Tandoor Tavern — Restaurant in Woodstock

Tandoor Tavern: A Good Start with Room for Improvement in Dine-In Service

First off, this part of Cobb County has needed an Indian restaurant for some time, so seeing Tandoor Tavern pop up was a welcome change.

We decided to dine in on a Thursday evening, and it was not busy at all. We were greeted as soon as we walked in and seated with menus. The ambiance is that of a neighborhood joint—nothing fancy or upscale but still clean, well-lit, and equipped with comfortable booths.

The first thing we noticed was that the appetizer prices seemed a bit inflated. For example, the Chicken 65 was priced at $16, which surprised us, as we’re used to seeing this staple item priced around $10 at other well-known Indian restaurants in and around Atlanta. Perhaps the higher prices are intended to compensate for lost tips on takeout orders, but in that case, there should be a separate dine-in menu reflecting this difference.

We also ordered the Bullet Naan, Paneer Butter Masala with Jeera Rice, a Mango Lassi, and a Coke Zero.

As for the food, everything tasted great, and we would definitely eat here again.

That being said, our main issue was with the service. While the servers were friendly and made us feel welcome, the operation felt uncoordinated between the front of house and the kitchen. The first items to arrive were the Paneer Butter Masala and the naan—without the jeera rice. At this point, we also hadn’t received our drinks. We had to flag down our server for the rice about five minutes into our meal, and it eventually came out. The Chicken 65, which was supposed to be an appetizer, was served directly by the cook once we were nearly done with the naan and paneer, which felt odd. They apologized for the delay, but the dish was missing its garnish. The cook returned a few minutes later to add it, squeezing a lemon over the Chicken 65 while we had already started eating it. The drinks also arrived at an odd point in the middle of our meal, and we were never served water during our visit (even though we were asked about ice preferences when we sat down).

Despite these issues, the staff offered us complimentary papadam and delicious rasmalai for dessert, which was a nice touch.

Overall, I think Tandoor Tavern needs to spend more time training their staff to improve the dine-in experience. The staff members were all friendly and clearly hardworking, which is a great start, but the service needs to be more organized if they want to compete with other restaurants in the area.

Until these aspects improve, I recommend opting for takeout over dining in at...

Phenomenal food at a fair price.

I discovered this place two months ago and have already been about 4 times, that's how delicious it is - and you just know it's gonna be good because as soon as you walk in the door and those smells hit you, you'll want to try everything on the menu. Thank you to the owners, cooks, and service staff; I love Indian food and am so glad I gave this place a chance. It's quickly become one of my favorites.

PROs: Portion sizes are quite large. If you pay $16 for an entree, they give you $16 worth of food, no skimping. Never waited longer than 30 minutes. Granted, I've never dined in (I always do pickup) but I've had waits as short as 15 min and as long as 30. I think that's pretty fair given the amount of stuff I ordered. Roti and naan are massive. Think more like a wall clock than a mini tortilla (the latter being what I'm usually served at Indian places). Staff's always polite. Like I said, I don't do too much interacting because I'm only picking up but of the people manning the front desk and answering the phone, they've all be nice and helpful.

CON The only food I've disliked so far was the roti as it was quite a bit burnt (hey, I know some people like it like that). I only got it once, and have since switched to the naan without issue.

FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS: For those who want to try it but don't know where to begin!

Boneless chicken biryani is very good, very fragrant. The chicken is *under the rice, so if you want a saucier experience you'll have to stir everything well. If you prefer to eat the rice and chicken like separate things, you're all set. i recommend trying this mild before moving on to spicy. I get this as an entree. Chicken 65 is my favorite menu item. I order it without the cilantro garnish. It's crispy, well-flavored, and they give you plenty. Plus it's a beautiful red color; it looks as appetizing as it tastes. I get this as a side/shareable. The "gravy-based" dishes are great, too. We've had the chicken vindaloo and paneer butter masala and both were excellent. We especially liked the paneer: very soft, rich, and creamy. Get these as entrees. Roti and naan are large. For a single diner, one is probably enough (but they're good enough that you'll want 1+). Be careful with the bullet naan as it is very spicy! Otherwise, butter naan and roti are very mild and great for dipping/sopping. I get...

We were so excited to see an Indian restaurant opening near us because it feels like the cuisine is underrepresented in this area. When you walk in, you immediately smell some incredible spices, which was a great first sign. The decor isn’t anything special, but very comparable to other restaurants nearby. It was clean, welcoming, and the booths and tables are spaced nicely. The booths are also extra large which is nice if you have 5-6 people in your party.

We had the Aloo Samosas, a Mango Lassi, Garlic naan, Goat Rogan Gosh, and Malai Kofta (the two entrees both came with Jeera rice). The food was FANTASTIC. Everything was very flavorful with good sized portions. The presentation was also very nice.

My only two issues were: 1) Many of the appetizers were priced like an entree at $17-18. The samosas were $7. It came with two, each about the size of my fist, and had two dipping sauces. That was more in line with what I expected from an appetizer for price and serving size. 2) Our 2nd server. The first server was very sweet and attentive. At some point there was a switch in servers. Maybe due to a shift change, etc. When she brought us the bill, the 2nd server was rather pushy about leaving a review. It almost felt like she wanted me to leave the review while she was standing there. As we were leaving she reminded me yet again to leave a review. I completely understand the need to build up reviews for a new business, but it was a little off-putting.

Those two issues aside, we will absolutely be back. The rest of the service was great and the food was...