On my birthday, last Thursday, my husband surprised me with dinner at Tamarind, an Indian restaurant, located in Manhattan’s Flatiron district.
Tamarind's been on my “places to try” list for quite some time now, and each time we made reservations, for some reason or another, we had to cancel every single time.
On my birthday, I finally got to try Tamarind. 
LOCATION:
41-43 East 22nd Street
New York, NY 10010
(Flatiron)
Other Location: Tamarind
MENU: Tamarind Menu
COST: $$$
CUISINE: Indian
RECOMMENDED TO: Bar Scene, Casual Dining, Couples, Groups, Romantic Dining.
AMBIENCE: Classy/Elegant
MY REVIEW
Monsoon… dark rum, pineapple and pomegranete juices with a dash of orange juice and coconut cream. My birthday drink which was slightly sweet just how I like it and very well made.
Tamarind Margarita… Cuervo Gold tequila, Cointreau, tamarind sauce, fresh lime juice, dash of orange and cranberry juice. My husband ordered this drink and loved it, it was unique and almost tasted like a pani puri margarita. So creative. 
Complimentary Amuse Bouche… a puff pastry flavored with chutney. Incredible. The coconut-yogurt sauce that accompanied it was fantastic.
Murgh Kolhapuri… Maharashtrian style chicken cooked with whole spices and peppercorn. This dish was deliciously flavored in a thick brown gravy and very spicy. One of the BEST Indian chicken dishes I've ever had.
Bhagarey Baingan… a Hyderabadi specialty. Eggplant cooked in an aromatic creamy sauce with peanuts, sesame seeds, and coconut. Although the gravy was delicious and spicy, the eggplant itself lacked flavor and was sorta just thrown in. Additionally, traditional Bhagarey Baingan are cooked with brinjals, not chopped eggplant. Having said that, this dish was still very good.
Nargisi Kofta… lotus root dumplings with homemade cheese cooked in a saffron onion sauce. Kofta is one of my favorite Indian dishes, however this particular cream based sauce had a dominant flavor of rose water which threw me off just a little. Definitely a great tasting dish, but it would have been absolute perfection minus the rose water. 
Basmati Rice… floral and amazing.
Naan… Indian bread, soft and warm.
My first serving... I always take a little bit of everything to warm up.
Mango Cheesecake… we requested a mango cheesecake to go, but to my dismay it looked like a piece of orange tofu, not to mention it tasted a couple days old and had that freezer taste. Huge disappointment and $9 down the drain, and straight into the garbage! I don't waste my fat calories on poorly made dessert!
VERDICT: 4 / 5
Despite my harsh review on the cheesecake, I have to say Tamarind is one of the better Indian restaurants. None of the dishes at Tamarind were overly greasy as Indian food served in restaurants sometimes tends to be. Each dish was cooked in just the right amount of oil rather than floating in oil. For this reason alone, I will be back at Tamarind.
Furthermore, considering Tamarind is a “North Indian” restaurant, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to order a “South Indian” dish, specifically speaking the Bhagarey Baingan. My cousin, Ajay, who raves about Tamarind mentioned the Saag Paneer and Malai Halibut (Grand Prize Winner 2004 Fish Awards) as one of their best dishes. Of course, he told me this after I dined at Tamarind.
Overall, I really enjoyed the food at Tamarind, but I tend to be overly critical when it comes to Indian food since I am of Indian origin. In addition, the drinks at Tamarind are excellent and creative. Hopefully in the near future, I look forward to trying the dishes my cousin recommended, and perhaps hanging out in their Tea Room to try some of those exotic Indian tea flavors. Brunch date, anyone?
Food: Good
Drinks: Good
Decor: Excellent
Service: Average (waiter had an attitude, could have been more helpful in terms of recommendations)
Value: Excellent
TELL ME: Have you been to Tamarind? What was your favorite dish?
Khushboo says
Wow love how they have taken traditional Indian dishes to the next level- for example I've never heard of an Indian dish with combines peanuts & bhaingan but it does sound good! That's annoying about the dessert but I would've done the exact same and chucked it away- if I'm going to indulge, it has to be something I enjoy! Did they have kulfi on the menu?
Ameena says
I have been to Tamarind and I loved it! It was years ago, when my brother went to NYU but I still remember how good it was.
We went to an Indian restaurant Saturday night and it was terrible. From the service to the food...nothing was right. Glad your experience was so much better!
The Squishy Monster says
I'm sorry to hear about the waiter and cheesecake but everything else looks AMAZING! I LOVE Indian (it's number 3 to Thai and Korean). I hope you had an otherwise INCREDIBLE birthday, my friend!!!
Fashion Meets Food says
Those drinks look so good!
xo
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honeywhatscooking says
@Khushboo - I believe they did have kulfi on the menu, however that would have totally melted on my way home. 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
@Ameena - yeah, Tamarind is pretty good, but I'm still searching for that perfect 5. Sorry to hear your experience wasn't good Saturday night... sometimes it's just hit or miss.
honeywhatscooking says
@Squishy - thanks, everything else was pretty amazing, except the cheesecake. I have to try more Korean food. Thank you, I had a great birthday!!! 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
@Fashion Meets Food - thanks!! 🙂
Style Dilettante says
Amazing food porn shots! Happy belated birthday by the way!
http://www.inherentstylela.com
Pam says
The cheesecake does look strange but the rest of the meal looked delicious.
Jen @ The Scrumptious Pumpkin says
Aww that's too bad you didn't get to enjoy your cheesecake for your birthday dinner! But it looks like the rest of the meal more than made up for it. Great photos - I'm totally starving now! 🙂
Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic says
I only started eating Indian food a few years ago and now I always get excited to try new Indian restaurants and dishes. Bummer about the cheesecake but that Monsoon drink sounds awesome! Oh and belated happy birthday!
Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says
Wow, it looks like you had an absolutely fabulous birthday dinner! What a fun night out! My husband is still working on converting me to full-on love Indian food, but I'm on my way there, hehe. Thanks for sharing!
honeywhatscooking says
@Style - thanks for the birthday wishes!
honeywhatscooking says
@Pam - yup the cheesecake does look strange, it especially sucks on your birthday. 🙁
honeywhatscooking says
@Jen - the food at Tamarind was great, you are right, the rest of the dinner more than made up for it.
honeywhatscooking says
@Bianca - Yeah, it does take a while to start enjoying Indian food, lots of flavors and spices going on, but you'll eventually fall in love with it. Thank you for the birthday wishes! 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
@Georgia - it does take a while to start enjoying Indian food, you'll get there. Thank you so much!
molliee says
um yum to those drinks! sounds so good!
deutsch auf englisch übersetzen says
Great place, very classy Indian.
Good food never disappointed!
Baker Street says
Oh no! Sorry you didn't get to enjoy your cheesecake for your birthday dinner but the rest of the meal looks like it made up for it! 🙂
honeywhatscooking says
Thanks guys, besides the cheesecake, it was amazing!