Tandoor — Restaurant in San Diego

I was staying across the street at the Doubletree Mission Valley and thought "Why not? It's an $8.99 Indian buffet dinner." I grab a Perrier from the fridge and pay for myself in advance. The friendly whiskered man (henceforth 'uncle') takes $11 and change, hands me a tray with a plate, and invites me to enjoy the buffet behind me.

On the right is chopped salad, riata, and chutneys (mint and tamarind). Next was the rice, samosa/pakoras, navrattan (veggie/cheese) korma and aloo gobi (curried potato). The main offerings were a fried paneer (cheese) curry, curried daal (lentil), tandoor (Indian BBQ) chicken, butter chicken, and gulab jamun (indian donut holes in honey/syrup). I took some samosas, rice, butter chicken, and daal.

When I was done with the samosas (ie quickly - I inhaled them!), one of the ladies behind the counter calls me and presents me with freshly baked naan bread! Oh, thank you, auntie! It's just what I wanted! My samosas were delicious with tamarind chutney.

I took a spoonful of daal. I enjoy the earthy texture of the lentils and savor the decently punchy flavor of the spices. None of the dishes are really more than a "medium," but there is still a nice presentation of flavors beyond the usual American restaurant standbys of "salt" and "greasy." The butter chicken is butter chicken, it's a reliable crowd-pleaser. No complaints. Both the daal and butter chicken were excellent when sopped up with naan bread.

I decide I need another round, this time adding some salad and grabbing a few pakoras. Uncle obliged my gluttony with a fresh plate.

I decided to spend the extra couple of bucks and buy kheer (indian rice pudding). Gulab Jamun is too sweet for me (although I didn't try his), and I love kheer. Uncle hooks me up. I feel better because uncle's acquaintance sitting behind me destroyed three plates of deliciousness.

The kheer was of the gods. Flavors of sweet milk and cardamom topped with cinnamon dusted crushed nuts together bring me joy.

I...

Hubs has been on the hunt for cherry-nut naan since he first tried it in San Fran 3 years ago. Tandoor was the only Indian place nearby that included it on the menu so we decided to give it a try for takeout. He also ordered the lamb naan and the chicken kabob. I asked for the veggie biryani made dairy free. When i mentioned the dairy the man on the phone said their naan had dairy but offered to make some for me that didnt have dairy and that was exciting!

The order was ready fairly quickly and I brought it back to the house. As soon as i opened the biryani I knew something wasn't right. First it was the wrong color - it was red and wet with tomato sauce Then i began moving it around and didn't find any nuts or raisins. There were peas, carrots and green beans. I was bummed. I immediately called the restaurant back and rather than fess up or own the error the man told me it was right. To my comment that it had no nuts, he said the almonds were ground up. Hmmm. OK. what about the raisins? He said "oh, you have to ask for them. I can do no raisins or raisins."

Ok well it would have been nice to ask me since the menu specifically states this item contains raisins! I couldn't confidently even eat it because i wasn't sure whatever he gave me was dairy free! Long story short: i know 100% he flat out gave me the wrong item. No two ways about it. That he didn't own up or offer any help besides driving back (i couldn't - i was at work) is why I am opting for 3 stars rather than 4. In my world, excellent customer service is valuable! Had the biryani been correct and assuming it was even halfway decent, this place would have easily been 4 stars. Hubby said the kebab was excellent and two naans were some of the best he has ever had. Oh, and my dairy free naan? No. Just no. Don't even bother i took one bite and threw it away. And then threw the whole to go box with whatever i was given away. Instead i justified having Oreos for dinner tonight. So i guess it wasn't a totally crappy...

I love this place it's close to where I live so I visit there once a month if not once a week. Their prices are Beyond excellent considering they are in Mission Valley as well as in San Diego. You can get a very filling or healthy meal for $5-10. Beer and wine is $2+. I asked for spicy, and it is actually spicy with a kick. The service is very nice and I would highly recommend this place. The only thing that I think is holding them back is a couple things. Atmosphere is one of them. It does look a little worn down they could use maybe a fresh paint and to upgrade the labels on their Coke machine. A splash of bright color on the walls or table cloths would be nice like tandoori hut in hillcrest. The other thing I would recommend that help a lot of Indian restaurants that I've noticed is better music. The music when I was in there was more somber and if they found a more contemporary upbeat Indian genre I think that would make a place more comfortable to sit in. Other than that have a nice little porch area where you can eat outside. I wish them all the best because I love their food and the people seem very nice. The five star rating is really for the food and people, not necessarily that they have the whole package because I think they could improve on...