09/11/08

Delicious, great staff, great atmosphere

by lbo906

This place is fantastic. My boyfriend and I brought 20 people here for a birthday and they did a wonderful job. It's a small place, but they gave us a long table along the back wall. They accommodated extra people who showed up. It was very cozy and everyone had a great time. We had one waiter assigned to us, and did a great job coordinating our service. It's obviously well managed. The cook tries out fantastic, non-traditional recipes. I recommend straying from the standard chicken tikka masala and trying some of the different dishes, I haven't yet been disappointed. I can't wait to try their new restaurant in Brookline - I am not surprised this business is expanding.

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: Nothing

02/13/08

Tamarind Bay made me wish restaurants offer refunds.

by Aquabluz

This is not the first time I have been to Tamarind Bay, but this is the first time I tried their lunch buffet. It was terrible compared to any other Indian buffets I've had in the area. The variety of the food was limited (although it did have a curry dish, nan, vegetable, Indian fried chicken, potatoes). In addition, the chicken in the curry was really hard and the sauce was so salty that even when I tried to eat with with nan and rice, it was unacceptable. The vegetable curry tasted like it was chopped vegetable in water. The nan was stale and bland with no garlic/butter flavoring, unlike the other nans that I've had in the area (ex. Cafe India, Tanjore). What dissapointed me most was that the Indian fried chicken was burnt, cold and again, super super SUPER salty. The sauce was a plum flavor that tasted extremely unnatural. Generally, I am not a picky person about food, and I eat Indian food at least once a week, so I thought I would try out Tamarind Bay as friends informed me that their dinner was not bad. For all those who want good Indian buffets, you should definitely pick another restaurant in the area. After this terrible experience, I tried to give some feedback to the waiters, and they had a pretty bad attitude. I will definitely not go back to this place again. Tamarind Bay made me wish restaurants offer refunds.

• Pros: Good atmosphere
• Cons: Terrible Lunch Buffet, super super salty food

02/12/08

Best Food Ever I had in New England Area

by swaram

Space is too small ...I am ok with it ....Food is really ..really good...curries are very good (Chicken & Goat )

Vegg stuff is also good...Don't expect a Hyderabadi Biryani ..when you ask for a biryani.... little expensive Overall it's good..

• Pros: good food
• Cons: too small

02/07/08

Please read this

by BostonFoodSucks

I normally write quite a bit. But please just take my word for it. It's grubbier than the website makes it look, the food is mediocre, and the value...holy crap...don't they know that for the $15-18 they charge for a little bowl of curry, they could feed around 30 people in India for a day. They're just robbing the little Harvard boys of their allowance.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Horrible value, misrepresenting photos, dodgy service

11/10/07

Best Indian- WOW

by aaafood

Small little place but I guess good things come in small packages. Great lamb kababs (i have not had had so tender ones since Kernel Kabab's in Delhi). Lamb chops are great. Daal is outstanding. I liked the unusual fish curries and the non-colored tandoori chicken ( which shows the restaurant is authentic). Go there for food, not for a night out.

• Pros: Food, food, food
• Cons: space

08/28/07

Greasy food and not good for kids

by sgoodie

Dinner dishes was cooked with too much oil. Both veggie dishes had a thick layer of oil. The food was too greasy. Indian dishes require some oil for cooking but this was definately too much.

As for the notation - not good for kids. Very true. Very poor structure for children. They had 2 high chairs available - both of which had no restraint straps working - useless.

My recommendation - if you don't have kids or want Indian greasy food, then this is place for you. If not, check around the city, there are plenty of nicer Indian restaurants with better food.

06/01/07

Best eclectic Indian food in Boston!

by bostongal1317

Tamarind Bay is our default restaurant. We have probably been there 6 times in the past 8 months and absolutely love going there. We usually stick to our routine selections, however whenever we go outside our comfort zone, we are almost always pleasantly surprised. At Tamarind Bay, you won't find your normal Indian staples. What you will find is a chef that knows the flavors of Indian food, knows how to combine different tastes, all with success. Adding twists to staple foods, or offering different Indian tastes that you can't find at any other Indian restaurant in Boston, including Bombay Club (right across the street), is definitely welcomed by this Indian couple!

• Pros: Excellent food and attentive waitstaff
• Cons: Limited space

04/26/07

CitySearch 2006 Best Award is worth every bite at TBay.

by goodfood4u

I have been to Tamarind Bay 3 times in last 6 months and I have to say that the experience has been nothing but great. People are too picky about small things that day and overlook the big picture. In my opinion, they have the best Indian food in Boston. I specially like the lamb-chops, lobster, mysore chilli and daal. Try the Zatar paratha if you want. I asked the manager food and he said that most of the food is cooked in "desi ghee" - home style clarified butter. Their policy about reservations he told me guarantees a table but not the time as they are such a small restaurant. Everyone things they are a food critic now so my two cents are that this is the top 3 Indian restaurant in town if not the best. The limitations are the space and size but the food is CitySearching deliciouuuuuuus.

• Pros: Food, atmosphere and quality
• Cons: Space

03/28/07

Is grease an Indian dish?

by tohaveaplan

OMG, I was shocked that I have read so many good things about this restaurant and ate there today. 3 Tablespoons of oil per bite (I am not kidding). There are other Indian dining locations so close by I am shocked they try getting away serving this stuff!

• Pros: In Harvard Square
• Cons: Greasy, greasy, greasy!!!!!

01/25/07

Best Indian Food in Boston (perhaps the East Coast)

by ras550

Excellent and innovative Indian food. However, innovation involves experimentation which comes with a price - while most of the dishes end up being excellent, a few can be fairly mediocre.

I would recommend going for dinner when you can order a la carte. Lunch is buffet only and is quite good on some days but very mediocre on other days (the Sunday special lunch is usually the worst).

• Pros: Food, location
• Cons: parking