Shirley's India — Restaurant in City of New Rochelle

New Review June 2025: I'm back to edit my review- we've ordered from Shirley's twice in the last month and the quality and flavors are BACK! They listened and made the necessary changes in the kitchen, and have recovered their delicious recipes. The textures, seasoning, and spices are all top notch. Service is timely and they deliver when you expect or have your food ready for pick up. I highly recommend the tikka masala, butter chicken, vindaloo, saag, and chan masala. Get all the extra chutneys and sauces. The flavors are outrageously delicious. You can also order certain dishes as vegan (made with coconut milk) which is great for my dairy free friends. I really appreciate that they worked to get back greatness- the owner or manager also reached out to me via email to express frustration and ask me to try the restaurant again, which I really appreciated. As promised in my initial review- this restaurant is now firmly back in our take out rotation and we're excited to share it with some friends coming to town from Canada this weekend!

OLD review from Dec 2024:

Pretty new to New Rochelle and this was one of our greatest finds as former Brooklynites- up until a few months ago, this was some of the most delicious well spiced Indian food I've ever had in my life. Service was always good, and then right around the New Year they either lost their chef/kitchen staff or switched owners, because all the recipes are 100% different, except maybe the chutneys. The first time it happened, I was shocked but thought maybe it was a fluke. The tikka masala, vindaloo, curry chicken, even the samosas are overcooked (dry, not sealed properly), under seasoned, and salty. Their tikka masala used to be bright red, velvety, complex: now it looks like regular curry and has a very average uninteresting spice profile. The vindaloo was also a completely different color and more salty than hot. I too have experienced oily broken sauces. I can't begin to express how sad we are and Shirley's- if you are reading this- please go back to your old recipes. We used to order once a month and told all our friends and family about you. Whatever has changed, the quality and exceptional flavor that your patrons loved is gone. It's a big loss, considering how small the pool of great take out places is in New Ro to begin with. Bring back the old flavors and I'll be your best customer. Looking forward to hearing...

I REALLY wanted to like this spot more. The uniqueness of the business (traditional and fusion options, walk-up window, service bell, unassuming one-way street...) and family story are all appealing. Unfortunately it did not deliver the taste experience I was hoping for. Here are my thoughts.

Buffalo Chicken Samosas: Scores 3/5 Good seasoning, missing the hint of "Buffalo" and heat. The cheese tasted inferior. It could easily be eliminted.

Butter Chicken Empanadas: Scores 2/5 Good concept, but poor execution. Lacking that freshly made taste. Flavors are muddled, and lacking brightness and freshness. Tasted a few days old. Crust lacked crisp.

Channa Cream and Spices: Scores 3/5 Enjoyable, yet basic - nothing standout. I wish it was more herbaceous and had a fresh chillie pepper flavor along with the traditional layers of Indian spices. Nothing spectacular.

Chicken Vindaloo: Scores 3/5 Liked the heat level and overall flavor. But it was just, Okay.

Bread basket: Scores 2/5 Contained 3 types of breads, all of which were rubbery, like they were over heated in the microwave. Not what I'm used too. I'm accustomed to fluffy, light, freshly made breads with better flavors. Couldn't get past the hard, dense, rubbery texture.

Lassi: 3/5 Just okay. Standard. Missing that hint cardamom. Bland.

Traveled in from CT to this spot. I'm glad we tried it. Running a restaurant is hard work. I wish them the best, but I'm not eager to order from there again. Nothing outstanding. There is lots of room for improvement. I do applaud their attempt...

Editing bc the service on my most recent order was terrible. I ordered online for curbside pickup, and it even asked to describe my vehicle so they can bring out my order. When I arrived, I responded to the text as indicated, but no one came out for 10 minutes. So then I went to the pick up window asking for my order. They said, "Yeah it's ready!" in a kinda rude tone, as if they'd been waiting for me. I then asked if they were bringing it out since I selected curbside pickup, and they responded, "Oh, you want us to bring it out to you?" It literally says 2x on the receipt attached to the bag that it's a curbside pickup and the color, make, and model of my car. I offered to just grab it then and there but had to wait again for them to just bring it outside and hand it to me, not even all the way to the car. I only mention this because the whole thing would have been easier if curbside pickup wasn't an offered option. If the staff isn't going to actually do it, then just remove it from your website. Sorry it was 20° outside and didn't want to stand in the cold since there's nowhere to go inside.

Also, for the price, plastic utensils shouldn't cost extra.

Kinda pricey but the food is so good! Unfortunate that there's nowhere to go besides the outside window for food pickup. My partner got drenched waiting in the rain the last time we picked up. But the food...