Zam Zam Restaurant

Man, this restaurant is nothing like the reviews I read. They were smoking near the chicken prep area, and the smoke came right into the dining area where I was eating. They even served me rice that tasted like it had been cooked two days ago. Stay away from this place—I’ve already filed a complaint with the health and safety department.

Sometimes I get the urge for Pakistani food. It’s the richness of the spices, blended in with the sauce and seeped into the meat. Once I get it I have to find it. On a business trip to Boston I popped the key ‘Pakistani’ word to Google and came up Zam Zam. Now I’m not one for fancy surroundings and overfamiliar waiters so this ticked those boxes. It’s basic but clean. The owner (I presumed he was) was very friendly and genuine. It wasn’t busy and the food came in good time. But I’m all about the food. I don’t care about surrounding unless I’m out with family, and frankly it’s sometimes hard to find genuine Pakistani food. Those who are familiar with it, know what I’m talking about. I’ve had my fill of butter chicken over the years, which incidentally no Pakistani or Indian would say exists in their part of the world. This was the genuine article; ‘Pukkah’ as we would call it from where I’m from. I had the Chicken Karahi. It was simple, tasty and left me feeling satisfied. What more can I say? Go and get a Pukkah curry from Zam Zam!

The food was utterly delicious and the person serving us was very warm and welcoming. I ordered Beef Nihari, Mutton Nihari, Mutton Kadhai, Mutton Haleem, Garlic Naan and chai. Everything was great. The meat in Mutton Kadhai could have been cooked for a little bit longer.

We ordered shammi kabab as appetizer, it’s a beef and vegi fried patty, no very good and very oil, we didn’t finish it. And we ordered chicken tiki masala and beef curry as main course. The chicken tasted sweet and sour, with lot of spices, I think this is how Indian food like. Lamb curry is a bit spicy if u eat a lot. Both two are recommended but they are too oily. So I might not be able to eat it very often xD.

Got food poisoning after eating at this place and was sick for a good week. The butter chicken tasted alright - minus the fact that the chicken was probably off and resulted in my horrible stomach pains. The ambiance is terrible, the curries seemed microwaved (center was cold while the sides were scalding). The server gave us the check written on a literal of paper instead of producing a receipt. DO NOT EAT HERE!!!

When I entered I encountered the chef wiping his sweat in his aproning. Still wearing that very apron he was going to the kitchen to cook and I stopped him and canceled my order. Also he licked his fingers before taking out the prawn from the refrigerator.

Zam Zam is probably the only place in greater Boston that has done Pakistani cuisine properly. The Biryani and Chicken Karahi is the best anywhere in this region. Haleem and Nihari are also very good. My only suggestion is, please add aloo to your biryani.

They have the best non-Hyderabadi style chicken biryani in the greater Boston area. The nihari and chapli kabab taste just like they do back home, and the achari chicken is outstanding. This is my go to place when I’m craving desi food, and far better than the Americanized Indian food you get in Boston.

Just recieved take out from here. Everything was fantastic. I'll definitely be back. I ordered the lamb nihari, Karachi Gosht, beef curry and chicken tiki masala with some til walla naan. Intensely flavored and the meat was quality.

Good Indian food, but we only did take out. There were no options to choose spice level in the take out menu, so we just hoped that we could handle the default. If you usually ask for a medium level of spiciness or more, you'll be good without adjustments. If you prefer something more on the mild side, I'm not sure how they take requests. Overall, the food was good and we got a big portion of rice for two people. I would get their curries and naan bread again. I would normally like to dine in at least once but the interior of the restaurant fails to entice me. Almost everything looks like it could use a refresh. I'll likely only get takeout from here.

Best Indian and Pakistani food ever so delicious and tasty This is my second time here and I'm gonna be ordering more.

