India's Tandoori - Hollywood (Halal & Vegan) — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Last night, my friends and I were in Los Angeles and feeling super hungry. Since India’s Tandoori Hollywood stays open late, we decided to eat there. I’ve been going to this place for yearsnot regularly, but occasionally because I like their food. A friend in LA introduced me to this restaurant a long time ago, and we’ve been visiting ever since.

Since I was back in town, I asked my friend to get takeout from there one night, and he brought us chicken biryani and goat biryani. We enjoyed it, so the very next day, we decided to dine in. I called the restaurant to ask about their goat and lamb biryanis. I specifically asked if they had Goat Dum Biryani or Goat Fry Piece Biryani and requested some details. The guy on the phone rudely responded, “If you want to know about the menu, check it out. We cannot explain.” I was shocked—I’ve traveled all over the world and am a big foodie, but I’ve never experienced such rudeness. He even hung up the phone on me.

Since it was late at night and my friends and I were starving, we still decided to go. We were in a rush, heading to a party, so we quickly arrived, washed our hands, and sat down. When the waiter came to take our order, I asked him to recommend the best appetizer and the best goat or lamb curry. Instead of suggesting something, he just said, “Everything is best here.” I told him, “That’s fine, but surely there’s something that’s a house special or a customer favorite.” His response was shocking: “If you want to eat, eat. Otherwise, we don’t care.” I was surprised I’ve never been treated like this in any restaurant.

I then approached the cashier to ask what was going on, explaining that this was not how customers should be treated. In the hospitality industry, staff need to be polite and welcoming, not rude. The cashier was at least calmer and didn’t argue much, so I decided to go ahead and order. However, the waiter kept arguing about the same thing repeatedly. I told him, “Forget it, just take my order.”

I ordered Goat Tikka Masala (spicy) and garlic naan. When I asked if they could add cheese to the naan, he rudely said, “We don’t add cheese to garlic naan.” I replied with a smile, “That’s okay, you can add it if it’s extra—I’ll pay for it.” Then, we also ordered biryani. Even after placing the order, he kept going on about the same argument. I told him, “Brother, let it go. Just bring the food, we’ll enjoy and leave.”

Out of nowhere, he started shouting, and I got irritated. I asked him, “What’s going on? Do you want me to stay, eat, and leave, or should I just go?” He rudely said, “I don’t care. You can leave. I’ll cancel your order.” I was shocked. There are plenty of restaurants in LA, so there’s no need to put up with this kind of service. It’s not like he was giving me food for free. In the hospitality industry, service is key—if you’re not nice to your customers, no one will show up.

That’s probably why this place is always empty whenever we visit. Even my friends have mentioned that the service here is terrible. The management seriously needs to...

Disappointing Dining Experience

The only redeeming quality of this restaurant is the ambience, which, admittedly, is quite pleasant. However, that’s where the positives end.

If you’re looking for good service, you won’t find it here. The staff greets you politely enough but then seems to lose interest in providing basic amenities. When we arrived, we were casually told to sit wherever we wanted. No napkins or utensils were provided at the table, which was a surprising oversight.

After realizing our initial seating choice wasn’t comfortable, we asked for a change. The staff took their time, arriving five minutes later only to instruct us again to sit wherever we wanted—this time, asking us to carry our plates and utensils with us.

The neglect in service continued with the complimentary papad they served, which appeared to be leftovers from the buffet. The sauces on the table were unappetizing, with remnants of melted or old papad mixed in, adding to the overall sense of uncleanliness.

As for the food, it was a major letdown. I ordered garlic naan, tandoori roti, shahi paneer, and chicken karahi. Despite the chef’s confidence in these dishes, the food quality was subpar. The chicken karahi was bland, consisting mostly of sautéed onions and tomato paste with no real flavor or spice. The shahi paneer was slightly better, but when we asked for more spice, the chef merely sprinkled some pepper and masala powder on top, which did nothing to improve the taste. The garlic naan was soggy and far from fresh, and the tandoori roti, which I specifically requested to be soft, was instead overcooked and crispy in a way that ruined the texture.

In summary, this is not authentic Indian food, and the experience was far from what I expected. I’m not sure if previous reviews praised the chandeliers or the food, but from my visit, it’s clear that the latter certainly doesn’t deserve...

Average ambiance. Polite behavior. Food is very below average. We ordered the Garlic Naan which was very dry and dense. The Goat Biriyani was very unlike a biriyani. It was basically red colored rice with very few pieces of meat. The worst part was that we ordered Chicken Pasanda and the dish was green (a Pasanda is closer to a korma and is never green). I'm Indian and I have eaten pasanda several times before. When we pointed this out the manager said that "a Pasanda is always green". He doubled down on his inaccurate description of the dish and claimed that the dish was "mild" and would correct it. We didn't understand the rationale behind his explanation but decided to wait for the correct dish to arrive. The dish that came was a complete disaster. It looked artificially green and very unappetizing. The chicken pieces had been hammered and they were green outside (photos attached) and the green seemed very much from food color. The taste was bitter and we didn't have more than a spoonful. We decided to let it go since it was New Year's eve and we didn't want to cause any trouble and spoil our mood. The worst however was when we saw that 18 percent service charge had already been added to our bill. We were a party of two. There was no mention of an automatic service charge anywhere in the restaurant that was conspicuous at least. I would definitely not be returning and it annoys me that THIS is the representation of Indian food these people are selling....