SUPERLIST NO. 820

Cumin get it

All-you-can-eat Indian buffets for less than $8

By Rory Brown

› superlists@sfbg.com

Almost every San Francisco neighborhood boasts at least one Indian restaurant. Only a few offer a truly economic luxury: the all-you-can-eat buffet. The following spots offer all the tandoori chicken, vegetable curry, and fresh naan you want, and it'll cost you no more than eight bucks.

The only Indian buffet in the Castro, Bombay Indian Restaurant (2217 Market, SF. 415-861-6655) offers some buffet basics — chicken tikka masala, mixed vegetable curry, rice pudding, and more — for $6.95 at lunchtime.

The city's cheapest Indian buffet, Great India (6127 Geary, SF. 415-751-4433) boasts five vegetarian dishes, including aloo gobhi (cauliflower and potatoes cooked with herbs and spices), and meat lovers have two chicken dishes and lamb curry to dive into, all for only $6.45 at lunchtime.

One of the biggest buffets, India Clay Oven (2436 Clement, SF. 415-751-0505) offers a large dining room serving heaping portions of nine main dishes in large copper kettles, and you can sample everything at lunchtime for a mere $7.95.

Under the same ownership as India Clay Oven, India Garden Restaurant (1261 Folsom, SF. 415-626-2798) lays out vegetarian dishes plus special treats like onion rings, carrot pudding, and chicken makhini (tandoori chicken in a mildly spicy sauce) at lunchtime, all for $7.95.

You can stuff yourself at India Palace (1740 Fillmore, SF. 415-567-7789) just about any time you want, as it's one of the three of these restaurants that serve lunch and dinner ($7.95) and one of two that's open all day.

Kennedy's Irish Pub and Curry House (1040 Columbus, SF. 415-441-8855) is an Indian buffet with an Irish bar serving a small daily lunch menu that sometimes includes kebabs — a buffet rarity — for $6.50.

One of three Indian restaurants in a two-block span of the Lower Haight, Raja Cuisine of India (500 Haight, SF. 415-255-6000) has the only all-you-can-eat buffet lunch in the neighborhood — and the only one serving Indian pizza — and it costs just $7.95.

With a changing buffet open all day, every day, Star of India (2127 Polk, SF. 415-292-6699) offers four different chicken dishes and a couple of vegetarian delights for $7.95.

Under the same ownership as India Garden Restaurant and India Clay Oven, Tandoori Mahal (941 Kearny, SF. 415-951-0505) offers a similar, but slightly smaller, selection of food, has a full bar, and serves lunch daily for $7.95. *