Tamarind Grill

Sadly, I just saw the waiter from 4 weeks ago at the Hartford location and he told me this location was going out. It is a huge shame. This place was such a hidden gem!

Hmm, I wasn’t blown away by the food like many others on here. Originally we came here because you can’t find Malaysian food just anywhere, and it sounded interesting. I haven’t had much Malaysian, so I can’t speak to the authenticity of the dishes, but compared to Thai food I’ve had this came up short in both taste and the quality of ingredients. The chicken was particularly odd; it had a bit of the «slimy» texture you might get in low quality Chinese takeout.
On the plus side, the dishes came out promptly and were steaming hot. My fiancé particularly enjoyed the sizzling chicken and had no issues with it. I had the mee goreng and it was filling but not very exciting in terms of spices or vegetables. Overall, our dinner was solid but I can’t see us going back or making this a regular restaurant.

This place was an amazing experience. From the service to the staff and the food, everything was perfect and I couldn’t ask for a better place to bring friends and family. I had ordered the Mango beef with fried rice lunch special which came with chicken satay and chicken noodle soup as my appetizer and an iced Thai coffee. The Mango beef was simply superb from the taste to the texture, it wasn’t too spicy and the Mango was light and sweet. For dessert, I had ordered the flaming fried ice cream which was simple and sweet. The crunchy exterior and the melted vanilla made for a great combination. I will definitely be coming here more often.

Place was easy to find. Fairly decent décor inside in spite of being situated in a strip mall.
Appetizers were average, but the main course more than made up for it.
Service was a bit on the slower side.
Noise level medium to allow for a family style comfortable dinner or for a larger groups.
Overall, we can certainly think about coming here again.

Immediately blew me over the moment I walked in. At first I was skeptical about this Malaysian place but at the end I’m so thankful that my bf took me here. The interior was trendy, classy, clean, and gorgeous.
We arrived at around 6 and the place was pretty empty. We had calamari and tofu satay as appetizer. They were both tasty. We also had sizzling beef and tofu casserole. I enjoyed the sizzling beef a lot but the tofu casserole was mediocre. The food came very very quickly. And the service was just right, not overly attentive but always available when we needed.

Highly impressed. We went as a six person group for a birthday and were blown away. Great food all around, friendly service and the desert plates were decorated with a very cool design.
The décor was also very cool, and the parking was great. ⁵⁄₅ will go again.

The service is quick but hard to understand. There are a few waiters that can speak clear English.
I went for lunch, the deal os hard to bet $ 8.95 for soup, app and a meal. The soup is a chicken noodle with a Thai twist. There are threw options for apps to choose from, I got the spring rolls which were fried. For my main dish I ordered the pad Thai. The meal was not bad, just missing something to be awesome.

They have a good collection of Malaysian and Thai dishes. The food was very tasty and served with good presentation (but to me the taste is more important); I had Mee Goreng and enjoyed it very much. And that’s why they get 3 of the stars.
Why not 5 stars? Here is why …
As soon as we arrived, we were seated (which is good!) with absolutely NO greetings! When we got to the table/​booth, menus were left on the table and the guy disappeared … a few minutes later, another guy came over to fill up our glasses with water, no words with him either …10 minutes later, another person showed up and asked us what we want to order (again, no greeting whatsoever!).
Bottom line, we enjoyed our meal in a nice and quiet environment and I’d like to go back and try other Thai and Malaysian dishes they have … but only when I’m in a REALLY good mood so that I can ignore their strange, unfriendly customer service.

Walked in on a Saturday afternoon and the place was pretty much deserted. Albeit, 4pm on a Saturday isn’t primetime for good eats.
Anyhoot, the décor is amazing! They have a koi pond and simply extremely well decorated throughout.
Had the Tom yum, Shrimp Pad Thai, and Spicy Basil Chicken.
The Tom Yum, was yummmm. Spicy to my taste and filled with goodies (nothing worse than a sparsely populated soup!)
The Pad Thai and the Basil Chicken were MEH. There was absolutely no spice on the pad thai, had to heavy hand it with the spice rack myself. The basil chicken was good, but not spicy at all as well…
Overall, thai food is supposed to have that spice you want to tell people about, and Tamarind just didn’t have it…

