Sartaj India Cafe — Restaurant in Sausalito

I stumbled upon Sartaj once before while walking through Sausalito just before the CoVid19 shutdown. It’s a tiny cafe/restaurant that is def family run! Today, it was mid afternoon. Didn’t have lunch yet. Found Caledonia Street from memory. A crowd of people were eating outside in the blocked off pedestrian patios on the street. Went inside to order chicken tikka masala. It comes with basmati rice. Also ordered the almond chai tea (which is help yourself). The dispenser was at the bottom so there was only a mouthful or two of chai. Took awhile for the dispenser to be refilled.

My food came and was delivered promptly. Gotta say the food was not hot temperature wise. Maybe it took some time to get brought out. Disappointing. Needed a little salt to bring out the flavor of the tikka masala. The chunks of chicken were dry :( I could have added an extra $4 on to get veggies and naan. I was not THAT hungry. Passed. I really have to try this place when the restaurant‘s kitchen isn’t so overwhelmed. The food probably would be hot and taste well seasoned.

Food: 3.5 stars ⭐️ Ambiance: 3.5 stars ⭐️ Family effort for running this...

Cozy restaurant in prime downtown area. I got nice seat by the door for my family. The menu is pretty standard and prices are reasonable. The welcome was with a warm smile. The decor looks little outdated. The restaurant has small kitchen and you can hear the chit chat from the kitchen. My order arrived quickly and the host offered for extra rice if we needed it. It was good to know that. The rice was cooked bit well done.

I ordered 3 diff. entrees and none of them left an lasting impression. It felt like the dishes were put together in hurry with limited to no attention to details. The naan was hot and crispy most likely done using an electric oven.

The curry base was bit tangy for both chicken and paneer dishes and lacked bit of umph. The tea lacked the tea leaves taste and it was bit more hot water milk. Even after adding sugar, it didn't tasted any better. Although it was masala chai, I didn't taste any of the key ingredients of a masala tea.

Since they weren't that busy when I placed my order, I would have appreciated if the cooks could have manages the flavors better. May be next time they...

Overrated and may be good for locals who does not want to go to city. If you are tourist then avoid this place and go try something in the City, many good Indian cuisine options in San Francisco.

While on my way to city, I went there just to eat based on the reviews. Ordered lip-smacking paratha (lol), which was not that good and i had to go to counter to request pickle or some sort of sauce to eat with it because it was bland. Not only that they charged $3 extra for the pickle. So total $10 for one paratha which is not worth it! Also, they do not serve the other complementary food like rice immediately with the curry, again for that we had to go to counter to ask. Tea was not good either, too much masala than actual tea. Avoid and try...