Shivas Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Dallas

If you work in downtown Dallas, or are visiting the Perot Museum or Dallas Aquarium, make time to stop in a Shiva's Bar & Grill for a wide array of Indian dishes, each one as flavorful as the last. Thanks to owner; Praveen, for being such a great host and allowing me to sample so many wonderful dishes!

I started with Vegetable Samosa and Onion Pakora. The samosa was good, as I expected, but this was my first time having Onion Pakora (onions fried in chickpea flour) and they were delicious!

Next was Yellow Lentil Soup, which was a very nice consistency and a little more flavorful than the typical lentil soup.

Being my first time, I had to try a few main dishes to really get a sense of what Shiva has to offer. The Meat Classic includes Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Korma, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Saag and Shrimp Vindaloo. I also tried the Butter Chicken and Chicken Biryani. (If you want to sample a variety of dishes, The Royal Dinner for Two includes your choice of the Meat Classic or the Vegetable Classic with the Onion Pakora, Yellow Lentil Soup, Garlic Naan, Raita and Dessert - a great selection of items!)

Again, no item disappointed, but what stood out to me was the Chicken Saag (I've had Saag Paneer before, but never with Chicken), It's sort of an Indian version of Creamed Spinach and I really enjoyed it. The Butter Chicken was packed with flavor, and the Chicken Biryani was a large portion and included all the great flavors and aromatics of a good Biryani dish.

I was also treated to some Mussels in a clay pot, which I didn't see on the menu, but really enjoyed.

Finally, I tried the Gulab Jamun and Rice Kheer. The Gulab Jamun were tasty, but nothing out of the ordinary. The Rice Kheer I really enjoyed. Slightly sweet, and a good consistency. It was the best Rice Pudding, of any kind, I've ever tried.

Shiva's also has a full bar, so you can enjoy your favorite drink along with your meal. There's a small parking lot beside the restaurant, and more parking just down the street, towards the Aquarium.

I know I'll be back, and I would highly recommend you try Shiva's the next time...

Very very rare dishes. So glad we decided to stop by. I had to come back the next day for more. The nilgiri was everything I've been missing. I thought when I discovered chat with all the various sauces and chickpeas I was on to something. No, you have to try more. The more I try, the more I understand why people fought over these spices. Sheeeesh.

My tandoori was all the way legit compared to a lot of, just red on the outside, I've had so much of. Rarely do I have tandoori this well made. I honestly started to give up on eating tandoori all together. Well these guys brought it back to life for me. Every dish I tried was spot on. Even their levels of spice was absolute appropriate with such full flavored spices.

My service was great. Not the best service I've ever had but it was very good. I never felt neglected.

One thing that I also appreciated was how unique all of their flavors were. So rich and sweet or almost too sweet on occasions. My raita and chutney were all great. Very well made and great quality.

Even their naan was high quality. Made with care. We ordered the paneer stuffed naan. It had a perfect amount of paneer that was evenly spread through the filling. Maybe it could have had more paneer but I did not feel like it wasn't enough.

I will note, a lot of places make great food, but these guys do it on every dish in a way that makes you feel like they eat their own food. Every dish we had was made with love and care. The presentation was not over the top. Kind of like driving a properly tuned and enhanced bmw.

Now for the interior, I enjoyed it. The theme matches its name. I felt like I was in a very nice Indian bar. Not the most luxury, just very nice. Parking in the area was a bit slim, but we actually didn't not have an issue. We parked within a block of the restaurant. So much to do in the area I really...

The restaurant has excellent reviews and I can see why but I wouldn’t give it 5 stars here’s why.

It’s at a prime location right next to the aquarium which would explain heavy foot traffic plus it’s appealing.

It’s has nice paintings, it’s clean and affordable, not contemporary. Furniture and silverware fits the ambiance.

Service is excellent, food is okay especially if you’ve never tried authentic Indian dishes. I give 4 stars because the biryani was somewhere in the middle, don’t hate it nor do I love it and I’ve tried many. It’s a dish that can be cooked multiple ways but the fluffiest rice and spices makes all the difference, the rice was a bit sticky and it lacked a kick of spice. The Biryani portion size was large which is a plus but again not worth it if it’s not fantastic! The tikka & butter are similar (on the menu) but I’ve had better. There was a lack of sweetness and charred chicken pieces. The butter chicken was a smaller portion with smaller cuts of thin chicken- chunks are better to the tastebuds. It’s like cutting meat for sandwiches and cutting back on cost. The naans were a hit, flavorful, soft and delicious. The mango lassi is ok. Pineapple chicken has the flavor component missing from the Biryani but lacks the perfect texture. While the pineapple are soft , the edges of the chicken has an over cooked fried texture instead of slight crisp that compliments wells with the soft sweetness of the fruit and chili. Lastly, I was disappointed that saag paneer didn’t come as side portions. Since tikka and tandoori and the star of the show, it’s good to add spinach option in small portions for variety.

Overall not bad, fair for its...