Dera Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

I use to love this place when I was a kid, the food was great, I used to love there goat Palao naan and haleem, but now it’s not even my favorite anymore. My father comes from the city after work and usually bring , Nehari, Haleem and kabob with naans,

Let me tell you that it was the worst experience the haleem was oily, the nehari meat when eating it was like eating sand

Naan was burnt, so my mom cooks extra pita naan for me. Kabobs was only the best option for me 😂

Every time when i go to the city for special occasions Me and my family try do drive away to New Jersey for some Turkish or afghan food, because when visiting this place it’s always crowded the foods are just like takeouts the only time I go to dera is for my grandfather because he loves Food from home in Pakistan,

To be honest I do love Pakistani food, My mother makes the best dishes. I don’t ever dislike my moms food, because I love my mom when she cooks my favorite food like Chicken Briyani and Mash ke daal and haleem, Other times when she makes something that I don’t like, I still would eat it with no excuses, the food still tastes good because it’s made properly, and that no restaurants can’t make any better food than my Mother.

So I would recommend you all avoid this place and try to find other Pakistani restaurants around NYC. I recommend the Lahore Restaurant in Secaucus NJ, there food is very good and there payment system is up to date, There food is very indeed Freshly made, Waiters are Quick and understanding the only downside it’s very crowded and you’ll need to wait to be seated, it’s totally worth the time because you’ll feel much better and energetic when...

This is my best friends absolute favorite place and she has been talking about this non-stop. I had a paper due today so suddenly craved desi food. Traveled an hour to go to Dera and we ordered Channa Masala, Beef Nehari, Parathas, Goat Pulao, Bihari Kebab and Teas.

Channa Masal was okay on its own. Could be better with parsley/cilantro garnish. The complimentary salad actually works with it. Squeeze bit of lemon and it would be perfect. Beef nehari was really good. I like the texture and the meat was very tender. The soup(jhol) was not to oily. Found the Tawa Paratha bit oily compared to other places that serve paratha. But it wasn’t too bad. Goat pulao had more rice and I kind of like it like that. But the taste was bit bland. This again can be fixed with sides of salad and lemon.

The star to me was the tea and the Bihari Kebab. It was soooo good and the right amount of spice. The had spicy kick to it and not overworking.

I ordered some sweets to go and I was really surprised to find Shon Papri (I am not sure what they call it but this is how I locally know it. I basically got bunch of sweets that I felt like would be yummy from display so can’t name them all) I got one order of rasmalai which my friend sweared on and it really was worth it. Its not too sweet but made me go “mmh” when I took a bite.

The service was very good considering they pack our leftovers for us which majority places don’t do. Wrapped everything in white cling wrap. And the lady explained the sweets well when I was checking on display.

Will definitely go back for breakfast next time and also try other items...

Recent visit: We decided to give Dera another chance. We went there on Saturday around noon, an extremely busy place with an army of servers. We seated immediately, and the order was taken. We ordered Reshmi Tikka (6 pcs chicken, recommended by the manager), tandoori beef bihari kabab, and beef paya, canned drinks, and Falooda. The service was fast, and the food was served within 10 minutes. The server forgot our drinks, and I had to ask another server for our drinks.

I thought the reshmi tikka was juicy tender and very flavourful. Bihari kabab had the perfect flavor but was very dry, I had to dip it in green mint chutney compromising the flavors. The beef paya stole the show. The meat was perfectly cooked, so perfect that it was sticking to the bone but melting in my mouth like butter. Not overly spiced. I haven't had such a tasty stew in North America. Falooda was not overly sweet, a nice presentation, topped with rooh afza with a very thick milky texture with hints of khoya. We also tried ghulab jaman, burfi, and rus gulla. They had an authentic taste.

The food prices are very economical for every budget. The management seemed serious about their food, and I complemented the manager for the quality and taste of the food.

They charge gratuity if you dine in. Always check your bill as I was over charged for a bottle of water that I had brought with me, and the server immediately took it off the bill. I will definitely visit this...