Punjabi Tandoor

great place for late-​night craving. Remember to get the Mango lassi!

So Punjabi Tandoor has a more famous original location on Activity Rd, but I prefer this new location a whole lot more. It’s super spacious and there’s usually no wait (unlike their other location). And the food just tastes more home-​y in my opinion.
One of my favorite dishes here is the Chicken Makhini. It is a bright red curry and is a little sweet tasting. If you are familiar with Chinese bbq, this is very similar to char siu, but with a curry flavor. I am also a fan of their Mushroom Masala curry which is also a mild tasting curry for those you who can’t handle spice. I’ve also had the Lamb curry which has a very strong lamb flavor so if you like that, this one is for you. It’s also spicier than the last two curries I mentioned. I usually get the combo meal (they have a lunch one and a slightly more expensive dinner one). It comes with naan and a choice of raita or kheer.
Overall, I am always super satisfied after a meal here and the Makhini in particular feels very unique to this place. I have yet to have it at any other Indian restaurant and it’s easily my favorite!

Not great. I have been to every Indian take away in the area for their lunch specials and this is the worst. The chicken is oh so tough! You can tell it’s not fresh, they have definitely reheated it. Mushroom entrée is also made from canned mushrooms, not fresh. Good size naan portion although mine was dry and burnt. Will be returning to my old faithful on Mira Mesa Blvd.

Total hole in the wall but great Indian food. My husband and I came here on a date. Luckily we are super low key because everything was served in styrofoam and the tv was blasting but the food was so amazing. The vegetable pakoras and naan are some of the best I’ve had. The pakoras were as authentic and amazing as the ones we had in Sri Lanka. The cashier was super helpful and sweet. We will be back but we might bring our own real plates and silverware. ;)

I work close by and just discovered this little gem. It is a great place to go. Their lunch menu is limited but the food is great. Also, their prices are relatively cheap for lunch for what you get.

I’ve been here enough times to learn…
Curry is always really good.
Spice levels are not consistent.
Service can be spotty at times where they are not sure which To Go order is yours.
Sometimes they take longer than expected for pick up orders, especially if they run out of curry and don’t plan for it. It has happened to me more than once.
It’s more of a $ and a half $ for the price. For example, you can’t order the shrimp masala curry in any of the combos, from what I’ve seen at least.
Overall, it’s a good place for lunch, nothing fancy but good food which I think is one of the more important things. Their original location is a half-​star better.

Their customer service was great! Very kind people. I ordered takeout and would have given them 5 stars but their takeout portions are on the smaller size compared to other Indian restaurants in the area. I think you get more for your money if you eat in or at their buffet.

Total ripoff… please check prices at other nearby restaurants like Sher-​e-​Punjab and Indian Tandoor. Also its not like food it way different/​better that others nearby.
I was a huge fan of this place. Went few times a month to the original one at Activity road. But of late prices have gone up like crazy. Not sure if you guys noticed.
For example: Small cup size for A-​La-​Carte Paneer tikka masala order is 8oz. Note other places have smallest cup size of 12oz.
16oz Paneer tikka masala prize: Sher-​e-​Punjab 6.99 $, Indian Tandoor 7.50, Punjabi Tandoor-12.98, yes its almost double. Thier 8oz costs 6.49 $ which is almost same (50cents cheaper) as 16oz at sher-​e-​punjab.
The same is true for combo dishes as well. They are about 3 $ expensive at Punjabi Tandoor.
Appetizers
Punjabi Tandoor v/​s sher-​e-​punjab v/​s Indian Tandoor
Samosa (2 pieces): 2.49 v/​s 2 v/​s 2
Chana Samosa: 6.95 v/​s 4.99 v/​s 4.99
Vegetable Pakora: $ 4.95 v/​s 2.49 v/​s 2.49

The best. If you want Indian food in San Diego, you have to try Punjabi Tandoor. I have been to the original place on Activity Road a few times but it was always too far away from lunch. I was glad to find out that they opened one closer to my work recently in Sorrento Valley! The new location is bigger, spacious and really convenient!
Lunch Combo #9 — This is the equivalent to Dinner Combo #4, I love the lamb curry. It is a must get if you love the gaminess. I usually pair it with a chicken curry. I’m not sure what it is but it is red and quite spicy. Also, I like getting kheer as my dessert to balance out the heat from all the curries.
tip — GARLIC NAAN. worth it. There are other naan breads as well that I will try next.