I was visiting Boston and in search of a locally owned restaurant for dinner. This was within walking distance of my hotel. From the outside, it just appears to be a small restaurant that wasn't busy. Once inside, I was immediately greeted by the owner. He was very friendly. A young hostess then came and led me to a table. There is Pakistani decor around the restaurant that gave the restaurant a homey feel. The owner and I talked about his life back home, him immigrating here, and this business. He was generous with his time and talking about the various menu items with me. I ultimately decided on chicken vindaloo. This dish was delicious! It was mildly spicy. The chicken was tender. The sauce ratio was excellent for the amount of chicken and potatoes included. It came with a side of rice that was perfectly fluffy. The owner recommended I try the garlic naan and I'm so glad he did. It was fluffy with the right amount of toasty and the perfect amount of butter and garlic. The food portions were generous. I ate there and took half home. It was enough for one more meal for me. This restaurant participates in Door Dash. They had several orders picked up while I was there.

One of the sleeping hits. All there dishes were very authentic and desi. There mutton haleem is the finest i have tasted in continental US. Must try

Great food! Very fluffy naan toasted to perfection, and the veggies samosas were so good that I ordered extra to go. The lamb korma was a bit on the drier side for the meat, most likely due to the cut and cooking style. The chicken vindaloo was great, the potatoes so tender alongside the chicken. When I come back, I hopefully will try their food with a bit more of a kick, it was a bit on the sweeter side in my opinion. The mango lassi was so good, it was very flavorful and not too much yogurt, like other Indian places would do it. I got chai (not pictured), and it came with no sweetener, which i thought was nice so you could adjust sweetest to your liking! The restaurant was pretty empty, and parking wasn't an issue after 6pm. I hope the restaurant gets more hype it deserves! I'd love to try the biriyani when I go back!

When you are craving Pakistani food you have to go where you have to go. We should have heeded the more cautionary reviews about Zam Zam but we always take some negative reviews with a grain of salt. The restaurant was non distinct and upon entering there were no enticing aromas. We did a GrubHub order for the beef Nihari and chicken karahi. You know how to go orders often look kind of sad. Well when we looked at the Nihari we were even sadder. 4 pieces of meat in a pint of oil for 19$ plus gratuity. We make Nihari at home and the size of this 19 dollar entree was more sized for a toddler. The chicken had sufficient meat but suffered from the same oil slick issue. Yes we know these are usually oily but not just 0il . It's a rich gravy not just oil. Anyway, we came, we ate and we won't return.

I'm soooo happy I found this place! This place doesn't look like much from the outside, but most authentic and family owned businesses are like that around Boston. That's how you know that the food is authentic! The garlic naan was crispy and fluffy with a thin layer of butter! Not too buttery and look at those air pockets! That's what good naan looks like. The chicken achari was flavorful and the chicken was tender and moist. The rice was fluffy and warm and the combination of the achari and rice is a spoonful of warmth. The food tastes homemade and it feels like comfort food. Although the restaurant looks a bit old and needs some renovation, the food speaks for itself! Yum yum yum

I never leave a reviews if the food is good !!! -0 out of 10 2nd and last time ordering from here!

If you are looking for halal Pakistani or Indian food, this is a great spot near Boston. The food is classic and good, the chicken seekh kabab and beef nihari were solid 8/10. The place is classic nostalgic Pakistani with glass covered tables. Our server was very helpful.

Cannot express how much this food is good- it's a different level of takeout/delivery. It is so delicious, authentic and much more! I wish I had better photos to share, it was so good we couldn't wait to devour it! I was skeptical to order from here, even though I was craving it, due to previous experiences with other authentic restaurants. But it didn't disappoint at all! Again, it's so so delicious and def ordering again.

Our delivery order was incomplete. I called the restaurant, and they refused to send the missing item. They also refused to issue a refund. In short, this place is a slipshod operation run by rude people. Save your money and go elsewhere.

