Deccan House — Restaurant in San Francisco

No joke, this is the best Indian food in San Francisco. We visited around noon and ended up getting items from both the breakfast and lunch sections. The madras filter coffee (that I didn't see on the menu, but was still available) was on par with the quality you'd get at a south Indian place in the south bay. The idlis were good but the vada stole the breakfast show. One bite and I was transported to the darshini outside my school in India. The chutneys and sambar perfectly complemented the idlis and vada. I ordered the uluvacharu goat biriyani and it was divine. The goat was cooked to perfection, something other Indian restaurants in the bay area often mess up leading to an overly chewy meat. The spices were perfect and the dish overall ensured I will become a regular. It took me a few years, but I've finally found my biriyani fix in sf.

Overall, the reataurant is on par with others of the same type, that I'd visit back home. We did not ask for any customizations, and the kicker was that they did not compromise on the spices for an American audience.You may need to let your waiter know if you'd like it more mild, but the default is what you'd expect if you were in the deccan plateau, or coastal...

Some good dishes, but skip the seafood. Just had Deccan's vindaloo with shrimp and was very disappointed to find unshelled shrimp, without the cut needed to devein them. I stopped eating the dish once I realized it obviously, but I am not pleased to be served unsanitary shrimp. The sauce was actually quite nice until I figured out what it had been cooked with. I've had bad luck with the fish too, they just don't do seafood well. Their chicken 65 on the other hand is a favorite in our house, and they do tend to throw in some extra rice. I will actually likely keep ordering from Deccan, because their other dishes are good and it's convenient, but I really hope I can warn others off making the shrimp / seafood mistake here.

Update: Recently we have started to have serious problems with other dishes on the menu too. The samosas now seem almost like egg rolls and the chana that we ordered went into the trash uneaten after a few sad bites (we love chana) so I think we're now done...

We have pretty much been ordering from here weekly since they opened. They have such an amazing, diverse menu and everything is just flat out great to epic. lend up mixing what we order from there with some home dishes for some delicious feasts. Their standards are all quite good: chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, etc are delish. recommend branching out and trying items like the lamb roganjosh, it's a mouth-watering savory delight with tender lamb and a rich sauce. Their cashew curry has become a staple of mine, it is so creamy and spicy, just an amazing texture and flavor with the soft cashews. Another go-to item has been the chicken chettinad which is just a solid, hearty chicken curry, just checks all the boxes. The only things that I think are just good are their yellow dal just too watery) and their dosas (always arrive soft and not crisp). But these are minor imperfections. Love this place, so glad they opened...