Tandoori Flame & Indian Grill — Restaurant in Seattle

So great to see a full-service Indian restaurant enter the mix on 15th Ave. This new business deserves to thrive. They have an extensive menu with some surprises compared with other Indian restaurants and solid follow through preparing dishes.

So far we’ve tried samosas, pakora, butter naan, chicken tikka (mild), palak masala with tofu (mild), Madras special (4/5 spice), and Karahi special (4/5 spice)— all deliciously nuanced and spiced perfectly.

I think Tandoori Flame’s biggest hurdle is getting the word out. Maybe offer a permanent discount to hospital workers. Let people know who is running the place with a more detailed bio, and reach out to the neighborhood blog, Capitol Hill Seattle, to ask if they’ll do a profile. Consider a small ad campaign there, as well. Goes without saying consistency is critical. No one likes to see a downhill report on a local establishment.

Aside from their solid menu and prep, what’s great about Tandoori Flame is that it fills a need, the nearest restaurant like it (although with a distinctive regional menu of its own) is far enough away to not be a threat, and it is a perfect complement to the other cuisines...

Called in a to-go order not realizing that they weren’t even officially open yet. Apparently tomorrow is their hard open. Food only took 15 minutes. After picking up the food, I got a call from them saying they forgot one of my appetizers. I hadn’t even realized it yet, and luckily I only live a couple blocks away. They hooked me up with a drink and dessert for having to go back. Super cool of them! The food was FANTASTIC. Like really, really good. We had the chicken coconut curry, lamb butter masala, garlic basil naan, spinach paneer naan, and samosas (as well as the complimentary dessert and mango lassi!) Large portions, great flavor, and really good pricing as well. Kudos for the service. Hospitality is hard to find in Seattle! I love that this place is around the corner, and I really want this...

We tried a bunch of dishes here and the majority of them were atrocious. The highlight was aloo bhindi (okra + potato). Here are the things we ordered:

Tandoori chicken - too dry, overcooked, under-salted Chicken Hariyali - overcooked, dry and not a lot of spice/flavor Samosa chat - It was pretty good Karahi chicken - stringy chicken, nondescript curry Chili fish - tilapia was tender and juicy. We liked this. Butter naan, garlic naan - not great, two of us got gravel/stones in the naan. Quite painful to bite into a grain of sand/stone. This has only ever happened to me in India and is pretty annoying/painful. Not sure where they get their flour. Aloo Bhindi - This was the best dish of the evening.

It ended up cost $45+/person ($140 for 3 people). I wouldn't recommend this...