Dulwich Tandoori - "best that money can buy"?

[ojm]

I'm sure others will also have had the Dulwich Tandoori takeaway menu through the door over the last few days. Aside from its rather bland layout, the main thing that caught my eye was some of the almost hyperbolic quotes on the front page, from some rather lofty journalistic institutions.

I quote (spelling mistakes, grammatical howlers, and all):

"Dulwich Tandoori is easily the best of the five Indian Restaurants in which it is located. Nothing that should be specially recommended, whatever they do, they do well. For the best Indian food that money can buy, yoou can't beat the Dulwich Tandoori" - Time Out

"Most Indian restaurants are perfectly adequate, very similar in food and standards, the trick is to find one that stands out, this is one of those" - Punch

I call upon the investigative and intellectual muscle of the EDF to mull-over the following questions (personal opinion regarding my feelings of the actual quality of their food aside):

- Did Punch really do restaurant reviews during its existence? Of distinctly non-Michelin-starred Indian takeaways?

- Have editorial standards at Time Out really sunk so low as to have decided against conventional use of the grammatical institution of sentence structure? And with such lofty recommendation as "the best that money can buy", why no obvious sign of awards, knighthoods or notoriety beyond our boundaries?

- Why can't these quotes be found anywhere online, other than the Dulwich Tandoori's own marketing material?

I dearly long to be proven wrong in hypothesising that the whiff of rat is in our midst, and will happily take back any such insinuation should evidence to the contrary present itself.......

[Lee B]

Tremendous. At this rate I look forward to the review from AA Gill of the Jaflong in tomorrow's Sunday Times.

Can I suggest an equally made up letter to this esteemed establishment from "Punch" challenging them on the quotes leading their leaflet?

[Mick Mac]

If you read carefully the quote from Punch you will see it does not (as quoted in the OP at least) actually mention the Dulwich Taandoori so who knows if it was just cleverly used out of context.

[Fuschia]

I think they have the extract from the Time Out food guide in their window, don't they?

[Gimme]

B*llocks indeed.

But nonetheless, Dulwich Tandoori is genuinely pretty good.

We had mutton dansak and sag bhaji last night from there and it was a really tasty meal.

I also like the guy who manages the place - Neo / Nero / Neural / Nuwral (not sure how you spell it but said in a South London accent he has the same name as Keanu Reeves in The Matrix). He does make an attempt to look after you - in contrast for example with his near neighbour Le Chardon.

I thought that the marketing for Surma was better though. Sign in the window says "Award Free". Says it all.

[Andystar]

So which indian restaurant is the best in LL anyway??? i'm taking a pal out for a meal soonish & no i can't be a**ed to trawl through that search engine looking for the answer.

[Penguin68]

no i can't be a**ed to trawl through that search engine looking for the answer

And I am sure so many of us will be putting the same effort into helping you

[KoolBananas]

Ojm have you taken in to account from when those quotes were made? Which year?

It is quite a trend for the local eateries to hold on to their awards, quotes and special visits for quite some time.

Yes I can see the return argument by saying if it's an old quote then why put it on a new print but is it really new print or just a re-print?

[Andystar]

Penguin68 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> no i can't be a**ed to trawl through that search

> engine looking for the answer

>

> And I am sure so many of us will be putting the

> same effort into helping you

I apologise Penguin68, what i meant to say was I searched previously & spent ages trawling through loads of answers & am none the wiser, I just couldn't be a**ed to write all of that.

[KalamityKel]

Andystar there is no answer to THE Q I'm afraid. Too many different opinions and stuff. My advice, go to the nearest one to your street door or where ever you are meeting your pal (tu)

[SeanMacGabhann]

Yep, as kel say,posing the question again, is at best going to get the same mix of answers

None are great. But I usually have a good time in most of them. But for me Tandoori Nights is the best - the least oily, the most fresh ingredients etc. The staff are great but I really like the staff in most of the others as well

The ones I tend not to go to are Curry Cabin, Surma and Pistachio Club - least ambience and the food is at the bottom end of average

[Penguin68]

I apologise Penguin68, what i meant to say ....

Apology accepted - but KalamityKel is right, what would be 'best' to me might be just what you weren't looking for - regarding food (i.e. type of cooking, not quality), ambiance, etc. etc. Some of the restaurants are very traditional (mainly) Bengali in their menus, others reflect other regions, or groups of regions - some are quite modern in their approach (i.e Omrith and Babur - although that last lies just outside ED - although very convenient for it).

Perhaps if you set out what was 'good' for you in an Indian restaurant others might suggest ones that seemed to match closest to your specification.

[Andystar]

Awesome- thanks Kel & Sean, Tandoori Nights it (probably) is then!!!

[HellNoHellYeah]

CTFU

I think I have eaten from there and found it pretty nice but not mind-blowing. Not even earth-shattering.

ojm Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I'm sure others will also have had the Dulwich

> Tandoori takeaway menu through the door over the

> last few days. Aside from its rather bland layout,

> the main thing that caught my eye was some of the

> almost hyperbolic quotes on the front page, from

> some rather lofty journalistic institutions.

>

> I quote (spelling mistakes, grammatical howlers,

> and all):

>

> "Dulwich Tandoori is easily the best of the five

> Indian Restaurants in which it is located. Nothing

> that should be specially recommended, whatever

> they do, they do well. For the best Indian food

> that money can buy, yoou can't beat the Dulwich

> Tandoori" - Time Out

>

> "Most Indian restaurants are perfectly adequate,

> very similar in food and standards, the trick is

> to find one that stands out, this is one of those"

> - Punch

>

> I call upon the investigative and intellectual

> muscle of the EDF to mull-over the following

> questions (personal opinion regarding my feelings

> of the actual quality of their food aside):

>

> - Did Punch really do restaurant reviews during

> its existence? Of distinctly non-Michelin-starred

> Indian takeaways?

