Punjabi Tandoor

I love this place. I always come here when I am craving some spicy curry. They have so many choices. For appetizers, I order the samosa. It comes out hot and with two choices on the side (red is sweet and green is tangy and a bit spicy). If you can’t decide which curry to get, order the combo. I always order chicken tikka masala and chicken makhani with a side rice, nan, and kheer. For the tikka masala, it’s oddly bright red, so I’m assuming they use some kind of food coloring. Both sauces are so buttery and satisfying. I always end up sharing this plate with my bf since there’s so much. Plus, the fat content of the food makes you full pretty soon. The rice is fragrant and flavorful, the nan very hot, crispy and charred on some places. Sometimes, I order the mango lassi. It is not overly sweet and it’s a good dessert to finish off your meal.
The only downside to this place is that they use Styrofoam and heat dissolved some of the plates. For a place with so many customers, at least for sit down eating, I would have presumed for them to use reusable utensils and plates :(Hence, I had to give them four stars.

Whenever I am in the area I always make sure to remember to swing by Poons for some delicious food.
The Chicken Makhani and Rogan Josh are my favs as well as their freshly made Naan. Cannot go wrong!

So my mom and I were craving some good tandoori chicken and tikka chicken, and stumbled upon this place on Unilocal.I was really surprised! This place looks a little sketch and is definitely family run, but honestly those turn out to be the best sometimes. Definitely the case for Punjabi Tandoor!
We ordered garlic naan (divine) and their chicken tikka full! The chicken tikka was hefty, 8 pieces for ~$ 8, definitely worth it! In my opinion the chicken was a little dry, I personally like more juicier chicken but that might be because of the halal chicken they use.
I will definitely be back!

I had to try this place out based off of the good reviews. The shop is located in a business office like building. I would have never expected fast food restaurant to be located there Without getting directions. Walking in wasn’t visually appealing. The décor was different, but not necessarily in a good way. (I know it’s an affordable Indian food spot, but spicing the place up would not hurt.)
The food was average. The tandoori chicken was tasty, the garlic naan was delectable, but that was about it. I ordered a side of samosas and rice. The samosas and rice were pre-​made. They warmed the samosas up, but did it insufficiently. Warm on the outside and cold inside. The rice tasted like it was leftovers from the night before. I will give it the benefit of the doubt and say it was probably my fault for going there close to the closing time and they probably did not want to waste what was premade. If those items were made to order they probably can get 3.5 stars.

I love this place. My man and I pick up food from here at least once a month– they have so many dishes we both like! He says the Chicken Mikhani and Rogan Josh are not to be missed, and I love their Channa Masala, okra, lentils, and vegetable biryani.
The staff are always warm and professional when we come to pick up, and the food is always hot and delicious. I always order extra garlic naan and I never have the self-​control to save it for leftovers.
Definitely a great local spot for a delicious comfort-​food dinner.

We lived in India for awhile & we love coming to this place to get our fix on Indian food. The chicken biryani is one of our favorites. Also it’s right around the corner from an Indian market which makes for a fun date night for us.

Unilocalers — brace yourself. I have a confession to make — I’m a spice wimp. The KING of nopes. I’d sooner touch a camel spider, than eat spicy food. With that irrelevant comment, let’s get into the review:
Punjabi Tandoor was open on New Years day. DELICIOUS Indian food. Probably the best I’ve had in a LONGGGG time. The quality of the food and ingredients were on point, and I enjoyed the FREE extra na’an a little too much (thanks to them recommending a spicy dish that I didn’t know, and watching a grown man suffer).
Overall, deliciously rich and packed with flavor and Indian spices, Punjabi has a good thing going for them. Keep it up y’all!

Been here a few times and have always had a great experience. They opened up a larger restaurant in Mira Mesa across from the Sorento Valley Food Court by the 805.
To be quite honest, I feel like the quality and hype of this place (just a bit) decreased over the years. I miss when they were just husband and wife in this shop. The quality then seemed to be bit more consistent.
However, if you are looking for great tasting Indian food, fabulous lunch combos and friendly service at a quick order at the counter place, this place does not disappoint.
They have preset combination plates that are ready to go with some scoops, but if you would like you can order something on their menu a la carte– made to order.
Every meal comes with rice pudding and naan. The naan is huge is super addicting. I was surprised I could finish it!
Flavors are ⁴⁄₅. All the curries have a nice flavor but wish they were a tad more flavorful, but for the price point it’s absolutely worth it. Feel free to ask if each is spicy or not :)
There are just a few tables inside and some outside seating as well. Plenty of parking. Place is kind of hidden, look at the Unilocal front pics for clues !