Food was excellent! Lamb meat in the biryani was moist with sauce on the rice. Tried one of the chicken special plates that the server recommended, the dish was flavorful with different pieces of meats in it. Garlic naan was a good size and complimented well with the other two dishes. Looking forward to coming back!

Tried this restaurant after multiple recommendations. However, was very disappointed with their mutton biryani. Rice was not fully cooked and it seemed like they poured mutton curry over rice. An $18 Biryani had literally 2 medium sized mutton pieces. Mutton biryani was merely mutton curry topped with some ginger and was terrible. Beef Nihari was good though and cooked to perfection. Might go back for Beef Nihari but not for Biryani.

Had ordered take-out for our NYE party and ordered well in advance. Order was ready for the time we had set, so well done with that! As for food, we ordered a bunch of non-vegetarian appetizers which included Chicken Samosas, Chicken Tikka's, and Shami Kabab's. The non-vegetarians seemed to enjoy that a lot and appetizers were gone within 2 hours! I had ordered the Paneer Kadhai with Garlic Naan. Taste wise - 4 stars... hit the spot, paneer was nice and fresh, and spices were spot on. Oil was, a little grossed out. Was a little too greasy to my liking. I am sure if I was hungover, I would've totally enjoyed the food! Overall though, excellent food and will definitely order again if I am in the area!

Accompanied my guy to Cambridge for business. We were in the mood for spicy food and looked to our fellow Yelpers for where to go. Zam Zam more than satisfied our culinary desire. If you're looking for an elegant restaurant with ambiance to match, Zam Zam is not your place. If you are looking for authentic Pakastani/Indian food, Zam Zam delivers in droves, including halal and vegetarian options. Zam Zam was not busy for sit down dinner, though there was a constant stream of folks for take out. It was also a holiday after a major snowstorm, as such on-street parking was actually not a problem. While perusing the menu, I noticed a few staples: samosas, naan, curry and of course mango lassi. I then came upon a surprise of surprises, Haleem. Oh. My. Word! I haven't had haleem in years, ever since my Pakistani friend moved away. I had to have it. We decided to go family style and order samosas, dried fruit and nut naan, lamb curry, mutton haleem and jasmine rice. When asked by our server how hot/spicy we wanted our food, my guy replied medium for the curry. I replied mild for the haleem and changed it to medium. (Oh silly me, I knew better!) I didn't get too many pictures as once our food arrived, the fragrance had us drooling and we tore into it as though we'd been starved for weeks. Pictures were way past an afterthought. The meal brought me back to eating with my Pakistani friends. The lamb curry had tender pieces of lamb in a fragrant sauce. It was mildly sweet with a nice level of heat, medium was perfect. Paired with the jasmine rice and naan... heaven. Now the haleem, holy mouth on fire! I don't know why I overrode my common sense and chose medium spice. Haleem by nature is a spicy dish. This coupled with my weaker palate having not eaten Pakistani food recently, what was I thinking?! Haleem, the flavor was absolutely amazing, and the heat.... Then I remembered...yogurt! I asked our server and thankfully Zam Zam makes their own yogurt (not on the menu $2), it was perfect, just the right consistency of thick and fresh tangy flavor. Just what I needed to cool the fire down and allow me to enjoy a delectable dish. Ended dinner with mango lassi, creamy and sweet. A perfect finish to our meal. I'm looking forward to returning to Zam Zam, especially for authentic haleem.

Listen, when you walk into this place you're going to get bad vibes. There's barely any decor, there's shit stain water damage all over the ceilings, there's a single tv in the back broadcasting Indian cringe pop culture TV. Don't listen to your instincts on this one. Sit down with a positive mind set and order the chicken tikka or the lamb vindaloo and enjoy it's fucking top tier quality. When everywhere else has a waitlist in Medford on a Friday night, wander on into ZamZam. They do takeout and Uber eats. You're welcome.

Meh at best. Chicken samosa and chicken tika masalla were both very generic. Nan was think and not so good.

