Three San Francisco Indian restaurants still offer buffet service post-pandemic, while new Indian concepts are avoiding the all-you-can-eat format.

San Francisco's Indian buffet scene has thinned since the pandemic, but three rooms are still serving all-you-can-eat spreads. According to available records, no new buffet-style Indian restaurants have opened in the city since 2025.

Star India Restaurant in the Inner Richmond brought back its lunch buffet in February 2023 after a three-year hiatus. "The amount of calls was crazy," owner Sukh Kaur told The Standard's Christina Campodonico. "A lot of people were like, 'Please bring it back, please bring it back!'" The buffet runs daily from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at $21.95, according to the restaurant's website and recent Yelp updates.

Downtown's Amber India offers a weekend "Endless Brunch Buffet" with bottomless mimosas and champagne for $48 plus tax, plus a separate weekday lunch buffet. The Financial District location targets the office crowd with its midday spread.

Raavi North Indian Cuisine in Jackson Square rounds out the options with buffet and catering services, though its hours and pricing aren't publicly listed online.

New Indian concepts are avoiding the buffet format. Mission Curry House, which registered at 2434 Mission Street in May 2026 under BBD LLC, joins Namaste Indian Cuisine (opened October 2025) and other recent openings that have opted for à la carte service or tasting menus instead of buffets.

The shift reflects broader economics: buffet service requires higher volume and staffing to maintain quality across multiple dishes, a model that became harder to sustain during labor shortages and rising food costs. For diners seeking variety, the remaining buffets offer value — Star India's price point undercuts most downtown lunch options by nearly half — but the format's future in SF increasingly looks like a niche rather than the norm.