Tantric India Bistro

by Sarah W.

Aw, sadness for all the bad-mediocre reviews. I've been here twice now and have been very pleased both times.The food is always good. For something a little different in the salad region they have a five spice salad (or named something like that) that is very different and just to die for. Very yummy. Their naan has always been good and the curry always creamy. The decor, too, is fantastic and is just nice enough to make you feel like you're getting a bargain in such a great place! I don't, however, get the existence of the large flat screen. Service has been a little hit or miss too, but never terrible. Only gripes. I'm a pretty big fan of Tantric.

by Sean E.

So as far as last minute, fourth choice on the list, places to go to eat before a movie, Tantric was surprisingly good.  Food-wise, that is.  Everything else could use some help here.  Beginning with the people working the front and extending to the horrible drink menu.It's located in a fairly busy part of Boston -- in between Boston Common and the Theater District.  Around 5pm on a Saturday all the restaurants in the area were overflowing with people.  Except for poor Tantric, that is.  The place is much smaller than Rockbottom, Bennigans or PF Changs.  The vibe is much more mellow.  So I can understand the family folk wanting a more lively place -- with the football game on and a good selection of comfort food.  But if you're in the area and just looking for a good meal, Tantric can serve you up some decent Indian food in a comfortable yet almost elegantly designed space.Now there's more problems with this place than there should be.  The price on just about everything could go down a dollar or two.  They did seem to have an ok deal on some combination platters and the standards like vindaloo and tandoori -- which is what we got.  Being familiar with these dishes I was surprised that they actually didn't disappoint.  The vindaloo could have been spicier but both dishes had excellent flavor.The wine/beer/cocktail list is horrendous.  The wine selection is poor and the prices are marked up beyond belief.  The beer -- Harpoon IPA and Sierra Nevada were as far from your standard Bud and Bud light as they got -- and they were out of Sierra Nevada.  I guess if you're an Indian restaurant all you have to do is put Kingfisher on your list and shrug your shoulders.  Cocktails are all 10 dollars across the list.  I guess this has become common practice and who knows, they might have been worth the price but I wasn't looking to go that crazy.  The bartender did look like he needed something to do though.It boils down to Tantric being a reasonably priced casual Indian restaurant with solid food trapped in an overpriced wannabe upscale restaurant.  This is too bad.  If they dropped the pretense I'd come back here more often.

by Alex L.

This is an update to a review I wrote in Nov 08. During that visit I found the service to be very bad and the quality of the Biryani was poor. I gave what I believe to have been a fair two star rating.About a month ago I was contacted by the restaurant. The owner had read my review and wanted me to know they had recently turned over some wait-staff and welcomed a new (or recently returned) Chef who specializes in Biryani. I was invited back with the promise of Biryani on the house.I did go back, and wow, what a different experience. My Hendrick's cucumber martini was excellent. Our Gobi Manchurian, a deep-fried, Chinese-influenced cauliflower appetizer, was very good (and very spicy too). My lamb biryani was perfect this time, and my wife's Muttar Paneer was good as well. We had an order of garlic naan also.In the spirit of full disclosure I will add that the restaurant owner and I had identified each other when I came in. My table received particularly special service this time around, not to mention a discount for giving them another shot*. This undoubtedly colored my experience and this review, but I believe the food was good enough this time to warrant a future incognito visit.This to me is why Yelp exists. It's very possible they were having an off night the first time I visited, and if not for the invitation to come back, I might not have given Tantric another chance. Unfair for the restaurant, but unfortunately that's life. But the management at Tantric deserves credit for turning my first bad experience into a positive second one, with probably more to follow.My final word on Tantric is to give them a shot and see for yourself.*I have followed the yelp disclosure policy as best as possible for this update (http://www.yelp.com/fa...), and for the record, I write my reviews to provide advice to would-be consumers and constructive criticism to businesses. I never write poor reviews to receive special attention. Service was slow and almost non-existent. The decor did not even come close to meeting the hype. And…

by Ian H.

Great Tandoori. Lunch buffet is the way to go, but it's OK for dinner, too.This place is trying to be hip and trendy, which might be a turnoff for some. it's got a very contemporary decor, and a drink menu heavy on "creative" cocktails whose names end with -tini.That said, some of their foofy cocktails are quite good, and most of their food is quite good as well.Tantric is what you might call "upscale mediocrity" - the food is about as good as India Quality, but more expensive and served in an environment that's just chic enough to feel like a worthy prelude to a night of theatre or opera. You won't feel completely ridiculous if you come here dressed up.But really, the best time to go is in the middle of the day, for the lunch Buffet, which is easily the best I've seen in Boston. At $10 it's not the cheapest option around, but they have a wider variety of dishes than most buffets, change their offerings each day, and always have a (good) soup and dessert option included. The Pakoras are large and crisp, the naan is fluffy and fresh, and the Tandoori Chicken is the best I've ever had. (Which isn't saying so much, but still)

by J David M.

