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Tandoori Flame is a newer Indian restaurant that opened their doors last April, and has been serving amazing Indian cuisine in west Roseville ever since. After today's visit, and enjoying the fine cuisine this wonderl restaurant has to offer, I'm wondering why it took me so long... As with all restaurant reviews I publish, 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 10:30 on Saturday morning, January 15, 2022, and I've "opened up" Tandoori Flame for an early lunch. This fine restaurant is a fairly new addition to west Roseville, having opened for business in April of last year. It's located in the "Arbor View Village" shopping center, off of Foothills Blvd., which is better known for pizza restaurants. Tandoori Flame is located just around the corner from Chicago's Pizza With A Twist, which is an Indian-style pizza restaurant that I visited last month.
Photo: A small patio with a few tables and chairs is located just outside the restaurant. The patio is pleasant, and has a great "nature view" of Pleasant Grove Creek, where you can watch wild turkeys and other wildlife as you dine. Tandoori Flame doesn't serve alcohol, so the patio isn't surrounded by a low fence. As much as I love to dine outdoors, I chose to dine indoors on this late January morning.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll notice the counter, and the friendly host behind the counter, who will greet you and take your order. If you're not familiar with Indian cuisine, he'll be happy to answer any questions, and help you decide what to order. I'm very familiar with Indian cuisine, and for me the choice is really easy, as I love it all! Today I "opened up" the restaurant, and had the dining room all to myself for a few minutes, which made for great photo taking.
Photo: The dining room is spacious, and the furniture is tables and chairs. The dining room is spotless clean, very modern, and comfortable. With the exception of a clock and a television monitor, the walls were bare. The dining room is quite bare, and the decor resembles a "fast food" restaurant, complete with lots of bright, overhead lights. If you're interested in fancy decor or candlelight dining, this isn't your restaurant! I noted the television monitor was tuned to Fox News, which seemed appropriate, as Placer County is almost as "red" as Kansas.
Photo: The menu is posted above the order counter, and it's easy to read. The restaurant also has paper take-out menus, and the menu is posted on their website. During my visit, I noticed lots of diners calling in orders, and several parties arrived to pick up orders, that I assume had been placed online. The menu is hard to read so click on the image, as I've posted the entire menu, which is current as of this writing. Tandoori Flame operates on what I call the "taqueria format," as you make your selection from the menu, place your order, pay for it, and when your order is ready, it will be brought to your table by a friendly staff member. If you've placed a to-go order, there is a "pick-up" section at the counter, where your order will be placed when it's ready from the kitchen. Tandoori Flame is a "modified" full-service restaurant, and like a taqueria, no tips are expected, but they're appreciated. There is a tip jar on the counter should you feel inclined to leave a tip.
Photo: My "appetizer" order of two "Vegetable Samosas" arrived about fifteen minutes after I placed my order, with the remainder of my order arriving about five minutes later. The samosas were meant for an appetizer, but I saved them to enjoy - and photograph - with my main order.
Photo: From the "Vegetarian Appetizer and Chaat" section of the menu, I went with #1, which is "Vegetable Samosas." The menu describes these samosas as, "Two samosas filled with mildly spiced potatoes and peas, deep fried, and served with sweet and mint sauce." I describe them as delicious. Along with the "Vegetable Samosas," my host brought out two bottles of sauce, a reddish sweet sauce, and a light green mint chutney sauce. The sauce was mostly intended as a dipping sauce for the samosas, but it proved to be simply amazing when eaten a bite of rice, or squeezed onto a piece of naan bread.
Photo: My friendly host brought out my main selection of "Chana Masala," along with a bowl of steamed rice, and an order of naan bread, about five minutes after the samosas arrived. Such a great host! Unfortunately, I didn't catch his name. My complete order arrived about twenty minutes after I placed it, which is fast service for such a quality meal.