Whenever I get a craving for good Indian food for lunch, this is my go to spot. The makhani chicken and tikka masala chicken (bonus if it’s paneer instead!) are my favorite. They are typically very generous with their curry portions. Unfortunately, I’ll have to take away a star for their naan. It’s a little too thick and doughy for my liking, but everything else is perfect. I like to order lunch combo #6, which comes with 2 chicken curry choices, 2 naan and a choice of raita or kheer. The price is very reasonable, no more or less than any other Indian food joint.
The restaurant itself is very spacious. Plenty of seating both inside and out. However, the parking lot is rather snug, so you may want to carpool or walk over.

–Very helpful and friendly people
–This food is authentic. .and very delicious. they have a good variety. and there is not one thing I have tasted that I didnt enjoy!!!
This food is thee business.

Average at best. Look elsewhere if you have a choice.
Avoid their Lassi! They use sub-​standard milk and their yogurt always tastes weird no matter how much sugar they add.

I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for this place! I’ve been here many times! A little more often when I worked in the area, but now, not so much, unless I’m in the area.
I used to the one in the Miramar area a lot more often since it was a halfway point for me and my husband to meet, but it’s much smaller than this location.
I came to this location the other day with a guy friend. We ordered the lunch combo of the naan, tikka masala and chicken makhni with rice. The portions are generous and the pudding dessert that they throw in for free is also very generous.
Worth the stop, I promise.

When a former colleague recommended coming here for lunch I was a little hesitant since I didn’t have a great experience the last time I went to the location on Activity Rd. I decided to give this location a try because she had been a few times and loved it.
First off, this location is a lot bigger than the one on Activity Rd. There’s a small parking lot out front, or you can park at the building next door. There was ample seating, both in door and out door here. The inside was very clean.
They have several choices for lunch specials. There was more selection of chicken or veggies entrees available here. I went with the chicken curry and the spinach. Each lunch entrée comes with Naan and yogurt. With a drink the total was about $ 8. They always give you a good amount of each entrée that’s just about to spill over.
The chicken curry was good. A bit spicy so I had to keep sipping my drink in between. Spinach was also good. I was overall pleasantly surprised with my experience here.

I’d been searching for a new lunch spot near my office for some time, since the usual options hadn’t been cutting it lately. Then a friend suggested we drop by the new location of Punjabi Tandoor, which ended up being the best idea ever (thanks Heather!).
I’ve always been a fan of the original Punjabi Tandoor, off of Miramar Rd by the 15. Unfortunately, that location is tiny, crowded, and very out of the way for me. The new Punjabi Tandoor solves everything — it’s huge, spacious, and a short hop, skip, and jump away from my office in Torrey Pines. The most important thing is that the outstanding food quality from the original Punjabi Tandoor has been kept intact.
All you need to know about ordering is that there are many different lunch combos of various sizes, but most running in the $ 8-​$ 9 range. I tried pointing at various items that looked appetizing to me (since I had no clue what anything was called), but the guy behind the counter helpfully pointed out, «You don’t want that one. This other one is better. But let me just give you both for free.»
Yesss… That’s what I call customer service.
I have no idea what I actually ate, but it was delicious. The highlight was this mushroom curry thing that had an amazing amount of flavor and spice, and was perfect for dipping the naan bread into. The various other items were chicken curries of various kinds, although chicken tikka masala is always available if you’re a traditionalist. Also, Punjabi Tandoor makes some awesome samosas — I adore those hot and crispy balls of pure carb-​laden happiness.
I foresee many more visits here in the future.

