Tamarind Grill & Bar

What the hell. I was new in town. It was a Sunday (1÷11÷2015) and it showed as «open» on their website, on Google and also on Unilocal.
With great difficulty and with the help of my Navigation system, I found this hard to locate place… and voila! It was CLOSED! It was 7pm on a Sunday!
Why would a restaurant post such misinformation!!! I will never waste my time going there again! I found another Thai place instead called «King & I»… Try that instead! Its awesome food and service!

Overall, this place was ok. I enjoyed the décor of the restaurant. Clearly they put some effort into the appearance. The food was nothing spectacular. I was pleased, but not blown away.

Fast service… great for delivery. Lunch specials are convenient and tasty! I would recommended this for a quick fix for Thai food and a healthier alternative for Chinese food. Ordering online is also a plus! Haven’t dined in yet but I have yet to hear bad reviews.

I’ve been going here for years because my friend worked there. Once she left i vowed never to return. She’s the friendliest waitress this place has had. The owner yells at the workers in front of customers. She can be just plain rude sometimes. Its so unprofessional. They got rid of the bar and replaced it with a buffet! Not a wise choice. Then they put the bar back in and it only has space for four people. The pricing is phenomenal and the portion sizes are great. Word of caution… Do not eat at the buffet. The food is not made fresh everyday. It’s leftovers from days ago (insider info). They keep serving old food until it’s gone. Always order from the menu. The food is usually good otherwise. Parking is also horrible. I liked it here but since my friend quit, I wouldn’t trust eating from this place. P. S. the drinks are amazing. I’d consider going back for that.

I ordered take away and the pad see ew which lacked some spice as did the chicken wings but this may be the only Thai place around. Had I sat, I probably would have gotten the delicious fish sauce to add some flavor to it. Next time I’ll try the curry.

Thought this place was alright, we went on a Sunday night and it wasn’t busy at all. 3 of us at a table and another couple. I don’t know if that is good or bad but the staff was pleasant and our food came out quickly! I thought their Thai was good, not sure about the «Malaysian» section; I got mango fries rice and it was good!

Not much to say about this place… Quiet little Thai restaurant. Food is terrific, probably some of the best in Hartford. Only problem is their service is terribly slow. It took us 45 minutes to get our food when we were the only ones in the restaurant. When the food came out, they messed up 2 of our orders. By the time we didn’t want to wait for them to fix it so we just ate what we got.
I got the Thai drunken noodles with chicken… Some of the best I’ve ever had. They know their food, but again, service was very, very slow.

Just kickin it on a Saturday and thought about having some pad thai. Looked at the online menu and thought they had duck pad thai — wasn’t true but got me excited. Had chicken pad thai and some appetizer thing that was little deep fried morsels of delicious stuff that had dipping sauce. Pad Thai serving was huge — definitely two meals. Was tasty, not spicy at all, but I like that rooster so that did it right. Want to try the curry next time — the guy working recommended the red stuff so that’s where I’m going.

Ordered takeout on a Monday. Ordered Tofu Drunken Noodles very spicy, but I got mild noodles. Ordered Very spicy Chicken panang. Again Mild Panang curry. What’s wrong? Does Spicy mean mild? Seriously. Delivery was fast. Food came hot. Online ordering was easy. Food tasted decent but not terrible.

Curry could not be a better dish to have on a cold winter’s day in Hartford. I am especially happy that they are one of the few restaurants open in downtown Hartford on the weekend. Thank you Tamarind!

Got the drunken beef noodles. Didn’t have bean sprouts in them, looked like chicken was left over from whatever they cooked it in. Had 1 whole scallion, not even chopped. The beef is kind of grey. Was supposed to contain basil, had about 2 leafs of basil. Overall just lackluster. I would expect pad kee mao to have some zest or spice, tasted like beef fried rice overall. I would not suggest this place to anyone with any sort of pallet or enjoyment of food.

Their lunch special is phenomenal. Everything is $ 9 and you get SO much food. Just manage your expectations though because the food is OK. its certainly not «great» or «amazing» Thai food.
My overall food recommendations:
Roti
Chicken Satay (included in lunch special)
Panang Curry
Runner-​up lunch special options:
Coconut Fried Rice
Green Curry
Spicy Chicken
Sweet Kiss Chicken
P. S. Justin B hit the nail on the head with his review (10÷7÷2013). Pad Thai is the quintessential Thai dish at any Thai restaurant. Theirs falls horribly short. After coming here multiple times due to lack of decent dining options in downtown Hartford, my conclusion is that they are much more a Malaysian restaurant than they are a Thai restaurant. The Roti appetizer only reaffirms my determination.

As far as Thai food goes, you can pass judgement on a restaurant based on the quality of their pad thai. At Tamarind, their pad Thai was just ok. It was rather bland, and there was just something missing about it.
I would probably go back and try a different meal for the lunch special.

Tamarind Grill offers fresh, flavorful Thai food at a great price. My last visit was at lunch time and I had the Samba Shrimp. Delicious! They have quite an extensive menu including a broad lunch menu with various specials. The service is fast, friendly and efficient.

Stir fry pork, and Pla Jean (salmon with spices) Satay and spring roll appetizers. I ordered the lunch special as did my wife, I liked the appetizer and the brown rice. I was disappointed that the sauces were as salty as they were and my wife had requested her meal be spiced up a bit to 3 chili level and it was not. The service was good the price was a great value but the food was not quite what we would have wished it would be.

