Tilak - San Francisco

If you're concerned about dining with people who have different dietary preferences, Tilak is very accommodating and can prepare almost any dish dairy-free or nut-free upon request. Although Tilak has been a beloved spot for many years, my friends and I recently visited and found ourselves once again impressed by the exceptional food, which remains consistent despite the ups and downs of San Francisco's dining scene. We have never been disappointed! This review may be a bit overdue, but it's definitely better late than never.

I also ordered the saag paneer based on the server's recommendation, but it turned out to be more like dal with unmashed saag and pieces of paneer. It was clear they didn’t know how to properly prepare saag. Overall, I left feeling very disappointed and won’t be returning.

A fun spot!Highlights: the fish pakoras were packed with flavor, the lamb vindaloo was spicy in a new way, and the texture on the naan was perfectly fluffy.The chai tasted pretty bland (neither spicy nor sweet), and the Chana saag was good but not delicious.Definitely would come back to satisfy an Indian food craving!

Brief Summary: Low spice tolerance, medium spice is very spicy. I was coughing Curry is very delicious The star were the naanWe visited here in the evening during dinner time and when most of the restaurants are opening up from their break hours. The streets here are quiet and not lively, so we decided to spend more time in other areas and then head here. While the street has shops, it felt more like a residential street.We entered when the restaurant opened, so we were able to get a seat. The menu is categorized by proteins, so it was easy to see what to choose from. I juggled between the coconut milk curry and the shrimp curry, partly because I have never tried Indian curry with fish before. In the end, since it was our first time here, we decided to get the chicken with coconut milk and my friend took the lamb. On our next return will we try out the fish protein. We also ordered naan with the curry dishes. They asked on the spicy level, and they started off from mild, medium, and so on. I didn't hear the rest because I have low spice tolerance, so trying out spicy foods makes it difficult for me to finish.We chose medium, but looking back at this decision, we should have ordered mild.As an appetizer, we order the puri, and this has become of my favorite appetizers to eat. It was airy and crispy at the same time. I also liked the sauces and the chutney that was poured into it. The lasting flavor palette was sourness of the yogurt or the chutney. Very nice start of the dinner.The two curries arrived with a basket of naan. This naan basket came in three different types: original, garlic, and onion. Taking hold of one of them instantly struck me with surprise. This naan is super soft! My favorite was the original because it retains the fluffiest, then the garlic and onion. The onion is chopped up finely and is mixed with the naan dough, so I felt like it lost its fluffiness.While I wanted to eat a lot of this and was thinking of maybe ordering more because it was so good, I was surprised on how fast this filled me up. The naan basket contained three naan cut into four pieces. If there were 2 people, they can share 6 pieces each. I was expecting myself to grow very full on the second piece.Taking a pause to talk about the curry. Both were very delicious, rich and the thickness is perfect to be scooped up with the naan. The unexpected part was the spiciness; medium spice was very spicy. I was holding down my cough, sweats were forming near my temples, and my stomach felt like a heater even after we had finished eating.Comparing with the two curries, the chicken coconut curry was slightly less spicy than the lamb. It could be the coconut milk has softened its bite. The lamb on the other hand, while I loved how tender the meat was, I was able to eat this with naan but not on its own. Luckily, my friend had a notch higher spice tolerance, so they ate the rest.We took the rest of the naan home, and I warmed it up with a toaster. This still kept its fluffiness, so I was glad to have eaten it again. I had a good food experience here, so I will come here again, next time order mild.

The food here is very delicious and I am a long-term loyal customer. But last night I decided to try to paneer pakora and was so disappointed. It was totally inedible and hard as rocks. I believe it was over-cooked. Otherwise, everything else is amazing and I will continue to patronize. The service is wonderful and everyone is super nice.