Tandoor Indian

3 out of 5 stars

As far as my exploration so far as shown me, you have to leave Raleigh altogether (Morrisville or Cary being the ideal destination) to find some decent Indian food. Hubs lured me along on this trip to Chapel Hill, the same way he convinces me to go anywhere, with the promise of food if I come with.

We stopped at Tandoor based on a generally good Urbanspoon at about 1:30pm. I got good vibes as we entered because we realized that it’s in a basement. Don’t often the potentially dankest surroundings breed suprisingly good food? Well this place actually has cute decor.

For lunch today Tandoor had no menu to order from, the only option was the buffet. A buffet is always a bad way to judge a restaurant, since it is usually lackluster and lukewarm. The buffet here was not too bad, nor especially good. Options included a tasty tikka masala with firm, nicely marinated chunks of chicken, naan, dal, cabbage strips, tandoori chicken chunks (hubs said they were not good), zucchini chicken, and 2 or 3 other items. The naan was plain and not crispy chewy but just dry. One of the better items was the saag (creamed spinach and chickpeas) although all of dishes seemed to be completely devoid of spiciness. The buffet also included salad, chutney, and a few other fresh-looking condiments. I did enjoy trying the desserts. Kheer was a tasty version of tapioca pudding, and the other dessert was what my google searching leads me to think was gulab jamun. A donut hole like thing soaked in a cold sweet sauce.

Compared to my previous Indian experiences in Raleigh, this one is superior for the following reasons: service was existant and efficient, food was plentiful, warm, and “good enough” and the buffet was around $22 for the two of us including a beer and a beverage. I would like to come back when I could order off the menu and get something that wasn’t so bland, as I guess buffets normally tend to be.

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