Tandoori Gardens, Anaheim

It was a Saturday night, and we needed a place for dinner.  Thanks to Yelp, I  came across this place that had above average, and even one of my friends gave it thumbs up and said he used a Groupon. Hey, I was down in trying a place that got decent reviews, and it didn’t hurt to save $10 getting a Groupon!

This place is located off Lincoln and Anaheim Blvd, near the Anaheim City Hall, just across the street from the Vons shopping center and Starbucks. Its down the street from the new Anaheim Packing Station, if that helps.  Plenty of parking in the back.  Upon walking in, we saw the tables occupied by customers of perhaps Indian ethnicity. For me, a good sign! It’s like going to a Chinese place and seeing asians inside.  We got to select any table, so I chose one near the TV, as they were showing a game of Cricket.

Service was a bit slow and we waited a bit to order.  I am sure we could have flagged someone but the restaurant wasn’t busy, so it was odd we had to wait.  I told the server we had a groupon, and he asked to look at it.  He marked it “used” and we ordered :
– Vegetable Samosas to start
– Chicken Tikka Masala and Tandoor Mahi as our entree
– And a full order of rice.  We normally order rice AND naan but always complain about eating too much carbs. We decided to skip the naan in exchange for dessert later.

Overall impression:

– The samosa was hearty and crispy, piping hot and not overly spicy. Great starter!

– The tikka masala was so creamy and yummy! Chicken was tender, wasn’t spicy and went perfectly over the rice. Perfect for those who are wimps when it comes to spice.


– Rice was fluffy and perfect. The full order was enough for 2, possibly 3 people. 

– The mahi was tender and had a great flavor, with 4 decent pieces. Not a dish if you want to be full. It is probably a dish which needs other dishes, like rice, vegetables or other sides to make it complete.

Dessert:
We had the kafti and chai (not pictured) for dessert, which it was a bit tiny, enough for 1 person.  It still hit the spot and went very well with the chai tea.  The chai came in a 3 oz cup, and was creamy but not peppery, which I was a bit disappointed, but had a nice vanilla like finish.


 
I’d come back again but service could be a tad better. For example, our server didn’t ask if we wanted dessert, and we had to ask for a refill on our water, but on the flip side, they did clear and wipe down our table after we were finished.  Overall an excellent visit which warrants them a 4 stars.  Our bill, before applying the Groupon, came to $40.

Tandoori Gardens is located at 30 S Anaheim Blvd in Anaheim, CA 92805