DIYA Indian and Nepali Cuisine — Restaurant in San Francisco

This delightful informal Nepalese family owned biz serves chicken or vegetarian momos and plentiful traditional as well as veggie Indian fare with the typical Bollywood videos playing overhead on TVs while you wait. I like that they have very reasonably priced beers ( $3.99 as of this writing, try getting that price in a bar these days) including one of my all-time favorites Sierra Nevada, and not just lager like Indian beers. This is a humble restaurant business that took the location of the once thriving hipster hot spot that was Miz Brown's on Mason, but they have had the misfortune of opening up during the peak of the pandemic lockdown, so to this day, most of their business consists of deliveries from UberEats, DoorDash and other delivery services. They offer curbside pickup and have some tasty appetizers including Chickpea battered crispy Kale Chot or Samosa Chot, numerous naan preparations as well as Aloo Paratha. Papali Botuk are donut shaped lentil cakes which seemed a little dry for my liking, so my favorite dishes I've tried so far was their Baingan Masala Eggplant dish with a nice smoky flavor, or Palak Paneer which is prepared fresh and thick, with a nice bright green tint, and their house specialty veggie Momos which were stuffed with spices as well as numerous vegetables such as green chilis, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini and potato bits. The crispy fried rawa fish was great with limes, the tamarind & green chili cilantro dipping sauces offered with complimentary papadam appetizer. Other vegetarian dish offerings have a variety of choices including dishes centered around Kauliflower, moong and masoor dal, etc while menu for meats & seafood includes dishes made with lamb, chicken, shrimp...

If you’re in downtown SFO and craving Indian or Nepali food, DIYA is definitely worth a visit. I’m just a traveler who was staying at the Timbri Hotel next door and decided to stop in for lunch and I’m so glad I did! The food was filling, flavorful, and satisfying; I truly enjoyed every single bit of it. 🍛🍗😋 The prices on the menu are reasonable and the person serving us was very polite and friendly. I can’t remember his name but he said he is from Nepal.

The ambiance feels comforting, though I do think there’s potential to enhance it even more. That said, it’s ultimately the food that matters most, and DIYA delivers on that front. I’ll definitely be back here the next time I’m in San Francisco. A must-visit spot if you’re into Indian or Nepali...

There’s nothing fancy about the decor and it actually looks run down. I chanced upon it because I was craving Indian food and the restaurants nearby were shut. I am so glad they were. I tried the lamb biryani and was blown away! I don’t know if people dine in, because I was literally the only person there, but the kitchen seemed busy. Give this place a shot. If their biryani is anything to go by, I’d definitely not miss it. Almost as good as the biryani in Delhi and definitely some of the best biryani I’ve had in the US. Can’t get over how good it was !...