Tamarind Cuisine of India

The food is always great and the staff is attentive and kind. They recently took over my favorite Indian restaurant and i was a little scared– but I had nothing to worry about as the food is now even better! Lots of great vegetarian selections.

If I could give them zero stars I would. I called up here and asked if they have many vegan and gluten free items on the menu and the girl who answered said yes we do and named a bunch of items. We drove all the way to this restaurant and got seated and I began to ask what items on the menu are vegan and the waiter tells us only ONE ITEM! After being so disappointed, I decided what the heck I will try their one sad little vega curry becauSe everything else is doused in BUTTER… and I order white rice with my curry and the waiter says «white rice has butter!» Who in their right mind at a Indian restaurant I uses butter to cook their white rice?! I’ve heard of oil but never butter.
When I told him that I can’t eat anything there and why they would lie and say they can accommodate people who are vegan and gluten free, he was extremely rude and condescending saying «your the one with the allergies… you can have naan»
On top do all of this, they would not honor their Unilocal coupon and it’s just a ploy to get people in the door! They will not give you any kind of discount. They are liars!
People if you want unhealthy, nasty attitude and people talk down to you… this is the place. There are a hundred Indian restaurants within a mile of this dump and hole in a wall. Try else where and save your money and tummy space!
This place is Awful and customer service is non existent!

Love ! Love ! Love !
Just came back from celebrating my sons 14^th birthday and as always the food and service were perfect. We love the Chicken Tikka and the Aloo Gobi .
They even surprised my son with a plate of delicious frozen treats, and a candle to blow out as we all sang «Happy Birthday «
I would also like to add that I’m a celiac and another one of my sons is a vegetarian, and we both feel very «safe «eating here as well.
Two thumbs up to the best Indian food in the valley.

I’ve never had Indian cuisine in the states, and since this place was the closest and had good reviews, I thought I’d give it a try. From the moment we walked in we were greeted by a friendly hostess and served a complementary starter with tamarind sauce and basil based dip. They were satisfying and paired well with the light, delicate yet crispy starter.
We decided to order chicken tikka masala, shrimp coconut curry, and of course cheese naan. All the dishes were so full of flavor. The masala was tomato based, medium spicy, had a thickness to it not watery and big enough to share between 2 people. The curry was packed full of coconut flavor and spicy, just the way I like it. They didn’t skip out on the shrimp or chicken in both dishes. And finally the cheese naan, I’ve tried it at another location and this was very different from what I tried. Here the cheese was more crumbly rather than melted cheese, it was good but not much flavor to it, but I dipped it in my curry or masala sauce and I ate half of the huge serving (bc I was sharing, otherwise I would have ate the entire thing).
At the end, we decided to try their rice pudding and mango ice cream. The pudding was not overly sweet, runny consistency but creamy. The ice cream was more like frozen pieces of mango.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and will definitely return to try their lunch buffet. But next time, I will will also try their pistachio dessert. If you check in you get 50% off your second entrée.

Easy five stars, food is always great and me being a big water drinker it never stopped coming. Normally I come for lunch and have been for a couple years dive it was called the Clay Oven and you can never go wrong with the price! Anthony helped us out and he was excellent and very kind

I had the lunch buffet for $ 10.00 and change. The food was good and the décor of the restaurant is classy. I was eating this lamb dish and a leaf got stuck in my throat and suddenly I was gasping for air. This was not a fun experience. The chef or cooks should not put whole leafs in the food when you can’t see it. This is a choking hazard for adults and kids and can be very dangerous. Overall, the food is good but the leaf thing kinda ruined my day.

What a great lunch experience! The lunch buffet was perfection and the hosts and waiters were kind ! Thank You for great food and service! Best Indian food in town.

I was very pleased with my visit here. I used to frequent this restaurant when it was clay oven, and I’m unsure if the owners transferred or what happened. My friend and I came for the lunch buffet, and I was really impressed with the quality of the dishes on the buffet, and it was very vegetarian friendly. There were the usual suspects, saag and dal, but they also had a really good paneer dish and a few other vegetarian options. I even liked the dessert options, which are often lackluster to me on an Indian buffet. The service was prompt, and they didn’t seem to mind us having a leisurely meal, which is always appreciated.

