Tamarind of London?

[josephnl]

Tamarind of London, a Michelin starred Indian restaurant from England, has just opened in Crystal Cove, Newport Beach. Has anyone tried it, or know anything about it?

[josephnl]

We had dinner last evening at Tamarind, and must say that it was very good...probably the best Indian food that I have had outside of India or London. In London, my favorite is a rather upscale place called Chutney Mary's. Tamarind is quite upscale, and certainly not cheap. Individual items seem rather reasonably priced, but by the time you add up all the little pieces that comprise a nice dinner it's rather pricey. Two things probably influenced why we had such a good experience at Tamarind...Orange County is not overflowing with good Indian food, and also, the Michelin starred chef from the London location was in the kitchen cooking. Everything we had was very good or excellent, and the service was also quite good.

We started with cocktails which were perfectly prepared, and ordered some delicious hot naan and a side of raita and chutney to accompany. These were great.

Starters consisted of the trio of tandoori wild mushrooms, and an order of chickpea chaat. Both were ample portions and quite delicious. For entrees we had a steak special and tandoori baked halibut kabobs. The steak was a beautiful piece of strip steak, seasoned with unusual but delicious spices with some sweetness, perfectly cooked medium-rare and a bargain at $21! The halibut was equally tasty. We had sides of black lentils and masala potatoes. All were very good.

For dessert we tried the traditional carrot halwa. Although this was beautifully presented, and was ok, this dessert is probably an acquired taste.

All in all, we had a very nice dinner and will surely return. The dining room is contemporary but warm, and overlooks a glassed-in kitchen with the tandoori ovens prominently taking center stage. The service was very good. Taking into account that Tamarind has only been open for less than a week, we thought it was quite good, and would recommend it.

[Bradbury]

I haven't been to the Newport location, and don't know how much the menu/prices resemble those of the original. But having been to the original Tamarind twice, I would say that it is to Indian food in London what Crustacean is to Vietnamese food in SoCal.

[ns1]

"I would say that it is to Indian food in London what Crustacean is to Vietnamese food in SoCal."

=D

[josephnl]

I certainly hope not. It sounds like you are implying that Crustacean is setting the standard for Vietnamese food in southern CA. Is that what you mean?? With all the wonderful Vietnamese food in our area, I would personally put Crustacean nowhere near the top of my list.

[ns1]

I'm pretty sure he's implying that Tamarind is crap relative to the other Indian restaurants in London, in the same manner that Crustacean is crap relative to the other Vietnamese restaurants in SoCal

(please for the love of god let this assumption be correct)

[Servorg]

Hey, ns1 - while you are on a roll cracking these highly esoteric coded messages you might as well take a concerted run at the Kryptos K4 plate (the last unsolved message) while you're at it... ;-D>

[Bradbury]

Sorry if it was too cryptic. What I meant to say was that at both Tamarind (London) and Crustacean, you might not necessarily get a bad meal, you might even get a good meal. But unless you're taking out clients on an expense account, you're probably spending most of dinner thinking "I could've had something better at 1/4 the price in [Brick Lane / Little Saigon]. Maybe even in [Putney / El Monte]."

[josephnl]

I guess I'm disappointed. Although Michelin stars are not the sine qua non of fine dining, I thought they meant more than say a Zagat rating. Nevertheless, I'm being taken to Tamarind tomorrow night, and I'll decide for myself. We all do need to keep in mind that good Indian food is not as readily available in SC as is Vietnamese food. So perhaps the bar for Tamarind may not be as high as for a new high end Vietnamese restaurant!

[Searching4Dunny]

Good call. The London location Is the Crustacean of Indian restaurants. Glam with little substance...at least to those that are paying attention.