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Tandoori Bite is the latest restaurant in Roseville to serve Indian and Pakistani cuisine, and it's unique to west Roseville, as it's the only full-service Indian restaurant on the west side of town. They opened their doors back in August of this year, but for many reasons, I had to wait until nearly Christmas to give them a try. Gee, what took me so long? As with all of my reviews, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's late Wednesday morning, December 14, 2016, and I'm to enjoy a delicious Indian buffet at Tandoori Bite, located in west Roseville. My truck is parked in front, and I'm ready to "open up" the restaurant.
Photo: The dining room is gigantic! It's clean, comfortable, and the furniture is composed of tables and chairs.
Photo: Meet Jo, my very friendly hostess. Tandoori Bite features a buffet for lunch, and menu choices for dinner. The lunch buffet is a serve-yourself, all-you-can-eat affair. With the exception of refilling my glass of ice water, Jo didn't wait on me, but as I enjoyed my delicious lunch, she and I had quite a conversation about everything, including, of course, food. You get a peek into the kitchen in the upper right of the photo.
Photo: Joe turns on the television monitor to a station that plays Indian music to set the mood. Photo gives a good idea of the buffet, as it's in an "L-shape," and each dish is warm, under a stainless steel cover. You lift the lid open to get at the goodies. The lunch buffet is quite modest, as it includes only nine entrees and sides, one tray of fruit, one tray of salad, and a tray containing three sauces. Today, there was one desert offered: gulab jumun, which is deep fried cheese balls dipped in sugar syrup. I really like gulab jumnum, but I passed, as I wanted to concentrate on the other items. The weekday buffet may be modest, but so it the price - $9.99 - and the quality of the food is outstanding, and you can go back for as many helpings as your stomach can hold.
Photo: Since I "opened up" the restaurant, the tandoori chicken wasn't ready, but it wasn't long until the chef brought out a batch of chicken from the kitchen, and placed it on the warming tray. My friendly server, Jo, looks on.
Photo: The batch of tandoori chicken, fresh from the kitchen. Tandoori chicken is chicken that's marinated in yogurt, along with Indian spices, and cooked over very high heat. It's delicious, and proved to be my favorite dish. Note the beautiful presentation of the chicken, and the sliced onion, cilantro and lemon make the tray of chicken even prettier.
Photo: Indian rice, complete with peas. Due to the many colors, the rice appears to have cheese in it, but it's actually several colors of rice, which make an attractive presentation. Normally, I'm not a fan of rice, but this was so good that I had seconds.
Photo: Butter chicken curry on the left, and lamb curry on the right. If I was voting for my favorites, I'd rate tandoori chicken and lamb curry, tied at favorites. However, every dish I sampled - I got through a little over half of the offerings - was delicious, and Tandoori Bite makes some of the best Indian food that I've enjoyed in a long time. I have only posted a few photos of the many offerings to be enjoyed at the buffet, as all lids were closed to keep the food warm, and it would have been quite rude of me to open all of them at the same time, in order to take a photo. It's great to "open" a buffet, as the food is fresh, right out of the kitchen, and the restaurant isn't as busy, so I have more time to chit-chat with the staff and take photos.
Photo: Beer and wine is also offered, including Taj beer, imported from India. Unfortunately, I was driving, so I confined my drinking to ice water. Note the available chilled mugs, which makes beer even more enjoyable. Photo: Thanks, Jo, for snapping my photo, as I am ready to enjoy my first place from the delicious buffet.
Photo: My first of two plates of delicious Indian dishes that I enjoyed from the buffet today. My current strategy dictates, since I'm not the "eater" that I used to be, I simply started with the vegetable pakora - later explained - and went to my left. I don't "pick and choose," since I love everything. If you're not familiar with Indian cuisine, Tandoori Bite makes it easy, as each dish is labeled. If you're concerned about spiciness or want to know anything about the food, just ask friendly Jo, and she'll be glad to answer any of your questions. We'll start at "six o'clock" and work clockwise... Indian Rice. Note there are many colors, which makes it look almost like cheese, but it's all rice. The peas seem to be hidden under the rice. Daal Makhani. Black lentils in curry. Mmmmm. Mixed Vegetables. That's what the label said. The dish seemed to be potatoes, mixed with chickpeas, peas, and curry. It was on the spicy side, but was amazing! I went back for seconds on this fantastic dish. Tandoori Chicken. This is the star of the show. Chicken, marinated in yogurt and Indian spices, and cooked in a very hot oven. The chicken ties with lamb curry for being my favorite dish. Lamb Curry. I have never met a lamb curry that I didn't love! This had a little "curry kick" to it, but it was neither hot nor over spiced. It was just plain delicious. This fine dish required a second helping. Chicken Curry. As with the lamb curry, this dish had just the right amount of curry, and the curry didn't overpower the mild flavor of the chicken. Fish Pakora. Fish cubes dipped in spiced batter and deep fried. I would have loved to enjoy a second helping, but my stomach wouldn't allow it. Vegetable Pakora. Here's a vegetarian dish that I could eat every day and not get tired of. It's a variety of vegetable fritters dipped chickpea batter and deep fried. At first I though these we samosas, but I asked Jo and she told me they were vegetable pakora. Call them any name you want, but I call them delicious. As you can probably guess, I enjoyed my lunch!
Photo: After I returned from the buffet line with my first plate of food, I found freshly baked naan bread waiting at my table, for me to enjoy with my meal. When I say fresh, I mean fresh, as the bread was still hot from the onion. This is one of the many advantages of "opening" a restaurant.
Photo: I was nearly full after enjoying my first plate, but I had to go back for seconds, as the food was so delicious. I decided to skip the mostly vegetarian dishes, the fruit, salad and desert, and just hit my favorites again. Chicken curry, rice, lamb curry, tandoori chicken and mixed vegetables, just like the first plate. Simply delicious! Tandoori Bite serves some of the best Indian and Pakistani cuisine that I've had the pleasure to enjoy for a long time. The food is amazing delicious, fresh, and Jo, the friendly hostess, was a pleasure to talk to. Tandoori Bite is a welcome addition to the west Roseville dining scene. Tandoori Bite Copyright(c) 2016 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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