Inchins Bamboo Garden / Tadka
Wow, what a concept – Indian AND Chinese together in the same place, and the best part is that this place delivered in spades! The only thing that could possibly hamper their success is the ‘out of the way’ location. They are tucked back behind Bed Bath & Beyond, right next door to Best Buy at Great Northern Mall. Unless you know that they’re there, it’s not someplace you’d just ‘happen by’ but I’m so glad that we sought it out and were able to find it!
It is a very modern, tastefully decorated space that leaned a little more towards Chinese than Indian in appearance, but they have two separate menus and both are extensive and reasonably priced. Initially it looked like Tadka was on one side with a separate entrance, andBambooGardenwas on the other and we’d have to choose. For various reasons, we opted to go the Chinese route this night, but were thrilled (at least I was) to discover that the side that said Tadka was mainly used for banquets and overflow seating and therefore, were given two menus each, one Indian and one Chinese! Naturally I went with the Indian selections and Mr. Z played it “safe” and stuck with Chinese. Neither of us was disappointed. They were relatively empty on this Tuesday night, so we had exceptional service and both of our servers were personable and very helpful in their suggestions. The garlic naan is amazing and my samosas (meat – $6 for 2) were probably the tastiest I’ve had and were complimented with two different sauces, one sweet and a little spicy and the other was a combination of mint, green pepper, onion and yogurt (I asked). Both sauces were really good. Mr. Z tried the chicken wonton soup, which he said was a little on the bland side, but was still good. I ordered a chicken dish as my entrée, Makhani, which in spite of the fact that I asked the server to suggest a VERY mild choice ….. I still had to tone it down with some of the “green sauce” (the yogurt and mint helped counteract the spiciness). The chicken was delicious and very tender. He had the sweet and sour chicken which he said was equally as tasty. Both portions came with regular rice and were overly generous. We actually could have shared one entrée had we both wanted the same thing!
Overall it was a great experience and we plan to go back on a regular basis. As we were leaving, our server impressed upon us (repeatedly) that they have a lunch buffet 7 days a week, which offers both Indian and Chinese dishes and that we really “must try it”!
5160 Great Northern Mall South
North Olmsted,OH44070
(440) 734-0500
http://www.bamboo-gardens.com/location/cleveland
http://www.tadkarestaurant.com