Bombay Tandoori, Torrance, CA

Bombay Tandoori & Banquet
4111 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505
310-303-3185
Located at the bottom of the Days Inn. Plenty of free parking.
Lunch buffet, Dinner, and Banquet room (up to 150).
2 other locations in Hawthorne and Los Angeles as India's Tandoori.

Opened: August 2009
Visited: March 2010, Dinner, Dine-In; September 2010, Lunch Buffet


This location has been a revolving door of restaurants over the last 15-20 years, but we're hoping this one will stay. If you have eaten Indian food in the Torrance area over the last 5 years or so, you may be familiar with Robbie (in this location before when it was Punjabi, then opened his own place Shah Tandoori Grill further down PCH), well Robbie is back! It was like old home week to see him - we had no idea this was his new location (he's back in the south bay after having been at their Wilshire location for the last 2 years.)

We ordered some of our favorites and tried a couple new things.

Alu Samosa ($3.50) - 2 very large potato and pea samosas. Kinda plain, but a nice starter.

Tandoori Chicken Wings ($6.95) - 7 very tender wings served as an appetizer but tandoori style with the sizzling onions and tomatoes. These were stellar, and a great innovation. They had both a very nice flavor and a very nice char.

The Chicken Tikka Masala ($12.95) is as good as ever. A great rich flavor with that sweet-spicy tikka masala gravy to die for. The gravy is good on its own without even any meat! We ordered medium but it didn't seem very spicy - it was great.

Keema Curry ($12.95) of ground lamb and peas was really nice. But this we also ordered medium, and it was quite hot. Almost too hot in that you couldn't taste the spices as well. But still good.

Lamb Biryani ($12.95) served in a heaping pile of basmati rice, large lamb chunks, and nuts and raisins. I'm not usually a fan of raisins, but these were nicely cooked in the biryani. Overall very tender, and quite the meal unto itself.

We also ordered Plain Naan ($2.50), and they were fresh, hot, fluffy, and chewy. Great accompaniment and tool for those curries.

The Lunch Buffet ($9.95) is also quite a deal. They have an assortment of salads, and always have both Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Tandoori. The appetizers (today was a dal samosa and veggie pakoras), veggies (today: bengan bharta, saag paneer - both excellent!), and other entrees (today: chili chicken, Indian noodles - similar to chow mein) change on a daily basis.

Angara Indian Restaurant, Torrance, CA

Angara Indian Restaurant
2170 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90501
310-320-9090
http://www.angara.us/
Near Old Torrance. Usually plenty of street parking, and they have a small lot behind the building. Do not park in the tiny lot that is next door.
Casual. Large dining room that fills quickly at lunch. Beer and wine.

Visited: Numerous times, Lunch Buffet, Dinner, Dine-In or Dinner Take Out
Most recently: August 2010

This is our favorite Indian restaurant. The food is always fresh and great tasting. We've been winding our way through the menu and have tried many items.

Chicken Tikka Masala, mild or medium ($10.95): yes, the ubiquitous chicken tikka masala. Man, do they do it right. The curry is creamy and sweet with its own great texture (quite a food unto itself). The chicken tikka is cooked well, and makes for a seamless dish. If you get this dish 'mild' it will have a sweeter taste than the 'medium' - both are tasty.

Lamb Tikka Masala, medium, ($11.95): one of the great things about Angara is that all of the curries come with your choice of meat, tofu, veg, or paneer. We tried this lamb tikka masala for the first time, and also tried the tikka masala medium for the first time. This was a spot-on dish. The 'medium' spiciness was perfect heat that didn't linger so that everything afterwards would taste hot. The lamb was tender and very mild. A+.

The Lamb Biryani, medium ($12.95) is rich and full of flavor. The lamb and rice are tender. You can have this as your entree and be fully satisfied, with enough to share.

Bengan Bharta ($8.95): well, I love eggplant, and while this dish was very tasty, all I could see and feel were onions. I didn't dislike the dish, but I wouldn't order it again if I were craving eggplant.

We also order the Plain Basmati Rice ($4.00) and Plain Naan ($1.95). Both are cooked very well. The rice is tender and each grain is distinct. The naan is fluffy and chewy, and is a very good tool for eating with.

They also have a fabulous lunch buffet ($7.95) that is busy and the food is always hot and fresh. Usual staples of the buffet include Onion Bhaji, Naan, Daal, Saag, a Vegetarian Curry, Ground Lamb Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Chicken Tandoori. One or two other items rotate through. There are also some salad and pickle items, and a dessert, usually rice pudding. A soft drink comes with.