Overall 3.5 (Not a knock on the authenticity but the food didn't completely suite our taste buds).

The way the line is here, being constant from open till close, you'd think this is the only restaurant that serves Indian and Pakistan food in Palo Alto or near Palo Alto. We started waiting in line at 11:15 as they open at 11:30 on Sunday's. When we left at 1pm, the line was still out the door. The line was constantly out the door the entire time. Inside and outside was full. This tells you that those who can appreciate the flavors think this is authentic.

We thought it was just OK. We would not stand hours in line and wait for a table just to eat here. Despite this location being 2x as large as the Mountain View location, when the place gets packed and people are standing around waiting for a table, it does feel rushed.

Regarding the 10% dine in fee, it's still self service. You would need to get your own plates and utensils. The 10% is technically cheaper than the usual tip given as the food is brought to the table and someone does clear the plates and wipe down the tables afterwards.

We ordered the Chicken Botti Sizzler, Gola Kabab Sizzler, Chicken Tikka Masala ala carte, Beef stew, 3 kinds of Naan (reg, garlic and Jalapeno Cheese), Sheermal, Mango Lasi and 2x rice. A lot of food for around $85.

Chicken Botti: Chicken meat was tender but overall the dish tasted somewhat dry. The burnt pieces of chicken was bitter tasting. 7/10.

Gola Kabab: The beef tasted on the oily side. Although there are plenty of reviews that says this is not an oily dish, we felt it was a bit oily. The beef crumbled easily and has strong spice taste. Was okay overall but didn't suit our taste. 7/10

Chicken Tikka: Great dish, small pieces of tender chicken with a creamy masala sauce. This was our favorite by far and went well with the basmati rice and naan. Definitely order this one again. 9/10

Beef Stew (Sabri Nihari): This dish is only available on the weekend. It came in a large chunk, which requires us to break it down with two large spoons. It took some time to break down the beef. The beef was tender and a bit on the spicy side with the Jalapeno flavor. The brown sauce was another great dipper with the naan. The sauce itself was not spicy, but the beef was on the spicy side for those that think Jalapeno is spicy. 8/10

Naan: The garlic naan was the best, followed by the regular naan and then the Jalapeno cheese naan. The Jalapeno naan is again on the spicy side when eating the jalapeno. While the naan is large and a good size for one person, it is on the expensive side. A buck more for the garlic and two bucks more for the jalapeno and cheese. 9/10

Sheermal: Very tasty and a little on the sweet side. This is the first time I've had it. Ate this plane as is without needing to dip it in anything. Would definitely order again. 10/10.

Basmati rice: Nothing fancy, just tasted like plain basmati. No flavors of spices or saffron.

Mango Lasi: It's not cold, closer to room temp. It's pre-made by the counter in front of the register. There's no way to chill it down as the plastic water cups are small and no way to ice it down from their soda machine.

Free Chai: Despite the honor system of limiting to 3 tea cup size of Chai, it was actually more than enough. The hot chai was really good and obviously a popular drink as during the 1 and half hours we were there the container was filled up 3 times.

Our overall experience trying this out for the first time was just okay. We're not from the region and it seems to be very popular for those that may come from the region. Despite there being a farmer's market on California Ave, it was easy to find parking out back.