Hilal Grill | Indian,Pakistani and Afghani Cuisine in Phoenix — Restaurant in Phoenix

10/5/24: Short version - the food was decent and there was plenty of it!, the service was all right (more on that later), and the decor was pretty typical (beautiful rugs and paintings). There was not anything that made Hilal stand out for either of us which means if someone asked if we would return, our answer would be no.

Longer version - Food: this was our first time at eating mantoo (steamed beef stuffed dumplings, topped with yogurt, meat sauce ad mint) so maybe it is eaten cold (?). Regardless, it was flavorful and was presented on the plate very well. All of the naan was hot but it was also thinner than many other Indian restaurants (we love bread so the thicker the better); the mango lassi was good but it also felt like it was at room temp (I prefer mine chilled) and I am pretty sure they had it pre-made, set up in cups in a display case; the water bottle did not arrive at our table until the meal came out (why was it not the first thing delivered?); the paneer biryani was a huge portion (I'm going to have it as leftovers for at least 3-4 more meals) and boy was it spicy (for me, anyway); my sister's lamb kabab w/ rice was tasty and she enjoyed it. We opted not to try any of the desserts.

Service: we were greeted immediately and told to pick any seat so we opted to head to the back of the restaurant. The greeter followed us and gave us the menus. I would say about five minutes passed before anyone returned to the table. It was the same gentleman who sat us, yet he says "I didn't know you were back here." Huh? He asks for our drink order and my sister asks for a Sierra Mist (they had a self serve station, we saw it), but the guy didn't know what that was until she pointed it out on the menu, to which he then says "we don't have that anymore" so she opted for the mango lassi. Two minutes later, my sister sees another customer walk by with a Sierra Mist (it was not water as it was bubbly so what else could it have been as she walked from the self-serve fountain machine). Huh? times two. The guy brings us our pre-made mango lassis and drops off two straws. My sister says "no straws" and hands them back to him, then he says "you need straws" and leaves them on the table. Huh? times three. We immediately popped off our lassi lids and drank w/o straws.

Parking: we arrived around 2 o'clock and the small parking lot was already almost full. There were a couple spots open but they were in a location that essentially blocked another vehicle. There was street parking and maybe double parking (see photo), but regardless the parking lot is not large enough for a big crowd. Parking is a deal breaker for us. If it sucks, we won't be back -- although Hilal's lot didn't suck, it is not a parking lot we would be eager to...

Updated 3/20/2023 (Sunday buffet)

I wish I could give this place a 6/5 stars.

I went for the buffet today & I tried everything they had on their buffet offerings. The Jeera Aloo (cumin potatoes), chicken tikka, butter chicken, Daal fry, goat curry, goat paaya (trotters), nihari, Halwa, poori, phirni, Naan, everything is on-point and taste so yummy. The basmati rice is cooked so well, as soon as I opened the lid of the cooker, it smelled so fragrant and tasted just like home. Unlike many restaurants that serve different meats in the same curry, this place has a blend of spices that reminds me of food back home in India (similar to Pakistani food).

This continues to remain my favorite South East Asian food restaurant in the area. Even after filling up on all the food, I don’t feel overstuffed or lazy, it’s really something I would recommend to anyone looking for authentic flavors, in a heartbeat.

When it comes to eating South East Asian food from India/Pakistan, most of the times I cook myself, since, I am mostly disappointed after I go eat outside and leave a lot to be desired. Not here, the flavors of the food are something that I would go out for, to enjoy many different dishes that they have on their menu.

I am so happy to have found this place, it is absolutely amazing, many different things to try and the smell of fresh spices simmering fills up the place.

I will go and try out the buffet they serve on Sundays only, it has some of my favorite dishes that you will not find at many other...

The entirety of my sojourn at this establishment was irrevocably marred by an odious concatenation of misconduct and dereliction. While ensconced in a peripheral nook, merely endeavoring to partake in my victuals with equanimity, I witnessed the lady manager—a supposed paragon of custodial civility—engage in a scathing invective against a customer in her vernacular, an act both reprehensible and antithetical to any semblance of decorous service.

The proprietor, for his part, manifested a caliginous temperament wholly unbefitting one entrusted with the stewardship of hospitality. At the merest intimation of a trivial grievance lodged by the clientele, he erupted in a tempest of vociferous recrimination, expletives cascading in profane torrents, effectuating a spectacle of such ignominious proportions that it vitiated the ambience for all those present.

As if to compound the affront, the premises were beset by a pernicious swarm of flies— incessantly surreptitious, plunging into our comestibles with impunity—an unequivocal testament to the establishment’s egregious neglect of hygienic propriety and respect for patron dignity.

In toto, if you harbour even a modicum of regard for acknowledgment, decorum, or the most rudimentary peace of mind, I beseech you: eschew this place forthwith. It stands as a monument to how hospitality, when bereft of professionalism and basic courtesy, transmogrifies into an act of...