If there were ever a hidden gem in this wide ocean of Indian food in the Bay Area, Talab would be the one. For one, seeing a Bengali owned food joint that has eastern part of India well represented with Kolkata roles, luchi, Bengali biryani AND GUR SANDESH will transport you back to Park Street. Flavor, spices and such tenderness in something as simple as malai kebab will have you going back for more! I'd love to try out more from them including the Puchka stand right outside! To immerse yourself in another facet of the variety of Indian cuisine beyond the typical dishes, definitely check it out!!
Himakar C.
great food, and excellent service. the owner and the chef is very very passionate about what she's doing and this is definitely not your run of the middle Indian restaurant.
Abhijeet S.
Disrespectful and ridiculous place. If you just buy Chai, the restaurant does not allow you to sit inside even if their amazing popular restaurant is EMPTY. So basically, if you spend as much money as the restaurant thinks is good enough, only then you can sit inside. Looks like Starbucks should learn from Talab team how to treat their customers. If people only buy coffee, no other food item, then they should also not allow anyone to sit inside.
Chandrika B.
Its located in the river oaks plaza where we have chase bank, starbucks, subway, a newly opened indian grocery store and now this little gem :) Lots of parking in the lot in front of it and lots of outdoor seating. I love how cutely they have done the inside seating and it looks chic. In $35, we got: - dum aloo - 3.5/5- spicy and thick gravy just how it should be. Only a few pieces of potato which was something i wish we had more of. It would pair perfectly with rice, poori or roti - chicken in green sauce - contains cashewnut- 4/5- flavorful gravy and good quality chicken. Loved the portion size. It paired perfectly with butter naan and rice. We got this to-go and i am deducting 1 star for the paper box takeout (doggy bag) packing for a full size portion which kinda leaked in the car due to excess oil and low quality packaging material. My suggestion would be to use plastic to go containers like other indian/ thai restaurants. The indoor seating looked really inviting so next time i plan to visit and dine in :) #supportlocal
Fred D.
The food is amazing. He tried the butter chicken, mutton, coriander chicken and dall. Everything was delicious. The garlic naan was wonderful and the butter naan was good. The owner is charming and gave excellent advice. The restaurant is also cheaper than it looks, as one ala cart meal will feed about 2 people. The ambiance is pleasant, though a bit cozy. Highly recommend.
Neil C.
Second time ordering from this place. Really wanted to like it- small business, bengali cuisine etc. but the slowness of service is really disappointing. Took over 1.5 hours and poor communication to fulfill order. The flavours are ok - the fish fry batter is too thick in my opinion and pomfret fry was bland. The chicken roll was decent. All in all, not coming back here- will stick to Bongos or Calcutta Chaat and bakery for my Bengali food cravings.
Ajit S.
Not sure why such stellar reviews. Or may be restaurant had an off day the day we visited. We ordered chicken roll, awadhi mutton and fish fry. Many menu items were not available. Not sure why list them on the menu? Chicken roll: Chicken was burnt to dryness. Awadhi mutton: Mutton was not fresh and very chewy. Fish fry: it was ok but too much batter and the fish was bland. Service was super slow. Only one cook probably taking orders on a Friday night. It is a small place with few tables. However many tables for outside seating but due to cold weather we decided to sit inside. Based on food taste, we definitely will not be visiting again. There are better Bengali food places in Fremont/Milpitas area such as Bongos and Calcutta Bakery and Chaat.
Sudeshna S.
An amazing restaurant.Food is excellent. Always served hot and fresh. Their Vegetable chop, Fish fry, Chicken kabab, dakbanglow Mutton, Coriander chicken, Paneer makhanwala, Naan, Mishti doi....everything is to die for. We always get a warm reception from Suparna, the owner. We are lucky to have this authentic Bangali restaurant in Bay area!
Av B.
The coriander chicken and rolls are very good ! They removed the Lugosi paratha from the menu - would love to get that back. Over all this place has a lot of potential
Roshmika C.
I would have given zero /negative star, but that's not an option. They entice customers with their menu, but almost none of the items are available. I came twice and the story is the same. The service is abysmal with unwelcoming management. I came only by looking at their Bengali food items on the menu, but the whole experience left a bad taste. NEVER AGAIN!
