Pastries n Chaat(PBC Factory) — Restaurant in San Antonio

This place is a small, quiet gem. Especially in this town. As a white person who has eaten delicious Indian food on both coasts, I qualify myself to review it (given this caveat that I'm a passionate white American reviewing a foreign cuisine) on the basis that my first Indian dish was too spicy for authenticity reasons for me to enjoy the fleeting opera of flavor (for a half-second per painful bite) and my second was samosas that made no claim to spice.

A friend took me here after I shared a longing for Indian "pizza" from Zante in San Francisco. I love the cuisine so much I tend toward lunch buffets with all the flavors available. I've never successfully ordered from a regular Indian menu without spending over half a c-note to work in the favorite dishes.

The pizza was wonderful. It was vegetarian and she was disappointed by the layer of pizza-appropriate cheese over the authentic combination of flavors. While I recalled the toppings could be great with just the paneer, the 'Murcun in me loved the fusion as well. She had one piece for health reasons and I devoted the rest of the 8"-10" pie. (Crust! It's reminiscent of naan but holds up as a delicious crust for any pizza.) When I return with her, we will probably request a less cheesy version of the same pizza.

The samosas were reliably awesome  (I've yet to encounter a samosa I don't love) with the traditional sweet brown and spicy green condiments. My first bite sent a rush of delight that registered in my face over seconds as wave after wave of flavor hit me. I have never had Indian food regularly enough so the flavor experience checks each box of surprise and savoring every time I do.

The tandoori chicken and garlic naan ticked the right boxes as well. I was hopeful she would have lunch the next day from the leftovers of these two dishes, but couldn't stop myself grabbing another piece of chicken here and there as we talked. I noted that this dish was "medium" spicy only on a white people level, which is possibly the "mild" version for a white person in an Indian place that doesn't cater to white people. (Short version: Mexican "spicy" is no match for Indian spicy and the adjustments they make for the white population is well considered.)

We ate in. It's a counter service restaurant, but the ambiance for such an establishment is quite nice -- lighting, furniture are less burger king and more in line with what one expects from a sit-down restaurant. It's not posh, but more welcoming than a deli with only florescent light.

I hardly interacted with the menu because it's counter service and my host was familiar with it. I will say that they had so many "pastry" options both savory and sweet that I would go there all the time if it were on a street a block from my house in an urban city.

Whatever I think of the food, and what my host thought who will not spend what she considers too much on anything that doesn't deliver especially more than once, this place is an excellent value! The total for both of us to be quite full of wonderful dishes was a fraction of what we would have spent at one of the full-service Indian restaurants here. (India Oven is my go-to for "the full heavy" I consider to be an Indian meal from a fantastic local buffet-style, full-service, sit-down restaurant.) I also found the food to be less "greasy" than lots of hotel-pan versions I've had at buffets.

I don't drink much of any beverage including water when eating, but we shared a mango lassi because sips of this between savory and well-spiced bites is almost mandatory for the level-up it provides the whole meal. I would say this drink is as vital to the dining experience as good wine is to Italian and French dishes, or beer to Tex-Mex and BBQ. My experience is this lassi in a plastic cup with a lid and straw was as good as any I've had, cooling comfort and exquisite counterpoint to the heavy and spicy flavors.

We ate here on a Friday night around seven and lingered because it was so hospitable. We sat to maximize our view of other patrons, side-by-side...

Pastries and chat has struck yet again folks and this time it's what the season and holy month tradition demands for Haleem/Daleem. I tried the goat haleem the other day and believe me the authenticity of that haleem took me back to back to the streets of Hyderabad where I come from and was overwhelmed with joy as I had not imagined that I would tasting Delicious Authentic Hyderabadi Haleem here in San Antonio. I am saying this for a reason last year during the same period I had ordered Haleem from another restaurant which caters Hyderabadi Briyani and I happen to have the worst Haleem of my life. The right blend of meat, wheat,lentils and spices together had created this burst of flavors in my mouth that I just didnt wanted to stop, So Big Shout out to PnC for introducing Authentic Hyderabadi Haleem in San Antonio. I would definitely recommend everyone to try and feel my love for Haleem.

Coming the Pastries section of PNC Faluda, Rasmalai, Pineapple, Mango, Black Forest, Chocolate, Red velvet and many more which would take you back to India the moment you bite into them Guaranteed!!!. They also have Eggless Pastries. I bet such delicacies are only found at rare spots. This definitely is one of them.

Mouthwatering Chaat such as Dahi puri, Vada Pav( Feel like Mumbai), Pani puri, Cut Mirchi, Samosa Chat, Papadi chat and many more.

The Authentic Goat and Chicken Hyderabadi Briyani which I had it the other day has such a interesting unique flavor which would want you to go back and have more of it. Vijayawada Briyani and lip smacking Appetizers are other crowd pullers of this restaurant. All under one roof.

This is what was missing in San Antonio, Texas. Thank God for this restaurant, which caters such variety of Indian/Pakistani food. Great food and service is what makes you go back to a place, this place definitely defines that. Every dish on there menu is prepared to perfection and to make sure there customers are completly satisfied. I'm really glad we stepped in and tried there food and we are amazed with the taste and flavor, it was just amazing to realized we are regulars to this restaurant now.

Kudos to the Chef and team specially for making such phenomenal recipes.Definitely recommending it and going...

I like to do food reviews and i thought i would try this one. I just got out of the restaurant and to my dismay i found it to be incredibly inedible. I got several dishes to try. Sev Puri, Butter chicken, Vegetable Samosas, side of basmati rice and vegetable biryani dish. I am going to start off what was bad and finish on a good note. The Sev puri came and it was stone cold, like it was so cold that it tasted almost icy and the flavor was unpleasant in certain parts of the bite and in others it tasted almost like cereal which was pleasant i am guessing it was the Sev. The vegetable samosa was burnt and was not light and airy in the fry itself and did not flake. It felt heavy and greasy, but the flavor was decent due to the filling being tasty. The vegetarian biryani dish was overly fragrant and had a subpar flavor and only paired well with the samosa. The dish itself was so big as well, the portion was good enough for 3 people. They even serve it with a shovel spoon! The butter chicken dish was delicious but came lukewarm and hot in the center which indicates to me its not fresh and was made at a different time then reheated in the microwave. The biggest disappointment is that it does not come with rice on the side you have to purchase it separately. But this is where it gets good, the rice was the worse basmati rice i ever had, it was undercooked, and had pieces of tarragon or some kind of seed that was very fragrant and if not vigilant you could feel like you consumed perfume. The butter chicken although i picked mild was still ridiculously spicy compared to other Indian restaurants i have been to. They do not have paper menus, there are no actual silverware and the overall service is subpar. The server also decided it was a good idea to argue if the Sev Puri was frozen cold or refrigerated cold. Now for the positives and there are not many. the garlic Naan deserves a pedestal as it was some of the best garlic naan i ever eaten, and i actually enjoyed the butter chicken with it more than the rice that is suppose to come with it. The Butter chicken curry sauce is actually very delicious too bad it was lukewarm. The prices are very reasonable though for the amount of...