After Commander Abhinandan commented on the excellent chai he was served by the Pakistani Army, I remembered how much I enjoy a good cup of Pakistani chai. When I was in the area, I made sure to stop by Zam Zam. I didn't have time for a full meal, but the chai was top notch and the owner was incredibly friendly. Atmosphere was cozy and casual. I will definitely be back to try their sabziyaan and garlic naan soon!

Such delicious food! We ordered it on Doordash and it was still hot when it arrived. Fair warning, my boyfriend can't stop farting now!

Super oily and bland curries. The proprietor seems like a really great guy, but the quality of the food just isn't very high. We ordered a karahi chicken curry, mutter paneer, and a biryani, and all of them were dripping in yellow oil. The three dishes were also all the same color and approximate flavor, making me doubt that the dishes were prepared separately. The cuts of chicken were mostly fat and cartilage. I was really optimistic about this place given the location and competitive prices, but the quality just isn't there, unfortunately.

Consistently great for years! Usually we pickup but we ordered deliver the other day and I could not believe how quick and fresh the food was. It was a HUGE treat and relief to have dinner taken care of so easily for my whole family. My son and I are vegetarian and my husband and son eat meat. We normally order chana masala and chicken tikka masala but have tried and liked lots of other things on the menu.

Stumbled upon this restaurant accidentally and so happy that we did. The ambiance is casual but clean with a lot of tables. The service is very good, personal but non intrusive. The quality of food and flavors were well delivered. We tried a bunch of dishes: Tandoori mixed grill was very tasty, perfectly grilled moist from inside- Chicken seekh and chapli were my favorite and the green chutney served with the tandoori is to die for!! Paneer Karahi was good but a tad bit on the sweeter side(I like spicy dishes) ; Karachi ghosht was very tasty and packed with flavors. Tandoori Naan was tasty but Garlic Naan totally stole the show. My mouth is salivating just thinking about it. One of the tastiest garlic naan you will ever eat. Highly recommend dining here. An experience of outstanding flavors that you should not miss. Cannot wait to try the biryani's on our next visit!!!!

My first worst experience with indian food in Mass. new in town, Been trying places around and these are the worst dishes served. The curry is crazy bad yo. The chicken doesn't carry any taste. The aloo appetizer had uncooked flour chunks. Pics include our unfinished plates. We were thinking of taking the curry back tomorrow (its late night order so they closed rn). Biryani was 1/5. Rice is legit uncooked.

Latest addition to Medford Square. Halal Pakistani & Indian. A distinct train station waiting hall atmosphere. Quite strange that I am the only customer, but the place has only been open for two days. The lamb is very tasty! Rice is simple but perfect. Garlic Nan is a little too rich (but I love it). A little expensive but good if you can share. Doggy bag for me.

This is my favorite go to Indian/Pakistani restaurant in the Greater Boston Area. It's all about the delicious food it has to offer. We do take out and dine-in all the time. It's authentic and a must must must try. I highly recommend to check it out! Must Try: Beef Nihari Tilwale Naan Chapli Kebab Chicken Tikka Boti Chicken Biryani Chicken Cholle Chana Masala Don't Try: Shami Kebab

Absolutely delicious! Everything we ordered was mouth watering good! The garlic naan - oh so good!

Ordered delivery from here not too long ago. My delivery came on time and was not disappointed with my food. CHICKEN CURRY - Big chicken chunks and the chicken surprisingly was very moist. I'm so used to other places giving me dry and bland chicken. Would recommend. I just wish it more curry sauce. I ran out of curry before I got to finish eating the chicken GARLIC NAN - super big and fluffy! the nan is so big that they had to cut it in half. I didn't really taste the garlic in this, so either it wasn't strong enough or they gave me regular naan? I'd probably just stick with the regular naan since it's cheaper. CHICKEN BRIYANI - this was my first time trying briyani so I don't know whats good or not. But, again, the chicken was very moist. I would definitely order from here again. I would suggest calling in if you want to order from here because when you order online, you're not able to choose your spiciness level. My food came very mildly spicy but I prefer it much more spicy.

