Having heard wonderful things about Tandoori Station from so many people, I finally went there the other night with a group of friends, one of whom had previously written about the restaurant in her own food blog, Las Mesas de Vanessa.
Tandoori Station is located in Barrio Salamanca. Now I must admit that I was reluctant to eat Indian food that far from calle Lavapiés (if you don’t know this street, it’s lined with cheap and fun Indian restaurants that I like to call curry row). But Tandoori Station is different. One, it’s higher-end and thus pricier, which is well worth it for its generous portions and outstanding quality. And two, the service is very good–you will be asked how everything is and given recommendations. If you go often enough, your name will be remembered and after-dinner shots will be on the house. And lastly, it’s the kind of comfortable place where you can linger over drinks and dessert as long as you wish. So needless to say, it lived up to my expectations indeed!!
Just one last note before I talk about the food–the décor includes features of a train station (as its name implies) and they have a spacious outdoor seating area which was very alluring even though we decided to sit inside.
from Tandoori Station’s web
So here’s what we ordered:
To start, they give you the typical crispy bread with three sauces to choose from. To drink, we ordered Indian beer called Crown and Vanessa ordered her favorite, salted lassi. We then ordered two appetizers–Samosas (filled with potato, peas and cilantro seeds) and Aloo Tikkia (mini potato hamburgers with paneer cheese). The ingredients tasted fresh and delicious, plus the sauces added a great kick to each bite.
When it came to the main course, I was planning on ordering lamb curry, because my friend Alondra told me it was out of this world. But as I looked at the menu I instantly fell in love with Murghi Ki Balti (curried chicken with yogurt sauce, tomato, cilantro, anis and other spices). It was really nice, but I still want to go back for the lamb!
Murghi Ki Balti chicken curry
We shared several other dishes too. Our table was full of colours and smells, and it took some creativity as to what sauce and rice to mix with what chicken or vegetable. We had Murgh Ka Tikka (marinated tandoori chicken) which I liked even more than the Murghi Ki Balti.
Murgh Ka Tikka (marinated tandoori chicken)
curried spinach
We also ordered Kashmir Ka Pulau (rice dish with raisins, nuts, and saffron), curried spinach, aubergines and Madras Wali Machli (swordfish curry, mildly spicy with a touch of coconut milk), and some naan bread too, of course. What can I say? It was all delicious! I don’t think you can go wrong with anything here.
Madras Wali Machli swordfish
Kashmir Ka Pulau rice
Although I’ve only been here once, my friends have been back many times and say they’ve always enjoyed it thoroughly. So if you’re looking for great quality Indian food in Madrid, I would definitely recommend Tandoori Station. It’s especially good for groups (I noticed that many of the tables around us were either large groups of families or friends, and there was plenty of space). Do make a reservation!
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Address: c/ José Ortega y Gasset 89-91
Phone: 914 01 22 28
Price Range: (20-30€)
