First Look: Tandoori Flame in Garland is a Hidden Gem

Nothing makes us happier than finding a hidden foodie gem., and we recently stumbled upon Tandoori Flame in Garland, located on the northeast corner of Shiloh and Campbell roads. Owners Manpreet and Aman Gakhal spent their entire lives in Minnesota, but they desired a change of scenery and a warmer climate.

They moved south and opened Tandoori Flame in November 2021.

Manpreet worked at his family-owned restaurant in Minnesota for years. He and Aman built a plan to relocate and open a restaurant in the DFW area. They arrived in September 2021 with their two small children. Despite not having a huge network of friends or family, they launched their business two months later, which is record time in terms of getting permits, inspections and licensing.
The restaurant is casual — in a strip mall, no reservations required — yet with nice touches like tablecloths and attentive service. Manpreet is the head chef, and he and his staff cook everything from scratch daily; they grind their own spices, make the yogurt, bake the naan. Aman works the front of the house along with a small staff.

We started with an appetizer of lamb seekh kabab, which is made with seasoned ground lamb, onion and ginger and is cooked on a skewer in their tandoor oven.

For most of their main dishes, diners choose their heat level: mild, medium, hot or extra hot. We went with hot; it gives a nice kick but doesn't test any limits. The entrées at Tandoori Flame are served in traditional Indian silver-plated bowls or pots. Unlike many American restaurants, the entrées aren't incredibly large, and while you can share the dishes, each will probably want to order a separate entrée.
Vindaloo is a spicy Indian curry dish, originally from Goa and is often a staple of Indian restaurant menus. The lamb vindaloo at Tandoori Flame has tender cubes of lamb and potatoes in a spicy tangy vindaloo sauce. If you’re not a fan of lamb, you can also order vindaloo with chicken, shrimp, goat or fish.

One of their most popular dishes is butter chicken. The curry is smooth and rich with spiced tomato and butter, along with aromatic chunks of tender chicken served with basmati rice.

The goat curry is also a great option to consider. This dish does have bone-in goat meat, so you will need to be careful.
Tandoori Flame has seven different bread options from which to choose, because you can never have too many carbs to dip in your spicy curry sauces, right? We've had the garlic naan, the tandoori roti and the paneer chili naan. If we had to only choose one next time, we would get the garlic naan or the paneer chili naan.

On our next visit, we’re looking forward to trying a biryani dish and one of their Balti specialties. Tandoori Flame is halal and kosher and there are plenty of vegetarian options. They are also BYOB, so bring your best bottle to enjoy.

Tandoori Flame, 6850 N. Shiloh Road (Garland). Closed Monday. Open 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.,  4:30-9:30 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday; 12 - 8 p.m. Sunday.