Cafe Raj

The food here is excellent! The first bite I took was an explosion of perfectly balanced flavors. I can honestly say this is the best Indian food I’ve had (and I’ve been to many Indian restaurants). As a vegan, it can be hard to find restaurants that cook tasty vegan food and vegetables packed with flavor. The food here is clean, fresh food. Not greasy, bland, or tasting like it was frozen. Everything here is made fresh and you can tell from the first bite. I would highly recommend this place to any one wanting clean, flavorful Indian food!

When I first walked in I noticed the amazing atmosphere of the restaurant, the lighting was impeccable and the decor was quite interesting. I can also say these are the best prices for Indian dishes around the Oakland/Albany area, on top of that the portion sizes are larger than normal and the food was delicious. I was informed upon picking up my food that a rice pudding was provided to me completely on the house. 5 stars you will catch me driving from Oakland to here every week.

Long-time reliable spot. It's all good and the staff are lovely. Bring the fam to eat-in, or pick up dinner after a long shift. Fresh every time. No-meat diet? No problem; the veg are delicious. Also, they have a whole wall of community awards and a commendation for promoting food security, and a little bit of outside seating still. This is neighborhood!

Craig Sterba

When I first walked in I noticed the amazing atmosphere of the restaurant, the lighting was impeccable and the decor was quite interesting. I can also say these are the best prices for Indian dishes around the Oakland/Albany area, on top of that the portion sizes are larger than normal and the food was delicious. I was informed upon picking up my food that a rice pudding was provided to me completely on the house. 5 stars you will catch me driving from Oakland to here every week.

Kennedy Bassey

These guys are hospitable like no other, and I’m from Texas (where since being out here in California, I’ve begun to notice the same Southern Hospitality as common) these folks do it right! The food is also great

E B

Long-time reliable spot. It's all good and the staff are lovely. Bring the fam to eat-in, or pick up dinner after a long shift. Fresh every time. No-meat diet? No problem; the veg are delicious. Also, they have a whole wall of community awards and a commendation for promoting food security, and a little bit of outside seating still. This is neighborhood!

Tatiana A

The food here is excellent! The first bite I took was an explosion of perfectly balanced flavors. I can honestly say this is the best Indian food I’ve had (and I’ve been to many Indian restaurants). As a vegan, it can be hard to find restaurants that cook tasty vegan food and vegetables packed with flavor. The food here is clean, fresh food. Not greasy, bland, or tasting like it was frozen. Everything here is made fresh and you can tell from the first bite. I would highly recommend this place to any one wanting clean, flavorful Indian food!

It’s always nice to find a place that’s open late. I’m happy that I finally found an Indian restaurant that’s open past 9pm. The food was really good. We ordered chicken, 2 curries, biryani, and samosas. We over ordered but we didn’t regret it. We were stuffed. Definitely adding this place to my late night eats list.

Excellent Northern Indian and Pakistani Cuisine served in a friendly family setting. Tasty sauces and desserts. Try some authentic Naan or try some special traditional beverages. Price is reasonable. Located in Kensington area.

Nice halal restaurant with Pakistani dishes. Taste is probably perfect for most people, a little bland for me as I'm used to more spicy food. Nice ambience and clean washroom.

Thomas Joseph Perez

It’s always nice to find a place that’s open late. I’m happy that I finally found an Indian restaurant that’s open past 9pm. The food was really good. We ordered chicken, 2 curries, biryani, and samosas. We over ordered but we didn’t regret it. We were stuffed. Definitely adding this place to my late night eats list.

Andy Kohn

Excellent Northern Indian and Pakistani Cuisine served in a friendly family setting. Tasty sauces and desserts. Try some authentic Naan or try some special traditional beverages. Price is reasonable. Located in Kensington area.

Usman Ahmad Raza

Nice halal restaurant with Pakistani dishes. Taste is probably perfect for most people, a little bland for me as I'm used to more spicy food. Nice ambience and clean washroom.

山本_

The service there was amazing! They served delicious freshly made food. They also kept checking on our table to make sure we felt satisfied. I would 100% recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves indian food or would like to try indian food. I would give this restaurant an overall rating of 4.5/5!

Cafe Raj didn’t meet the expectations we had. Their curry’s are on the bland side and not typical of similar Indian restaurants in the Bay Area. Their prices are pretty good and the service is prompt. The garlic naan had way too much raw garlic inside the bread, which I would have loved but the garlic was raw and didn’t feel cooked. The Prawns Zafarani is on the sweeter side with nuts and such. We also got a chicken curry, we liked this the most.