We checked in at a nearby hotel and accidentally found this place while walking around. We ordered chicken Haleem, shammi kabab, palak paneer and rice. Everything was delicious! I love when the dishes come out hot and freshly cooked. Service was average but I would definitely recommend the food.

I was able to dine in once pre-pandemic but have since ordering takeout. The food is delicious. I am South Asian and am used to eating Indian/Pakistani dishes at home and I always feel that ZamZam has one of the best authentic Pakistani food in the Boston area. Everything Always tastes fresh. The food is on the spicier side for some but I love it. The quantities are always enough for two meals (for both my husband and I). I have never had any complaints about the food. Most times I order takeout the food is ready before the pickup time on Yelp. I feel that the restaurant itself does have a gloomy feeling inside but it's lively when there are people around. I look forward to being able to dine in with friends again after the pandemic is over!

It's been quite a while since we had takeout from here, so we were interested to see how the food had held up. Pleased to say that it was even better than we had remembered. Another reviewer was spot on in saying this was Pakistani comfort food. It tasted very fresh and homemade, with vibrant flavors and pleasant but not overpowering heat. We had the chana masala and chicken tikka masala, which were both very good. The naan is pretty thick, but you can use each side of the pocket to scoop with if that's how you like to eat. The mango lassi was pretty sweet, but tasty. Definitely recommended.

Drop what you're doing and order from here right now!!! This food is truly incredible, authentic Pakistani food. It's always reliable, ready quickly, and the owners are super nice.

Staying at hotel down the street and tried for the first time. Absolutely Delicious. Maybe the best Indian food I have ever had. Will definitely go back and check out more menu items. This is what we got tonight: Chicken tiki masala Chicken Tika boti with yogurt Lamb Nehari Garlic Naan Rice

Went expecting a nice restaurant due to the reviews... I know you should not judge a book by it's cover, BUT this place is Very low end... Not appropriate for a first or even second date.. We walked in sat down and left....

This is an excellent Pakistani restaurant with amazing flavors. Their Mango Lassi is good and their Paneer dishes are great. This place has the same owners as Mehek and the quality delivered is top notch. May hit a higher price point due to authentic flavors and tasty food, but surely worth the visit if in the vicinity. My friends who eat meat tell me their chicken varieties and goat biryani are to die for with mouth watering meat apps. People here are super friendly and will customize dishes to your requirements. High Alert - Food is extremely greasy but incredibly flavorful!

They finally paired with Grubhub and you can now order from there. I got the Beef nihari and till naan! Both were absolutely amazing!! The Bihari was perfectly garnished and naan had lots of sesame seeds just the way I like it. No pictures as it was gone as soon as opened!

I have always liked the food from Zam Zam. But this time the chicken kebab was undercooked and almost raw. The texture of the kebab was slimy on the inside. Raw chicken can cause severe infection/ food poisoning. I had placed an order through UberEats. Please make sure you are thoroughly cooking the chicken before serving it. Thank you! Chicken biryani was well cooked and tasty.

Good food Ordered Vegetable Samosas was the best I ever had Lamb Biryani Shrimp Biryani

Heard the name and wanted to try it out. We ordered for take out. A bit disappointed when I went in to pick up the order. The restaurant had a peculiar raw poultry smell in the dining area, which gave an overall unhygienic feeling. The food was tasty though. Garlic naans were nicely done and chicken achaari (medium hot) was really good, it had the nice tangy taste to it from the achar pieces and the right amount of hotness. A bit oily, but I guess that added to the taste. Didn't feel that well the next day though...maybe from the food, maybe not. But I guess I'll refrain myself from trying out the place again.