Photo: My delicious lunch is on the table and I'm all smiles, as I prepare to enjoy a fine meal at Tandoori Flame, located in Roseville. My complete lunch arrived less than five minutes after the samosas were brought to my table. I didn't touch the samosas until my complete lunch had arrived, for the sake of the photo.
Photo: From the "Vegetarian Curries" section of the menu, my main entree was #26, "Chana Masala," which came with a bowl of white rice, steamed Indian style. Along with the masala, I ordered a #1, which is an appetizer of "Vegetable;e Samosas," along with an order of plain "Naan Bread." I hadn't planned on going "vegetarian" today, but it just worked out that way. That's a lot of great food! "Chana Mesala" is a wonderful vegetarian curry dish that features small garbanzo beans - also known as chickpeas - with a variety of herbs and spices, including onion, chopped tomato, ghee, cumin, tumeric, coriander powder, ginger, and more. Tandoori Flame combined all of this together and made a bowl of some of the best "Chana Masala" that I've enjoyed in a long time. This amazing bowl of goodness was thick, rich and very flavorful, with lots of thick, curry gravy. This amazing entree may be vegetarian, but it's hearty and definitely a "stick to your ribs" kind of entree, which was especially welcome on this chilly, late morning in mid January. Like most selections, "Chana Masala" included a bowl of plain, steamed Indian rice. The rice was seamed perfectly with just enough stickiness to hold it onto a fork, and had a slightly sweet taste to it. Perhaps it was jasmine rice? I don't know, but when I dipped it into the "Chana Masala it made for an amazing combination. I ordered two "Vegetable Samosas," as appetizers, as I ALWAYS include them when I enjoy Indian cuisine Each samosa was deep fried to a golden brown, with a crispy, flaky crust, and stuffed with potato, peas and Indian spices. They were simply delicious! Along with the samosas were two squeeze bottles of sauce, a sweet sauce and a green mint chutney sauce, which made for a delicious enhancement to my fine meal. No meal is complete without an order of naan, so from the "Tandoori Breads" section of the menu, I went with a side of "Plain Naan," which is truly the bread of India. My order included four generous slices of perfectly baked naan, with a slightly buttery taste, a few well-browned spots, and garnished with cilantro. The naan by itself was simply delicious, and I made good use of it to clean up any leftover gravy from my plate, or from the serving bowl.
Photo: From the "Vegetarian Curries" section of the menu, I ordered #26, "Chana Masala," which is a thick stew of chickpeas, in a savory, curry gravy. The menu describes this fine offering as, "Garbanzo beans slow cooked in a sauce with herbs and spices." That's a simple description for an amazing bowl of beans! This dish originated in northern India and is now a staple all over the country. It is definitely one of my favorite vegetarian curry dishes. My bowl of "Chana Masala" arrived hot from the kitchen, and was simply delicious! There is nothing like the exotic, enchanting aroma of an Indian curry dish, and my fine bowl of "Chana Masala" was as good as it gets.
Photo: My host brought a plate to the table so I could arrange my lunch to my liking. I placed a little bit of everything from my lunch on my plate, along with a generous amount of the creamy, mint chutney sauce that came with my order of samosas. I cut my samosa in half, and dipped it into the chutney sauce... oh my! I used pieces of the naan bread to scoop up the gravy and the sauce. This lunch was simply amazing, as the quality ingredients were fresh, skillfully prepared, and endlessly delicious. The chef at Tandoori Flame has talent, as the fine cuisine was simply amazing, and the presentation was stunning. It is easy to tell the staff takes pride in their restaurant, and enjoy preparing and serving amazing food, and treating customers like family. My meal was one of the best tastes of Indian cuisine that I've enjoyed for a long time! The staff is amazing friendly, the service is prompt and attentive, and the dining is casual and inviting. When you're in the mood for amazing Indian cuisine for dine in or to go, visit Tandoori Flame, located in Roseville, CA. Tandoori Flame Indian Restaurant Copyright(c) 2022 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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