Went here today for a late lunch. The restaurant is in a plaza (not labeled particularly well by my GPS so I’m not sure whose fault that is) and has very attractive décor — fake white branch/​bamboo type things sticking up out of the walls, a pond (koi, I’m not sure) on both sides of your path as you walk in. Attractive seating — booths and tables (with interesting chairs that looked like you’d find them at a swanky patio party). We did feel our table was a little far and high for facing each other, so we ended up sitting on the same side of the table (like the adorable couple we are).
I ordered the coconut fried rice and it was delicious. It came topped with egg and contained chicken and shrimp. It was served in a possibly real coconut shell and the plate had pretty shredded carrot garnish. Only downside was the coconut shell things had a vague smell like old wood houses you find by the lake. Food tasted delicious, yet whenever I bent my head slightly to take a bite, I kept getting that smell.
My boyfriend ordered the green curry and was disappointed. He said it was missing something but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Overall I thought my food was tasty and the prices weren’t outrageous.

This is my favorite Thai place in the greater Hartford area. That’s not to say the others are bad. but this place…
1) is too grande for its own good. It looks upscale… but there’s never anybody around. (which is great for me!
2) The sweet eggplant is JUST right. So delicious.
3) they have various other veg friendly dishes that are very good
4) their rice is cooked almost persian style (aldante) so it may be basmati. anyway it’s wonderful.
5) The tofu appetizer is SO GOOD… but I wish it came with four pieces… trying to split 3 pieces between me and my boyfriend is like «you have it» «no YOU have it»…while secretly we both want it.
6) Exotic Bomba! this is a ball of 3 kinds of sorbet (flavors: yummy, delicious, «JESUS! DID YOU TRY THAT ONE?») dunked in white chocolate. Oh it is so so so good. (an it arrives quickly)
7) parking lot.
So…while the dishes we get here are very similiar to the ones we get at other thai places around hartford — this place wins. Note that this is a branch of restaurants: tamarind in downtown, and Thai palace in Bloomfield. This branch is the farthest from our house by far. But we like it best because finding parking downtown takes as long as driving here, the bloomfield location has a meh-​er menu and this location is right next to TJMAXX and right across from Marshall’s HomeGoods.

Lunch Specials are $ 8.95 (Mon-​Sat, 11:30−3pm)
w/​RICE and APPETIZER choices
_​L1. PAD THAI
I ordered the Vegetable Pad Thai with Chicken Satay as my appetizer.
Both were generous portions & yummy!
CHICKEN SATAY came with a refreshing cucumber onion vinegar dish to dip.
_​L20. CURRY CHICKEN
My friend ordered the Curry Chicken, also with Chicken Satay
and also enjoyed it all, including…
…both lunch specials came with a surprise:
a nice cup of CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP.
_​SL3. PINEAPPLE SALAD ($ 6)
Another friend ordered this salad but having canned pineapples
instead of fresh pineapples in this salad brought the quality (& appearance) down.
She wouldn’t order it again.
Would gladly return.

I have to say – I was completely wowed by this place. You would never think you were in a stripmall restaurant once you walk in the doors – ambient colored lighting, koi pond, cozy booths and a very attentive staff made for a great experience.
We came here on a Saturday night with our double date, Jill and Cory. After having a few laughs with our waitress, Jill and I split a scorpion bowl (her first!) and the boys had cokes (boooring). For appetizers, the 4 of us split the Rock Shrimp (nice and crispy, beautiful presentation in a martini glass) and the Summer rolls (colorful and awesome texture with a nice, light, peanutty sauce to drizzle on top).
Entrees were varied and all were excellent – Honey Butter prawns, Spicy chicken, Spicy Basil fried rice and Malaysian style noodles. Everyone cleaned their plates, so that is always a good sign! Presentation was beautiful, as well.
Prices were reasonable, timing was good, food was excellent. Definitely one of my new favorites – we’ll definitely return!

