Tandoor Palace

by Derick F.

Unexceptional but decent Indian food, in a basic but comfortable setting.  The raita had a bit too much cumin for my taste.  Lamb in the rogan josh was a bit overcooked, like it had been simmering a bit too long (I went on a quiet Weds. night).

by S S.

This one is for you Katrina!Bombay Bread, Bombay bread , bombay bread!! ok and shrimp curry. The wait staff is the most unpredictable and bizzare i have ever seen. But for a cheap food, noone does indian better than tandoor , in albany, ny!!!

by Ticia G.

this is the indian restaurant we go to most often in albany but, as i have said before - location is key. (i like the shalimar much better)the food here is pretty good but not droolish. for some bizarre reason they put raisens in their chicken koorma. shudder. the first time i bit down (took a Huge bite as i adore koorma of any kind) and encountered the squishy nastiness instead of delicious crunchy almonds or cashews, my mouth dropped open, i had forgotten that i was supposed to chew and was fighting to not spit it out and raise my hands and demand in outrage 'what the heck did you put in my koorma!!!' and shoving my hand out with the anomaly in my palm.the samosa's are good but always a bit greasy.  the service has always been pretty quick and friendly for us. but most of the time it is someone new, they have a quick turnover. (story - last year there was this young new server and he was trying to figure out the tax on our bill by using the calculator. he couldn't do it. and his reason was - he was new and didn't know how to use it. it was all i could do to not snort and ask 'oh really? did they just make you then?')back to the food - without the raisens, the koorma is good, the tikka masala is good, tonight addie had the tandoori chicken (it was sizzling which was exciting - the guy across from us asked loudly 'what is That? fajita's? once again i was forced to swallow a snort.) but the naan was under done and the samosa's were Really greasy. i got the daal and it was mostly tasteless which was a Huge disappointment, it is one of my favorite dishes to make at home and i love the spices.and yes, it is a bit pricey for the area (did i mention the location factor?) but we will go back. unless i can convince them to go to the Shalimar.

by Kathleen M.

I have had mixed experiences here, but last night, it was very satisfying. We started off with hookah, which to my knowledge is the only place in the downtown area you can hookah at. Pretty great, if you ask me. They have a decent list of flavors to explore and you can mix if you want. We mixed blueberry and molasses and it was pretty slamming.What wasn't so slamming were the cosmos...I ordered a pomegranate and my date had a blueberry. His looked radioactive blue and mine was bright red...scary, almost. They were so sweet and ridiculously syrupy. I don't really know what happened there, but oh well. We tried to order naan, but they didn't have any! The tandoor was already off for the night and that is crazy if you ask me! No naan...?! So we opted for the spinach paratha instead and boy was I suddenly glad they had no naan. The paratha was wonderful. The inside was stuffed with creamy spinach and the outside was light and had a nice crunch to it. The flavor lacked some umph, but it didn't bother me. It was like a blank canvas that I could paint those wonderful sauces on! The sauces and chutneys are pretty top notch, by the way. The spicy onion chutney rules and the cilantro sauce is kick ass!We split the chicken qorma and it rocked my world. The sauce was very flavorful...and yeah, the cashews and almonds were subtle but they were there...and they really brought the dish together well. Overall, well done.We ended with a mango and pistachio kulfi. Sure, we ordered one kulfi and one kheer (creamy rice pudding!) and the waiter accidently brought out two kulfis, but we weren't too upset. They kulfi was good. Creamy and icey, but not too much of either. They don't sweeten it too much either, which was nice. The mango really stands out for itself and they don't dull it down with sugar. The pistachio was pretty banging...smooth and nutty.Overall, I was a pretty happy camper. Although the waiter was knowledgeable and nice, something always seems to go wrong... it didn't get in the way of the experience though. Maybe it was the hookah, maybe it was the perfect weather, maybe it was my sexy date...who really knows? All I know is hookah kicks ass and if it can be accompanied by some decent Indian, then word, I'm in.

by Mike W.

Mediocre to the extreme, but I'm still fond of this place.  Tandoor palace represents my first experience with Indian food and smoking hookah.  A bunch of us would chill out back while smoking and ordered a bunch of random dishes.  I really, really enjoyed this place, but I eventually tried other Indian food places and realized that this place was just "alright." However, it was my first, and holds a little place in my heart.  Service can be sketchy at times, but when smoking hookah outside you're rarely bothered by the fact that you're food has taken over 45 minutes to get to you.

by Meredith S.

Tandoor Palace's location makes it a convenient stop for dinner before a night out in the Lark St. area, but be prepared for it to take awhile.  I think the food here is great, they even take care to make good chutneys, especially the onion chutney, which actually has some zing, but the service can be torturous.  I keep going back, so I can't complain too much, but it's S-L-O-W and it's hard to get your waiters' attention much of the time.  If you're looking for a good meal though, their food always pleases and when it does come out, it's hot and made to order.   The Ka-Chori (an appetizer) has an interesting description, so a friend ordered it the first time we went here, and we've been hooked ever since!

by Jess X.

The food isn't bad - it's fine and it's not too pricey, but it's nothing great. I agree with the other reviewers that location is definitely best. The staff usually seems sort of annoyed when you come in, which is a little obnoxious.Unlike many of the other local Indian places, they serve liquor, which is part of the appeal. I'd prefer their wine list had more on it though than a few varieties of Yellowtail. However, I'm just glad they have an actual list now. Before, they had to just recite to me what they had in the way of harder drinks. I really only like going here when the weather is warm because then you can sit outside on the patio. Last summer they were serving a really delicious mango martini out there. There's also the added bonus of the hookah bar. I feel like this place could be really great with just a little work. I'd love to see a chef come in and do some modern updates on their classics, or maybe focus on featuring some local ingredients. Were that the case, given their location, I'd definitely be willing to pay a little more too.

by Lai-Yee Y.

Eh, it's good, but a bit pricier than the rest in the area. The lunch buffet is rather good (how can you say no to Tandoori chicken?) and has plenty of chutneys.They've started having hookahs you can rent and use outside on the patio, also!

by mimi x.

This is my least favorite of all the Indian restaurants in the area.  The wait staff always seems disgruntled, which is weird, because every other time i've gone, the hired help is new.The naan tastes like it was made from straightup pancake batter, their kheer has too much liquid and the pakoras are made only with fried potatoes.  The chutneys are good though, and the rest of the food is okay.