> - Have editorial standards at Time Out really sunk

> so low as to have decided against conventional use

> of the grammatical institution of sentence

> structure? And with such lofty recommendation as

> "the best that money can buy", why no obvious sign

> of awards, knighthoods or notoriety beyond our

> boundaries?

> - Why can't these quotes be found anywhere online,

> other than the Dulwich Tandoori's own marketing

> material?

>

> I dearly long to be proven wrong in hypothesising

> that the whiff of rat is in our midst, and will

> happily take back any such insinuation should

> evidence to the contrary present itself.......

[Starmix]

Guize, guize, guize. Don't be all takeaway couch potatoes, make it yourselves! Trust me, curries are not that hard to make, they just seem like they are because they call for mysterious spices to be used in their creation. Fact is, if you get yourself down to a decent supermarket or a good Asian market you can pick these magical plants up at a pretty decent price. Supermarkets will always throw lame dried stuff at you, and it takes more to "cook the flavour" out of, where as your market will often have the plant fresh. Once you've stocked up on supplies, they will usually last a few months, and any pastes/pulses you make make can be jarred to last till God decends on the Earth to smash it open with his right hand.

[KalamityKel]

Might as well say grow your own fruit and veg, buy a cow and milk your own milk, make you own beer/wine/spirits... hush starmix and dont pull away from the discussion at hand here. :p

[thexwinglessxbird]

The Dulwich Tandoori resturant used to serve gorgeous food. I don't know if the owners or food has changed since, but if it hasn't, I would definetly recommend this place. My mother used to order takeaways from there for lunch. I loved it. The waiters used to give me After Eight mints. I recall them being nice people

[SimonM]

Punch did have a "Browsing & Sluicing" column for a while, and at least one of its journalists lived/may still live in ED. But heck, how long is it now since it folded???

[eater81]

I do consider my self a connoisseur of Indian food having eaten on average 3 curries a week for most of my adult life, both home made and restaurant bought. The Dulwich Tandoori is definitely up there with the best I've had and I'm never disappointed when I go there.

Its also a well run place, the staff are very friendly and I love the traditional Taj Mahal shaped booth style curry house decor. The only thing bad about the place is that annoying waiter who seems to do the rounds of the local curry houses ( seen him at Mirash and Jaflongs also) u know, the one who tries to force his tomato chutney down your neck, but he's not too bad to put up with.

[Lee B]

eater81 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I do consider my self a connoisseur of Indian food

> having eaten on average 3 curries a week for most

> of my adult life, both home made and restaurant

> bought. The Dulwich Tandoori is definitely up

> there with the best I've had and I'm never

> disappointed when I go there.

> Its also a well run place, the staff are very

> friendly and I love the traditional Taj Mahal

> shaped booth style curry house decor. The only

> thing bad about the place is that annoying waiter

> who seems to do the rounds of the local curry

> houses ( seen him at Mirash and Jaflongs also) u

> know, the one who tries to force his tomato

> chutney down your neck, but he's not too bad to

> put up with.

The one with the syrup? Great value, if only to speculate how much longer the glue's got before the inevitable turning up of the sideburns and fringe.'

[thexwinglessxbird]

Lee B Wrote:

>

> The one with the syrup? Great value, if only to

> speculate how much longer the glue's got before

> the inevitable turning up of the sideburns and

> fringe.'

:-S

[flapjackdavey]

Best by far round here is Ganapati on the corner of Holly Grove and Bellenden Road.

Went again last night and it was absolutely excellent in every respect - food in a different league to any other Indian restaurant locally, drink and service.

[HAL9000]

Starmix Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Guize, guize, guize. Don't be all takeaway couch

> potatoes, make it yourselves! Trust me, curries

> are not that hard to make

Quite right. On Friday I prepared a delicious chicken sag curry (with fresh spinach, mind) served with aromatic coconut rice, nan bread and mango chutney for four. It took about an hour to cook and cost around a tenner. One can't beat freshly toasted and ground spices or homemade curry pastes and aromatic seasonings. The only store bought items were the nan breads and wine (a nice Beaujolais-Villages).

I would guess one wouldn't get much change out of ?100 for the same meal at a restaurant or around ?40 from a takeaway.

[Lee B]

HAL9000 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Starmix Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Guize, guize, guize. Don't be all takeaway

> couch

> > potatoes, make it yourselves! Trust me, curries

> > are not that hard to make

>

> Quite right. On Friday I prepared a delicious

> chicken sag curry (with fresh spinach, mind)

> served with aromatic coconut rice, nan bread and

> mango chutney for four. It took about an hour to

> cook and cost around a tenner. One can't beat

> freshly toasted and ground spices or homemade

> curry pastes and aromatic seasonings. The only

> store bought items were the nan breads and wine (a

> nice Beaujolais-Villages).

>

> I would guess one wouldn't get much change out of

> ?100 for the same meal at a restaurant or around

> ?40 from a takeaway.

Indeed, but would you be able to cook this after 5 pints t the same high standard? There is a niche there that our esteemed Indian / Bangladeshi / Pakistani bredren are and have filled for a number of years.

Coconut rice btw...Oooh look at you pushing the boundaries.

[HAL9000]

Lee B Wrote:

> Indeed, but would you be able to cook this after 5 pints ...

> There is a niche there that our esteemed Indian / Bangladeshi

> / Pakistani bredren are and have filled for a number of years.

After five pints I too could put up with the gloop served by most restaurants. I've even been known to demolish a large doner kebab after a good night's drinking.

> Coconut rice btw...Oooh look at you pushing the boundaries.

A bit OTT, you think? Oh, well, back to the boil-in-the-bag!