About ten years ago Tandoori Hut was the first restaurant I had ever tasted butter chicken and safe to say I was hooked! The charred chicken, the creamy buttery tomatoey sauce paired with garlic naan was something I would jones for.
Over the years I've probably tried a dozen or so other East Indian restaurants in Calgary and another dozen around Canada and the US but Tandoori Hut was always the benchmark for me. Maybe because it was my first or maybe because they were just that good. Unfortunately my last visit there left me very disappointed.
Regardless of their food the staff at TH has never been their strong suit. They're perpetually slow, never terribly friendly and always gave that feeling they want to be anywhere other than at work. Until now that was fine since the quality and taste of the food made up for it.
On the last trip there were four of us so we had enough people to get a good selection. Saffron and coconut rice, garlic naan, butter chicken, coconut chicken, lamb korma, beef roganjosh, veg korma, dal and palek paneer. The rice was dry and almost crispy. The butter chicken tasted OK but didn't have the deep flavors I've come to expect. The coconut chicken was rubbery (if I had to guess I'd say it was from a previous service and had been microwaved). The lamb was very bland and had that "lamby" texture to it (yuck...shouldn't get that from new/fresh lamb). The beef was unbelievably tough. Both the veg korma and dal were very greasy and the palek paneer was ok other than the lack of the paneer (cheese). In fairness the naan and samosa (I forgot to include it above, a couple of us started off with their beef samosas) were quite good.
Really was disappointing experience for a few reasons. First the obvious that it wasn't an enjoyable or tasty meal. Second is that what was once a regular and favorite spot has slipped so badly. Finally is that their prices have taken quite the jump. I appreciate that things go up but they're now priced at a premium to other EI restaurants but aren't providing a premium product.
Now on the hunt for my new favorite butter chicken joint!