1 star because I can’t do ZERO.
I’ve been to this restaurant one other time and had gotten acknowledged and served right away. I came today to bring a friend to the buffet because it was super delicious. We walked in to the front there was 3 other people waiting who had no idea what was going on, we waited there for 15 minutes with absolutely no acknowledgement, another couple had walked in. We waited a few more minutes and just left. I don’t care how long I have to wait as long as you say «we will be right with you, sorry about the wait» terrible customer service.

Been coming here for years even though I don’t eat Indian food often this is the place I always like whenever I try other places I hate them this place is perfection nice portions and always packed with flavor and thickness! Never watery masala or non flavorful Saag paneer or watery and bitter mango lassi. Everything here is creamy and thick and will fill you up fast with just a little bit. Last time they even gave me an extra mango lassi for my mom, my heart is loyal to this place whenever I try other things because I’m not in this area I am so Unsatisfied and I compare to this. It used to be called clay oven when they first changed the name I thought they closed it and became new but it’s the same as always !

I come here fairly frequently for the lunch buffet and have been coming since before the new owners bought it and it was still called Clay Oven.
The buffet has improved and has a few more items now than before. My favorite is the various pakora dishes and the chicken tikka masala.
Service is good, décor is above average, and the location is great.
Also, they are gluten-​free on most dishes. They also do not cut their curries with corn starch or add any sugar. Good for staying healthy.
4 solid stars and definitely recommended.

Excellent food! Very authentic and fresh. Will be coming back definitely and order for delivery. Service is very attentive, have been approached multiple times with water and the manger or owner came to ask if everything was perfect. Great place for romantic dinner, very cozy!

Bad service. (No service?)
Walked into the restaurant and stood by the doorway for a greeter — had to flag down worker to ask what the wait was for a table for one. Was told to sit outside and that I would be brought in when a table was ready. I asked if my name had to be put on a list, and they said «no.»
Twenty minutes later, I walked in after a couple (who just showed up) got seated. Again, had to wait around for someone to come seat me (saw the guilty look on the waiters face — he knew he had forgotten about me). I told the waiter that I had been sitting outside for 20 minutes waiting for him, and I didn’t even get an acknowledgement, much less an apology.
I changed my mind about ever eating here again after the waiter then said «so do you want this table or not?»
Byeeee.

I have not been here in a while and can only review based on Clay Oven which was it’s previous name. Not sure if they’ve changed ownership or not.
I’ve always been a fan of Clay Oven, mainly for their lunch buffet which you can get for carry out which is awesome. Not after dining of course, but you can come in load up a to go container and then head out. This was my go to for quality Indian food while I lived pretty close by. Plus, their Chicken Tika Masala was probably my favorite. They flame char the chicken first prior to putting it in the sauce. It adds so much flavor and the chicken was always juicy and tender and not dry like many places serve it.
I hope any and all changes they’ve made here are for the better.

Don’t do it! Don’t let the (mostly) great reviews fool you! I did and suffered through the worst Indian meal of my entire life… and it was damn expensive.
Very sweet guys, very nice customer service. So I’m very sorry to have to be so honest. We picked up our food in person because, despite the claim of «free delivery!» on the website, Eat24 insisted on adding on a delivery charge, and the owner couldn’t eradicate it when we called to question it.
Sag Paneer-​one of my favorite foods. What a massive disappointment! This was so flavorless, much too spinach-​y and very little spice. The dish was loose… almost but not quite like a soup, not thick and creamy as it’s meant to be. No creaminess or fat to the dish at all, in fact. The paneer cubes were ultra-​bland and tasteless as well.
Cheese Naan-​when I order this from all other Indian restaurants it is stuffed with stretchy, yummy cheese. The naan tasted nice, but the cheese was a flaky yellow paste-​nauseating to look at and tasteless besides.
Lamb Curry-​gamey and tough. Tasted «old», or slightly rotten.
Ugh all around. This was my friend’s very first introduction to Indian food, too, and I apologized over and over for the bad food. Star of India on Melrose… I never should have strayed from your splendor.

