The Tandoori Oven, correctly named for the Indian “wood fired, clay ovens”, uses a tandoor oven from India and serves only dishes cooked by and in the restaurant. The Tandoori oven has a very soft atmosphere and serves the food quickly to get it out to diners within minutes of ordering.

Entering The Tandoori Oven, one experiences a rush of culture. Soft reggae music plays in the background. The front of the building isn’t concrete, or even brick, but instead glass, revealing a colorful interior to the outside world, and letting in a nice glow from the sun. Lining the top of the right wall is a “deck” with a half-dozen closed, multi-colored doors. On the opposite wall resides a mural showing an Indian woman and several bright, wavy lines. Above the kitchen, a ridged metal sheet creates the feel of a beach shack. Despite the beach feel, this is clearly an Indian restaurant. Outside of the restaurant many tables crowd the patio, providing seating for customers of the restaurant as well as those from Starbucks and The Counter.

A naan is a great choice as the main course for a lunch. With eight different stuffings for the fresh-baked Indian bread a wonderful variety appears. The Paneer Naan ($3.99), made with a light Indian cheese, stems the appetite wonderfully. The kitchen chefs cook the dish to perfection. The cheese had a slight chew to it, similar to that of mozzarella, and although it appeared a bit greasy, it, in fact, wasn’t in the least bit. If you want a bit more food, try the Chicken Pesto Naan ($3.99). It’s quite similar, but the taste varies greatly, and although the chicken was hard to distinguish inside the naan, the flavor was wonderful.

For dinner there are many choices, with a many varieties of flavors and textures. The Chicken Wrap ($7.49) has a strong flavor, but is not overwhelming. There was a bite to it, and along with the chicken inside the naan wrap were strips of cucumber. The menu says that the dish is prepared with “tender chicken straight from the tandoor, cucumber, tomatoes and mint mayo sauce wrapped in freshly baked naan bread,” but I had a hard time finding any tomatoes. A cucumber salad or a spicy potato salad comes with each wrap.

To wash down an authentically spiced Indian meal, the Sweet Lassi ($2.99) is a wonderful choice. A Lassi is a drink of homemade yogurt either sweetened (the Sweet Lassi) or blended with mangos (the Mango Lassi – $3.29). With a cold, sweet and crisp flavor to it, the lassi is made to perfection. The Mango Lassi, on the other hand, will help with the spice, but was thick and too sweet. It also lacked the cold of the sweet lassi.

The Tandoori Oven is not a great place for a teen hangout but for a date, it would be the perfect place. The prices are affordable, and the atmosphere is just right. The Tandoori Oven accepts credit cards and cash, but dislikes American Express cards, as is noted on a paper near the cashier. All in all, The Tandoori Oven is a wonderful place to dine, depending on one’s tastes. The Tandoori Oven is located at 365 California Avenue in Palo Alto.