290 Rundle St
Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: (08) 8359 2066
Lunch - Wed to Fri, 12:00pm to 3:00pm; Dinner - Mon to Sun (7 Days), 5:00pm to Late
http://www.tajtandoor.com.au/

We had last week off down at Port Elliot for Lisa's 21st birthday hooliday house, which was pretty fun, but now it's back to business with the Taj Tandoor. I was expecting something pretty special from this place, as their website states they are "renowned for serving only the best quality of Indian food". Pretty big claim methinks! Nice piece of tapestry on their wall I might add...

Our final score: 6.134/10

Ah, back to the good old ways of the curry. After having some pretty lame meals away from home, I was looking forwards to some cracking curry tonight. Lots of selection on their menu, so I decided to try something I have not had before (although I think Nathan and Jason have tried). The curry was supposed to be a medium curry, but upon actually eating it, well it was only just slightly hotter than medium, but still had a good kick to it! The place was busy, and was nicely worked to fit the maximum number for the small space they had. I was a bit disappointed with the serving size, and I noticed some got more than others. Cheese naan was OK, and overall price was as you would expect for city dining. Nothing special, but I can see this as a "quick let's eat somewhere" venue.

Service: 6.3/10 -Nothing bad but nothing exceptional either.
Quality: 5.3/10 -Very nice tender but it was thigh meat, not too hot either.
Atmosphere: 6.6/10 -Nice busy place, looked OK but was just your regular cafe looks.
Value: 5.3/10 -Naan a bit expensive, overall a bit small, again just your average.
Final Score: 5.925/10

Hotness Rating:

Chow

To my surprise this butter chicken was actually quite hot, not uncomfortable but definatley should attract a "medium" label on the menu, a butter chicken should not be this warm. That being said though, I thoroughly enjoyed the heat and overall flavour of the sauce. Pity the same can't be said about the meat, they have been very stingy with it and used every last little bit scraped off the bone and it didn't have an overly strong tandoori flavour either. The rice is also another disappointment, the spices used almost make it taste stale, that or the container used to hold it reacted with the rice; not very impressive.

Service: 8.0/10 -I was starving and it didnt feel like I was kept grumbling for too long.
Quality: 4.5/10 -Meat was poor quality and fatty, didnt seem to have much flavour either, this was the hottest butter chicken to date.
Atmosphere: 6.5/10 -Snazzy cafe come Indian joint... the toilets had a waiting room!
Value: 4.5/10 -pricey meals AND you have to pay for parking around there, all makes for a bad value evening.
Final Score: 5.875/10

Hotness Rating:

Nathan

The day before my 23rd birthday was one I expected to settle as a mature, learned adult. But the Taj Tandoor was quick to remind me that I still had lessons to learn. Tonight I learnt that when, after being pummelled with after work drinks from your occasional celebrating co-workers, you rock up to an Indian restaurant with a drunk swagger and outdoor voice you need to be careful what you order. A bad order, for example, is to slur "I'll have the beef vindaloo... WITH A BIT OF EXTRA BANG!!" When the waitress asks if that means you want it extra hot, I said "Yes" in the way a 10 year old boy would if asked if girls were gross. I probably also tried a seductive wink, which would have sealed the deal for me: one asshole special, coming up. Eating that curry was like eating Satan's spicy turd. I can't comment much on anything but texture, if that previous comment does not satisfy your imagination. It was hot all right, and the beef was tender. But it could have been hotter, I could have bled from both nostrils.

Service: 6.3/10 -Had no problems hearing me. And they certainly got my order right.
Quality: 5.5/10 -I don't know if I'm qualified to answer this question.
Atmosphere: 6.6/10 -God it was quiet. They had interesting plates in the cabinet out the front.
Value: 8.0/10 -I can't remember any prices but most of the drinks I had that night were free, so...
Final Score: 6.6/10

Hotness Rating:

Brad

Only seven of us here tonight, but we've had less people before, and still had some chili hits! Mark finally came for his first taste of curry with us, and wasn't expecting anything like the Chili Roulette. Angus smelled the bowl of chilis beforehand and judged them apparently not very hot, so I decided to make him go last. Alas, no one's number came up, but the entertainment for the night was when Brad got a blood nose due to his insanely hot curry! (see below)

Josh's Roulette Hits: 3 singles 1 double
Chow's Roulette Hits: 1 single 1 double
Gus' Roulette Hits: 1 double
Dan's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Lara's Roulette Hits: 1 single
Brad's Roulette Hits: 1 single

Vindaloo so hot it needs a warning label!