Emilia reviews an inner Melbourne Indian restaurant the locals just love
Click PLAY to hear Emilia’s full review on 3AW Breakfast
You’ll seldom find a local restaurant more universally loved by locals than Tandoori Den. It’s been a staple in the landscape of the ever changing face of Camberwell Junction since 1981, tucked behind Riversdale Road it seems to be impervious to the cyclical shop turnover the junction has seen in the last 20 years. The owners, Prakash Mirchandani and Gaurav Khanna have always worked front of house as long as I’ve been going and we were lucky to be served by Gaurav when we visited on a Tuesday night.
As soon as you enter off Camberwell Road, straight ahead is the glass walled Tandoor where kids and adults alike can gawk at the Tandoori chef taking metre long skewers in and out of the traditional tandoor. The traditional doesn’t stop there, the staff are all in pressed chef’s whites and the chefs all wear bright white, tall toque hats. I have fond memories of being invited into the tandoor area as a child and as I took pictures of the chef working hard, I was again invited to come in with the chef and take a picture. Despite the 20 year time difference, the excitement remained the same for a food lover.
The tandoor itself is iconic to Northern India specifically and you can see nods of their Northern heritage through their menu whilst staying true to the cooking techniques of the South where they include southern dishes like Chicken Tikka.
I’ve spent many a lunchtime sat in Lower Reserve, next to Canterbury Primary School across the road with one of their lunch specials. I was known for taking half home and getting a dinner out of it too thanks to their generous servings. What used to be $10 for rice and curry lunch special has, like everything else in hospo, had a bit of a rise to $15. Considering sandwiches cost, on average $18 these days, I still think that’s great value. Be honest though, I think we’d all be happily upsold and end up with the $20.50 special, start with the rice and curry, chuck in some naan and a soft drink on top.
As you open the extensive menu they have an explainer on the front page, “Tandoor is a barrel shaped clay oven. Wood charcoal is fired directly inside the Tandoor. All meats for Tandoor require marinating for 24-48 hours before cooking. All the meat must be skinless, lean and of good quality. All the breads are made of plain or whole meal flour. All our curry sauces are prepared individually, cooked with fresh vegetables and spices in vegetable oil. No animal fat, preservatives or meat tenderizer is used. All curries are gluten friendly”. It’s a bold statement to make and I was keen to check off every assertion on the list.
Papadums are already laid on the table before menus are handed out, knowing they’re likely to be demolished before order discussions are done. Out of the gates they impressed in our first order, challenging their tandoor, we started with some boneless tandoori chicken. As promised; tender and flavourful with a couple of corners of char to prove the tandoor’s been doing its job. At the waiter’s recommendation we also tried the samosa chaat which was so big they cut it up into servable pieces before it came out, and it was topped with chickpeas, yoghurt and chutney.
I can with absolute certainty assert that their Butter Chicken is the best in Melbourne because I’ve been searching for one as good since I left the area and have never found one that hits the spot quite the same. The balance of sweetness, richness coupled with the juicy marinated chicken and tandoor flavours are matchless. With that in mind I had to try the Paneer Butter Masala for vegetarians, which uses a fresh cheese used in northern Indian cooking, similar to ricotta or cottage cheese but always in bite size cubes in the same curry sauce as a butter chicken. Vegetarians form an orderly line at the door of Tandoori Den, I’ve found it.
If you like a bit of spice and need an alternative to a table of curries (why would you though?) their biriyani fills that gap with their heavily flavoured basmati rice with your choice of protein and greens on the side.
Also at the recommendation of our waiter we had a vegetable Rogan Josh and another unique Northern Indian dish in the Goat Rahra. Notably the goat was pull-apart-soft and the gravy-like curry was happily heaped onto my plate as a rolling alternative to the Butter Chicken.
Perhaps the alcohol ban until 2001 in Camberwell meant they haven’t quite had time to refine their drinks, I would probably say to stick to the wine and beer or BYO for $5 corkage as I wasn’t all the way convinced by their Indian inspired cocktails.
Despite the prices, like the rest of the city going up gradually, seeing curries sit at $30 for a dinner serving, locals know the authenticity, service and reliability of Tandoori Den makes it worth coming back to at every occasion. And they do, it’s one of those restaurants that remains steadfast in the community even through every stage of not only the restaurant’s lifespan but also the locals. Like me; it’s seen me as a kid, a young professional adult and as a nostalgic catch up with old friends, I know I’ll be recommending it for years to come.
Tandoori Den
261 Camberwell Road, Camberwell