Tanvi’s Indian Cuisine

Tanvi’s Indian Cuisine opened Summer 2013 on Spring Road not far from Cobb Parkway and I-​285. The restaurant is in a standalone building that
used to be a Mexican restaurant. While they proclaim themselves to be a «fine dining restaurant,» this place is more casual than anything else.
The old space inside has been cleared and cleaned out. The dining area is big and spacious with hardly any décor to speak of. Seating consists mostly of tables and a handful of booths. Due to the large size of the restaurant, it’s ideal for groups. It appears most of the dishware, silverware, tablecloths, etc. are still relatively new.
Tanvi’s is open seven days a week and serves a daily lunch buffet. The dinner menu is quite extensive and has a mix of both North and South Indian cuisine. Foods include a variety of breads and chaats, soups, salads, biryani rice, assorted chicken, lamb, goat, and seafood entrees, tandoor oven-​cooked foods, vegetable dishes, raita and yogurts, desserts, and beverages like chai and lassi. Most of the entrees are priced between $ 12 – 14 each while most of the smaller items, sides, and appetizers are under $ 10 each.
The lunch buffet is popular and a good deal at $ 9.99. The buffet has a decent selection of items and is accessible from two sides, easing customer traffic. Items typically found on the buffet include:
«Salad» bar:
Green salad — mixed greens with grape tomatoes, tossed in vinaigrette
Cucumber and yogurt salad
Raw sliced onion and lemon
Various chutney and sauces
Main buffet:
Sambar — soup made of lightly spiced lentils, vegetables, and herbs
Cream of vegetable soup
Poori — whole wheat, deep fried, puffy bread
Idly — steamed rice cakes
Nan — white flour soft flatbread
Onion cabbage pakora — onion and cabbage fritter
Plain rice
Zafrani pulao — basmati rice prepared with spices and saffron
Potato curry
Beans poriyal — fresh-​cut green beans sauteed with coconut powder
Dal tadka — lentils cooked with garlic, tomato, and onion
Saag paneer — creamed spinach with cheese
Butter chicken
Chicken dopiaza — chicken curry dish with onions
Lamb rogan — lamb cooked with a mixture of herbs and yogurt
Tandoori chicken — overnight-​marinated chicken baked in clay pot
Desserts:
Sooji halwa — sweet dessert made of semolina flour, butter, sugar
Fruit custard
Overall, it’s not a bad buffet. The best thing it has going for it is its freshness and selection. I’ve tried every single item on the buffet and generally, the taste is average.
My favorite items from the buffet include the poori, plain rice, zafrani pulao, and tandoori chicken. Sadly enough, most of these items are purely starches and carbs. The poori is indeed puffy and expectedly oily. Delicious, though, with almost any buffet item or even by itself. I love basmati rice and the zafrani pulao is flavorful enough to be eaten on its own. I’ve run into strong bits of star anise when eating the pulao.
In general, I’m not a huge fan of tandoori chicken, but I think Tanvi’s makes a decent one. If you select the right pieces, the chicken is tender and flavorful. I’ve run into many tandoori chickens that are too dry, but not so much here.
I’m a fan of saag (or palak) paneer, which is India’s version of creamed spinach. Tanvi’s version is okay. It’s not as tasty as I’m used to, but I do like the big, soft cubes of Indian cottage cheese mixed within. Several of the vegetarian-​friendly dishes such as the potato curry, beans poriyal, and dal tadka weren’t very memorable.
The salad bar provides a light and refreshing escape from all the heavily spiced foods from the main bar, the cucumber and yogurt salad especially. The desserts sort of function the same way. The sooji halwa resembles and somewhat has the same consistency as sweet potato soufflé. It’s unique. GIve it a try. The fruit custard includes small chunks of ripe fruit such as mango, apple, and grape.
Service is very good. The restaurant is adequately staffed.

I ate here when it first opened and enjoyed it. On par with Swapna and Lahore Grill. Unfortunately, I went back for lunch on 11/​26/​2013 and the place has closed down. There is a banner over the entrance saying Sri Lanka restuarant coming soon.

I went in weekdays so looks ok not many varieties.

I’ve never tried the buffet here, but my husband and I have eaten here a few times on a Saturday night from the menu. We are consistently pleased. The staff is accommodating and will take the time to answer your questions if you are a Indian food novice. If you aren’t a novice be prepared for many choices. There are regional, as well as vegetarian options, just depends on your craving.
There are also usually large parties of families which to me is a good sign that the food has an authentic home style appeal. BTW, Even though there are large parties, it doesn’t disrupt the service level for other tables.
The restaurant appears clean, but the owners need to work on the décor. I plant to try the buffet during a lunch hour one day, but so far no disappointment with the fare on the menu.

We have been coming here since this place opened and have never been disappointed. We used to go to Swapna up the road but the service was so terrible we tried this place instead. Highly recommended.

Visited for dinner. I thought the food was very good, the service gracious. I ordered samosas and the chicken tikka masala, which comes with rice and nan. The portion was ample. The décor is pleasing and there was a pleasant subtle exotic aroma to the room.

I am SO not a buffet girl but this place is super close to work, therefore convenient. So the buffet thing… again, usually refuse looking at it like it poison or something however it is pretty decent here.
I wish they would switch up their picnic tablecloths to white table but their service is quick and friendly so I will look past the eye sore.
Room for improvement… I’m rooting for it!

Food was pretty good but it’s getting very annoying how some of these Indian places that charge 12 bucks an entrée don’t take AMEX or DISCOVER.
This is 1980s mentality and please evolve, hope sam is listening.
I spoke with the owner sam and hopefully when business becomes consistent they will be able to.

