Dera Restaurant

This is my best friends absolute favorite place and she has been talking about this non-stop. I had a paper due today so suddenly craved desi food. Traveled an hour to go to Dera and we ordered Channa Masala, Beef Nehari, Parathas, Goat Pulao, Bihari Kebab and Teas. Channa Masal was okay on its own. Could be better with parsley/cilantro garnish. The complimentary salad actually works with it. Squeeze bit of lemon and it would be perfect. Beef nehari was really good. I like the texture and the meat was very tender. The soup(jhol) was not to oily. Found the Tawa Paratha bit oily compared to other places that serve paratha. But it wasn’t too bad. Goat pulao had more rice and I kind of like it like that. But the taste was bit bland. This again can be fixed with sides of salad and lemon. The star to me was the tea and the Bihari Kebab. It was soooo good and the right amount of spice. The had spicy kick to it and not overworking. I ordered some sweets to go and I was really surprised to find Shon Papri (I am not sure what they call it but this is how I locally know it. I basically got bunch of sweets that I felt like would be yummy from display so can’t name them all) I got one order of rasmalai which my friend sweared on and it really was worth it. Its not too sweet but made me go “mmh” when I took a bite. The service was very good considering they pack our leftovers for us which majority places don’t do. Wrapped everything in white cling wrap. And the lady explained the sweets well when I was checking on display. Will definitely go back for breakfast next time and also try other items from the menu.

The best biryani’s i have ever tried in jackson heights. The taste more similar to our Asian home country cook style. Better than Bangladesh biryani.. 10$ is enough for 2 people. For me like budget savings, I cooked basmati rice 1 cups at home and mixed with 2 orders 😂 more than enough for 6 servings 😅😅😅

I have gathered a lot of good memories attached with my friends at Dera. It's been a part of parties of all good news and fun. The food is great in this restaurant and so is the customer service. The only thing I don't like about this restaurant is that the tables are arranged in a cramped manner. If someone in your neighoring table sneezes, say good bye to your food! Some of the times that are a must try is either their biryani or pulao, beef nihari, haleem is average, kebabs are average (P.S. order from Kebabish), they have good kashmiri chai and Irani chai, and any kind of bread from their tandoor oven is great (I like the kheema naan). There isn't much of a dessert menu as they also sell sweets which are so many!!! You can pick and choose the one you want either to go or to eat. After the meal it is best to have a PAAN which you can find in a small Indian deli kind of store opposite to Dera.