali. Nice that all items can be refilled, except for the main dish. Good quality and friendly service.

Ohhhh, call me a fool ... I am the first to admit when I am wrong. It turns out the tomato and jhol sauces for the momos were included in my takeaway order! When I originally picked up, I set the bag of food on the floor behind my seat and drove off. I took a turn too fast and heard the bag fall over, so I reached around and put it on the floor of the front passenger seat. What I didn't realise at the time was that the sauce containers had rolled out of the bag when it fell. I just now found the containers sitting beneath my seat - smh. My humble apologies for saying the dipping sauces were not packed with my order - they most definitely were included! Btw, the lids held tight - not a drop leaked in the car.

Best Nepalese food I've had in the United States! Chicken Saag is my go to but I love everything I've had! The lamb momos are also incredible.

Despite receiving an estimated delivery time, my order arrived much later than anticipated, resulting in a frustrating wait. The lack of timely communication or updates regarding the delay further added to the disappointment.When the food finally arrived, it fell far short of my expectations. The dishes were poorly packaged, with some items leaking and others appearing disheveled and unappetizing. It was evident that little care had been taken in ensuring the food's presentation and freshness.

After eating the same bland meals for far too long (read: my own cooking), I decided to regain my sanity and order a properly made meal. I placed a lunch order at Tashi Delek; since the restaurant opened at 2pm today, it became a late lunch. Fortunately, the restaurant's website supported online ordering via Toasttab, allowing me to place an order well before the restaurant opened its doors. I arrived at Tashi Delek at my order pickup time of 2:30pm. As with most establishments, Tashi Delek had implemented various Covid safety measures, such as mask wearing, providing of hand sanitizer, and limited capacity. Since it was 2:30, I was the only customer present, and I had arrived just as my order, momo ($12.50) and spicy goat curry w/jasmine rice ($14), finished bagging. The buff momo, made of buffalo, proved novel for me. The meat had the texture and consistency of shredded beef brisket (like that in Korean yukehjang) but with a flavor halfway between beef and lamb. It had just a touch of mutton-y aftertaste. The dipping sauce, which tasted like a spicy tomato bisque, proved irresistible, especially with the slight heat interrupting the otherwise-creamy tomato stew flavor. The goat curry expanded on the tomato stew theme set by the momo dipping sauce. The goat curry tasted of tomato stew (no cream here) and a bit of cumin. As an aficionado of both cumin and stewed meats, I ate this with satisfaction.

Very good food and fast and friendly staff. I enjoy ordering from here. I will recommend this place very much.

Delicious dishes and I'm so glad we finally ventured away from our usual spot. Delhi diner had my tastebuds in a chokehold with their flavors but their prices and honestly their consistent lack of service over the years have left me needing to find an alternative. Every time I order things Indian hot/spicy they neglected to make it as I'm not indian. Well, thank heavens I needed some extra naan one night. I looked up the nearest place that had cheese naan and it was Tashi Delek and let me tell you I was over the moon to find they had goat cheese naan. It was the most delicate, delicious thing I needed that night. I also ordered the chili naan and my taste buds were super happy. After having experienced those tasty items my family and I were ready to try other items on the menu. So, this evening we ordere Butter Chicken in both medium and spicy. My goodness gracious were they both divine with delicious flavors at both spice levels. I love things to be very spicey but it also has to have flavor and not just heat. There's no point to a burn if there's no flavor and this food was super yummy. The butter chicken was deep in color and flavor and look to have tandoor chicken inside. We also ordered Chicken Tikka masala mild and it was also delicious. The naan ordered this time was again the goat cheese naan as well as the garlic naan. The naan portions are a great size. Also, you should know that unlike most places where every dish is a la carte our meals came with rice and some delicious lentil soup. Next time one of us get's sick we've already discussed getting some of this soup because it has that level of comfort. This place gives you delicious food at a reasonable price. I've passed by this place way too many times not to stop by and now it's going to be in our regular rotation.

Delicious Indian/Nepalese/Bhutanese/Bangladeshi cuisine, fast service, awesome and fast delivery, and enormous selection. My only complaint is that last time I ordered food, I selected Mild instead of Medium for most of the curries, and when they arrived, there was ZERO spiciness, not mild spiciness. I would not take a star off for that, but i would recommend ordering Medium if you want any spiciness at all.