I really love the food here, although I have to admit that I only ever eat one Indian dish: Tikka Masala.But the atmosphere is also great, and I really love the Shisha. It was really fun to go with a few friends, smoke, drink, and eat good food.

by K J.

I made a note to come to this place after the food they served up at the Yelpoween Event.And simply two days later, when I was thinking of a place to treat a couple of friends, name the place that came to my mind.At 6:30 PM, the place was not overly crowded. A lot of the staff there recognized Lys and I from the Yelpoween event. One of the guys was even wearing the hot Yelp pins on his shirt. +1 for that. My girl and I both love whiskey and we ordered a Jack and Coke and were really happy to have got exactly that and not Coke and Jack. For appetizers, we decided to do away with the regular pakoras and tikkis and chaat and ordered the Tengra style chili panneer, its paneer stir fried with vegetables and spicy sauces. Right amount of spiciness that I would have liked in anything that was stir fired.The entree menu was endless with a wide range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items to choose from....and more importantly they had a selection of dosas to choose from (another reason to come to this place often now). The butter chicken gravy was creamy, the palak panner and the daal makhani was of the perfect consistency, the naans/roti/kulchas were soft and not burnt. Perfect food for the night while discussing the other couples wedding that was coming up. And even better, if you love your Bollywood music they play it all the time on the TV.

by Dara C.Jamie F.Jenn S.Tiff D.

This place probably has the best weekday deal I've ever seen in Boston. $2 PBR drafts, $4 glasses of wine and $3 - 4 appetizers from 8:30 on, Monday through Friday. (Whaaaaat?) The restaurant itself was pretty empty on a Thursday but we camped out at the bar, and for good reason. The food was quite decent, and full of fire. The gobi Manchurian was fantastic: sauteed cauliflower that was spicy, onion-y and slightly sour. Two types of bread were good, though the green chili cheese naan was surprisingly bland. Veggie pakora was a tad overfried in that they didn't taste like veggies but, hey, fried stuff ... good stuff ... Chicken tikka was standard. The rest of the menu looks pretty average and a tad on the expensive side. (Is it location? Probably.) Apps will run you about $10 apiece and entrees are $15 to $20, even some of the veggie things that are less than $10 elsewhere. I don't know if I would fork over that kind of change when there's fantastic Indian takeout for mere pocket change elsewhere. But that bar deal, which is a genius move on the owners' part, is entirely useful. I plan on returning. Gobi gobi gobi.Had a great time with the girls here for a high school reunion dinner.  After reading the Yelp! reviews here, I ordered the chicken tikka masala and LOVED it.  Much better and spicier than what's served at the food courts and local Indian restaurants that I've been to.  You can eat individual- or family-style (recommended).  I also ordered an Indian Sunset drink, which was a good size and tasted wonderful.  I tried some of my friend's garlic and rosemary naan bread - both yummy!  I might've filled up on too much rice because I did have some chicken left over.  The prices are up there, but you'll be satisfied.  Our waitress was adorable and so nice - easily handled our multiple payment methods.  For once, a server actually took our group photo right - no one's head was cut off.  No need for reservations.  And I really like the decor: warm/deep colors, comfy booths, intimate lighting.  Next time, I'll definitely have to try the lunch buffet.Sampled some more fare at the Yelp Red Carpet Harvard Natural History Museum event the other night.Still very good!The servers were very friendly and anxious to educate us on the food. I immediately signed up for the cooking classes! My friend and I went here Saturday night for a Girls' Night. It wasn't what either of us expected -… Review based on a sample appetiser. First time eating Indian food. Tried some chicken and a curry shrimp dish at the Yelp Red Carpet Event. It was delicious! The servers were very pleasant, even folding up a menu for my friend to stuff in tiny her purse. I will definitely be going here to try out their menu. So far. 4 stars

by Jim C.

The place had a great look and feel to it; I was expecting good things. However, I found it to be mediocre food, and slightly overpriced. I thought the serving sizes were rather small for the price and the dishes comprised of a ton of sauce and not enough meat. To be honest, i think that the Faneuil Hall Bombay Club is better food (assuming its fresh) and a much better value.On the bright side, their Naan was good and they did make it fresh to order.

by Robert Z.

When my tummy craves curry and other Indian spices this place is a great choice.  There's only 2 places I'll eat upscale Indian food and this is one of them.The perfect place to dine before a show in the theater district for small or lage parties.  They have never let me down when we've had a show to catch.  The food is really, really good and everyone is soooo nice too.Grab some various curry type dishes, some byrani and share among your table for variety, and it's kinda more fun that way too.

by Sasha R.

Indian lunch buffet?  Naan that expands in your belly? Tea with heavy cream?Yes, please!A lot of vegetarian options.  Tasty food and pleasant decor.Watch out for the expandable naan.