Roti Indian Bistro

First time I went to Roti, there was one other group sitting at a table. We sat there for 20 minutes without a menu, water or any attention whats so ever. So we walked out and went to Bulls Head around the corner. I thougtht they had a bad day, so I tried it again tonight with a group of friends. We had a reservation that we were slightly early for. She said we would have to wait 20 minutes to be seated. We did. Another group walked in without reservations and got seated right away. I asked why they got seated ahead of us when we had been waiting with reservations and they didn't. The hostess said the owner did it and she had no control. Never again!!!!! Clay Oven is at the other end of West Portal and they will fall over each other to give you amazing service, not to mention the food is much better and much more reasonable more

The food was pretty awful, definitely not as good as everyone said. The chicken in the tikka masala in my girlfriend dish was not cooked all the way, although the sauce was nice. My tandoori duck was okay, but really not worth the price. It was so over-cooked and over-seasoned, that it could have been just about any kind of meat in there. We both ordered salted Lassi which was also very bland, thin and didn't taste like it was salted (just like drinking watered down yogurt). The bread was good and the ambiance is really nice. My girlfriend is Indian and has cooked a lot for me and taken me to some really authentic Indian restaurants near New York, NY. This one just didn't cut it for us. Although I know it probably was not the cooks fault, there was a hair in my mango lassi. In addition, the service was not quite up to par. Pros: location, parking, presentation Cons: service, food, price more

I'm a big fan of Indian food and I have to say this restaurant serves the best I've ever had. The Tikka Masala is fantastic. more

The food was okay, but nothing special. There are much better places to go for Indian food in the City. The service was good, but I paid way to much for average food. more

My preference is for Southern Indian food, yet I am a habitue here. The knowledgeable owner, Rustom, is Burmese and the two chefs are from Delhi. What I like about them: an extensive drinks menu including Belgian Lambic and beers like Kingfisher from India and Cooper's from Australia (many Indian restaurants come up short on the drinks menu, don't they?); a subtle aloo saag (spinach with embedded potato cubes); bengan bharta, or ""Baba Ganesh"" :-), a Punjabi eggplant dish made aptly enough by Punjabi chefs; excellent breads - notably, the goat-cheese naan and a puffy paratta; tandoori salmon and mahi mahi (uncommon even among good tandoori places); specials that really do vary seasonally and are usually very tasty; am waiting for them to bring back a light squash dish. Could get very busy on a few nights of the week; try going earlier in the evening (gives you more time to digest heavy Indian food anyway) or at lunchtime, or get a reservation. Pros: Drinks menu, tandoori fish, breads, some innovation Cons: Busy on most nights more

Without reservations, we were fortunate to garnish a table near 8 pm on a Friday evening. There was a large party celebrating a birthday and one of the females was literally ""screaming"" with excitement. A patron next to us complained to the owner & I overheard him say, ""I'm not coming back"" and his dining companion complained to their waiter, who apologized. We started off with 2 appetizers, the papadum for $2 was wonderful - one of the best I've had at Indian restaurants. Crispy wafers with visible lentils (3 of them!) served with 2 sauces: a sweet one and a green spicer one. The Roti calamari was not spectacular, calamari fritti at seafood restaurants are better. The vegt pakora ordered by other diners looked good, would consider trying that next time. The Roti mixed tandoori was a plate of grilled items (almost 2 each) of lamb sausages, a chunk of overcooked beef, chunks of chicken, 1 lge prawn, and 2 chunks of perfectly grilled salmon over onions and pepper. The murgh chicken masala tasted more like a stew because of the tomato added to the curry. For $55 with beer & tea, it was on the more expensive side for Indian food, but a scale above the Naan and Curry chains. The dining room is very nice and seems to be a very popular place in the neighborhood. Nice place to take a date if you don't mind the noise level. Pros: Great papadums, nice restaurant atmosphere Cons: Can be noisy, crowded on weekends so make reservations on Open Table more

I think that anyone who really loves Indian food will be sorely disappointed. Any of the Indian restaurants in the Tenderloin or West Berkeley walk circles around Roti. What is all the fuss about- is it ONLY because people refuse to drive a little further to get real Indian food? more

This used to be one of our regular spots but the new host/hostess are extremely rude and it's impossible to get a straight answer out of them. If you don't have reservations, expect to wait a very long time in a nearly empty restaurant all the while being told ever changing wait times. Service from the waitstaff is spotty and we often rely on an extremely helpful busboy but the food is good for SF (nothing compared to Amber in Mtn. View though). Unfortunately, the service doesn't match the high prices and we won't be going back for a long time. Pros: nice decor, good food Cons: rude host/hostess, inattentive waitstaff, noisy more

I REALLY wish this place delivered. It's a bit on the costly side (about $40 for 2 people with no alcohol or tip included) - but it's SOOOO GOOD. This is by far one of the best Indian Food I've had in SF. more

This must be the least reviewed indian restaurant in SF. Hidden gem. You will not be disappointed. Pros: contemporary decor.unusually efficient service Cons: noisy. difficult parking more

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Food - you will not be disappointment with any of the meals. Our favorites Chicken Vindaloo, Chicken Tikamasala and Tandoori. more

I am from India, been here for 5 years, havent had better Indian food (my wife cooks better, but..) in the bay area. more

Bring a sleeping bag! The front house staff is pretentious and very unfriendly. If you don't have a reservation, though the place may be empty, you will wait and wait....though the empty tables are not filling up! After 30 minutes, we were finally seated along with two other tables in the still half empty room. Pros: Its in my neighborhood, Nice view of bank building across the street. Cons: Pretentious host. Long wait. Below average Indian food. more

Since moving to the West Portal area about a year ago, we have been to Roti several times and have never been disappointed. The service is great, the atmosphere is nice, and the goat cheese naan is to die for. We'll definitely keep going back. more