Tasty Indian Bistro: Tandoori chicken and curries in Delta
Tasty Indian Bistro is an Indian restaurant located in Delta and Yaletown. I came here with my family for dinner and this review will be based off the Delta location.
Interior
I like to describe Tasty Indian Bistro as an Indian Cactus Club. When we arrived, there was valet parking but zero open spots. They also had these fire cauldrons standing outside.
We were a group of 6, but we were still unable to reserve a table. Their minimum group is 8 people so if you have a large family, this is a better option for you. Without a reservation, we waited for 1 hour after arriving at 7 pm.
Our booth was slightly strange. The table didn’t end all the way to the wall of our booth. There is a big enough gap where you can kick your leg up from under the table, but small enough that you can’t sit a person at the end. This means the 2 people sitting inside the booth have less table space.
The space was stylish and modern but very loud, amplified by high ceilings. It has a chatty and bustling atmosphere. In general, the lighting is dark.
Drinks
Mango lassi ($4)
Lassi is a popular traditional dahi-based drink. It is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and fruit, in this case, mango. Think of it like a mango smoothie. The consistency is thick so if you don’t like thick beverages, this may not be the drink for you. Other than that, this is a really great drink to pair with spicy food because of the yogurt.
Food
Fish pakora ($14)
Pakora is a type of fried snack. You can have different types of pakoras – veggie pakora, cauliflower pakora, etc. In our case, we order fish.
Our order came with 8 pieces, which is less pieces than what I’ve seen for this price point. The fish pakora is fried well and a little spicy. They fry it with flour so the batter isn’t very thick. The fish inside is still soft and flaky.
Tandoori chicken ($19)
Tandoori chicken is chicken marinated with traditional spices and cooked in a clay or metal oven. The chicken is marinated in yogurt and an assortment of spices.
Tasty Indian Bistro’s tandoori chicken comes in 6 pieces (big pieces) and is presented on a sizzling hot plate. The chicken is very tender kind of just falls off the bone – really delicious!
Fish curry ($19)
For the first time, I try fish curry. This dish is slightly larger than the other curry dishes. They use chunks of fish meat in a curry sauce. The spices used in this curry is a little different. Even though we choose mild, I find the curry lacking a bit of flavour. The fish is soft but tastes bland with the curry.
Coconut chicken curry ($15)
This curry is chicken cooked with coconut cream and onion gravy. Because of the coconut, the taste is sweeter but still savoury. I find this curry is a nice change from our usual go-to item choice (butter chicken).
Butter chicken ($13)
Ok soooo basically I am basic and out of all 3 curries I tried, I still like butter chicken the most lol. It’s just so yummy wherever you go. Butter chicken uses a mildly spiced tomato sauce and it’s still #1 in my heart.
Garlic naan ($2-3 each)
Their garlic naan is really good – a little crunchy at the tips and soft in the middle. Unlike the usual naan baskets where all the bread start to stick together in a lump, the garlic naan is presented beautifully and each piece is perfect for dipping into your curry.
Final thoughts
I’ve heard really good reviews about Tasty Indian Bistro from Indian friends and coworkers. The food is tasty and authentic – I think their tandoori chicken is standout quality. In terms of curry, I feel like if you’re just going to order butter chicken, any place is pretty decent.
Tasty Indian bistro does have a dinner special ($20-24). It comes with 2 pieces of chicken, rice, butter chicken or lamb curry, a choice of naan and a dessert. This is a really great deal!
One thing that really hindered my experience was that fact that we needed to wait 1 hour. I don’t find myself often having to wait such a long time for an Indian restaurant, let alone in Delta, which is really far for majority of folks living in Vancouver. For this reason alone, I don’t think I will be back, especially because I drive through Surrey to get to Delta and there are so many authentic Indian spots in Surrey as well. However, if you have a table larger than 8 and can make a reservation (or if the Yaletown location does not require a minimum for resos), then this is a nicer more upscale place to try for Indian cuisine.
Sincerely, Loewe