cali tandoor — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The FOOD, oh the food! 😍

Had a turnaround trip to the LA area for a client. Afterwards, I needed to grab lunch (and blow quite a few hours before my flight home). Since our move to Alpharetta, I've missed really good Indian food. So I did a quick search and found Cali Tandoor.

I arrived close to an hour before their dinner switch-over closing. As such, I had the place to myself (though a number of to-go orders were picked up).

Chatted with the manager (?) a little and ordered a favorite: Chicken Tikka Masala, Basmati Rice, Naan, Samosa and a Mango Lassi. They serve light, crispy papadum with chutneys (a lightly spicy mint one and a sweet + tangy tamarind one) while you wait.

Literally everything was amazing! I knew I'd ordered too much, but it was fine as I figured I'd save it for dinner.

Tikka Masala sauce was soo rich and delicious, with big chunks of chicken. Basmati was fragrant and perfectly fluffy. The Lassi was cold, creamy and satisfying. The naan was dreamy! Puffy, golden, and with a light sheen of butter.

I wanted to cry happiness tears! 😂 I also wanted to order my OTHER favorites (saag paneer, lamb vindaloo, biryani)! Sadly, I only have one stomach AND I don't think I can take all that on my plane! 😅

They were also so kind while I was there! Checked in on me, gave recommendations on where to walk around, and even told me to return just to hang out while I waited for my flight. Good people!

My home neighborhood (Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Duluth) is awesome, super diverse and definitely has Indian restaurants. But I have yet to find "the one". Until then, I'll just dream about Cali Tandoor...and remind my client that I am HAPPY to fly back out...

My nose led me to this place. New to LA and was exploring Culver City for the first time. I got a whiff of something mouthwatering. Following the rich aromas, I came across a rainbow - stopped to admire it and as fate would have it, one end of the 🌈 ended at this little strip mall (seriously!). There are several restaurants here, so I sniffed around to discover the source and landed at Cali Tandoor. Staff couldn’t have been more friendly and helpful with guiding me through how much to order and how to eat Punjabi style. Very family friendly establishment - noticed multiple families small and large, as well as solo diners like myself and couples/duos. I ordered my go-to: Chicken Tikka Masala with rice & garlic naan. Every single bite was better than the one before. Perfect amount of spice, flavors absolutely divine. Like the dancing in my seat kind of delicious. The naan was fresh and appropriately seasoned, light & fluffy with a hint of crispy edges. I’ve never been one to brag about rice as it’s usually an afterthought to be smothered in sauce, but this rice was a perfect compliment to the chicken. I wanted to chug the spicy chutney it was so good! My meal would have been plenty for 2 to share. I took home leftovers and it was just as delicious reheated the next day. I am still thinking about this meal days later and will definitely be returning soon to try everything else. It is obvious that a great deal of care goes into preparing the food and providing sincere hospitality to their guests. Just a note: this establishment does not serve alcohol, offering a small selection of sodas, teas and mango lassi. There is a small parking lot shared with the other restaurants...

I was in Culver City, Los Angeles, and was feeling really hungry, so I decided to search for a restaurant nearby. I found one on the map and decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, the experience wasn’t great the food was not at all good, and I didn’t enjoy it at all.

When I arrived, I asked the person at the front what their special dish was, and he recommended the karahi goat with garlic naan. I agreed right away and placed my order.

When the food arrived, the naan was hard to eat, burnt at the corners, and extremely tough. The goat curry wasn’t cooked well either it seemed like they had used frozen meat that was simply reheated, and it was still hard to chew. The curry itself tasted just okay. I was really disappointed, but since I was already there and quite hungry, I ended up eating what I could.

Later, the staff offered me plain rice. I asked if it was complimentary because, at many similar restaurants, rice is typically served with curry. He told me it was around $3 I told him ok However, when I went to pay my bill, I was surprised to see I had been charged $6 for the rice. Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if he had just informed me upfront it’s not about the money, but about transparency.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy the food, and the service was just okay. I’d rate the service 3 stars and the food 1 star. I was only able to finish my meal because I was starving otherwise, I would have left. I’m definitely not...