Shalimar Cafe

I came out this way on a weekend «getaway», had the mango lassi, twas delicious andthe people who run this are very kind and generous

This used to be the only Pakistani place (with exception of Bombay Curry that closed recently), in the Portland metro area… The owner sold it to a Rohingya Burmese.
I have been here a couple of time before and after the change.
To my surprise the new owner spoke Urdu.
The menu has had some changes. I have yet to try the new items.
The Pakistani/​Indian food I have had here is really good.
A must try if you are in the area.

Excellent Burmese cuisine. I tried the Martabak, a fresh pan-​fried bread dish, and was blown away. Can’t wait to try something else new!

It’d been a while since I’d been there last, and it seems they have changed some things. At first I thought they had just moved to the other side of the lot, but my korma didn’t taste the same :-(Sad, because I just loved the korma…

I’ve only had the chicken wrap but it’s AMAZING. They make the wrap (naan?) there and cook it right before serving. The sauce is delicious and you don’t feel painfully full after. I look forward to trying some of the other dishes.

I went there Sunday afternoon seeking something good and found it. I was very impressed with the quality of food and service. I am looking forward to go back for more. They serve all halal too

I went back today. The guy behind the counter is really nice. I told him what I was craving, and he pointed to a few dishes that had the things I was talking about, then made me a special wrap sandwich with the things i chose in it.
They now have a little enclosed space which I don’t believe is heated, but it was pleasant enough for the time I was there.

I really liked the food. The owner of the cart was very friendly.

Excellent Indian food. Everything top notch. Feels homemade. Great price and a friendly service every time.

When those unfamiliar with Portland food carts convey their reservations about cleanliness, I’m quick to say that «roach coaches» are a thing of the past. But then Shalimar Café took me on a time warp as it’s one of the dirtiest carts I’ve visited, any I have sampled many. At the window I found myself waffling between trying to understand the VERY confusing menu and debating to bolt when looking at the messy interior and hygiene-​challenged owner. In regard to the menu, one has to know what day of the week it is. No, I don’t mean trying to decipher whether it’s Tuesday or Wednesday, but whether it’s the first, second, third or fourth Tuesday of the month. That’s how you determine what the special of the day is. Lame. Okay, the owner looks like he just rolled out of bed, takes my order for a Tikki Masala while holding a nasty Kleenex in one hand, pulls out a little plastic baggy of meat, then starts to pan-​fry some Naan. Is there a separate person handling the money? Did the he use gloves? What do you think? After a ten minute wait, he indicates that he has no rice (about 2 hours after opening.) I don’t make it a habit to vilify cart owners, this is one of two carts (the other closed) in which I had an issue with cleanliness. This place is just gross. Now if all this resulted in some amazing meal, then what the heck, but no go.

I was pleased to find Shalimar today when I was out on SE Stark for work. I had heard about it from someone else and decided to pull up and check out the menu on a rainy and blustery day. There were 3 vegan options today so I went with the combo plate of dal, aloo gobi masala, and aloo mattar. It came with basmati rice and a big piece of naan on the side. What’s vegan is clearly marked on the menu, which is helpful. The vegan specials rotate by week with dal as the standard anchor. I would say the food was solidly average… I can’t bring myself to give it 4 stars, but I would say it’s a 3.5. The serving size is massive and you can’t beat the $ 6 price for all that food. I wouldn’t say that this cart was the most spic n’ span looking cart I’ve ever eaten at, but I didn’t get sick so that was a plus… I can’t say I’d drive across town just to eat here, but I’d stop by here again if I were already in the area and needed lunch pronto.

We often use Shalimar for catering and they are very accommodating. I think the chana chaat and the somosa’s are heavenly. I do not know if these are available at the cart but I would guess so. I believe we did a set meal that was 10 $ perversion for 13 people and there was easily enough food for 20 or more. The catering also came with chicken saga and chicken tike masala both good… I am a huge Saag fan and I would give this a solid B+. I also prefer lamb so my lower grade may be do to the chicken. It’s pretty far out if your a downtown dweller looking for lunch, but we have used them at lease 7 times for catering at work and everyone asks us to bring them back again.

I pulled in to Shalimar for the 1^st time at 11:30AM on a week day! I love Indian food and I am impressed with their quality of food consider being remote in a small space. Will be back!
I read other posts where patrons complained about them. You want good food from a cart. I believe earlier the better! Don’t show up at 6:00 even if they said they are open til 7:00PM. Hey, if the food is gone! Time to close up and go home! This is a cart, which has its capacity to cook and serve. Can’t cook a large amount and wait for you to show up at 3 or 6PM. Hit or Miss mentality is good! No expectations! Be grateful and take what is available. We’re lucky that they’re on the EAST side.
Expect something else better — fly to London!