I was looking for a business to support during these tough Corona times and fell upon this gem. I got the Lamb Nehari with plain naan. It was nothing short of amazing. Generous portion, spiced perfectly (it's very spicy), lamb was tender, naan was crispy yet pillowy in the inside. 5/5. I will be back.

I've seen and been wanting to try Zam Zam since I moved to Medford about 1.5 years ago and FINALLY got a chance to try it. My boyfriend and I ordered online and picked up. We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Palak and Garlic Naan. My Palek definitely packed some secret lingering pro-longed heat, but it was SO GOOD. It lasted me 2 meals - though PROBABLY should have been 3, but shhh. I definitely wish I asked for Mild, but Grubhub didn't have a "heat level" option and I didn't process that I didn't request it until after, but it worked out fine. It was a tiny bit oiling, but do a bit a mixing and it's fine. The Garlic Naan was delicious, even reheated. Something important to note is the dishes DO NOT come with Rice, so if you want rice you'll have to order a side of it. We ordered rice and it's a good sized container, that is probably 4 regular serving sizes worth - but 2 big sized meals worth. This place is reasonably priced and though I had no interactions with the folks at the establishment, they seem like nice folks, according to my boyfriend who went to pick up the food. I DEFINITELY plan on coming back. I love Palek or Saag (depending on location) and look forward to eating it again...it makes such great leftovers.

Everything I've gotten here is a bit spicy, but it so good that we have just learned to cope (and get a side of Raita which helps cool things off). The lamb biryani is the best lamb I've had in ages.

Wow this place is AMAZING. We had a big take out order and were a little short on time and they had our food ready much faster than what we had expected. They were very understanding about it. But it's not just that. Their food is freaking delicious. Every dish I got to try was great The chicken tikka masala had the softest chicken and the curry itself was delicious, especially when eaten with garlic naan. The lamb nehari was amazing. I looked at other reviews and it was recommended and I now know why. It was my first time trying this dish but I'm already craving it. The chicken vindaloo was also good! All of them have a kick to them, just how I like!

Friday early dinner: empty Chai tea: plain, not worth the calories Chanda masala: good Chicken saag: good Garlic naan: good Overall solid

Tried this place for the first time tonight. I had really high hopes because it was a new Pakistani restaurant and I love Pakistani food. I enjoyed the chicken chapli kebab and fresh garlic naan. I also liked the homemade raita and mint chutney sauce. The green sauce was really on point and I couldn't eat enough. I also ordered the mixed grill, fish biryani, and beef nehari, and an aloo paratha. The alooparatha was fresh and hot and tasty but a little burnt. The mixed grill was okay, it already includes a chicken chapli kebab so I made a mistake ordering that on its own for an appetizer. The fish biryani was mediocre I don't recommend it. The beef nehari was a huge disappointment. NO BONES! Just chunks of beef in way too much gravy. Also they don't provide any side salad to go with the food the way desi restaurants usually do. I asked the chef. I definitely advise adding that with your tandoori dishes.

Food was extremely greasy & tasteless. They don't deserve the rating I gave as it's not low enough!

We have made two trips to this place. First time everything was super oily but tasty. We ordered Lamb Nehari, seeks kebab, chicken curry, palak paneer. If you get over oil floating over the gravies, the stuff is yummy. Second time around, we visited in the afternoon. The restaurant was dead. There was one guy who was waiter who was more interested in being on the phone than helping us with our water or taking our orders or removing plates from the table. We ordered chicken biryani - this was stale and the chicken pieces had white gooey stuff coming out of it. Paratha was huge but undercooked. Everything else was fine. Both my kids got food poisoning that night. I really want this next restaurant to work it's issues because they know how to cook Pakistani food. But they need to know that they cannot serve old food to the customers and make us sick.

One of best Indian food around Boston area. Their Chicken Biryani, Chicken tikka boti and Chicken tikka masala are awesome.

Excellent and authentic food. Best naan hands down with authentic flavors second to None.