Shalimar Osnabrück — Restaurant in Osnabrück

I love Indian cuisine and have enjoyed it in several countries, therefore I have a clear sense of what to expect from both traditional and contemporary preparations.

During our visit to Osnabrück, we ordered the following (delivery):

Starters: I ordered the Mixed Starters, although the menu didn’t specify what it included. I was expecting something closer to bhajia—bite-sized vegetables coated in a spiced gram flour batter and deep-fried until crisp. Instead, I received a mix of soggy, under-seasoned fried vegetables: maybe a slice of eggplant, zucchini, and cauliflower, some mix that I could not recognize, along with one samosa. Unfortunately, none of the items were crisp; they were soft and greasy. The samosa, which should be light, crisp, and flaky, and tasty, was similarly sagging and lacked texture and flavour.

Mango Lassi: A traditional mango lassi should be a creamy, yogurt-based (sourish) drink with the natural flavour and slight tang of ripe mango. What we received tasted more like bottled mango juice mixed with something overly sweet, lacking the freshness that define a proper lassi.

Mango Curry: This was the most anticipated dish, my all-time favourite, but it did not live up to its name. A mango curry should showcase mango as a key ingredient—both in flavour and, ideally, visible pieces. In this version, there was no detectable mango flavour or fruit; instead, it was a heavy dish with a generous portion of chicken, sliced almonds, and an excessive amount of oil. It tasted more like a generic chicken curry than anything mango-based.

Overall, while the food was edible (I only ate half, as it was too heavy), it did not meet the expectations one would have for authentic or thoughtfully prepared Indian cuisine. With better attention to freshness, texture, and flavour integrity, this restaurant could greatly improve...

The food was fine but it felt like we were the first customers ever in this restaurant and they did not quite know how to handle that. Asked for a recommendation of Indian food, the answer was “No idea, just pick something from the menu”. They also got quite confused when we ordered using the dishes names instead of their numbers. And they took ages to set and finally clear the table. All not very professional.

We also ordered one curry spicy and one not at all. They both arrived medium spicy, essentially just ignoring the order… which was OK for one of us.

Apart from that, the food tasted quite fine and I wouldn't hesitate eating it again. Though I'm not sure if I would go there again. But they are delivering...

If you are searching for a good restaurant that has great vegetarian alternatives this is the spot to come to in Osnabrück. Indien as well as pizza are two foods where the vegetarian option doesn't taste like the meat was just left out!

Shalimar has both options on the menue and prepares them close to perfection. The staff is friendly and helpful and the ambiance is great.

The only downside of this restaurant is, that it is located on a side street on the outskirts of the city. Also from the outside it looks like a small imbiss. This all makes Shalimar restaurant an insider tip...