[Amanda]

A friend from work and I went to Tandoor Indian Kitchen today for lunch. They had a buffet. It was very enjoyable. There was Tikka Masala, Naan, some great egg curry, a potato cauliflower curry, lamb and potato curry, tandoori chicken, pakoras, papadum, nice lightly dressed salad, chicken biyrani, an odd mashed sweet potato dessesrt (seemed tapioca-ish, sort of), seems like there is something else I'm forgetting.

I thought it was better than India Grill, Swagat or India House. My friend wasn't sure if she liked this place or India House better. I thought the flavors were better here with a more solid kick. It's also closer to where I work which is a definite advantage and it's got a nice clean space with lots of tables and chairs. They had three different sauces to enhance with. The red one is quite spicy, the brown one sweet and I didn't try the other. A raita sort of thing maybe.

The menus they had couldn't be taken away, but I gave them a look. They have more to offer during the dinner hour, including dosas. It would be nice to see what those of you who know a lot about Indian food think of this place. It's pretty basic, but it did seem at least a notch above the usual suspects of Indian restaurants in town. At least so far by my standards. Perhaps I'm just excited at its potential. I'm not a big expert on this type of cuisine, but I have to say I thought it was pretty good lunchtime fare and I might go back.

Best regards,

Amanda

[ExtraMSG]

Thanks for the report, Amanda. I split this out and put it in Restaurants. Announcements really isn't the place to discuss a restaurant's food.

Tandoor Indian Kitchen
406 SW Oak Street
Portland, OR 97204
(503) 841-9841
Monday-Saturday 11AM-9PM

[RR & SP]

Hi Amanda.

Thanks for visiting and the review. The Dessert was Kesari, made of Semolina.

Hi All,

I have updated the website with Menu, some changes in Hours of operation etc. I will be updating the website regularly , www.portlandtandoor.com

The 4 days of trial run went on fine, with more of lunch crowd . We have trial run till next Friday and are Grand opening with a party to friends and family on Saturday, June 16th.

You are Welcome to join us on June 16th for Dinner , 5PM - 9PM, portlandfood.org members will receive a 15% discount that night

Thank You
RR

[Kartoffel]

We tried Tandoor Indian Kitchen last night around 5 pm. We were the only customers. We ordered a salt lassi, idly with sambar, aloo gobi, and chicken tikka from the tandoor. (Both entrees came with naan.) Pappadum with mint chutney were served before the meal.

The idly were a highlight, freshly steamed and with a nice fermented flavor. They came 4 to an order. The sambar was a bit sweeter than it often is, maybe due to the addition of carrots and (I think) squash. Aloo gobi was fine, with firm cauliflower and plenty of warm spices. The chicken tikka from the tandoor was very tender and well seasoned, with a bright lemony flavor. The naan (regular and mint) was good, probably among the best in town, but without much in the way of charred bubbles. There was a generous amount of ghee brushed on after baking, something I think reduces the outer crispness (which I like!). I agree with Amanda (the previous poster) that this is better than other places I've tried in town (India House, Swagat, etc.).

The owner (Ramesh) was very solicitous and friendly, bringing out extra idlies with another chutney made of urad dal he wanted us to try. He also brought an extra entree, chicken tikka masala, for us to try: less salty than others I've tried, so that the tomato and cream flavors really came through. Again, the chicken was wonderfully tender. Ramesh also brought chai masala and dessert (ravi kesari), which is made of semolina and is intensely sweet and filling. I mentioned my love for carrot halvah, and he said I should call ahead and he could make it for me next time!

One thing that worried me was that Ramesh is doing all the cooking right now. Eating with him cooking (and us being the only customers) was very much like being invited to someone's house for home-style cooking. He said that when business picks up, he will have to hire a cook, and he worries that the cooking will not be quite the same.

Also, as the only customers on a Saturday night, we wondered if enough business could be drummed up for dinner and weekends. It's ideally located for a downtown lunch, but we really enjoyed it for dinner, as well. (I am not a big buffet fan.) A license for wine and beer is either in place or on its way.

Ramesh was also associated in some way with Chennai Masala and Lentil Garden, but I didn't catch how (or whether his association with Chennai Masala is ongoing).

P.S. It was a rainy evening, and there were multiple leaks in the bathroom ceiling! The dining room was nice and clean (and dry!), though.

[Amanda]

Maybe their dinner business will pick up. There were quite a few people there when we went for lunch. It wasn't full or anything, but they definitely had a fair amount of folks in there enjoying the food. I admit I was pleased with it. It's great to have a fairly decent Indian food option within walking distance of the workplace.

Best regards,

Amanda

[Laksa]

Amanda, on Jun 10 2007, 04:47 PM, said:

Maybe their dinner business will pick up. There were quite a few people there when we went for lunch. It wasn't full or anything, but they definitely had a fair amount of folks in there enjoying the food. I admit I was pleased with it. It's great to have a fairly decent Indian food option within walking distance of the workplace.

Best regards,

Amanda

It's great to have a fairly decent Indian food option period!

[Twitch]

I have a naive question: do most Indian restaurants that offer a lunch buffet also have everything already prepared in back come dinner time? I've been to restaurants without lunch buffets that make everything to order, and a couple of restaurants that were buffets at both lunch and dinner, but none that were buffet at lunch and full service dinner.

[ExtraMSG]

I think most of the Portland Indian restaurants are buffet at lunch and ala carte at dinner. Obviously curries and such will be made ahead. Hopefully pakoras, tandoor items, naan, dosas, etc, will be made to order.

[Angelhair]

Sounds like a fine opportunity to resurrect the Curry Club. Lunch anyone?

[vj]

Angelhair, on Jun 11 2007, 11:12 AM, said:

Sounds like a fine opportunity to resurrect the Curry Club. Lunch anyone?

I'd love to!

[Kristi]

On a bit of a tangent, I was wondering if we've ever done a group dinner at an Indian restaurant? I'm not very farmiliar with Indian food and would love to try it with a group of people who have more experience with it than I do.

[Amanda]

We've done lunch as a group, but I can't recall us doing Indian food for dinner. The restaurant choices haven't really been that thrilling, that may be why. Maybe we could do a dinner at Tandoor since they seem to be low on dinner biz and they could surely accommodate us, spacewise, I imagine.

Best regards,

Amanda

[ExtraMSG]

I've tried to get an Indian food outing together for a monthly dinner before without luck. Had offers to do something special, too.

[Kristi]

ExtraMSG, on Jun 11 2007, 03:23 PM, said:

I've tried to get an Indian food outing together for a monthly dinner before without luck. Had offers to do something special, too.

I'd be interested, even if it was a smaller group thing.

[Flynn]

I'd be down for that.

[concreteoatmeal]

is this a closed invitation or can we shamlessly invite ourselves?*cough*

[RR & SP]

Hi All,

You are Welcome.

Decide on the day/ time and number of people would like to come. [We can seat 42 people. ] Also if you would prefer to have Beer or Wine, let me know two days in advance, so that I can apply for the temporary permit. [The OLCC process for permanent liquor permit is taking longer than we expected.]

If you have any favorite dishes, I would like ato know and we can have them for tasting for your friends, who are new to Indian food.

Thank You
RR
www.portlandtandoor.com
503 243 7777

[chris pez]

wow. with this kind of hospitality i think that'd we'd be totally game for it too!

[kaetum]

I work in the boonies (well not really it is just too far from downtown) so can't get there for lunch. I would be game for a group dinner though. Only time I can't do it is Wednesdays and from June 26th to 28th.

Always hoping for a good Indian restaurant in Portland.

[Calabrese]

I work in the burbs but a weekend night dinner would work for me.