This food is amazing… I love all the different types of curry that are in this world and I just wanted to say this will be in my top 5 places I’ve been to…

Delicious!!! Got the all in one plate with a mango lassi… It was enough to share!
Although, be advised some of the items are really spicy. :P
The staff was friendly and patient.

Really good and affordable Indian food! They always have their daily lunch and dinner specials which are pretty good! I like how big their portions are. I left feeling OVERLY STUFFED! I also like how they give you rice pudding! Not a lot of Indian restaurants give that for free.

Everyone loves his place! I’ve been to this place twice and I love the mushroom masala (very buttery!) and rogan josh (lamb). Chicken tikka masala was a bit too spicy for me but to each their own I suppose. Overall good price for their quality. Food is consistent and parking is plenty (lunch time gets crowded due to the Qualcomm folks frequenting this place).
Some people don’t like the kheer but It reminds me of home dishes I had in Indonesia. Tapioca pudding – yum! But I would say that it is. Bit heavy to finish off the meal. Overall I wish there were more veggies in Indian dishes. They’re always very heavy (very good nonetheless) and make me want to keel over and go to sleep afterwards.
Also. I can’t believe they don’t give out green/​red sauce? Like fer reals? I feel like it’s a commonality. But I guess not. :/​the lady gave my friends attitude when she asked her for some which is kind of upsetting.

Ive said this before and I’ll say it again. The smell of the food, the taste of the food and the people remind me of my dads village in India. Three things ive had there that I do NOT like 1) water — tastes weird 2) tea — not very good 3) Raita — u guess it, not very good.
Everything thing else from the modest but great buffet choices to the actual menu are excellent. Authentic north Indian, specifically Punjabi food.
It reminds me of India and thats saying something. At least I think so lol. Like no Mexican has ever said «lets go to have mexican food at Chipotle» cause we all know thats not mexican food.
Go here. You will get a taste of real Punjabi food.

3+ years since my last review and I’m happy to say, «I’m still loving, Punjabi Tandoor!»
My last review talks about my Punjabi Tandoor addiction that was leading me in to dine up to three times a week. Unfortunately, I am not able to dedicate that kind of time at any one restaurant anymore, but damn, I wish I could! Luckily work took me up to the Miramar area a few times over the last couple of weeks and I got to visit old faithful for a blast from the past. The food is still on point, the fast casual concept has not failed them, the staff still remembers regulars (or former regulars like me) and the crowd is still and indicator that I do not stand alone with my perspective on this little gem.
No frills, priced right and worth the trip. My kind of place!

One word: AMAZING.
Taste:
¹⁰⁄₁₀! Super tasty, flavorful and authentic. Everything is delicious on the menu!
Quantity:
Nice portions! I eat a lot, so this was the perfect amount.
Service:
They reheat everything by order, so it takes a few minutes. But it is well worth the wait!
Price:
Super cheap! I would come here every time I am craving Indian food!

From pan to plate, this is literally the one and only I’ve seen in a loongggg while! I’ve heard rave compliments about PT for a while now, but never got a chance to make a visit here. What better time than Week 0 weekend? Gotta indulge before the school year starts!
Came on a Sunday evening around 6:15 PM. Pretty quiet neighborhood, and the place looks pretty small. BUT the different menu options they have made me SUPER hungry!
We ordered:
–2 Dinner Combos #4 (2 meats) /​/​CHICKEN AND LAMB. For all your meat lovers, this is more than enough! They give generous scoops of their delicious curries and lots of meat!
–1 Dinner Combo #5 (1 lamb OR chicken curry, 1 vegetable curry) /​/​LAMBLAMBLAMB! Please get this. Chicken is fantastic as well, but holy smokes… I was eating bite after bite… juicy chunks of lamb with amazing curry. YUM. HITS THE SPOT! Vegetable was not bad! Definitely a different type of curry than lamb, and had potatoes, zucchini and peas/​carrots.
–2 vegetable samosas /​/​HUGE! Stuffed with potatoes and peas. A bit on the dry side, but slather it with the green sauce and red spicy sauce! Burning hot… but delicious! More baked than oily, so that was a plus!
Pros:
–HOT PIPIN’ PLATES! /​/​The best of the best. I seriously burned my tongue because I was ravenous, but that did not stop me from digging into more! Though all they do is reheat the big pot they have, but it literally tastes like yo’ mama’s homecooked meals.
–Generous portions! /​/​AMAZING, HUGE PIECE OF NAAN! You can watch the chef make it… it uses the traditional round ovens (not sure what to even call it) and it makes it crispy and cooked to perfection in just a matter of minutes.
Cons:
–My orders didn’t all come at the same time… but I guess I could have requested that if I wanted.
Tips/​Observations:
–Small parking lot! But you can always do to-​go if you don’t want to dine inside or outdoors.
–They opened another location in Socal! Either Carlsbad or Escondido… check it out if you are not in Miramar!
–They accept credit cards! Super glad about this, since most «hole-​in-​the-​wall» places are cash only. WOOT WOOT!
–An abundance of drinks. Feel free to drink a beer! Good selection in the fridge!
Overall, REAL CURRY. I think my life has transformed! I always thought curries tasted the same but no, no-​this place will transform your perception on curry.

