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Tandoori Nights is a small, family owned and operated one-of-a-kind restaurant, serving delicious Pakistani and Indian cuisine, located in Roseville, CA. The restaurant has a small easy-to-miss storefront in a compact, upscale suburban strip mall, just off busy Interstate 80 freeway. As with all restaurant reviews I publish, I have no affiliation with the restaurant reviewed, and there is no monetary gain on my part, as I am simply a person who likes to eat, and I love to write-up, and publish my dining experiences.
Photo: It's just past the 11:00 o'clock in the morning opening time on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, and I've arrived at Tandoori Nights to enjoy an amazing trip to India, without leaving Roseville. The restaurant is located in a small strip mall, and features a small, easy-to-miss store front. Don't miss this fine restaurant if your in the mood for delicious Indian cuisine! In addition to Indian cuisine the restaurant highlights Pakistani, Halal, and south Asian cuisine.
Photo: Next to the restaurant, there is a beatiful terrace, which features picnic tables, benches, planters, and a refreshing fountain. It's a perfect place to enjoy the beautiful day as you wait for the restaurant to open, or if you order takeout, it would be the perfect place to enjoy your meal. Since it's only three days after Christmas, the terrace is still decorated with a stunning Christmas tree. Next door restaurant, Range, shares this lovely terrace with Tandoori Nights.
Photo: As you enter the restaurant, you'll notice the sparse decor, and the spartan furniture. The dining room is "no frills" but the plain decor doesn't detract from the amazing food and hospitality this fine restaurant has to offer.
Photo: Tandoori Nights features "self service" in that you pick up a printed menu, place your order, pay for it, receive a receipt with a number, and when your order is ready, your name or number is called, and you pick it up at the pick up side of the counter. There is no menu posted above the counter, as the menu is printed, and posted online, on the restaurant's website. That's the way it works when the restaurant is busy, but since I "opened up" the restaurant on this late Wednesday morning, I was treated to full service by the owner of the restaurant. Note the "Dinner Specials" listed on the white board from the night before... during my visit, they were erased and replace with the lunch specials of the day.
Photo: The first page of the menu lists appetizers, vegetarian "delights," along with rice dishes. Click on the menu image to see all three menu pages at Tandoori Nights.
Photo: When you place your order, you can look over the order counter into the kitchen, and watch the talented staff perform their magic. I'm an absolute "sucker" for open kitchens!
Photo: The super-friendly owner of the restaurant invited me into the kitchen, to watch he and the chef prepare chicken kabobs, ready to place into the tandoori oven. Thanks for the tour!
Photo: The owner - I didn't get his name - displays a marinated chicken kabob, ready to bake in the tandoori oven.
Photo: My order of "Samosa Chaat" arrived as an appetizer, about ten minutes after I placed my order, shortly followed by my main course of "Saag Daal" and "Naan Bread." Delicious!
Photo: From the "Appetizers" section, a.k.a., "Shurat" section of the menu, I went with "Samosa Chaat" which is a great way to begin an amazing lunch. This fine appetizer got me started, until the "Saag Daal" and "Nan Bread" arrived as my main course. "Chaat" is a generic term used to describe all Indian "street food," but when you order "Samosa Chaat" at Tandoori Nights, you're treated to samosas with your chaat! The two samosas that arrived with my order were simply delicious, as they were perfectly deep fried to a golden brown, and stuffed with potatoes, onion, mashed chickpeas and ginger. One bite into the amazing samosa, and you could taste all of the amazing ingredients working together, and you could taste the ginger, which definitely kicked the flavor up a notch or two. The samosas were served in a bed of "Chana Masala," a creamy, spiced chickpea curry which was bursting with flavor. On top of the curry there was a dab of green chutney, along with a few white onions. Simply delicious, any way you look at it. If you ordered two of these mouth-watering appetizers, it could make for your entire lunch!
Photo: I've eaten half a samosa... note the flaky, delicious, perfectly deep fried crust, and the amazing filling of potato, chickpea and onion. Delicious!! The curry gravy, green chutney and onion make this amazing "Samosa Chaat" an appetizer to love!
Photo: I'm a happy guy, as I've just taken a "foodie" trip to India without leaving Placer County, as I'm ready to enjoy my amazing lunch at Tandoori Nights, located in Roseville.
Photo: Today's lunch at Tandoori Nights: "Samosa Chaat," with "Saag Daal," along with a side of "Naan Bread." The chaat arrived first as an appetizer, and I'd already eaten a samosa and come of the curry before the remainder of my meal was delivered. It's all delicious at Tandoori Nights!
Photo: From the "Vegetarian Delights" section of the menu, I went with "Saag Daal," a.k.a. "Saag Dahl," which is an Indian "comfort food" classic. No matter how you spell the name, this is an amazing soup. My large bowl of "Saag Daal" arrived steaming hot from the kitchen, and simply delicious! If you're not familiar with this stew, it's a split pea stew, flavored with ginger, tarlic, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and what ever else the talented chef included. Sure, it's vegetarian, but the stew was thick, juicy, savory, and stick-to-your bones filling, so meat wasn't missed. The texture was simply perfect, as the split peas were tender, flavorful, but held together well in the thick gravy. The entourage of spices blended well together to for a diverse, dense out-of-this world flavorful combination. Speaking of gravy, the spinach was blended into the juices which made for the amazing gravy, but there was still pieces of spinach in the stew. How many ways can I say delicious? If you aren't familiar with Indian cuisine, a good place to start would be to enjoy the amazing "Samosa Chaat" and "Saag Daal" that I enjoyed today at Tandoori Nights. I love everything where it comes to Indian cuisine, and the fine food at Tandoori Nights, meticulous prepared by their talented chef, is everything "good" when it comes to Indian cuisine.
Photo: My delicious order of "Naan Bread," arrived hot from the kitchen, straight out of the tandoori oven. "Nan Bread" goes with everything, and is a "must order" anytime you dine at any Indian restaurant. I love all naan bread, and the bread that I enjoyed today at Tandoori Nights was as good as it gets, as it arrived hot out of the oven, slightly flaky and crispy on the outside, yet firm inside. It made such a great side to my "Saag Daal," and was great for dipping and scooping into the delicious vegetarian stew. If you're a lover of Indian and Pakistani cuisine, you will absolutely LOVE Tandoori Nights, as the food is not only delicious, but totally authentic to the Indian sub-continent. The cuisine is delicious, the dining room is comfortable, and the staff are super friendly and will treat you like family. For the some of the best Pakistani and Indian cuisine in Placer County, look to Tandoori Nights, located in Roseville, CA. Tandoori Nights Copyright(c) 2022 eRench Productions. All rights reserved. We've been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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