Launceston Tandoori Indian takeaway & restaurant — Restaurant in England

Came here today as I had yet to try this new (new to me) restaurant in town, looks nice and clean with plenty of room for patrons to eat in. I did not hear music playing which is why the atmosphere is st 4 stars.

Ordered the Afghani Lamb with a tikka starter with other standard accompaniments; rice, naan, pickles etc. Came with some popadom, i suppose because it was over a certain amount of money, a welcomed addition.

The naan was nicely toasted in the tandoor, a lot thicker than I was anticipating which at first I was surprised by, but then I remembered I like bread so what's the fuss about. I would have liked to have seen 2 naan to a portion with the amount of dough used as its a little stodgy, but bread is bread. I ordered garlic naan and I could see the pieces, but there was minimal flavour to them. Perhaps they use pickled garlic or cooked ones. Fresh garlic would provide more of a zing. A garnish of coriander would've been welcomed also

The rice was well cooked and tender, but the occasional coloured grain wasn't appreciated. It confuses me as to why one would put food colouring in what is an already vibrantly colourful cuisine. I may be alone on this, but I try to avoid foods that look radioactive with how coloured they have been (not to imply this restaurant does so). An example i see too often is Raita. It looks refreshing in its natural colours, but avoidable when dyed to neon green. After proofreading back through this, I tried the Raita given to me and it tastes great and looks slightly mustard. Better than neon for sure.

The starter was very flavourful, but the seekh kebab was a little too ground for my preference. It was similar to foam, when a fine mince was expected. Still tasted nice but texturally was a little uncomfortable. Perhaps this is how its traditionally done, but I was anticipating more of a köfte feel.

Finally, the Afghan Lamb. It smelled very peppery, almost a kashmir or aleppo scent which was what I was hoping for. It had a deep red, almost charred look to it. The look and smell enticed me to have a bite, but I was met with a very sweet, almost fruity flavour. It was not at all what I was looking for when trying this new dish. I could taste a bit of freshness from green herbs, as well as some typical Indian flavours such as onion, garlic and maybe some cumin, but the sweetness of the dish was overpowering the other flavours and became difficult to determine each ingredient after each bite. Theres a nice heat throughout, The meat was tender but teetering on chewy. To combat the flavour profile, I had an Asahi, a super dry beer which paired nicely to balance the sweetness of the dish.

I had bought this main with hopes of experiencing a fusion of arab and Indian cuisine, but was met with something i would expect to see in a Chinese takeaway. I pigged out and spent £30, but anyone with a reasonably sized stomach, or eyes proportionate to their stomach, would be full on half that price. Despite my dissapointment with the Afghani Lamb, I will absolutely try this place again. Perhaps next time I will call in and ask for recommendations rather than leaving it to chance and my own research. After all, every chef has their different methods and styles.

My only suggestions would be to make the Afghani Lamb more like what one would expect from Arab food, use fresh garlic for the garlic naan for the added garlic kick and down it down a bit with the oil as that is my only regret when...

Fantastic curry! I had the lamb tikka and the sauce was stunning. I usually like a very sweet masala but this was slightly less sweet but way more rich in flavour! The lamb was tender and not chewy. The staff are friendly and clearly passionate about offering the best service and ensuring you have the best experience. It’s a knew establishment so I understand some may be reluctant to try but i would really recommend you do. Best curry I’ve had in a while!

BYOB - currently this restaurant does not have a liquor license so you can bring your own drink . (Soft drinks available)

Parking is a short walk from the restaurant.

One unisex toilet with some disability aids.

Currently do not take card payments but are soon...

I ordered from Launceston Tandoori and was told my food would arrive at 6:00pm. It didn’t turn up until 7:10pm. I had to phone the restaurant around 8 times chasing it up, and every time they told me it was “7 minutes away” – clearly not true.

To make things worse, at 7:00pm the delivery driver called and asked me to walk and meet him 10 minutes away from my address! By the time I finally got the food, it was cold.

I contacted the restaurant to ask for a refund given the delay and poor service, but they refused. Absolutely appalling customer service and I won’t be ordering...