Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro — Restaurant in Mississauga

My dining experience at Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro was mostly positive, but there were a few negatives.

Our food was pretty okay; we ordered Crispy Chili Gobi, Veggie Sampler, Chili Momoes, Paneer Tawa Masala, Malai Kofta, Dal Makhani, and a couple of different kinds of Naans. The Crispy Chili Gobi was the star of the show as it was crispy to the max, and tasted so fresh and delicious (it was basically Gobi Manchurian with a different name). The Veggie Sampler was also pretty good. It consisted of potatoes, soya chunks, Paneer, mushrooms, and bell peppers. The potatoes were nicely flavored on the outside, but the inner potato was far too bland, and the soya chunks were average when they were warm, and worse as they cooled down. While the texture of the Chili Momoes was on par, the taste did not give off Chili, despite its name. Our Naans (I do not remember exactly which kinds we ordered) were not rubbery or stale, like some other Indian restaurants around here.The Paneer Tawa Masala was not that great, and the Malai Kofta was creamy but not too special either. Our absolute least favorite dish of the night was the Dal Makhani, which was flavorless, and simply unappetizing.

I simply loved the look and feel of the restaurant, inside out, however there was live music that night which was so extremely loud that we could not hear ourselves speak. I always love live music, and the singer was singing well, but the intensity of the volume made it sound like a cacophony. The bathrooms are outside the restaurant space, in what looked like a business building, and there was a password, which was highly strange. I am unsure if the restaurants staff can change this, and I honestly wasn't too unhappy about it, but it did get a little irritating at times having to enter a password for the restroom when, say, you had to urgently use it or your hands were dirty. One last con was that the WiFi password was not working, no matter how many times I retried, and even tried switching the WiFi and phone off. For a restaurant of such a fancy look, I am surprised such a simple thing was not even working properly. Despite all these negatives, the restaurant (cutlery, tables/chairs, utensils, bathrooms) was overall clean. Tamarind's prices are a little higher, and for the quality of the food, it does not make too much sense. The portion sizes are all good, however, except for the Veggie Sampler, which consisted of around 8-10 pieces for approximately twenty five dollars!

If you are into Indian food that is not too authentic, and a little bland at times, then Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro is for you! I cannot lie, I really love the thought put into this restaurant, and yes, I agree that there were many good things about it, but at the same time, some changes need to immediately be made. I would not mind revisiting to try some other options on the menu, but all in all, this wouldn't be my first choice for an...

I never leave Google reviews, but this experience was so underwhelming that I couldn’t stay quiet.

I visited Tamarind Bistro on May 2nd around 3pm. I had high hopes because I used to love the restaurant that was here before The Host which served absolutely delicious food. Unfortunately, Tamarind Bistro doesn’t even come close. They claim to be “fine dining,” but honestly, that’s a joke. If this is fine dining, then instant noodles must be gourmet cuisine.

The service was one of the worst parts. The waitress (a woman working at that time) didn’t smile, barely spoke, and acted like she didn’t want to be there. I felt like I was being served by a robot. When I asked how big the portion was, she shrugged and said, “How hungry are you?”, not even a basic estimate like “enough for two.” I had to wave her down every time we needed water, the bill, or boxes, while she stood at the front doing nothing. The only time she seemed remotely happy was when I tipped her, like that’s all she cared about.

The food was just as disappointing. I ordered a lamb curry that barely tasted like meat it had a weird texture and no real flavor. All the curries looked exactly the same: oily, reddish-orange, and practically indistinguishable. Everything was overly greasy and lacked any depth. Even the naan was soggy and heavy instead of warm and fresh.

The restaurant itself felt outdated and worn down. They try to market it as modern or upscale, but the place hasn’t seen a refresh in years. Tables were peeling, the leather on the chairs was cracking and flaking and honestly, calling it modern is like calling a flip phone futuristic. To make it worse, the manager or owner was talking loudly on speakerphone right in the dining area while we were trying to eat. Completely unprofessional.

I spent over $100 here and left feeling completely ripped off. In this economy, I would’ve been better off investing that money at least then I’d have something to show for it.

With so many glowing reviews, I thought I was in for something special. Instead, I left feeling like I wasted my time, money, and appetite. Please save yourself the disappointment. There are far better and more authentic Indian restaurants out there, especially local family-run ones that actually care about food and service.

At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if this place goes out of business soon and honestly, that might be for the best. Maybe then we’ll get a place that actually...

I always wanted to try out Tamarind Modern Indian Bistro as it was on my wish list for a while and I finally got a chance to visit this restaurant with my family.

Upon arrival, we were offered the front table which was pretty close to the live music band performing here. The singer had a great voice and sang some Bollywood songs beautifully. The music was a bit loud as we couldn’t talk and hear properly but that was fine.

The ambience was okay but there wasn’t much light inside. It was kind of dim. A bit more light would have enhanced the atmosphere.

Soon one of the servers arrived to take our order and we ordered Panipuri Shots & Crispy Chilli Gobi for appetizers.

The presentation of the Panipuri Shots was mind blowing. They were served on a cart with liquid nitrogen fuming out. The panipuri tasted good with the water which was tangy.

The Crispy Chilli Gobi was quite crispy and okay but I’ve had it better elsewhere.

We then ordered Paneer Tawa Masala, Dal Makhani, Vegetable Dum Ki Biryani & Bread Basket that included Naan, Roti, Laccha parantha & Onion kulcha.

I asked for some onions on the side and they served us the masala laccha onions that was priced high for $7. There was nothing fancy about the masala onions.

The Paneer Tawa Masala was delicious and exceeded my expectations. The masala was rich and very well balanced. However, it was pricey. The Dal Makhani was amazing and had the right consistency.

The breads in the Bread Basket were hot, crispy and flavourful. The only thing with the breads was that it was hard to identify the type of breads in the dim light.

The Vegetable Dum Ki Biryani was excellent and scrumptious. The biryani had a very good balance of the vegetables and spices and was quite authentic. Loved it! The Raita along with the biryani had cumin in it which was kind of different than what I’ve had before but tasted fine.

In the end, we ordered fresh lime soda (sweet and salty) which was served in a nice glass but it had a bit of mint purée mixed in it which overpowered the drink. The fizz and the lemon flavour were missing.

We had a great evening at this restaurant as the experience and food was fantastic. I would definitely recommend trying it out if someone hasn’t been...