LUNCH TAKE OUT REVIEW: the specials are amazing… they have 30 options, all $ 8.95, and include a small appetizer (your choice of shumai, veg spring roll, or chick satay (2 pieces each), and your choice of rice (white, brown or veg fried)(unless you get a rice or noodle dish. then no rice).
The food gets 5 stars. And so does the value. The ambiance inside is also great, full modern bar, nice booths, and regular tables, kinda dark inside, cozy.
The customer service is not good though. most of the servers make you feel like they hate you. when you call in an order, its always confusing, and they seem mad. when picking up your order, its usually very confusing.
I wanted to ask for extra napkins, but the women straight up scare me.
However, I refuse to leave without the appropriate number of chopsticks (asian food with a fork is next to pointless…)
I will keep coming back for lunch specials, and I just need to prepare myself for the inevitable panic attack… its worth it

The flavors here are excellent– a couple minor execution issues keep Tamarind from getting 5 stars, but it’s a great place to eat. Ambiance is trendy and inviting.
I came in a group of 6 and we ordered family style. I started with a Tom Yum Goong. This was top notch stuff. The sour/​spicy was exploding into my mouth, it was filled chock full of ingredients, and the shrimp were perfectly «crunchy”– not overcooked or rubbery at all. Our entrees were drunken noodles, lab gai, spicy beef, lemon grass squid, panang duck, and basil chicken. We also got some brown rice, which was cooked very well (easily overlooked item).
The drunken noodles and lemon grass squid were my favorites. Popping flavors, and I have to commend them on the squid– very, very tender. The spicy beef was pretty good as well. The panang curry was robust, but it kind of ruined the duck, at least in my book. The duck skin (my favorite part) became soggy, and rendered the duck a bit overwhelmed. Chicken would’ve been a far better match. The lab gai had vast potential, but I think it’s a dish that needs to be eaten on its own. The other flavors absolutely flooded my mouth, to a point where the lab gai tasted kind of flat. Putting the lab gai in some lettuce wraps might’ve made a huge difference. The coolness of the leaves would have served as a good contrast. Finally, I don’t remember eating the basil chicken at all, so it must not have been too remarkable.
I definitely won’t do family style again because the flavors overlap too much; however, I was glad we did it that way on my first time so I could try so many dishes. I’d recommend this place and certainly look forward to returning.

I’m so stingy with rating over 3 stars. The Tamarind Grill would have gotten a 5 star if their portions were larger. I think most of the other reviewers are based on take out experiences. I wanted to give the place a 5 but the serving size didn’t justify the price.
Aside from that the ambience of this restaurant was romantic and the presentation of the food was very cute. This is definitely a place that will make a girl’s heart melt. Every dish that came out was so pretty I didn’t want to eat. Our server Jenny was beyond helpful, she even offered to help me snap pictures! For once a server that didn’t stare at me for snapping pictures of the beautiful dishes that come out.
Food: I’m used to spicy food and I wish I made a request for very spicy as the food came out very bland. So for those who love spicy just go for it and ask for «Asian spicy».
Seafood Tom Yum: great flavor no complaints at all. Tons of seafood and enough to for two to share.
Sizzle Duck: pieces of duck wrapped in a pancake very similar to Peking duck. I think it would have been better if it was paired with a spicy and tangy sauce but still very good the way it was.
Mango Beef: ripe mangos and beef. Can’t really comment much as I only took a spoonful and thought it was too sweet for my liking.
Spicy Duck: this was amazing but I wished I had a larger portion and wished I asked for it to be very hot and spicy.
Only complaint I had was the food wasn’t served to be shared as the rice is placed directly on each dish.
The presentation of all the dishes were amazing! Jenny hand designed each plate with cute chocolate flowers and then helped me snap pics. As a Unilocal who loves taking pictures I was taken!
Price: a dollar or so higher than other places in the area but I was okay with it because the food was visually stimulating.
Park: street parking is free on the weekend.
Summary: I would definitely take a girl here for a date if I was a guy who wanted to impress. I would go back because I had a great dine in experience. I wouldn’t order take out but will return for a dine in meal.

Its been two years since I first wrote about this and I’m glad to see its improved over time. The lunches are a good deal with satay, or spring rolls to start. The portions are a good size and, combined with brown rice, seem fresh and inspired. Certainly a good choice in downtown Hartford for lunch and, given that they do a take-​out business too, a good choice to take home too.
Probably deserves 3.5 stars but still lacks that oompf that the best Thai restaurants in the area have.

Pretty extensive menu of Thai/​Malaysian food, plus they offer 30 different $ 8.95 lunch specials (which include an appetizer, entrée and rice)! Tamarind is located right in downtown Hartford. You can eat in, order for delivery or even better, take out and walk over to nearby Bushnell Park to enjoy your meal! They pack their to-​go orders in very sturdy containers.
The EGGPLANT WITH SWEET BASIL was good (it’s marked with one chili pepper for mild, but I found it to not be at all spicy). I had brown rice with my combo and it doesn’t cost extra like at other places and my appetizer — CHICKEN SATAY — came with two skewers. A lot of food! We added the ROTI, crispy pancake slices with a curry chicken dipping sauce. Yum, yum, yum.