Anyone who works, lives, or attends college in the Riverside area should have no problem finding an Indian restaurant, particularly one named Punjab Palace.
Owned by brothers Ashok and Raj Sharma, the family-operated Punjab Palace has opened two Punjab Palace restaurants here in the Inland Empire’s largest city, the most recent one in the shadows of downtown Riverside and the University of California campus.
As the name of the restaurant indicates, Punjab Palace offers its student, professional, and local customers a wide variety of North Indian cuisine.
For Ashok and Raj Sharma, who have been in the United States for 25 years now, they hope everyone who walks through their restaurant’s doors feel as if they’re family.
“Our restaurant is like a family business,” Ashok, who is also a chef, told India-West. “All the customers who come here are just like family.”
The familial atmosphere starts with his son, Vishal, greeting customers. Meanwhile, Ashok works with the chefs in the kitchen, ensuring the meals are as homely as possible.
At lunchtime, the home-style meals are served as part of a lunch buffet featuring 10 main course items and all the usual fixings.
On the a la carte menu, customers have nearly 90 appetizers, main courses, breads, rice dishes, and dessert items to choose from, including both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
Among the tandoori delicacies are Tandoori Jumbo Shrimp, Chicken Tikka, and Lamb Sheekh Kabob. There are also a wide selection of chicken curry dishes, included Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Vindaloo, and Murgh Makhni.
The vegetarian options include dishes such as Vegetable Korma, Chana Masala, Daal Makhni, Saag Paneer, and Malai Kofta.
Punjab Palace features nearly 20 specialty dishes of lamb and seafood.
A unique menu item is the Exotic Curry dish, which features chicken and lamb cooked together in a chef’s special sauce and paired with rice, naan, and dessert.
Four combination dinners are also available, each catering to specific palates, be it vegetarian, non-vegetarian, or both.
Main courses run between $8.95 and $14.95 per dish, while the combination plates are between $12.95 and $16.95 per person.
The luncheon buffet is served every day from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and is $8.95 Monday through Friday, $9.95 on weekends.
Open for about five months now, Punjab Palace does have banquet hall space available for private events; the restaurant caters as well. The service for sit-down customers is friendly and courteous.
“There were no Indian restaurants here,” Ashok Sharma explained of Punjab Palace’s strategic location a few short blocks from both the central city district and the University of California-Riverside campus. “There were people from this area going to our other restaurant Punjab Palace (near Tyler Mall several miles west).”
To bring about efficiency and better management at both the locations, Ashok and Raj have divided responsibility. Ashok manages the university location and Raj manages the Magnolia location.
The downtown location is at 1766 University Avenue, Suite 102; phone number 951-656-7968. Meanwhile, the original Punjab Palace is located in Riverside’s eastern suburb at 10359 Magnolia Avenue; its phone number is 951-351-8968. The daily hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for lunch, then 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for dinner.