I’m not Indian, and have never been to India, so I have no clue how authentic the food is here. But all the staff is Indian, some of the clientele is Indian… that’s a good sign!
Dinner Combos are only $ 8 – 9.50 and come with two curries of your choice, rice, naan, and some rice pudding… an amazing deal! There are dozens of options to choose from and everything I’ve tried has been awesome… though I learned the hard way that anything with the word «Vindaloo» is too spicy for me!
This is cheap, delicious, and informal way to introduce virgins of Indian cuisine!

Date of Visit: 3÷27÷2015
Scotty agreed to come visit me at lunch time. For $ 8.09, I was able to get Chicken Tikka Masala, Nav Rattan Korma, Rice, Kheer, and Naan. This lunch special is a steal, especially considering it definitely lasts me two meals. The only downside is that they don’t give you a lot of rice, but the fresh naan makes up for it. I am not a fan of the kheer. It was like champorado made with non-​sweet rice and no chocolate, but I probably just don’t like kheer in general.
I wish this place was closer to my office. Since I don’t always have a car, it’s about a 25 minutes walk. However, I noticed that parking wasn’t too bad at lunch time and there’s ample parking near the buildings around the area.
The staff was nice as usual and they worked hard to make sure everyone was served as quickly as possible. The only reason I’m not rating them at 5 stars is that I’ve seen some inconsistency. I grabbed takeout a couple of days before and the chicken tikka masala was dry and a bright yellow. I’m not sure what that was all about, but for the lunch special it was back to normal

First off the location is weird. Inside and outside it still looks like the former Japanese restaurant. Anyway the food is still as good as the Miramar location, and it least there’s a lot more indoor seating to go around. As per usual, service was speedy on a Saturday for dinner.
It’ll be interesting how this location competes with the Indian buffet across the street.

AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL!
Actually, I like this location much better. The PT on activity road is always crowded (for good reason) and there is little to no seating. This one is spacious and there is so much seating. The quality of the food is exactly the same and so are the prices.
My best friend from Bombay used to invite me to her house when we were in the 7^th grade, I discovered a myriad of spices and hidden altars in cabinets; since then I’ve been a snob about indian food. I stand by my last review in saying this is the best Indian restaurant in SD. Oh those lucky, lucky people at Qualcomm…

1
…the number of days I took me to come here on my lunch break after I found out about it. PEOPLE! this is BIG news. have you BEEN to the original location? I think we can all agree (who say yes) that Punjabi Tandoor is one of the best indian establishments in SD for a quick and cheap meal. That lunch special… that humongous piece of naan bread… now in respectable driving distance from my job. ahhh… the emotions.
the original location is WAAAY down miramar, the size of a small shack, and hosts a few sad patio tables. but does the detour anyone? hell no. because it is good eats. But when you work in torrey pines, and you spend about 20 mins each way just to drive there. yaa… not gonna happen often. this is a dangerous new development.
what a night and day difference in appearance. the space is lovely, tons of indoor dining, and tons of comfortable and pleasant covered patio space. im a #4 lunch special kinda girl (one chicken item, one veggie item — along with the basmati rice, naan, and uh, rice pudding type thing thats delicious). runs you about $ 8 and should be enough food for 2 modest servings… but who are we kidding, it ends up being one large and indulgent meal.
best aspect of my meal was that the naan was brought out to me after being served the prepared cafeteria-​style items and was fresh out of the oven. it was perfectly cooked with that nice chewiness to it. i defaulted to the very popular chicken tikka masala (there were 3 different chicken items to chose from) and mixed veggies (mainly because Im a sucker for potatoes). everything was delish, as i fondly remembered. only complaint was the chicken was a bit on the tougher side. minor complaint, as it had great flavor and hint of spiciness.
plenty of parking and no line at 11:30.
.very very smart business move by punjabi tandoor. with already a loyal following and situated close to qualcomm (on scraton) just before karl strauss /​building k… i am sure it is already doing quite well. welcome new addition to the hood!
PRO TIP: overheard as i got my to-​go box that you can ask for ½ and ½ of items if you cant decide. sweet!