We had an expiring $ 40 gift certificate so we dined this past Sunday at around 5PM. The restaurant is larger than I expected and very nicely decorated. We were greeted on entry and seated in the bar area. There were very few patrons upon our arrival, but a steady stream of customers were seated as the evening progressed. We started off by ordering cups of tom ha gai soup that turned out to be more like bowls. The soup had a moderate heat level and was generously filled with chicken and fresh vegetables — a good start.
For an appetizer we ordered the papaya salad — shredded green papaya with 3 grilled shrimp on skewers and a generous amount of citrus dressing. This version is less spicy than most and included more papaya. We then shared orders of pad Thai and asssam prawns. The latter came with a choice of white or brown rice with us opting for brown. The pad Thai turned out to be one of the better versions I have had in recent years. The assam, aka tamarind, prawns were not something we would order again, but this assessment has more to do with personal preference than a knock on the quality of the food. We obviously over ordered and ended up taking most of our 2 entrees home. Our waiter provided above average service throughout and we found menu prices to be reasonable. We will no doubt be returning with plans to catch the Monday — Saturday happy hour.

Went here with a friend and really enjoyed it. It’s well decorated and has comfy seating and nice lighting. The food is super tasty, and there are plenty of choices. I had the Tom Yum soup (I asked for it spicy and it was, thankfully, VERY spicy) and the basil chicken. The basil chicken came with a cute pyramid of rice and a lovely little piece of artwork made from a variety of sauces. (See my photo.) My friend had the summer rolls and pad thai (mmm), both great. The server was friendly and didn’t rush us. Best of all, the prices were totally fair, for very decent-​sized portions.

This place is impressive on many levels. I would give service 5 stars, food 5 stars, décor and ambience 5 stars.
Let me start with the food. We ordered
Appetizer: coconut shrimp, tom yum soup, roti w/​curry
Main course: coconut fried rice
Dessert: mango sticky rice w/​mango
Total: $ 35. It served two and we were stuffed. We barely finished our delicious rice.
The dishes were beautifully presented and were all equally tasty and well seasoned. The coconut shrimp was prepared in a way that I have never seen before. It was crunchy and was garnished with finely shredded beets and carrots with a sweet and sour side dip. The tom yum soup had shrimp, cilantro, mushroom, onion and bell pepper and was spicy and sour just like it should be. The coconut fried rice was served in half coconut shell bowls and had a slight hint of coconut. The roti was sweet and was served with a curry that had pork in it. The dessert had a pyramid shaped stick rice with a half mango that was turned inside out. The food tasted better than Krung Thai which is the most popular Thai restaurant in San Jose. Message to Tamarind Grill: open a location in San Jose, CA and you will get tons of business and customers. Because people line up for Krung Thai but Krung Thai’s food, service and décor did not match Tamarind Grill’s.
Let me next talk about the service. Our waiter was attentive and professional. He laid the fabric napkin on my lap and on my mom’s and he presented us with warm wet towels for us to cleanse our hands. He asked us what order we wanted to receive our food. He was very attentive.
Lastly, the décor: outside the entrance there’s a giant elephant statue. In the lobby there’s a Thai statue which is probably the only Thai looking decoration the whole place has. When you walk into the restaurant you see two water fountain/​pond features to your right and left. The restaurant has many taupe colored booths that are modern and club like. There’s colored lights lining the ceiling and the floor has a unique tile that looks like a rug. The place is very clean and well kept and would be great for a birthday event or for renting out for a party. The back area houses bigger tables for parties and the seats are futuristic round wicker chairs.
We came on a Sunday night and the place was over half full. They also have a bar area full of alcohol. This place is very trendy looking.
Overall, the only thing I do not like about this place is that they don’t have a location in California in the bay area for me to go to. Please consider expanding!