I ordered the saag paneer with plain rice. The saag dish was very watery, without much paneer. The saag had a good texture (chopped rather than mushed spinach) and was slightly spicy, as I ordered it, but the paneer was a little too soft for my liking. I was most disappointed with the rice, it wasn't basmati. To me that's essential in any good Indian restaurant.

hundred_men

Cafe Raj didn’t meet the expectations we had. Their curry’s are on the bland side and not typical of similar Indian restaurants in the Bay Area. Their prices are pretty good and the service is prompt. The garlic naan had way too much raw garlic inside the bread, which I would have loved but the garlic was raw and didn’t feel cooked. The Prawns Zafarani is on the sweeter side with nuts and such. We also got a chicken curry, we liked this the most.

Vicki O

I ordered the saag paneer with plain rice. The saag dish was very watery, without much paneer. The saag had a good texture (chopped rather than mushed spinach) and was slightly spicy, as I ordered it, but the paneer was a little too soft for my liking. I was most disappointed with the rice, it wasn't basmati. To me that's essential in any good Indian restaurant.

I ordered mattar paneer and found it had way too much curry powder. The chicken vindaloo was pretty good but I asked for medium spicy and it was cooked mild.

The food was a bit different from what I'm used to eating. The chicken masala was not as tender as it should be. The cheese nan was oily. It did not have actual cheese in it. I think it was cream cheese. The potato & peas samosa needed some seasoning. The service was good.

I ordered the chicken biryani and I'm quite familiar with this dish. What I got was chicken breast chunks with rice with raisins and shaved almonds. There were no cardamom, no cinnamon sticks, no plums, no sauteed onions, no star anise. I still ate it because the chicken was lean fresh and a lot of it so it made up for it slightly , the rice was okay but a bit on the bland salty side The food was still okay but I was really disappointed because I wanted a true authentic traditional old fashioned chicken biryani. The service was really good though, I was treated very nicely and kind. My advice to this restaurant is to try and be more authentic with the food and you will be a huge success.

I ate again here on January 6th, and need to update my previous review. Originally, I gave them 5 stars. This second visit was a very different experience; I would give it 2.5 stars. I had guests from out of town, and I was really embarrassed by the meal we were served. Literally every single thing was disappointing. The vegan pakoras tasted stale and oily. Clearly, they had already been fully fried, and were then refried when we ordered. Both the chutneys were, frankly, crap. Baingan bhartha was absurd. There was no roasted eggplant flavor, and the dish was pureed, which is absolutely not how it is served. Wasn't even clear to us that we were eating eggplant. The Brussel sprouts curry was still good, but not amazing like it had been the previous time. The rice pudding was bland and tasteless, with not even a hint of cardamom flavor. I don't know if there was someone different in the kitchen that day (it was a Tuesday). But at the very least, the food here can be really uneven. *****************Previous review****************** I have eaten there three times now, and really enjoyed the meal each time. I am from India, and I have high standards for Indian food. What I love about Café Raj that almost all the dishes there taste like home-cooked Indian food. They do have some of the standards that you will find at any Indian restaurant, but many of the dishes on the menu you will never see in any other restaurant. Right now, they have the most amazing brussels sprouts curry. It's not on the menu, and it is advertised only by a piece of paper stuck on the inside of the door. The heading there says "crazy delicious", and the dish absolutely lives up to that. We had the Chicken Shahi Korma with that, and it's a great combination. I love that each entree comes with your choice of rice or bread. The Chappati (a whole wheat version of Naan) is huge. Our two entrees, together with brown Basmati rice and Chappati would have been easily sufficient for three people. And then there's icing on the cake too: free rice pudding for dessert. A good sized bowl that was easily sufficient for two people. I also remember a pretty decent glass of red wine, at a very reasonable price. Service is always friendly, but sometimes it can take a while for someone to take your order. Once they do, the food comes pretty fast.

