Punjabi Tandoor

It was OK. Honestly kind of a disappointment after all of the great reviews. At least the prices are reasonable… But then you have to eat curry out of a shallow styrofoam take out box, spilling and making a mess if you drive it somewhere else to eat. The naan was good. Butter chicken good, but the chicken tikka masala was not my favorite. Like chicken gravy… I don’t think there was any tomato in there at all. You guys should spice up your tikka masala and get some of those Chinese style take out boxes to put the curry in.

This place was great! We have tried a few other Indian food joints and this one is by far the best tasting.

My girlfriend and I tried this place last night cause I had a hankering for Indian food. I’m so glad we found this place. The staff was very nice and inviting. The food was made fast and it was delicious. It also came out hot which is a plus. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Indian food.

Really delicious random find at a food court. The employees were super friendly and the prices were incredibly reasonable! The food was so good! The tandoori chicken looks like a burnt red sunset, the curries were rich, the na’an was fresh, and the rice pudding was perfect. Probably not the place for a hot date, it is in a food court. But for what it is, it’s the best!

The food was tasty, if a little mild. I got a lunch special. Not sure why. Didn’t ask for it. It came with a huge naan which I didn’t want and couldn’t eat, so I left it at the counter. $ 11 seemed quite pricey for rice, a small portion of meat curry and a veggie curry side, and didn’t see to tie-​in the price they had on their menu.
I’ll give it another try sometime as I enjoyed the food.

This is my favorite Indian restaurant! I originally went to the San Diego location and fell in love. When I found out this location was opening (6 min from my home!) I was SO EXCITED!!! Friendly, helpful service, delicious food, fresh naan. The chicken mahkni is the best, I haven’t found it anywhere else!

I had no idea about this place, but my friend suggested it on our drive up to LA. The employees were so friendly and were really patient in helping me decide what dish would be best for someone that has not been exposed to a lot of indian food. Everything was so delicious that I licked my plate clean! Large portions and rich taste. Definitely somewhere I would like to come back again!

Everything was fresh and delicious! The place was in a food court I didn’t know existed & I had a good experience :) The breads themselves are delicious either by themselves, or dipped in the curry. Be careful though cause their spicy level alone is pretty damn spicy!
It’s about time coastal North County starts getting a little bit of variety!

4 stars is hard to give for me. I can’t tell you how yummy this food was! I was a little leery when I walked in, it’s small, no indoor seating, and in a weird food court. For this reason aline I would’ve given it 3 stars, but the food was so exceptional that it counterbalanced
I got the combo meal #4 which was too much food for me. It comes with rice, naan, 2 different choices of meat curry, and raita.
The naan was PERFECT. It was chewing and more thin which was perfect for picking up the curry and eating it! I wished other Indian establishments would catch on!
Spicy…my mild was was more spicy than I would have liked it, so raita IS A MUST!
The food was fresh and made on the spot.

I work close by and come here at least once a week. I think my record is three times. And I’ve been tempted to come here on days I’m not working! There aren’t many good Indian places in North County, but in my opinion Punjabi Tandoor is the best.
Great food, great service, great prices.
FYI: there’s not seating inside (it’s relatively small) but plenty of seating outside.

Was looking for cheap good food open past 9PM and was desperate for something other than mexican food. Was unsure about a grab and go type Indian restaurant however, like I said, I was desperate. I am very happy I decided to drive the few extra miles out of Vista to try this place out. Comparable, if not better, than most local sit down Indian restaurants and extremely cheap in comparison. Along with the great food came great customer service, the entire staff was very friendly and created a very warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Planning on stopping by here many times in the future, definitely recommend trying out at least once.

Was in the area for Legoland and decided to try this place. And we pretty much inhaled the food it was so delicious! Everything was so tender and flavorful and the bread was buttery, soft and chewy. I absolutely loved it! Indian food is not common so this was a special treat for us (my fam loves trying new things).
They offer a combo special with two side options with rice and a large portion of bread and a small rice pudding. Very large portion. The bread is kinda like a tortilla but thicker and soft. So good! We got two combos and just went ahead and tried a little of everything: a chicken curry and another spicy chicken dish. Also got a spinach and a lamb dish. The lamb and spinach were by far my favorite!!! Sauce was very flavorful and meat was so so tender! Spinach was melt in your mouth.
Prices were on point for what you get with a large portion! It is a little hidden in a food court with no view from the street, so just gotta navigate yourself into the food court. The staff was super friendly asking us how our day was and giving us help ordering by suggesting a combo. All smiles and very warm. :)
I did find the hours a little odd, as they are closed between 4pm and 5pm. We were on our way there for the first time with an arrival at 3:40pm and wasn’t sure what to expect, so I called. And turns out there seating is all outside so they said not to worry and to come through and if they close while eating, seating was outside anyways. (If your wondering why we were eating at such an odd time ourselves, we were just coming out of Legoland and didn’t eat lunch there cause the super high prices so by the time we left we were starving!) It is more of a take out type place, though we ate there as the outdoor seating is very nice with shade coverings and a fountain, but can be tough if weather is not good.
All in all, everything was excellent! We will be back again for sure. Thankful we stumbled across this little hidden spot!

ok, let’s be candid, this is a take out joint.
I ordered chicken Tikka Masala, Bengan Bhartha, and Saag Paneer. (my ‘white boy’ staples that I use as a litmus test)
Each of them seemed pre-​packaged, or pre-​made.
Not great.
I’m in a weird part of SD with an Indian Food ‘Black Hole’, so I was thrilled to find this new business only minutes away.
I will concede that in moments of duress, I may order take out from them again, but, only if I have not planned ahead properly instead.

