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Tamarind
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Pakistani Indian, Pakistani [Edit]
424 Amsterdam Ave(between 80th St & 81st St)
New York, NY 10024
Neighborhood: Upper West Side
(212) 712-1900
- Nearest Transit:
-
79 St (1, 2)
86 St (1, 2)
81 St - Museum of Natural History (A, B, C)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Robert K. said: "Wow, A serious amount of 1 star ratings for Tamba. It seems like people at dinner have a very different experience than the one I had for lunch.. The lunch format is a buffet so if the service is bad you only have yourself to…" read more »
22 reviews for Tamarind
Review Highlights
"...also would generally get a Chicken Tikka Masala or the like."
(in 3 reviews)
"I highly reccommend the lamb Buhna and after a year or more..."
(in 8 reviews)
"garlic naan: good."
(in 3 reviews)
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22 reviews in English
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Review from Miao W.
New York, NY
7/1/2010
It's not the Tamarind in Flatiron no it shall not will not be mistaken.
Here you won't be dazzled by the silver trays, golden price tags, Bollywood celebrities, waiters better dressed than a regular New Yorker, and ceiling lamps casting the rich sunset behind Taj Mahah. Nope.
This Tamarind is a hole-no-larger-than-my-studio-in-the-wall, where the chefs are cooking some of the best chicken saag, goat curry, daal, etc. etc, soaked in flavor and authenticity. Generous portion, reasonable price, lunch deal till 4pm daily. Also worth mentioning, is the speediness of their delivery service. From hanging up the phone to the ringing door bell, six blocks: 10 minutes.
There, go to Tamarind.
And with all the money and time saved from eating here - go to India. -
Review from Josh d.
7/28/2011
Perhaps my experience was skewed... While I love Indian food, the day that I went to Tamarind, was the day I decided I wanted a Lobster Roll, from Luke's Lobster... Well... The UWS location was closed for remodeling that day. So right next door, came the odor of some pretty good smelling Indian food.
So I walked in, and was greeted by an overly excited, aging Middle Eastern man... My first sign should have been that this man was Middle Eastern, and not Indian/Pakistani...
My second sign should have been that the place was empty... Not like... 2 or 3 other tables empty... Completely Empty... I looked around, and I was the only one there. But, I'm already here, and I'm hungry... Not going to get my lobster roll, so well... I had one of the lunch special.
Bland and flavorless, I couldn't tell if the meat was chicken, pork or lamb. Perhaps it was none of the above or came from a can.
Service was slow, I did not notice any delivery runners coming in and out, I heard a lot of chatter from the kitchen. They forgot my Naan, which came out well after my curry did, and was rock hard.
Just bad... Bad bad bad... -
Review from Cynthia W.
New York, NY
2/13/2011
The service here was terrible. When we entered the restaurant -- which was clearly not that busy -- the staff failed to offer a grunt or even the slightest gesture of acknowledgement for some time. They stuck us in the back next to the bathroom despite other tables being readily available (granted, we should have said something, but for some reason we took our experience thus far as a clear indicator of authentic Indian cuisine.)
Unfortunately this turned out to be naive of us because the service only matched the quality of the food, which was mediocre at best. The Chana Masala and Mutter Paneer tasted like they were cooked yesterday, refrigerated, and finally nuked back into existence for sub-par dining.
I never write reviews on Yelp, but I decided that this experience was cause enough to start. -
Review from Kirsten S.
New York, NY
3/29/2011
Of the three Indian places in my neighborhood, this is not my favorite.
I generally order one of the same three dishes at Indian food places (therefore setting the bar at a particular height for each one). The Naan here was very good, but the veggie korma was just too liquidy for my liking. Good flavors, but not much substance. Also, the few vegetables it did have were kind of boring... lots of carrot, and I think they included tomato.
Naan and fast delivery time saved the day for Tamarind, but I'll stick with Alachi Masala next time (see my review for the deets). -
Review from Scott L.
2/21/2011
I wasn't happy with any part of my experience here.
Walking in the door on a Saturday night, the place was empty. Bad sign.
I've eaten take-out at every indian restaurant on the Upper West Side, and this is the only one that did not offer pampadams. I had their lamb gharam (?) and it was alright, but I didn't find it altogether enjoyable. I found the lamb to be too overcooked, too.
The garlic naan was chewy and good, but didn't have enough fresh garlic on it, for my taste.
Good service though with a smile! Much appreciated. -
Review from Nicole L.
New York, NY
2/22/2011
If you value a decent meal, you'll be best off avoiding Tamarind on the UWS.
Perhaps we should have known better than to order take out from this restaurant on a Saturday night when only two tables were occupied.
The saag paneer was atrocious. It was slimy, nasty and the only flavor I tasted was spicy. The garlic naan was also pretty bad. Not only was the bread like limp pita that had just been microwaved, it didn't have any garlic flavor at all. The lamb garam had a watery sauce and the lamb pieces were chewy and unappetizing.
Tamarind served me the worst Indian food I've ever eaten. Take my advice and avoid it if you can. There's plenty of other Indian food in the nieghborhood far more worthy of your money and respect. -
Review from John Z.
Long Island City, NY
6/4/2007
I stumbled in with friends not sure what to expect, but this place really delivered!
They had the tastiest version of chicken tikka massala that I've ever had. And my fiance loved her vegetarian dish of okra and cauliflower. I would definitely return -
Review from Jennie S.
Pompano Beach, FL
8/17/2008
I order the take out special from here whenever I get that lovin' feelin'.
These guys rock and the delivery is fast. I highly reccommend the lamb Buhna and after a year or more it is the same everytime. Give them a go I'm sure you'll like it. -
Review from Heather S.
New York, NY
10/6/2010
I will return for samosa. I will not be ordering a tikka masala from here again. The grade of meat that was used pretty much has frightened me away from ordering anything with meat.