I’m kind of confused by the odd terrible review or two on here. I have been here twice. Once for the lunch buffet and once for regular menu dinner. One was on the weekend and one was during the week
I will say both times everyone in our party has been satisfied or more with the food.
The lunch buffet was great and the staff attentive. I will say the owners who float around are a tiny bit intrusive but I feel it is all from a good place. They want people to be happy and full!
I will say the dinner night was really great! Our table ordered a variety of chicken and veggie options. I will say one GREAT thing about ordering from the extensive menu is that you can choose your entrée made Mild, Medium, or Hot! Yay! They get an A + for that! They do have two TVs that play news which is eh. Also some strange ethnic elevator music if there is such a thing playing over the speakers. The place is clean and nice inside with tons of booths!
— If the owners read this, please play Bollywood videos or something like that on your tvs instead of news! Super fun and adds some atmosphere!

We have not tried the buffet, but we love having dinner here. The food is delicious! Our favorites so far are the chicken saagwala, samosas (app) & any dessert. The staff is friendly and prompt. They are becoming like family since we make at least one trip a week.

I took my wife to the weekday lunch buffet. We both have been to Swapna and like it very much although the pace there is frenetic. Here, the atmosphere was very serene — calm and very clean — which we both liked better than Swapna. The other reviewers are correct in that there are not as many food choices as Swapna (lots of chicken dishes!) but we both liked the food better. Everything had a little more flavor and seemed fresher. My only complaint was that the naan was only okay, but that is my only criticism.
The service was very attentive and even though there weren’t a lot of people in there for lunchtime, we got our drinks and check quickly and efficiently.
Given the choice here in Smyrna, we are going to return here for the buffet, and also try the carry-​out from the full menu.

OMG! This place is awesome! We love to try new restaurants and we were very impressed with the delicious food. We shared a kebab platter for an appetizer and all the meats were amazingly spiced and tender. It all tasted so fresh. For an entrée we shared chicken saagwala that is chicken with fresh chopped spinach. I was floored! It was GREAT! They talked us into dessert and again we shared a homemade ice cream with pistachio. This is our new favorite restaurant!

Tanvi’s Indian cuisine new open Indian restaurant, they have lunch buffet and dinner menu, All you can eat lunch weekdays $ 9.99 and weekend $ 12 something

My first time at Tanvi, I was blown away at the expansive menu, spanning northern and southern Indian cuisines. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the buffet to sample a wider variety! The dinner portions are certainly generous, with naan and rice included (where other restaurants make you order them separately.) We will be coming back, and soon!

Decent Indian food and place the not crowded unlike other Indian restaurants. Love the atmosphere and the serving people are also nice !! Finally got a nice neat and clean Indian restaurant .am wondering why give handwritten bills and when we pay via card they give the printed bar bill.

Tanvi’s is another Indian lunch buffet in Smyrna/​Marietta area. It competes with Swapana, Udipi, Lahore, and even Vatica.
The lunch buffet is not as huge as Swapana’s. It’s about the same size as Lahore. They offer both vegetarian, meat, dessert choices.
The buffet seems standard for your typical Indian buffets. They have your popular items such as Butter Chicken, Dal, Saag Paneer, and others.
I was disappointed with the Naan. It wasn’t fluffy. It was flat and tough.
They use a lot of spices in their foods. I could taste strong coriander and other spices in all of their dishes. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. They are not subtle. It almost tastes over-​spiced.
Since they’re new, they seem cleaner than the other buffets in the area. That is a good thing. I hope they keep that up. Also, since it’s the newest buffet in town, it looked popular with a lot of Indians. So maybe that’s a good sign. But to me, it’s just another Indian buffet.

Unfortunately there isn’t an option for 0.

Extensive menu! Excellent dinner! We’ll definitely be back!

My girlfriend and I have been looking for a good Indian place in this area since we moved here about a year ago. So we were excited when we finally got a chance to drop by Tanvi to try the lunch buffet.
The buffet was fairly extensive, with good variety. There were around 10 or 12 items to choose from, with four of those containing meat (3 chicken, 1 lamb). There was also a sidebar of sauces and a small dessert bar (two choices, both good).
I tried most of the non-​meat dishes (I’m vegetarian), and I wasn’t disappointed with any of them. My two favorites, though, were the saag paneer and the breaded zucchini (I forget the actual name of it). It was easily the best paneer I’ve had anywhere.
The place is a little larger than most of the Indian restaurants I’ve been to, so even with a decent crowd (as there was when we went), it can feel a little on the empty side. But the décor and atmosphere is clean and just a bit classy, without being too upscale for a family place. It seems to cater to the business lunch crowd, at least during the week.
I’ll definitely be going back!

Went there because it said Buffet, simple as that. There was a Mexican restaurant there at one time that never had a car in front and horrible reviews.
When I walked in my first impression was the place was big, austere even. Lots of white tablecloths with plastic red tablecloths on top. Very fine dining ish but again I went for the buffet. We were seated and I swear to you the staff out numbered the guests and were dressed better. It was little «much». Again I came for the buffet.
Speaking of the buffet, it was okay. Lots of chicken (4 dishes), one lamb dish, two types of rice and two types of soup. That pretty much sums it up. Oh there’s some salad as well and fresh Naan is dropped off at the table. All this for $ 9.99. Which honestly isn’t a bad price. I ate til I was full and probably a little bit past that, just to taste all the chicken dishes.
So if its so good why not a 4 or 5. Simple really, it was good, not great, not fantastic or even memorable. The Naan bread was served hot and was probably the best thing on the plate. The overwhelming number of staff and the almost oppressive nature of the owners, floating around constantly made it just to much. Add to that you would think with all the staff, things would come out quickly. It didn’t happen. And it was quiet. no music being pipped. Even some elevator music would be nice.
They have a full menu, which I might try next time to see what they produce.