Matt and Cat\'s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide
There was a time when you would be guaranteed to see one or several of the following in an Indian restaurant: flock wallpaper, busy-patterned...

There was a time when you would be guaranteed to see one or several of the following in an Indian restaurant: flock wallpaper, busy-patterned carpets, and table lamps. But there is a new standard of décor for such venues. The Tamarind in Newport conforms to the new visual style, with a bright, contemporary sign welcoming diners to the smoke-free restaurant, with trendy laminate flooring and subtle recessed lighting.

On the night Cat went with a group of friends, the staff were attentive and friendly, even offering suggestions for the party’s indecisive members. The menu boasted a pretty good selection of food, including an array of seafood-based dishes. The meal started with poppadums – both plain and spiced – accompanied by a typical selection of dips. Cat and her friends had starters too; Cat ordering onion bhagee which was delivered as three reasonable-sized bhagees and a little bit of salad. Also bought out of the kitchen were an interesting minced lamb and fried egg affair and a tasty selection of mini kebabs.

After some gentle conversation lubricated with an apparently excellent red wine (Cat was on the lemonade, alas) the main course arrived, preceded by the tealight-powered plate warmers that Indian restaurants always have. Cat had chicken passanda, with pillau rice and a mushroom bhagee side dish. The chicken was lovely and tender and the passanda sauce was very thick yet salty and sweet at the same time. However, the plate warming device did not stop the tasty sauce becoming prematurely cool.

Cat’s fellow diners enjoyed their prawn, chicken and fish dishes and they all mixed and matched the side dishes. The potato aloo was very spicy, containing as it did mustard seeds. Still, the water jug and the alcohol were promptly replenished.

By the time all the food had been consumed, the restaurant was empty apart from Cat’s party. Nonetheless, the staff did not try and hurry the proceedings along. Instead they had a friendly chat about the cinema and brought coffee and mints despite the lateness of the hour.

The food was good value for money, the service attentive and the restaurant nice and clean. Perhaps next time, Cat will take Matt with her and he can add his own comment to this positive review.
Tamarind, Newport

  • Mr Anderson says:

    Tamarind is a favourite of ours on our work nights out. Our numbers vary from 8 to 17 depending on attendance but the staff always accomodate us and are always friendly. The food is first-class and we always leave feeling full and happy.

    We do miss the free Sambuca shots at the end of the night though but we will keep coming back anyway.

    Thanks to the staff – see you on Friday 🙂

  • HungryPeter says:

    I had a meal here recently. The staff are the best! The food is well presented, and there is a good menu.
    I didn’t like the sight of a man (OWNER?) who sat at the table next to mine,wearing shorts and a bluetooth earpiece,who commenced reading the County Press,and then began counting up till receipts! I appreciate that the restaurant has a modern,relaxed feel to it,but my dining experience was rather disappointing. No desserts on the menu?….! Very strange!
    And no sip of liqueur after the meal now! We used to enjoy that part of the evening,and still talk fondly of our past nights out here, but sadly, I don’t think it is as good now.

  • Emz says:

    I loved Tamarind, the staff are exceptionally friendly and the food is simply divine. The ambience is perfect for varying occasions of dining, with contemporary indian art and beautiful lighting.

  • Lisa says:

    I had my 20th Birthday here last July, and the staff and food were FANTASTIC.! They were so accomodating, I only booked the table for 14 of us (on a friday evening) the day before and all my family and friends said how amazing everything was.! The food was delicious.. so good I really can’t fault it.! In fact my other half loved it so much it was the restaurant he decided to propose in.!
    Can’t wait to go back there and enjoy the experience all over again.!

  • Ian Caspall says:

    Well I booked into this restaurant purely on the reviews read here. I was a bit aprehensive, as I hadn’t ever been to the Island before, and couldn’t find much detail about the Tamarind, or pictures, so booked on the hope that it worked out (as it was my Wife’s Birthday) and was very pleasantly suprised when we arrived. The restaurant was full on the Saturday night we visited, so was very glad we booked. Although there were a couple of large tables celebrating birthdays, the service was still excellent, and the food was delivered pretty quickly too, which was no mean feat considering the restaurant was full!!

    And as for the quality, all I can say is Excellent. The Chicken dishes we both had was melt in the mouth and had a delicious taste. The service was also excellent, as was the cleanliness of the restaurant.

    All in all, we definately enjoyed our time on the Island, and will definately return to the Tamarind when we do.

  • Lauren says:

    My boyfriend and I have been enjoying the food at Tamarind for 7 months now, and it is our favorite place to eat. All the staff are so friendly, and the service is great. The food is always well presented, whether we are eating in or having a take-away. They now offer a buffet on Sundays for less than £10 per person, which is a great way to try new food without paying a fortune. Great place to go! 🙂

  • Terry says:

    brilliant food every time we order. We will have to find some smart clothes and eat in some time! Yum!

  • Carl says:

    We were one of the first customers through Tamarind’s doors when they opened a couple of years ago and the staff are as good now as they were then, and so are the meals.
    We only use the takeaway side of their service and in 2 years we have had only 1 mistake with an order which was promptly compensated for. The other 96% have been ready within 5 minutes of my arrival and are always nicely cooked. I dread getting home to find hard naan bread or overdone chicken as much as the next man but this is never even a passing concern. We never finish with a ‘greasy’ feeling from the food and you can guarantee I’m going to try my best to leave a lunch time portion for the next day too!!
    The set meals come highly recommended for two people with a nice variation of vegetable, lamb and chicken curries plus pilau rice and a few sides such as salad and bombay potatoes. A meal and a half for just under twenty quid the last time we went.
    9/10 – keep us the good work chaps. I said we’d support you when you opened…and we continue to find Tamarind as one of the first places we’re calling when we fancy a takeaway 🙂

  • faz (tamarind staff) says:

    hey i just want to say thank you for that review we have been opend for over a year and 7months and we have great reputation and we also have a great review with island life but i just want to thank all my customers who been supporting us all this time we couldnt of gone this far with out you and we would always like to here your comments so we can improve your stay in tamarind thank you and last but not least matt and cat keep up the good work and there should be three more indian restraunts being open in island 2 in ryde and also our new branch tamarind tree in seaview which will be open in october fingers crossed so keep a look out for that peace.

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