That's what I ordered...will most likely be ordering many a samosa to come, enjoyed the sauce they sent along for them.
Good delivery time. Nice size portions. -
Review from Tom F.
New York, NY
3/23/2010 3 photos
We had been to Tamarind before and liked it. But this time it was unbelievable. We started with an appetizer Shrimp with Puri, it was delicious. For the main course It was Lamb Korma yum, yummy great.
The same goes for my wife's dish, the Alu Gobi which is (cauliflower, peas and potatoes) we shared the two dishes, one meat, one vegetable. Good choice we were so happy we couldn't stop talking about how good it was. Neither my wife or I like super hot & spicy food, so I asked the chef to make it mild, which he did. Of course you get Basmati rice, and
we ordered Naan (Indian bread). We'll be going back Their prices are
moderate. The place is clean a the lights are low but not too low and the
staff is attentive and courteous. I highly recommend Tamarind. -
Review from Kristen H.
Manhattan, NY
5/9/2011
Pretty good Indian food. Chicken tikki Marsala was very rich in flavor and not too creamy. Service was great and they even custom made the halaal paneer to be included in the lunch menu for us. Prices are great, but the atmosphere is a little daunting.
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Review from Christine P.
Miami, FL
12/16/2009
This was my first experience with Indian food. And being someone who does *not* enjoy spicy food at ALL - this place delivered. Sunday night dinner - had the place to ourselves - and service was great.
We ordered a sampling of appetizers which were delish - and my Chicken Tikka Massala was to my liking. I was very worried their version of "mild" would be my version of "on fire" - but I was able to eat it all.
The boyfriend ordered some very spicy lamb dish and he gave it two thumbs up as well. Dessert were some sweet little balls (yes, go ahead and giggle - can't remember the name!) Also had a drink called Kupai Pink maybe? mango juice, peach schapps and other delicious-ness.
For being my first time - I was very happy. -
Review from cyber t.
New York, NY
3/27/2011
Seamlessweb'ed the order and from click to delivery was 15 mins. Crazy! I really thought "oh crap, the food's going to suck - it was just sitting around waiting for my order". But this was the best Indian food I've had in the area by far (except maybe Ayurveda Cafe, which is inconsistent).
Got the dal makhani and the saag paneer. The paneer tasted like paneer and not white styrofoam chunks. The saag had the texture and flavor of saag made from real spinach, vs. the reconstituted green goop that passes for saag at most Indian places.
The dhal made me happy - it tasted like punjabi makhani dhal but I'd really have liked a more makhan (butter) flavor. But that I can't really complain about :)
And free rice with every dish is just plain sensible. I like that.
I may have to retry this place a few times to understand why it has so many bad reviews. Maybe it's only when you go into the place (vs. takeout). -
Review from Gregory L.
San Francisco, CA
3/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was walking around the UWS with some vegetarians, looking for a place that would serve food acceptable to everyone, when I saw Tamarind from across the street. It's a real hole in the wall (one row of 11 or 12 tables stretching back to the kitchen) but contrary to what many other people seem to have experienced, our time was excellent. The service was prompt and cheerful, the waiters were well dressed, and we were never out of water. The atmosphere was also nice, with candles on the tables, fancy folded napkins and the like. Although the restaurant does not have an actual bar, it has a drink selection
rivaling any bar I've ever been to. I had chicken tandoori, the vegetarians both got a shrimp dish, and we shared an order of nan. Everything was excellent, and I would go here again in minute. -
Review from Katie T.
Jersey City, NJ
Updated - 3/9/2010
Just ate there last night...wish I could every night...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/16/2010
Best Indian food in the city! I bring a lot of my friends here and they have all been impressed. If… Read more »
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Review from Alexander W.
Bronxville, NY
6/4/2008
I am shocked at the negative reviews. I have tried numerous Indian restaurants in the area, including the other Tamarind (totally separate) in Midtown, and Chola on the East Side. This is my favorite Indian place, and one of my favorite restaurants.
The price is good, and the food is better than all those other place except Chola (for which you pay a HEFTY premium). Service is excellent. I would give it 5 stars if they improved their chairs and tables and overall atmosphere.
People that panned this place are probably atmosphere snobs. -
Review from MARIANA L.
New York, NY
9/25/2005
Consistent Indian food. Inexpensive in a nice, modern setting. The garlic nan is a must. I like the Lamb Korma if you like mild sauces. Other sauces can get quite spicy if you need the heat.
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Review from A B.
New York, NY
2/23/2008
Decent food, but not classic Indian flavors. Wouldn't recommend and wouldn't go back, but the naan was good.
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Review from Johanna L.
San Francisco, CA
3/22/2010
This is a small restaurant with absolutely no ambiance. However, the food is REALLY good. I was in a Lamb Biryani phase when I lived in NYC and really enjoyed theirs. The friend I frequented this restaurant with liked the Simosas. We also would generally get a Chicken Tikka Masala or the like. While not spectacular, the food is good enough for me to give this place 4-stars despite it being totally mediocre in almost every other aspect. (To be fair, the servers were always friendly.)
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Review from Jenny B.
San Jose, CA
12/21/2008
delivery was quick
- garlic naan: good
- malai kofta: sauce was a bit sour, 3 stars
-channa masala: standard
not sure if i would order out again, nothing wrong with food, prices decent. $27 for above. -
Review from miss r.
New York, NY
9/16/2010
Just not great. I know that's not very helpful, but I really have nothing else to say.
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Review from Sara K.
New York, NY
8/28/2010
speedy delivery! i had so many leftovers which was good-but they really skimped out on the roti!! but besides that, the food was delicious and it was delivered super fast! i will definitely be ordering from here again! I got the bharta-deelicious!
