Tandoori King

Tandoori King could be easily walked past between the highly popular Vespa Pizza to its left, or fantastic Chai Thai to its right. This however, would be a mistake! Tandoori King brings some of the most unexpectedly deep Indian flavors I’ve had in Australia. I say ‘unexpectedly’ because I was surprised to find the owner, Mark is Caucasian and I initially had doubts, silly prejudiced me, over what the product might be like.
With some prompt I found that Mark is married to a lovely Indian women (whom I’ve since met) and they each have their own restaurant. Mark is happy to chat with you and engage in casual banter, and he’s as polite and friendly as they come. Love the food, enjoy the service!

Although not as affordable as other Indian restaurants, Tandoori King make up for it with the quality of the meals. The restaurant is tucked into the Teneriffe end of Merthyr Road and is a nicely decorated space with plenty of atmosphere. A buffet is set up for dinnertime with a range of entrees, curries, and desserts. I ordered takeaway from the menu and my order was ready for me to pick up within 15 minutes. The main meals were around the $ 20 mark, which is a few dollars more than most of the Indian places I frequent. The Butter Chicken was fragrant and tasty with great texture and good quality meat, and the Dhal Makhani was thick and rich. I also ordered a naan bread (which was great) and a complimentary bag of pappadums was included in the order. The food was so good that I very nearly polished off both meals on my own. Next time I’ll be going for the buffet.

Ajawani Bakshi is the owner and head chef at Tandoori King. Many years ago, I had the pleasure of working for him before he went out on his own and became a restauranteer. I have an almost childlike fondness for the times I was able to watch him work in the kitchen intuitively throwing pinches of fragrant and vibrant coloured spices into frying pans.
All of the dishes here are amazing. Each of them are distinct in flavour and character. If I was to give advice, my recommendation is to ask the advice of one of the staff to direct you to a naturally milder dish if that’s what you like. If you add too much heat to some of the meals, it can take away from the other flavours.
The Beef Yakhani is one of my favourite dishes on offer here, because it’s really unlike anything else that is offered as general Indian fare. If you like it hot (like I do), skip the Vindaloo (even though it’s hot enough to make you rush to the loo) and go for the Chicken Chettinand. It’s a hot black pepper chicken curry, and it’s to die for.
The service is prompt, and the staff are knowledgable about the food. The menu is extensive, and you’d be wise to enlist the help of the staff to ensure you get what you want. Be careful when you order as you may order too much. Usually an entrée and two mains will do the job just nicely for two reasonably hungry people.
To put it simply, there isn’t anywhere else for me to get Indian in Brisbane. I’m a legit Ajawani fan girl. I’ll drive right past Punjabi Palace, speed past Sitar, I’ll pass by Miss India just to go to Tandoori King so I can have more of the Beef Yakhani. It really is something else.