What did I do to deserve this? Some of the best Indian in LA is less than a quarter of a mile from my house! Recently under new ownership (formerly Clay Oven), the new owners were wise to keep much of the old staff. Our server Veer, is the best… congenial and patient (my wife orders everything «no cilantro and mild ‘plus’. I always imagine the Punjabi speaking cooks in the back trying to figure out what ‘plus’ means when they read the ticket. Maybe that’s why they portions always seem so big.)
Stand outs are:
Tandoori Chicken
Shahi Paneer
Saag Paneer
Chicken Tikka Masala
Tandoori Shrimp
Naan

[Before I get going, this review is for the lunch buffet, not the servers or ambiance of the restaurant, both of which were very nice.]
I got a strange craving for Papadums today and Unilocaled for a new Indian restaurant to try. I rarely eat this cuisine as it’s just too heavy for me. But some establishments offer vegetable dishes not smothered in cream curry sauces on their buffets and I was hopeful this place would be one.
Nope.
If you are vegetarian, do not order the lunch buffet (at $ 10.95, it’s the best deal on the menu), unless you just want to eat rice, kidney beans in gravy, dried out lettuce (salad dressing could go a long way here), watery, flavorless Saag Paneer and potatoes smothered in cream curry sauce. None of this was any good, in my very humble opinion. Well, okay, the rice was somewhat decent, not that you can’t boil and season your own at home.
As for the rest of you omnivores, you’re even more out of luck. How can one mess up Chicken Tandoori? Trust me, it’s a whole lot of messed up here. It tasted gritty and not at all fresh or flavorful. The Lamb Curry was just dreadful and it didn’t help that the lamb was all fat and sharp bones. The Shrimp were swimming in yet another orange creamy curry sauce and still had tails on some of them.
Needless to say, I did not go back for seconds. The only things I truly finished were the papadums. But I wouldn’t write home about those either as they were so thin with lots of holes.
I honestly wanted to like this place as I know they’ve changed hands from the owners of the previous restaurant, but I honestly did NOT.

This place is formerly known as Clay Oven. I drove all around the back looking for Clay Oven, only to find out that it is now renamed.
The food is great and the staff are welcoming and hospitable. This place can get a bit busy and the food may take some time to come out.
They have a small-​sized parking lot in the back. Come try the Chicken Tikka Masala. Our waiter gave us free chai tea. He was so sweet :)

Formally known to locals as Clay Oven this Indian food joint has switched ownership and changed names. With past ownership leaving a bad taste in your mouth with the lack of service. This new and improved Indian café warrants a second chance. The service staff is vigilant with refilling beverages. They are calm and understanding when it comes to accepting previous ownership coupons. Most importantly the food is incredible!
I enjoyed a romantic candle lit dinner here last night and enjoyed the food so much I’m back the next day for the lunch buffet. On average six tables are in use and while conversations are going on all around you don’t hear them because there is pleasant music on in the background.
Wait staff can get busy but over all you receive your check promptly. They take all forms of payment.
Personally I enjoyed everything I tried including my more adventurous choices. When the lunch buffet was running low on the more popular options one mention of it to the wait staff and the next batch (hot and fresh) was right out in less than three minutes. They serve both tea and water included with the buffet (which ends @2:45 everyday)
Enjoy.

Came here with my Family on a Saturday night it was a party of 7, we were seated promptly. The service was good, there were times they were busy but forgetful of us but it was okay we got what we needed and overall everyone was happy. We ordered a variety of dishes, we started off with the appetizer platter which consisted of shish kabob, chicken tikka, samoas, pakoras, everything was good but the chicken tikka was a little dry. I really liked their samosas, not too spicy and it was crunchy and good.
For our entrees we got the chicken tikka masala, shrimp tikka masala, saag paneer, chicken tikka sizzling plate as well as a bread basket of naan and paneer naan.
Chiken Tikka Masala: very good, I really loved the curry! Saag paneer-​another great dish, paneer was yummy. The chicken tikka sizzling plate sucked, I won’t order this again, the chicken tikka was very dry even with the lemon squeezed on top with the onions/​bellpeppers, the onions/​peppers could have been grilled a little more but I didn’t enjoy the chicken tikka at all very dry chicken and not seasoned like other places I’ve had in the past. Naan-can’t complain. They do charge for rice I believe $ 3.50 some places are free but all in all pretty good. I definitely would come back!