11÷10÷12 EDIT:
Knocked down from 5 stars to 4 due to TERRIBLE SERVICE.
2 busboys, 2 waiters, and a manager wandering around after seating us, and sometimes stopping a few feet away to stare blankly for TWENTY-​FIVE MINUTES. You read that correctly. We waited for 25 minutes while an overstaffed restaurant stared at us.
Then, when they finally took our order it took another 25 minutes to be served our food, and I was served 10 minutes after my boyfriend.
I ordered fried prawns like he did last time, only this time it was so greasy it was practically dripping and soggy. My boyfriend ordered half of a chicken which came out pretty well. Overall, it was a disappointing dinner.
I know we weren’t the only ones disappointed, because I overheard a couple ask «what’s taking them?», and two college girls adjacent to us made eye contact and shook their heads as if to say «this is ridiculous, isn’t it?»
It took 15 minutes, and my boyfriend standing up and holding the check in the air for a waiter to take his card.
My boyfriend joked that all of this was because I’m black, but in all seriousness who knows. Maybe it was a bad night for management, and the chefs were tired or something, but the food did not make up for the poor quality service.
— — –
9÷16÷12
My boyfriend and I decided to go out for breakfast, so we drove to Downtown Hartford and counted 4 Dunkin Donuts before giving up and turning around. We were about to take an exit when I saw Wethersfield ahead so I asked him to keep going. After driving through a rural area and being made fun of for my poor directions, we found a plaza worth looking into.
It was a choice between Sushi and Malasyan/​Thai, and since I had sushi 4 days ago the choice was obvious: Exploration.
This place is a gem not only for it’s food but décor. I’d have a wedding reception here, or at least return for brunch.
They have $ 8.95 lunch specials. I decided on mango beef, while he chose fried prawns with some amazing crispy things topping them. I wish I knew what the name of the dish was specifically, because I want to order it next time.
Soup/​or salad, and a choice of an appetizer comes with the meal. He got peanut butter chicken, and I ordered spring rolls.
Needless to say based on other reviews, but this place is worth trying if you’re a fan of a slight kick of spice and ethnic cuisine. The waiters are attentive, friendly, and the serving of food is timely.
Props to the waitress for asking my boyfriend if I was his girlfriend, because «She looks 14». He found it charming being called a pedophile just before paying the bill, lmao.

The waitress (Joyce?) could not have been more pleasant. She was perfect. Perhaps one of the more charming servers I’ve encountered. The food was very creative, beautifully presented and tasty. The portions were right on and the pricing was reasonable. This is a great restaurant in an area where there are a lot of great places. It’s a little difficult to find because it is sort of tucked away in a remote part of a shopping plaza. It’s not a place you would probably drive by even if you were from the area.
I had the Red Curry Duck and loved it. The duck was cooked perfect and the sauce was amazing!
The menu notes Malaysian dishes (marked with a (M)) and Thai (Marked with a (T)) as well as some chinese dishes. The menu is huge so I’ll need some time here to get a feeling for what it is that they do best. Looking forward to reading what others say about the menu!

OK, we were on the golf course all day, volunteering at the Travelers Open; It was 88 degrees but felt like 98. We felt like a damp dish rag. So how good did that ice cold Singha beer taste? Words cannot even begin to explain…
Had dinner there tonight on the way home back from Cromwell. I had never tried a Singha beer (from Thailand) before. It was pricy at $ 5 but had a great taste and was very delicious. Not light, not too strong just about perfect.
Our party of 3 shared an appetizer of coconut shrimp ($ 6). It wasn’t super expensive, but you got what you pay for– a total of three very nice sized shrimps fried in a batter of finely shredded coconut with the requisite plum dipping sauce. A simple dish very well prepared.
Our entrees were Chicken Pad Thai ($ 10), Spicy Maple Chicken ($ 12), and Hot and Spicy Prawn ($ 16). The Pad Thai came out second best to our usual base line comparison of the Elephant Trail’s version. The prawns were a Malaysian dish and I asked to have it cranked up from a one-​pepper spice level to a two-​pepper spice level. The dish was very good more sweet and spicy than pure spicy, it came with a good portion (either 6 or 8?) of decent sized shrimp The Maple Chicken and Spicy Shrimp came with a choice of Jasmine or Brown rice. The food came on crazy huge plates that were ¹⁄₃ empty– that seemed odd. Service was odd too, we had a clinging type of waiter, hovering over us all night and annoying us like a buzzing fly .His constant orbiting of our table made us feel very rushed. He definitely detracted from the meal.
The restaurant is gorgeous. The menu is ambitious with lots of Malaysian dishes added to the Thai dishes, food was very good, but the service seemed a little over the top.

Tamarind Grill: Where is it anyway? It is directly behind the Panara Bread that is being constructed on the Silas Deane Highway in the Plaza there next to SAKE.
The driveway in front of the restaurant is really torn up as a result of the Panara Bread construction. If they are not getting a break on their rent. they should be.
I stopped in for lunch. I was the only person who was seated in the very beautiful dining room, the entire time. There were two well dressed servers there. I was naturally greeted and seated. I was pleased that they had lunch special menu, and a pretty nice assortment of dishes at that, I was able to get brown rice as well. The food was fine, the presentation was above average.