Have been going to this spot for YEARS! I know there are new Nepalese restaurants but it just doesn't live up to the food served at Tashi Delek! We love it. Best MoMo in town & all the Nepali Tibet ppl know this very well. Service is great as always but you get what you paid for + more! I drive from Pittsburg/ Brentwood area to el Cerrito just for a plate of momo sometimes. ekdam Mitho mitho mithooooo

Incredible food! Haven't had a dish I didn't like. The staff is also so kind. My favorite place in El Cerrito.

Their staff are super friendly, their food is yummy and fresh, and they even have a sweet little parklet out back for dining al fresco! We order from here often, now that we've discovered it. Our family's favorites are the vegetable pakora, chicken tikka masala, and naan (any flavor). Seriously good food!

Really delicious! Tried the chicken momo and you would not be disappointed. It comes with a tomato based sauce that is a bit spicy, but not very. My fiancé can't handle anything past a mild. A medium would be too hot for her, and this was somewhere between a mild and medium, but closer to mild. But she said it tasted so good and kept eating it, even though she can't handle spice. Also had the beef sha bhaley and it was awesome. The chili sauce it came with was ok, but I really enjoyed dipping it into the momo sauce. 10/10 would recommend.

I went this place with my family and this place is so weird and customer service is so bad. We order buff chowmein, pork chili and steam buff MoMo. Spicy level we order was medium but they serve as spicy which burn our mouth and can't eat and taste any of them. We ask the server is the spicy level is medium and they told that it's little high than medium . So plz folks I don't recommend this place to eat any Nepalese or Indian food.

We left feeling so satisfied after this meal; we had driven over the Richmond Bridge to get here and it was definitely worth it. The beef momos were stuffed with meat, and the wrappers were fresh and chewy. The saag paneer (even though we got it mild for the kiddo) was rich and full of flavor. Fantastic food - we will be back

Made an order at 2 pm in the afternoon for a dinner party at my place and re confirm it calling them at 5 pm again and they told me to pick it up at 5:30 pm and when I arrived at 6:15 pm to a restaurant, they said they have not made it. WoW, this is how irresponsible the TASHI DELEK is. BIG NO NO for me from nxt time. They sopiled my whole evening and a party at my place. I never gonna give any business to them.nor recommend any one. BTW, it was not only me, there was another customer waiting for his order standing in line and he said he made his order 2 hrs back.

We love Tashi Delek. After a year living nearby we finally gave it a try. We've eaten there and also gotten takeout. Both experiences were wonderful. Food is excellent and value is there. Most entrées come with rice and lentil soup. Our favorites are the veggie momos, baigan bharta, and chicken tikki masala. Highly recommend. It does get very busy so plan accordingly.

I love this place so much I'm becoming a regular. I find the food to be flavorful and the staff to be very responsive, friendly and helpful. It's a simple, homey, cozy place with Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian comfort foods. I especially love the veg thain thuk- homemade flat noodles and vegetables in broth and the veg momo soup. The chapati (flat bread) is authentic. And the chai is the real deal- not made with some "chai latte" powdered mix. I wish Tashi Delek many years of prosperity.

Consistently the BEST Chicken Tikka Masala in area! The garlic cilantro naan is heavenly. Warm & friendly staff. I love the lentil soup they bring as a starter.

The sag paneer is the best I've ever had. Wonderful, silky, richly flavored. Nice breads. The vegetable soup with hand-pulled noodles has a wonderful broth, rich and gingery, and fresh, lightly cooked, nice veg. The vindaloo and tikka masala were fine but not great. Nice to find a place with momos. Outdoor seating is appreciated.

A wonderful little Nepalese restaurant in El Cerrito, a true local gem. The momo are wonderful, but you really can't go wrong with any of it. There's also a lovely outdoor patio area in the back so you can dine al fresca.

[COVID review]. Let's be honest, takeout will never be as satisfying as an in-person experience. Especially when it comes to soups and curries when they're usually so beautifully presented in restaurant. I had a major hankering for momos and decided to try Tashi Delek for the first time. I called at 5:30PM on a Friday and placed my order and was told it'd be about 30mins. When we got there to pick up they were pretty busy for takeout. I'd say about 5 of us were waiting there during my time there. Unfortunately it seemed like they were behind on all of our orders (I think I waited about 15 extra minutes, but they were apologetic and seemed to be working very hard). I really enjoyed my veggie momos! I am no expert on Baigan Bharta (one of their eggplant dishes), but it was a little more liquidy than I was expecting. The taste was good though! My husband enjoyed his Chicken Tikka Masala. I'd definitely want to go back and try more items from this spot! They had plenty of hand sanitizer on hand and there was free street parking right out front.