Homestyle Indian cuisine. The veggie plate is what I usually get, delicious. Makes me think of growing up with a south Indian nanny and how well she fed us! Love it.

Been back a couple of times and, after a wonderful first impression, things have started to degrade. Weird hours, sometimes open later sometimes not, the naan has been either really good or really bad… seems more or less hit or miss whether you’ll get some wonderful or sub-​par food.

This is my second time here and both times I’ve been unhappy. The man who works here is rude, his English is poor enough to make communication genuinely difficult — both times we’ve eaten here, we didn’t actually up getting what we were trying to order. The food is largely flavorless and today my naan tasted like SOAP.
The aloo gobi tastes like potatoes and cauliflowers slow cooked in tomato sauce with very few (if any) additional spices, the navratan korma has no nuts in it (the one traditional ingredient in the dish that’s a bit more expensive.) My girlfriend said it reminded her of a can of Campbell’s vegetable soup. The Dal Makhani tastes like salty oatmeal.
We decided to give this place a second try after finding a coupon for it in the Portland Entertainment Book. Because it was a coupon printed from the website, the guy chose to argue with us about accepting it.
There was a general sense that the guy doesn’t want to be there, was skimping on ingredients and paying little attention to the preparation of the food, then overcharging for it.
I don’t think I’ll be back for a third attempt. I highly recommend trying the Thai cart in the same lot instead, which is wonderful.

I ate at Shalimar today and was highly impressed. I had the vegetarian special, a mango lassi and the naan. I was really impressed by the flavor of the food and its authenticity. Since I moved to Portland, Indian food has consistently disappointed me. But this food cart uses authentic equipment and authentic spices which the owner told me he purchases wholesale from California to ensure that he can have the proper ingredients for his food. I read on
that it’s one of the only food carts with its own tandoor oven which makes it really worth checking out, especially if you live nearby.
I’m intrigued by the rotating specials which will ensure something new and exciting every time I go to Shalimar. I’m really happy to have such a caring food cart owner near my home who works so hard to make certain people can have affordable but authentic Indian food (as the spices imported to Oregon are far more expensive). The prices are low and he doesn’t have separate lunch vs. dinner prices, and there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan choices. Additionally, I’m usually overwhelmed by the saltiness of Portland Indian food here, but Shalimar lets the flavor of his food really come out via its spices, fresh ingredients alone.
I’m really glad to have found this place and the owner seems really friendly. He said that people love his samosas best. I’m really looking forward to trying those, and well, pretty much everything on the menu! My friend completely cleaned her plate, and I would have too if I hadn’t eaten a ton earlier. I’d urge everyone to give this place a chance!

Good food but unpredictable hours. They are also very slow.

For a cart. it’s pretty damn good. For Indian food in general… eh.
I popped in Saturday at around noon and had the meat special… tandoori chicken, 2 veggie sides and 2 pieces of naan alongside jasmine rice. I spent $ 7.75 and it wasn’t too bad of deal all things considered.
The chicken was pretty damn authentic. Very heavily spice rubbed and very tender. The rice and veggies however, not as good. The naan saved the dish for me though, as I could make small sandwiches and be perfectly content.

Shalimar. The name of my favorite Indian restaurant in San Francisco. Home to deliciousness on the cheap.
Shalimar. The name of a food cart on the eastern fringe of Portland that has left me, after two visits, unimpressed.
I’ve tried two dishes here — one, the daily special, which consisted of 2 vegetarian options, a meat option, rice, and naan, and the second, a straight order of chicken tikka marsala. Both were less than awesome.
On my first visit, I showed up at around 2pm, and got the dregs of the daily specials. There wasn’t even enough saag for a full scoop, so I got some extra of another offering. The helpings were small, the flavors were lacking, and the food seemed like it had been sitting. I decided that due to my showing up so late in the day, I should wait to review until I had another chance to check it out.
Today I went back and ordered the chicken tikka marsala. This dish usually has a yogurt or cream-​infused marsala sauce over some tandoori chicken on a bed of rice. For $ 6.50, the serving was much smaller than I’d get from a downtown cart, and the sauce was just basically a straight marsala. The dish was simply… ok. Nothing special, and it didn’t taste a lot different than what I could make using a store-​bought marsala curry jar.
Overall, it’s an ok deal, but nothing super special.