Al-Watan Tandoori

Really nice owner and staff. Delicious food. We always come here for lamb daal and nihari.

The owner is a really nice guy and will always inquire about you. Great service and amazing food. Will definitely recommend.

My family and I stopped by Al-​Watan for a quick lunch after a pretty long day of traveling. We ordered three lunch specials for the four of us and while there was pretty much exactly enough food, the quality left much to be desired. The tandoori chicken, the dish from which the restaurant takes its name, was over cooked. The chicken in the curry was cooked well but it was literally just broiled chicken in a tomato sauce. The korma suffered from being too spicy, and when served, was split and incredibly greasy. The plus I would have to give is that the naan was great (granted it’s very hard to mess up naan) and the service was adequate for what the price is. If you’re in the mood for Pakistani food, Al-​Watan would probably be satisfying, but considering I spotted quite a few competing restaurants on the same street, you might be just as satisfied trying one of those.

The server was very friendly and food was very good. I got the chicken tikka, seekh kabob and kabob roll. All of them good.

My boyfriend and I always come here for the lunch special. It comes with rice and three sides plus tandoori chicken and naan. The dal is my absolute favorite! We’ve also been here for dinner and as usual both the food and the service were superb. The staff is pleasant and attentive, and he always made sure that I got my chai tea. Be sure to try it out!

Al Watan’s claim to fame is authentic Pakistani food, which means that as long as you like South Asian food (Indian, Bangladeshi), this place would cater to your tastes. Located on 45^th and Fraser, it is a rather small food joint, and relatively less known. Hell, even Google Maps gets it wrong, so be sure to take down the address! Some of our friends ended up at 62^nd and Fraser initially, thanks to it.
On hindsight, it was a smart decision to call them and reserve a table beforehand, because if the 18 of us had just shown up unannounced, they might not have been able to seat all of us. The whole place can probably seat at most 30 people, and they actually had to make other people wait to make sure all of us got a seat first. It was quite evident that they were not used to handling such a crowd on a daily basis.
First off, let me just say that their service is really good. Despite the huge volume, they never ignored any of the tables, and the man serving us was super friendly and welcoming.
Among the 18 of us, we must have ordered some 15 – 16 dishes. We had heard about their Karahi Chicken being true to its Karachi counterpart, so we made sure to order that. Along with that, we also ordered chicken tikka, chicken tandoori, haleem, naan (bread), aloo palak, mixed tandoori, lamb karahi and chicken korma. We had wanted to try out their biryani too, but unfortunately we were told that they were completely out of it.
Chicken tikka and chicken tandoori was pretty standard; the chicken was tender and well garnished, served on sizzling hot plates. We also liked the Haleem (minced lentils cooked with beef), though a higher beef to lentil ratio would not have hurt. Chicken karahi stood up to its expectations, and my Pakistani friend from Karachi joyfully certified that it was indeed the way it is prepared there!
We ended the sumptuous meal with mango lassi, which I really liked. (I am a mango fanatic, so take it with a pinch of salt.)
Believe it or not, when we split the bill, all of it came down to $ 10 per head! Mind = blown. I think I am going to go ahead and give this place 4 stars.
* For an estimate of how many plates of naan to order, I think we ordered on average 1.5 pieces of naan per person.

Order:
Chicken karhai: best I’ve had. And I’ve had karhai at road side stalls in Pakistan. Al watan makes a mean one, perfectly spicy and fragrant with fresh ginger.
Garlic naan: sister and I completely pigged out getting 3 between 2 of us. I think the use simple garlic butter but they smelled greater than any flavour of garlic– so next time I’ll just get the butter nann.
Nihaari: the main reason I wanted to try this place. Wasn’t a huge fan, have had better seasoned at other places.
Would I go back? Heck yeah. For the price and fresh Pakistani mama-doesn’t-make karhai-​this-​good at-​home I’ll be there again!

The food here was good but the interior could use a face lift. The place was dead when we got there and was packed as we were leaving. The servers were attentive.

The service was very welcoming and friendly.
They were quick to accommodate my request for a vegetarian thali meal ($ 7.99), although I wish the dish they substituted for butter chicken would have been more exciting then plain sagg (spinach). It also came with lots of saffron rice, basic dal, a mélange of veggies with a thick, spicy tomato based coating, not creamy, (not sure of it’s name), and a small side of spiced yogurt. It also came with a big piece of hot, fresh baked nann which was absolutely excellent!
Good place for a quick, cheap, relatively healthy lunch stop.

This restaurant brings back my childhood memories with my parents. It’s a small yet cozy restaurant with real pakistani taste. I can still taste daal that was cooked with perfect spices. I will definitely visit when I am around the area!

I’ve been coming her for 13 years almost weekly. It’s home away from home. I can’t imagine life without it. It’s delicious, fast, cheap and addictive.

The food was delicious and the service was friendly, helpful and quick. Food came out quickly too. I had the beef curry from their «specialties» and it was great.

How excited was I when I realised that one of the closest restaurants to our new house was a Pakistani Tandoori. On our second night in the house, we climbed out from among the half-​empty boxes and headed down to Al-​Watan.
The menu is concise and to the point. One of our sons almost revolted and walked out when he saw the dishes involving brains, but they have plenty of less esoteric options too.
The food arrived quickly and in ample quantities and was very tasty. If I had one gripe it was that the food was not really very spicy — the vindaloo I ordered wasn’t noticeably hotter than my son’s butter chicken. My wife’s biryani was really good — wonderfully spiced and fragrant.
All in all, it’s a great, simple place to go for a modestly priced meal.

Another local haunt my wife and I almost missed… Who knows how many times we’ve walked past unsuspecting of the wonders within.
When we walked in the server and the owner greeted us cheerfully. When they noticed me looking at the menu board and uncertain as to what was what, I was quickly offered a menu that was well organized into categories with helpful description of each item.
The food was quite impressive — we tried the Beef Haleem with a side of classic naan. We will definitely try this restaurant again.

I have tried chicken Biryani, chicken karahi, chicken tandoori (the least tasty), paya, brain masala, beef Kabab and chicken tikka… All these dishes are awesome… The place is small but I must say the staff and chef really put their heart in food and service… Been here about 5 times now and not a single time have I been disappointed…

Ordered a take away, the service was quick. The food was ok and the quantity good, there are better restaurants on the street that can satisfy your Indian or middle eastern food craving at a similar price.

Went here to try the Nehari. Ordered that and the Chana Masala with a couple Onion Naan’s. The Nehari was good — not great (they should use the fatty brisket!) but the Chana Masala was out of bounds. Would recommend to anyone to try this place out.

One of the most authentic curry I had in Vancouver. Fresh, spicy, flavorful and affordable. The price of the lunch special has increased to 7.99 from 6.99 but still, it’s a good deal compared to the rest of the restaurants in Vancouver.
Fraser st has lots of awesome restaurant. Maybe I’ll ditch my neighborhood and move to Fraser st hmph!

Although it doesn’t look glamorous, the food is excellent and very well priced. The lunch special was only 8 dollars and came with a huge serving of outstanding food.
I just happened to stumble across this place, but I will be back for sure!

Oct.12
Having just arrived in Vancouver I am reliant on others to make restaurant choices sometimes. Tonight Pakistani was on the menu. Apparently the ‘best‘ in town! I think I had more flavour tonight then I will all week! There was so much food on our table, the naan was delicious and specially made with sesame seeds on top. The chef prepared Lamd Biriani for us. The service was great and I left feeling very satisfied!