Small authentic Bengali restaurant in the heart of San Jose. The mutton curry is really good. The Meeshti Doi ( sweet yogurt) reminds me of kcdas in Calcutta.
Chetan S.
We stopped enroute to get some to-go from here but we're greeted with a closed door and even though there were folks inside , not one came out to explain we were just 10 minutes early. Thanks to incorrect timings noted on Yelp! Anyway we returned in a few days try their Bengali dishes for to-go and were not too impressed. Maybe they are still in soft opening. Will wait awhile and try again in some weeks , just because I am a sucker for Bengali cuisine.
Rohit N.
Really good egg roll and chicken roll! The chicken roll Was solid - well stocked and juicy. Good service as well. Will come again to try other stuff
Preetha K.
I'm really disappointed in this place since I was so excited to have a reasonable Indian place close to where I live. I decided to get brunch here on a Sunday, and checked the menu beforehand. It said 14.99 for a lunch special, which was reasonable for 1 gravy and 1 piece of naan. I asked the guy who took my order whether they had the lunch specials today, and he said yes-- so I got one gravy and one naan. The gravy itself seemed not very fresh and the naan was not great either. It wasn't fluffy and had a chewy texture. The food was average at best but the price seemed reasonable so I was fine with it. When I went to pay, my total came out to 26 dollars-- I was shocked and asked the guy why it doesn't match the price on the menu. He said lunch combos are weekdays only and he got confused. I was pretty ticked off about this because no where on the menu online does it say that the lunch combo is weekdays only. The ambiance is also very subpar-- I would strongly recommend if you're paying 26 dollars for a small naan and gravy, there's plenty of other good Indian places in the near vicinity. It would even be worth driving out 20 minutes versus going to this place.
Ruchira M.
Food = check Ambience = check Hospitality= check Kolkata Vibe= check Sitting in the heart of Silicon Valley, if you are looking for authentic Kolkata-style Bengali food, this place is a must-visit. Their food is delicious and authentic in every sense. They successfully transported me back to the streets of Kolkata. We ordered many dishes, out of which luchi, mutton kosha, chingri malai curry, and misti doi stood out to me the most. Beside the delicious meal we had, their hospitality and ambience struck a chord with me. Overall, I'm delighted with the overall experience and definitely plan to visit soon.
If there were ever a hidden gem in this wide ocean of Indian food in the Bay Area, Talab would be the one. For one, seeing a Bengali owned food joint that has eastern part of India well represented with Kolkata roles, luchi, Bengali biryani AND GUR SANDESH will transport you back to Park Street. Flavor, spices and such tenderness in something as simple as malai kebab will have you going back for more! I'd love to try out more from them including the Puchka stand right outside! To immerse yourself in another facet of the variety of Indian cuisine beyond the typical dishes, definitely check it out!!
great food, and excellent service. the owner and the chef is very very passionate about what she's doing and this is definitely not your run of the middle Indian restaurant.
Disrespectful and ridiculous place. If you just buy Chai, the restaurant does not allow you to sit inside even if their amazing popular restaurant is EMPTY. So basically, if you spend as much money as the restaurant thinks is good enough, only then you can sit inside. Looks like Starbucks should learn from Talab team how to treat their customers. If people only buy coffee, no other food item, then they should also not allow anyone to sit inside.
Its located in the river oaks plaza where we have chase bank, starbucks, subway, a newly opened indian grocery store and now this little gem :) Lots of parking in the lot in front of it and lots of outdoor seating. I love how cutely they have done the inside seating and it looks chic. In $35, we got: - dum aloo - 3.5/5- spicy and thick gravy just how it should be. Only a few pieces of potato which was something i wish we had more of. It would pair perfectly with rice, poori or roti - chicken in green sauce - contains cashewnut- 4/5- flavorful gravy and good quality chicken. Loved the portion size. It paired perfectly with butter naan and rice. We got this to-go and i am deducting 1 star for the paper box takeout (doggy bag) packing for a full size portion which kinda leaked in the car due to excess oil and low quality packaging material. My suggestion would be to use plastic to go containers like other indian/ thai restaurants. The indoor seating looked really inviting so next time i plan to visit and dine in :) #supportlocal
The food is amazing. He tried the butter chicken, mutton, coriander chicken and dall. Everything was delicious. The garlic naan was wonderful and the butter naan was good. The owner is charming and gave excellent advice. The restaurant is also cheaper than it looks, as one ala cart meal will feed about 2 people. The ambiance is pleasant, though a bit cozy. Highly recommend.
