Dil-e Punjab Deli
“I'm only living in Chelsea for another 5 days and I'm trying to figure out how many more times I can eat there while it's convenient.”
“It for people like me who savor the simple taste of home cooked indian food without the frills.”
“This place is frequented by taxi drivers, stopping to get tea, dinner and have some Indian chats.”
Dil-e Punjab Deli
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Disclaimer: Indian restaurants are often anti-Instagram, anti-New York. It's not about aesthetics or service. It's about the food.
CHAPATHI
Pre-made and then heated up. They're perfectly round but thick, which makes it chewier than usual, but very filling. They're better than frozen, but not as good as mom. I'm not a nitpicky bitch so I can't take a star off for something so trivial.
CARROT AND POTATO CURRY
Wow, what a surprise. Carrot is my favorite freakin' vegetable but I've never had it as the main ingredient in my curry. Slightly sweet, very unique. 😛
PANEER AND PEA CURRY
Oh yeah, baby, this is what I was craving – that spice (it's an addiction #brownproblems). It's that perfect level that doesn't make your face red but leaves your tongue wet.
PRICE
Cheap as fuhhhh. Sheeitt. For 5 bucks, I have enough curry for about 8-10 chapathis (which are a dollar and change each). I bought two, so I have hella leftovers to throw on some rice when I come home hangry and/or drunk and want a meal in under a minute.
FINAL WORD
It's greasy and ghetto, but it's effin bangin' in your mouth. I will definitely be a regular. (post edit: meh i thrrw it out nvm….4 stars)
This place is the bomb. It's cash only and vegetarian and looks like crap from the outside but believe me the food is well done. I did not dine inside (not sure if you can!?) but placed an online delivery order… which in truth, took forever. It was supposed tot take 30 minutes but it was actually an hour. No matter. Food was good and mostly spicy.
We ordered the full and incredibly cheap portion of:
Daal- deliciously spicy, rich
Saag- WOW best saag ever. No garbage cream here, just really good and interesting greens, spinach of course but also mustard greens. Amazingly good.
Chana Masala- a tad oily but very well done chickpeas that are protein heavy and filling
Baigan Bartha- eggplant.. this was like least favorite. I normally love this but their was a little too uninspired ; just stewed eggplant with onion.
All the appropriate and amazing spices were used. We ordered the side breads of paratha (with potato, yummy and filling), chapti ( plain, standard) and most interesting the roti which had fenguek leaves inside…
We had two chais which were perfect – full of cardamom, ginger, milk and none of that sweet stuff. We also had two veggie samosas… these were actually nothing special and could have used dipping sauces. They were a little dry but I guess it's good to eating ghee-free.
Don't judge a book by its cover, try it. Super cheap and good. All this was $30.
Delicious northern Indian food that's quick and open 24 hours. I chose a platter of chickpeas, some kind of spicy paneer, and a spinach curry over white rice, and each dish tasted noticeably different from similar ones I've eaten at other Indian restaurants. The flavors are more nuanced and presumably more authentic, like home-cooked food. When eating cuisines that I'm not too familiar with, I prefer menus that allow you to try several things at once. The roti and yogurt that came with the meal were good, too. The platter itself without the sides was filling without the weighed-down feeling the food from a lot of Indian restaurants leaves you with, and I didn't even notice until looking on Yelp that everything was vegetarian.
Location: chelsea, – pricy place for average food – is the new high-end spot.
They have all those $$$$$$ restaurant. It's good because you finally can bring your girlfriend/boyfriend to have a memorable dating experience, but it's not good because you just lose some chances to have some interesting experience.
Compared to other great interior designed places, Dil-E Punjab deli is like…average deli. Basically, if you are not looking for it, you probably will never lay eyes on this place.
But luckily I did. And it s a great dinner experience.
there is no seats for dine it, so you basically need to grab food and enjoy food at somewhere else
For lunch/ dinner buffet, you can choose up to 3 courses and it will come with rice and naan.
Very tasty
Service: the dude is so nice.
Very cheap!
Come here and support them!
Great for vegetarians, cheap, big portions, lots of choices, 24/7, takes card. Operates somewhat as a cab stop but that doesn't deter the quality. A bare bones Indian spot. It's my go-to for a 3AM meal – a much better alternative to sandwich delis.
Where else are you going to get a generous plate of 2 veggie dishes and basmati rice on a plastic container for just $4.
Is it the best Indian food you've ever had? No, not by a long shot. But it's flavorful and healthy enough to keep you going.
Make sure you add some of that cilantro hot sauce, it makes a big difference.
Vegetarian only and cash only.
After just arriving in New York City we were starving and needed a quick close place to eat in Chelsea. I was attracted to the current 4.5 star review. People are so picky these days it is impressive to have such high reviews. We ate it so fast I can barely remember how it tasted but it was good and cheap for a quick lunch. Two choices of sides with rice for at the time $7. I think it looks like they just changed it to $8 though. Still a pretty good deal to get lunch for under $10. It's a vegan restaurant which is fine with me as Indian sauces are always so flavorful. Nothing fancy at all on a styrofoam plate and plastic forks. I don't remember many seats so obviously take it to go and find a bench like we did. It's a good option in an expensive area to satisfy your Indian food cravings!
For $7, this is a great, quick lunch. There were a few things I didn't like, including too much rice, average raita, but overall, this place is great.
There are quite a few choices, and every one of the 3 entrees I got were great. I especially loved the potato carrot curry, which was comforting, and a touch sweet from the carrots. The kidney beans were also hearty and delicious. Nothing was oily, despite how it may look at the counter. The yogurt curry was slightly sour and yummy. The mint sauce they give you is one of the best I've had, and they make chai to order with whole cardamom pods and ginger.