Mela Tandoori Kitchen

Business partners and brothers Sohel, Zoaib and Moiz Subedar grew up around the stove—their father opened the original location of this San Francisco Pakistani restaurant in the ‘80s. Though in its present iteration Mela is situated on a rather dreary strip near Civic Center, inside it is warm and vibrant, lit by candles and swathed in multicolored stripes and Indian movie posters. On the menu are a huge variety of meaty and vegetarian curries, rice dishes, kebabs and over a dozen styles of naan (try the spicy flecked with minced jalapeño). Don’t miss the faluda for dessert, an Indian-style milkshake made with rose syrup, coconut jelly, sweet basil seeds, cream and Mitchell’s mango ice cream.