This place rules. It's easily the best in the area, if not the state. We used to go in and eat a lot pre-Covid, and when we finally emerged from our shelter in place to order take-out for the first time... this was obviously our first choice. Everything is just as good as takeout as it is for in-person dining. The food is all extremely tasty and there's lots of unique regional selections I've never seen in other places. I love this place so so so much. I cannot recommend it enough. A couple other restaurants in the area have gone under due to COVID, and honestly speaking if we lost Tashi I would be devastated. Thank you so much for excellent food, stellar service and a wonderful place to go (even just to pick up food!) PROTIP: They have an app now -- search "Tashi Dalek Cusine" in the app store-- so please use that rather than any other food delivery service! It's cheaper and better for the restaurant.

Tried the veggie jhol momo, paneer tikka masala, and naan and it was all super tasty. I normally order meals as "spicy" but I was sharing with my partner who can't handle spice so we got the mild version of the tikka masala, and I was super impressed/relieved that it was incredibly flavorful and delicious! We got the food to-go and it still felt warm & fresh!

Loved the veg momo. The sag paneer was nice and light. The gobi Manchurian was EXCELLENT!! For an 阿凸仔 like me, the 'medium' spice was SPICY! But a great place to get straight up tasty food.

I have been agonizing on getting some take out but couldn't decide what and how to get it. I just had my first restaurant meal in 2 months. I placed my order and paid online then walked over (wearing my mask) to Tashi Delek to pick up my dinner. It was all packed with my name on it. Oh it was so good. I even got everything spicy and they are perfect. I am in food coma now. P.s. The tamarind sauce was transferred to a small glass bowl after the photo was taken. PPS. I dislike cilantro with a passion, so I noted that on my order. I was so happy to see my online order was printed out in large font and there was no cilantro garnish on everything I ordered.

I so wanted to love this place because I found out about it from a Nepali Lyft driver who was taking me to SFO. I shared with him that I had been to Nepal, enjoyed exploring Kathmandu, and that I was always in search of great momos (steamed Nepalese dumplings). We really enjoyed our conversation which of course, ended with me asking where the best Nepalese restaurant in the area was. This was his answer, and months later, I happened to be in El Cerrito to give it a try. Mind you, I've suspended my ingestion of momos for the time being in search of better nutritional health, but that didn't stop me from coming here for a quick Friday evening dinner even though this stretch of San Pablo Avenue gets mighty thick with traffic. On a relatively nondescript block next to a popular taqueria and a nail salon, it turned out to be a square room painted in mustard yellow with some native accents on the walls. Since I was begrudgingly bypassing the momos, I decided to order the $6 Nepali Salad only to find out they were out of it (...sounded like just a regular house salad but oh well), so I splurged a smidge and went for the $9 Beet Salad, which was described as having roasted beets, baby spinach, goat cheese and parsley dressing. It was fresh for sure, but I doubt the beets were roasted since they had that unmistakably chewy flavor of raw beets. The cheese also tasted more like shredded jack than crumbly goat (photo: http://bit.ly/2z9r4ak), and yet, I rather liked it just the same. I momentarily considered the $11.99 Vegetable Tandoori but got turned off by the prospect of a "light cream sauce", so I figured for the same price, I could get the Chicken Tandoori, which was a half chicken marinated overnight and arrived on a sizzling hot plate (photo: http://bit.ly/2ANnVtt). All of that was to be expected including the bed of onions and peppers that the pieces sat on, but what bummed me out was how charred and dried out the poultry was. I've gotten used to that with tandoori chicken breasts, but for a drumstick and thigh to be in the same arid state, that takes some effort even though I can't believe it was deliberate. I'm guessing their momos, curries, or one of their masala dishes would have elevated the rating for me but alas, it was not meant to be. FOOD - 3 stars...the tandoori was disappointing but I should try other dishes sometime AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...a popular spot though a bit crowded but not overbearing SERVICE - 4 stars...the server was friendly, attentive and taking care of pretty much every customer TOTAL - 3 stars...I probably should have asked the Lyft driver what to order here

I love Indian food! This place it's lovely from inside and food it's amazing. Great customer service and excellent food and authentic.