Flavours of Tandoor — Restaurant in England

We went in for dinner as a family of 4 which included 2 young children. This review covers our experience - tonight.

The positives - the place is well located, plenty of free parking and has been recently done up. So it made a good first impression. Note that the front door has a sign that warns that children are not allowed in after 9pm. The business already has a social media presence, so we had an idea of the menu and what to expect in terms of dishes.

The negatives - we went on a Friday night and noticed that the place was half empty (not a good sign). Our starter orders were promptly taken but even the jug of water took a solid 35 minutes to arrive (took a reminder). The starter portions of the fish were smaller than expected, but reasonably tasty. Green chicken (green is the way?) had decent portions but smelt funny. The mango lassis were a bit too thick and the recipe needs some work. The paneer wrap was under seasoned and was wrapped in tandoori roti. Our children refused to eat it. It's usually their favourite choice of dish. The dahi chaat went down well.

For mains, we ordered veg biryani since we were told it would come quicker - which it did 😊 And it was steaming hot - so far so good. However, the dish and the accompanying sauce was underwhelming. Our kids again refused to eat something they usually don't mind.

Oh and did I tell you that this newly decorated place had a malfunctioning ladies toilet (already?).

We left with our kids half fed and the adults dissatisfied.

Our verdict - the server staff were attentive and helpful, the price a bit higher for value. And the place is well decorated. So likely good for a drink with friends. But NOT so for a family meal. Our best wishes to...

Had dinner there last week. The setting is great and the furnishings are high-end. But not quite 4* as an overall dinner experience.

For my wife and I, we would recommend some improvements as follows:

We like spicy food. Please add an image indicating how hot the dish is (chilli image) and also maybe add a sambal to your menu which can be used to spice up any dish. The food itself was very tasty but without the kick we like to have £14.95 for a main is steep in this community. Additionally portion size is on small size comparatively. Elsewhere we would order similar number of dishes and have doggy bag to take home. Not here though The menu range is more limited than the competition and some UK favourites are missing The garlic and chilli naan was lovely and tasty but not spicy at all The food was served warm but not hot. Also cooled quickly as there were no table warmers under the dishes. This is a usual service at other restaurants nearby. They have improved the look of the pub massively but could do with adding more Indian inspired decorations or furniture similar to what you see in Bradford or Leeds. Pipe in Indian music at a low level as well

Sounds like I am knit picking... I am not. A few tweaks and they could be top 3-4 Indian restaurant in Reading. I hope they find a way as they are

Went there on a Friday evening and found it to be not so busy which was surprising..plenty of parking space outside and seating inside...no pretentious decorations but felt warm and comfortable...service was prompt...now the food - I had chicken tandoori and hariyali both very fresh and juicy..even the sauces seem to be prepared by the chef (and not store bought as in some restruants) which speaks volumes about the authenticity if the restaurant...only gripe is I had ask for the sauces while I expect them to be served along in the first place..

The lamb biryani and dhaba chicken were equally fresh...they lacked the punch that one would expect with the authentic recipe but you could say they were prepared with fresh ingredients and tried to stay true to the recipe, to the point that the chef used the boneless thigh meat instead of breast in the chicken curry...

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with the overall experience..being a local resident of lower earley I can confidently recommend to others locals and I will surely go back to try out the rest...