Bismillah Restaurant San Diego

(858) 565-1661

I had gone to this place with my friends( some of whom had not tried Indian food) for lunch. We tried the buffet. The food was good specially the tandoori chicken and chicken korma. I didn't like the spinach curry. The garlic naan was nice. There wasn't a lot of variety in the buffet. There were no appetizers and salads. Also no option in rice, just brown rice. Overall decent food but I think they could add a few more options to the buffet. The ambience is below par but didn't make a difference to us since we were a big group.

Wonderful service and great food. The restaurant is quiet and peaceful. Loved the lamb saag and garlic naan. Went there on my birthday and even though they were closed, they let us in and we were allowed to order. I'm definitely a regular already!! Thanks for the awesome time!

4 stars for food, minus a star for slow service, and lack of atmosphere. Good food, though a bit pricey. No real ambience. After seeing a sign that advertised kabob and curry, I knew I had to check it out. We came in on a Sunday for a slightly late lunch, and this place was empty (which was funny since the front table was "reserved"). The one waitstaff showed us to a table against the wall, and brought us a pitcher of water and then turned on some music. I ordered the Kashmiri Kebab Masala, and the waiter suggested rice as well. Really kinda amazed that they sell rice separately (and for $4). This chicken dish was delicious, and having a lettuce/cucumber salad on the side helped filter the spiciness. My lunch companion got the Lamb Karahi and some garlic naan: The lamb was also quite tasty, and hit the spot. My companion prefered the lamb to my chicken, but I think the chicken was the better dish. Garlic naan was good and garlicky but without the runny oiliness that garlic naan sometimes gets. Not sure if that is a plus or a minus. After we finished, I made eye contact with the waiter, who came over to make sure everything was ok and offered dessert, which we declined. and apparently didn't get the hint that we wanted the check. So a few minutes later, I flagged him down again with the universal "check please" gesture. Our meal with tax and tip came out to almost $40, which seemed a bit steep for lunch, but then again we had dinner portions (or perhaps halal meat is expensive?) In the whole time of our lunch, we were the only dine-in customers, and one other person came in, but i'm not sure if he was their delivery driver or someone picking up a catering order. Tip: If we eat here again, we'd probably order to go, and save ourselves on the slow service and just make our own rice. Question: they also offer Chinese food and quesadillas - but has anyone tried either?

Awesome, Authentic indian/pakistani food, great service. Had a great time. Must visit..:)

Okay Pakistani food, however, pricey dishes and spotty service. The food is decent, only if you know what to order. Pakistani dishes like the beef and lamb seem to be done well, I ordered Nihari which was suitably spicy and the chunks of beef were tender. However the total with naan came up to be $16 after tax (excl. tip) which was rather expensive. There was only one person waiting on 4-5 tables, it's not unexpected that service will take a while. The interior had more of a cafeteria/dining hall feel with the fluorescent lighting, hot food bar (which I assumed would be opened during the lunch buffet) and vinyl seats. The menu was a mis-mash of burgers/kebabs, pakistani/indian, and chinese food! Instead of aspiring to be a full service restaurant, perhaps takeout or more casual order at the counter type system would be better and the menu cut down to focus on the pakistani/south asian dishes. This place really has the potential to be much much better.