Punjabi Curry Cafe Collingwood — Restaurant in Melbourne

Panjabi Curry Cafe is a local favourite in Collingwood. While they have been trading for over 10 years, this was my first time visiting. They have a spacious dining area, with lots of natural light. Up the back they have a bar and an open tandoor.

We started off with some crispy papadams, with a sweet tamarind chutney and raita.

For mains, we enjoyed Punjabi Kadai Prawn. A generous school of prawns, in a scrumptious capsicum, tomato and ginger curry. It had a nice spicy kick to it as well. While the dish looked small, it was quite filling. On the side, some fragrant saffron rice was on hand to soak up all the curry.

Lamb cutlets were next to arrive. These were marinated in yoghurt and spiced, then cooked in the traditional tandoor. They arrived on a steaming hotplate, with grilled onions. The meat was tender and delicious. It was wrapped in foil, which was unsightly, it would be best to serve the dish without this.

Much of the restaurant’s best foods are cooked on a traditional Indian over, a Tandoor. It takes an hour every day to get it up to the optimal temperature. The naan bread is cooked in this oven and takes less than a minute to produce fluffy, warm bread.

I washed the food down with a refreshing Kingfisher Beer, all the way from India. With great service and even better food, Panjabi Curry Cafe is one of the best Indian restaurants...

Been coming to or taking away food from this restaurant for nearly 20 years. I must say that it has the best Tandoori food and breads I have found in Melbourne but recent visits have been a bit disappointing from the service point of view. Wait staff appear uninterested and bored and don't really appear to be happy in their job which does affect the overall experience. What particularly disappointed me recently was the refusal of the restaurant to split our bills when we booked a large group.I know it's a risk for restaurants letting people pay separately but on the other hand it's not really realistic to expect people to bring large amounts of cash with them in 2018 when people are increasingly reliant on cards and electronic transactions. There has to be a happy medium. Prices seem to have risen a fair bit too which again is possibly justifiable as business expenses rise but for the prices charged, the standard of service and general attitude of staff should be commensurate. it's coasting along at the moment but needs to ensure it does not drop the ball and go the way of so many other restaurants in...

Tried here via Uber Eats after disappointed by D'tandoor Restaurant Hawthorn. Malai kofta better in comparison. Right flavour & nice dumplings, good amount. I feel it's precooked & reheated as dumplings were on dryer side but I don't mind them that way. Sauce was nice, again maybe not freshly made. Most Currie's age better with a day max for authentic Restaurant style. Everything was okay, at least I know what to expect. Order was prepared very fast. **I advise not to use the delivery driver I think name Ahmad for Uber Eats. Driver stated he'd arrived when he hadn't, text me then didn't read my response. He drove up by car in front of me on side of road & expected me to take order thru his cracked window... Which I did since no options. Instructions to meet on steps are to make it easier to find. Don't start timer & say you've arrived & not communicate when customers reply. Starting timer earlier can cause issues for customers as we get the cancellation fee if we're late & it's stressful to find driver who...