Sarab Seth

I ate again here on January 6th, and need to update my previous review. Originally, I gave them 5 stars. This second visit was a very different experience; I would give it 2.5 stars. I had guests from out of town, and I was really embarrassed by the meal we were served. Literally every single thing was disappointing. The vegan pakoras tasted stale and oily. Clearly, they had already been fully fried, and were then refried when we ordered. Both the chutneys were, frankly, crap. Baingan bhartha was absurd. There was no roasted eggplant flavor, and the dish was pureed, which is absolutely not how it is served. Wasn't even clear to us that we were eating eggplant. The Brussel sprouts curry was still good, but not amazing like it had been the previous time. The rice pudding was bland and tasteless, with not even a hint of cardamom flavor. I don't know if there was someone different in the kitchen that day (it was a Tuesday). But at the very least, the food here can be really uneven. *****************Previous review****************** I have eaten there three times now, and really enjoyed the meal each time. I am from India, and I have high standards for Indian food. What I love about Café Raj that almost all the dishes there taste like home-cooked Indian food. They do have some of the standards that you will find at any Indian restaurant, but many of the dishes on the menu you will never see in any other restaurant. Right now, they have the most amazing brussels sprouts curry. It's not on the menu, and it is advertised only by a piece of paper stuck on the inside of the door. The heading there says "crazy delicious", and the dish absolutely lives up to that. We had the Chicken Shahi Korma with that, and it's a great combination. I love that each entree comes with your choice of rice or bread. The Chappati (a whole wheat version of Naan) is huge. Our two entrees, together with brown Basmati rice and Chappati would have been easily sufficient for three people. And then there's icing on the cake too: free rice pudding for dessert. A good sized bowl that was easily sufficient for two people. I also remember a pretty decent glass of red wine, at a very reasonable price. Service is always friendly, but sometimes it can take a while for someone to take your order. Once they do, the food comes pretty fast.

Patrick Hammer

I ordered mattar paneer and found it had way too much curry powder. The chicken vindaloo was pretty good but I asked for medium spicy and it was cooked mild.

cristina tovar

The food was a bit different from what I'm used to eating. The chicken masala was not as tender as it should be. The cheese nan was oily. It did not have actual cheese in it. I think it was cream cheese. The potato & peas samosa needed some seasoning. The service was good.

I ordered chicken korma and garlic naan for takeout. The total came out to be $17.xx which is the menu-appropriate price for both items. I expected the chicken korma to come with rice, but it did not come with rice. When I noticed this after I got home, I called the restaurant and was told that that it comes with naan or rice but not both, which doesn't make sense for my specific order considering that I was charged for the 2 items individually. So in this case I was overcharged. I asked for at least a partial refund on the phone, but not sure what will come of it. This is really disappointing because I only came here after reading some reviews saying there are large portions. Outside of that, the in-person service is good. If the charge is corrected I will come back.

Me Myself

I ordered chicken korma and garlic naan for takeout. The total came out to be $17.xx which is the menu-appropriate price for both items. I expected the chicken korma to come with rice, but it did not come with rice. When I noticed this after I got home, I called the restaurant and was told that that it comes with naan or rice but not both, which doesn't make sense for my specific order considering that I was charged for the 2 items individually. So in this case I was overcharged. I asked for at least a partial refund on the phone, but not sure what will come of it. This is really disappointing because I only came here after reading some reviews saying there are large portions. Outside of that, the in-person service is good. If the charge is corrected I will come back.

We recently visited Café Raj and had a very disappointing experience. The food quality was terrible and seemed borderline spoilt/harmful. The chicken tandoori was marinated for far too long, causing it to be overly juicy when it should be dry and tandoor-cooked. To make matters worse, it tasted burnt. The chicken biryani was a complete letdown; it was just rice mixed with chicken ( see picture), nothing like the authentic biryani I expected. The gulab jamun was spoiled with a slimy texture, and when I pointed this out, they took it back, admitting it must have been old. On a positive note, the café is open till late, and the servers were very nice and accommodating. However, the poor food quality overshadowed these pros.

Subhrajit Chakraborty

We recently visited Café Raj and had a very disappointing experience. The food quality was terrible and seemed borderline spoilt/harmful. The chicken tandoori was marinated for far too long, causing it to be overly juicy when it should be dry and tandoor-cooked. To make matters worse, it tasted burnt. The chicken biryani was a complete letdown; it was just rice mixed with chicken ( see picture), nothing like the authentic biryani I expected. The gulab jamun was spoiled with a slimy texture, and when I pointed this out, they took it back, admitting it must have been old. On a positive note, the café is open till late, and the servers were very nice and accommodating. However, the poor food quality overshadowed these pros.

Chetna Karkera

No salt in food, no flavor. Reason said - old people don't like salt. Even though we were very young.