Friday, January 30, 2009

Tandoori in Colonie

Update: I've been back to Tandoor twice recently for lunch. The buffet was excellent both times.

We had lunch about a week ago at a new Indian/Pakistani restaurant on Wolf Road. I'm pretty sure the name is Tandoori, though I can't find it on the web. It's next to Emperor's Palace, and in the same building that used to house Bangkok Thai.

They have a lunch buffet - I think it was $7.99. My wife is not big on Indian buffets, so she got Chicken Tikka Masala - her favorite dish.

The food was okay, but nothing special. I remember in particular that the sauce for the Tikka Masala was rather plain. I prefer a sauce with more character - creamier perhaps.

The buffet was fine. There was not much in the way of dessert. The selection of dishes was a little less than some other places, but not bad. When we arrived there seemed to be a shortage of Nan (Indian bread), but we got it eventually.

On the bright side, the restaurant was busy - a positive sign. Everyone seemed to like it so maybe my taste buds were off. And it passed another standard test -- there were people who appeared to be natives of India or Pakistan eating there. If they like it you gotta figure they know better than me. And I did like the mango lassi.

Based on my experience, I prefer two other places -- Sitar about 3 miles to the west, and Karavalli about 3 miles to the north.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wasn't thrilled with this place, either -- the food was rather bland and ho-hum, even with the spice level above tepid, and the service was subpar.

Anonymous said...

I'll be in the Albany area this weekend and I'm looking for a good sushi restaurant with some American dishes (my husbands hates sushi). Any recommendations?

Unknown said...

Search my blog for sushi, I guess. My favorite is Yoshi Sushi, followed closely by Miyako (which has a broader menu).

Unknown said...

I am a pakistani who has lived in the usa for the past 25 years, and I am an avid eater of international foods ranging from french to middle eastern to far eastern. As far as Tandoori is concerned, it is pretty authentic Pakistan cuisine. You can specify the spice level of every dish from 1 to 10. Their entries are far far from being bland and tepid. If you like authentic Pakistani food you should go to this place and tell the chef to prepare the food as he would for himself and not try to westernize it.

So it comes down to one thing, it you like westernized South Asian cuisine, stick with Sitar, Zaika, etc, however if you want Pakistani cuisine, try Latham Briyani and Tandoori restaurant.

Karavelli incidently has very authentic South Indian cuisine and thats what they are known for. Their northern Indian cuisine is once again westernized.