Looking for some flavor in your life? Indian food is where it is at!
One of my favorite Indian restaurants! I came in on a Thursday afternoon & thankfully, there was no line (This is a very popular place & you will typically find a line out the door!)
Lunch special Monday — Saturday until 4p!
Combo #5 = Rice, chicken, vegetable, naan, raita, vegetable samosa $ 8.49
Chicken Tiki Masala — Best Indian dish! The sauce is incredibly flavorful! Chicken is so tender.
Saag Paneer = Spinach dish — All right… Too much spinach for my liking.
Raita — Sweet rice pudding! My favorite Indian dessert!
Naan — Bigger than your plate! I recommend paying extra for the Garlic Naan, you will love it! Great for dipping.
Vegetable Samosa — Delicious as always. I do not know if they have dipping sauce available but if they do, use it because it is a little dry.
Mango Lassi — A sweet yogurt & mango smoothie, yum!
I do wish that they had labels on their food display because the server said the items too quickly that I did not catch what she said & had already asked her to repeat herself.

In the past, I have heard a lot of positive things about this place. Not sure why it took so long to come here.
Was initially planning to go to another Indian restaurant, but unfortunately they were closed on a Monday, so ended up coming here.
This is a small place with limited selection. I think they had 2 chicken dishes and 3 veggie dishes total. I got the less spicy chicken dish (I think it was butter chicken) and a spinach dish as the veggie. They give you a good amount of food here.
I wasn’t impressed with the food. The spinach dish was pretty bland. I couldn’t really eat it. The chicken dish was a lil on the spicy side for being the less spicy dish. This wasn’t bad. I tried a sample of the spicy chicken from one of my co-​workers and this was spicy, but missing flavor.
That afternoon my stomach wasn’t feeling that great. Probably will not be back.

Punjabi Tandoor sure knows how to make their curries and sauces. I came in for lunch, and ordered one of their specials, combo #6, which consisted of Chicken Makhani, Chicken Curry, basmati rice, one large naan bread, and keer for $ 8.49.
The Chicken Makhani or Indian Butter Chicken was fantastic, and it was the sauce that gave it its success. The sauce was rich, creamy, and no doubt buttery. It was so rich with butter, that I could taste the butter on the tip of my tongue, as it lingered at the end of each bite. The sauce was not only rich, but was filled with exotic herbs and Indian spices common to Indian Cuisine. The chicken was tender and juicy leg and thigh meat for the most part. I’m not complaining because I like it and it came with a good amount too.
The Chicken Curry was good. It was not as rich as the Makhani, but what it lacked in richness and creaminess, it made up in spiciness. The spice level was mild, but just enough to let you know it’s there. The curry had very good flavor. I had a stronger garlic flavor with a touch of ginger. The chicken was the same leg and thigh meat, and it too was quite tender and plentiful. Both the Makhani and curry were great eating with the fluffy basmati rice.
The naan bread was great. It was large, toasty, but also soft at the same time. It was great for spooning Makhani and curry onto and eating. The place is rather small with comfy and yet cramped seating inside on a busy day, but they do have a patio outside.

Best Indian food in San Diego. I have been here countless times for the lunch and dinner specials. I love everything here.
I usually get the chicken makhni or tikka masala. If you like spicy, try the vindalu. I also love their veggie curries, naan and kheer. If you are in San Diego, check this place out!