After looking at the 4.5 rating on Unilocal,I was really excited to try a good Indian food restaurant as there’s not to many around the Carlsbad area.
I walked into the restaurant and it did look clean. Initially the guy I spoke to about different food was pretty nice. Two people were in front of me before I ordered. When I went to the register to order a chicken tikka masala to-​go, I felt like the girl frowned upon me since I didn’t order the rice or bread to go with the food. Regardless, I still let this slide as I’m not really there expecting the best customer service.
Probably within 4 minutes, the two people in front of me got their food, then I got mine really quick Maybe getting the food too quickly was a sign that the food wasn’t freshly made. I got my food in a tiny brown bag, expecting maybe a plate or at least a larger bowl of chicken tikka masala than what I got. Immediately I stepped outside and tried a bite to really see what the hype was about, and unfortunately, all I got was a really small container of cold chicken with some sauce which I felt just came out of fridge and mixed in. Wasn’t nearly as good as any chicken tikka masala I have ever tried, and definitely very disappointed at paying the 6 $ before tax for a tiny bowl of cold chicken. Picture attached on Unilocal.
I’ll be in search of another Indian food restaurant hopefully within the area that provides a decent portion to their proposed price.

Well, I thought I’d «spice up» my life, if you will, by trying some Indian food for the first time at this little joint right off Palomar Airport Road. Wouldn’t have found or even have known that this place existed if not for Unilocal.It’s apart of the Island at Carlsbad Food Court. It’s a very small location, order at the counter and sit down outside kind of joint. Good for to go food for sure. Feels very authentic (you can safely assume you’re in good hands when you feel like you’re transported to India after walking in and when there are tons of other Indian people coming to this place for food).
The staff was warm, welcoming and ready to help my doe eyed self navigate my way through the menu and readily offered up a recommendation! Cool thing about this place is it definitely feels like a family run joint. Staff said there are five locations and this one in Carlsbad has been open two months.
See my receipt picture for what I ordered. The garlic naan is the bomb. And the Kheer (I’m assuming) was the sweet finish, very tasty. The two main dishes were very spicy! Now, I’m not some white girl that can’t hang– just want to throw that out there. I love spicy. Thai spicy. But this was hot! So prepare your tastebuds. The chicken dish and veggie dish were good– I got a lot of spice and not as much curry taste as I would’ve liked but it was good. Would’ve liked more chicken. I really only got like two pieces. The box was 70% basmati rice which was good and 20% garbanzo beans and 10% chicken. Felt like the ratio could’ve been swapped. Anyways, happy with service, not sure if Indian food is my cup of tea but willing to come back and try again for sure!

curries hold well on steam tables — makes lunch quick and affordable. spotted this place last time we were at the dentist (in the building next to the food court) but having had a small army of folks marching through her mouth, my wife wasn’t all that hungry — imagine that.
so, went back a week later and ate with my oldest son, MICHAEL. started with SAMOSAS which don’t hold as well but were pretty good.
i had the LAMB CURRY and CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA with BASMATI RICE and NAAN. mildly spiced (meant as criticism — but i understand the necessity of appealing to the lowest common denominator) but for a «steam table» restaurant, i thought the food was pretty good. the lamb and chicken were tender, the rice was fluffy and the naan (cooked in the tandoor right in front of us), hot and fresh.
can’t say lunch satisfied my craving for INDIAN food but PUNJABI TANDOOR came pretty close. looking forward to going back in the early evening and actually ordering something off the menu.
ps: agree with several other reviewers that the styrofoam containers PUNJABI TANDOOR serves in are flimsy and don’t travel well.

Delicious Indian food right here in Carlsbad! I ordered the dinner combo #3 which came with rice, naan, 2 vegetable curries and raita (yogurt sauce). I chose to have the channa masala and saag paneer but also tried to bhindi masala and the mushroom masala. Everything was very fresh and tasty! The staff was also very nice! I really liked watching them fresh cook the naan and pull it out of the tandoor! The naan was so warm and fresh when we ate it.
They have some outdoor seating outside, as part of the food court. This is not a sit down restaurant but it is definitely worth it!

Bottom Line: Tasty food and great prices.
I was on an adventure for a new spot in Carlsbad and I came across Punjabi Tandoor at «The Island» food court off of Faraday and Van Allen Way. At lunch time this food court is packed but in the evening only a few places are open, Punjabi Tandoor is one of those.
The logistics of Punjabi Tandoor is that you order at the counter and either take it to go or go sit outside at a table overlooking the food court’s fountain. For $ 10 you can get two meat curries, some rice and fresh naan which seems like a killer deal to me. The curries were delicious with lots of flavor but not too overwhelming. The basmati rice was perfectly cooked and absorbed the rich flavors of the curries. I also really enjoyed the fresh cooked naan and watching it being pulled out of the tandoor.
The people here are nice and I can tell they will have a great following in Carlsbad.

Ordered samosas, combo #4 (chicken tikka masala and buttered chicken) and an order of chai.
The chutney for the samosa was delicious! Samosa was very tasty as well, a lot of potatoes but I was okay with it.
Buttered chicken was decent, I’m not a fan. The tikka masala was pretty good and should’ve ask it to be spicier. Naan was fresh and home made. Good portions and good price.
Chai was delicious and kheer was the best I had in a while. Reminds me of a Vietnamese dessert.
I will return to try other dishes. This place is in the same plaza as Jbox Sushi off of Van Allen Way

The newly opened Punjabi Tandoor is the best Indian food in North County. You get the best bang for your buck here.
There are several other locations, but I couldn’t be happier that I now have one close to home! Being fifteen minutes away from the divine curries of Punjabi Tandoor is exceptionally bad for my health, but worth it.
You get two heaps of chicken or goat curry, a generous serving of rice, garlic naan, and small cup of kheer for $ 10! Hell yes! The food is just as delicious, maybe even better, than its sister locations. Highly recommended!