Tandoori Flame
5975 Mavis Road
Mississauga, ON L5R 3T7
(Heartland Town Centre, Mavis & Britannia)
Phone: 905.502.8555
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website: Restaurant & Bar - tandooriflame.com
Excerpt form their website:
This brand spanking new ‘Indian Kitchen’ will offer just a little bit more than the ‘North America’s Largest Indian Buffet’ to make your mouth water! After a successful run, Tandoori Flame of ‘Brampton fame’, has added a glamorous new address in the commercial hub of Mississauga, Heartland Town Centre.Our goal is to provide the same taste as we’ve always delivered, to a completely different city and their demands! It’s only because of the encouraging support we get from thousands of people who just want more! We’re proud to say that this new Tandoori Flame will definitely cater to all cravings while giving what everyone wants – a new twist at things! A different class of an ‘indian kitchen’ in it’s own, this restaurant feels a bit rustic, with white brick walls and a hint of warehouse glass, it blends into an array of finely carved indian artifacts and paintings from historic Raja & Rani! Not to mention the fine but classy ‘indian bar’ right at the entrance!
All in all, a ‘never been seen before’ indian buffet at it’s best right in the heart of Mississauga, catering to all the hungry people out there!
Review:
We had been thinking about checking this place out since it opened a few months back but were waiting for the right opportunity. On Friday, February 28 we decided that it was time.
Looking forward to the “Grand Indian Buffet” that supposedly features more than “150 delicacies” we called ahead to find out if there was a wait time and even though it was peak time we were told, no, there is no line up. The instant reaction was “Great!” because we were hungry!! It didn’t occur to us that there might be a reason why on a Friday night the place was not busy.
Upon arrival we were promptly seated but despite the lack of customers, nobody came to ask us about drinks or, as is normally done in a buffet restaurant, familiarize us with the layout etc. After waiting at our table we just decided to get started and give up on waiting to order our drinks.
The variety was there in terms of dishes however, the curries tended to taste pretty much the same; like they had been prepared with the same base. The only item that looked drastically different from the others was the “Haryali Chicken” but when we tasted it, there was no flavour of fresh coriander or green chilly as was expected. In fact, it appeared that it was simply green food colouring that had been employed to give the pieces of chicken that greenish stain.
The kids did what kids will do…headed for the pizza…but even they were annoyed by the slices that were cut to a width of only 2 inches. (Maybe our kids are too well-mannered to serve themselves more than a couple of slices at a time. Clearly that’s what they needed to do.)
The butter in the Butter Chicken had obviously been replaced by canola oil (or something similar) and my daughter who would normally devour a half decently prepared Butter Chicken dish left more than half of her serving uneaten.
The naan service was slow and inadequate. Guests were found standing over the heat lamp that was focused on an empty basket like vultures waiting for a dying animal to take it’s final breath. When quartered pieces of a single naan were dropped into the basket one felt greedy taking it all since 6 people were standing waiting behind.
The dessert variety was just sad. The gulab jamuns were over-flavoured with kewra essence so that no more than one could be tolerated. The ras gullay were not tender as they should have been. A bowl of strawberries and a dish of sliced cantaloupe and honey dew was all the fruit offered. A dish of Apple Crumble was left with only the apple part left over. I’m told that the ice cream was not bad. (Obviously it had been brought in and not made onsite.)
Eventually we were asked if we wanted any drinks and our table was cleared in a timely fashion by polite servers. The water was warm and the glasses were not quite as clean as one would want.
The most disturbing part was seeing an employee come from behind the counter to the dessert table and help himself (by hand not by tongs) to a large piece of baklava which he tried to discreetly (or so he thought) deliver to the apron pocket of another employee who was busy preparing some food. I’m sure that I’m the only one that saw this but it put me off my food completely.
All in all the experience was disheartening and steep on the pocketbook.
Until and unless Tandoori Flame can offer the rich variety in flavours that India has to offer, we will not be spending another penny with them.