Second time ordering from this place. Really wanted to like it- small business, bengali cuisine etc. but the slowness of service is really disappointing. Took over 1.5 hours and poor communication to fulfill order. The flavours are ok - the fish fry batter is too thick in my opinion and pomfret fry was bland. The chicken roll was decent. All in all, not coming back here- will stick to Bongos or Calcutta Chaat and bakery for my Bengali food cravings.
Not sure why such stellar reviews. Or may be restaurant had an off day the day we visited. We ordered chicken roll, awadhi mutton and fish fry. Many menu items were not available. Not sure why list them on the menu? Chicken roll: Chicken was burnt to dryness. Awadhi mutton: Mutton was not fresh and very chewy. Fish fry: it was ok but too much batter and the fish was bland. Service was super slow. Only one cook probably taking orders on a Friday night. It is a small place with few tables. However many tables for outside seating but due to cold weather we decided to sit inside. Based on food taste, we definitely will not be visiting again. There are better Bengali food places in Fremont/Milpitas area such as Bongos and Calcutta Bakery and Chaat.
An amazing restaurant.Food is excellent. Always served hot and fresh. Their Vegetable chop, Fish fry, Chicken kabab, dakbanglow Mutton, Coriander chicken, Paneer makhanwala, Naan, Mishti doi....everything is to die for. We always get a warm reception from Suparna, the owner. We are lucky to have this authentic Bangali restaurant in Bay area!
The coriander chicken and rolls are very good ! They removed the Lugosi paratha from the menu - would love to get that back. Over all this place has a lot of potential
I would have given zero /negative star, but that's not an option. They entice customers with their menu, but almost none of the items are available. I came twice and the story is the same. The service is abysmal with unwelcoming management. I came only by looking at their Bengali food items on the menu, but the whole experience left a bad taste. NEVER AGAIN!
Restaurantji Recommends
Small authentic Bengali restaurant in the heart of San Jose. The mutton curry is really good. The Meeshti Doi ( sweet yogurt) reminds me of kcdas in Calcutta.
We stopped enroute to get some to-go from here but we're greeted with a closed door and even though there were folks inside , not one came out to explain we were just 10 minutes early. Thanks to incorrect timings noted on Yelp! Anyway we returned in a few days try their Bengali dishes for to-go and were not too impressed. Maybe they are still in soft opening. Will wait awhile and try again in some weeks , just because I am a sucker for Bengali cuisine.
Really good egg roll and chicken roll! The chicken roll Was solid - well stocked and juicy. Good service as well. Will come again to try other stuff
I'm really disappointed in this place since I was so excited to have a reasonable Indian place close to where I live. I decided to get brunch here on a Sunday, and checked the menu beforehand. It said 14.99 for a lunch special, which was reasonable for 1 gravy and 1 piece of naan. I asked the guy who took my order whether they had the lunch specials today, and he said yes-- so I got one gravy and one naan. The gravy itself seemed not very fresh and the naan was not great either. It wasn't fluffy and had a chewy texture. The food was average at best but the price seemed reasonable so I was fine with it. When I went to pay, my total came out to 26 dollars-- I was shocked and asked the guy why it doesn't match the price on the menu. He said lunch combos are weekdays only and he got confused. I was pretty ticked off about this because no where on the menu online does it say that the lunch combo is weekdays only. The ambiance is also very subpar-- I would strongly recommend if you're paying 26 dollars for a small naan and gravy, there's plenty of other good Indian places in the near vicinity. It would even be worth driving out 20 minutes versus going to this place.
Food = check Ambience = check Hospitality= check Kolkata Vibe= check Sitting in the heart of Silicon Valley, if you are looking for authentic Kolkata-style Bengali food, this place is a must-visit. Their food is delicious and authentic in every sense. They successfully transported me back to the streets of Kolkata. We ordered many dishes, out of which luchi, mutton kosha, chingri malai curry, and misti doi stood out to me the most. Beside the delicious meal we had, their hospitality and ambience struck a chord with me. Overall, I'm delighted with the overall experience and definitely plan to visit soon.