There is no way comparisons with Great Kebab Factory will not come up, so I am not going to resist the temptation. After looking for a nice place for dinner on Saturday, we zeroed in on NH1 - after knowing fully well that this was the sit down kebab buffet - the exact same style that TGKF introduced to Chennai a few years back! We booked a table for 3 and my brilliant friend did not give his name or phone number, so when we landed there and asked for our table, they pointed to three people who had just started dinner and they told us that they asked those guys if they had a reservation and they said yes! So our table was gone!

So, we waited for 20 minutes as the restaurant was packed! We kept seeing the menu and pinching ourselves as there were 7 starters each (ok, bringing the TGKF - it has 5), no Gulouti Kebab, a round of Indian Breads, four gravies, two biriyanis and one dessert! So we decided that 20 minutes is worth the wait.

For those who have not been to the Great Kebab Factory, this is a sit down buffet where you make the choice of veg or non veg and then all of the dishes are brought to your table. The soup arrived first and was reasonably ok! The starters arrived, unlike TGKF, on a plate that was left on our table. It had about 4 or 5 pieces each of two chicken, one fish and one prawn kebabs. The Prawns were brilliant, juicy and perfectly cooked, both the chicken kebabs were pretty good. The fish was outright spoilt - no second thoughts or doubts - we sent it back and the next set was equally bad! We asked them to stop serving us the fish and settled for the two lamb kebabs and the third chicken kebab that landed on our table, all of which were pretty nice. We also nibbled on a couple of vegetarian starters - the paneer was alright and the potatoes were just about alright too! We saved space for more carnivore starters!!!!

And then came the round of breads with the gravies - both the non veg gravies were just about alright, they were a little too runny for my liking, the mixed veg gravy was decent, but the dhal makhni was brilliant. Even though we were stuffed with starters, all of us ate two butter naans with this wonderfuly dhal makhni!!!! Both the biriyanis were just about decent.

Thankfully there was only dessert compared to the four you get at TGKF. To put things in perspective, TGKF costs you Rs 1600 nett, while NH1 costs you Rs 600 nett , so for the price, this place is a huge value for money. I mean if you can get two good starters, some naan with gravy and a dessert for that price, you should be happy with the current prices in Chennai, and at NH1 you get more than that. Food will not taste the same when you compare to TGKF, but leave that part alone and you will come out of the restaurant feeling reasonably satisfied with the food and definitely more than satisfied with the quantity.

Service was very good that day even though they were packed. Waiters were attentive and polite and encouraged you to eat more! Ambiance is very blah!

I would rate this experience a 3/5 !

NH1 is on Pycrofts Garden Road - you can access it via Haddows Road or via Wallace Garden road. It is above La Shakahari

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Another kebab outlet in town, this place really does pack a punch. After deciding not to take the 45 minute at the other new place, Cave restaurant, the three of us headed here at 9 PM, park our cars and get onto the restaurant located on the first floor. A brand new ambiance greets us, complete with lighted tables, a buffet spread, bright location and brimming waiters! We were asked if we wanted the buffet priced at Rs 275 or 'a la karte' and we chose the latter as we wanted to try out a few things at this place.

We were given a 'welcome drink' that tasted like a drop of pineapple syrup in a glass of water and we we thought that this is another fancy place with average food. After ordering mango lassi that tasted like great lassi, but with no hint of mango, I call the guy, who appears to be the owner or the guy in charge and tell him that I wanted mango lassi. He comes back in a minute and told me that the mangoes were 'too ripe' to make lassi with and they had only one mango that was used in my lassi. I told him to just give me the lassi that was served to me (make no mistake, the lassi tasted great), and we thought 'Man, this is really just fancy setting and food is going to be very average'.

Nothing was further from the truth! The starters that we ordered, the Tangdi Kebab, the Shamyiya Kebab and the Jhinga Kebab were juicy, succulent, soft, tender and all the adjectives that you can describe 'good' with, put together. The Tangdi kebab as we all know is chicken legs, the Shayiya kebab was described as lamb chops, but in reality we were served with lamb cutlets that were stunning! The Jhinga Bara Bar, was a prawn cocktail with large prawns and tasted great! We went ahead and ordered one more starter, the Nawabi kebab, which was boneless pieces of chicken grilled to perfection! The rumali roti and the chicken gravy were alright though with nothing special to mention about them.

The desserts were awesome too, with the kheer being superb and the kulfi served with sweet rice extremely tasty! The carrot halwa had nothing special in it, but was decent though. Price was on the higher side, with starter being priced between Rs 150 and Rs 325 and main courses similarly priced. The total bill for 3 of us, with 4 starters, 3 lassis, 3 rumali rotis, 1 main side dish and 3 desserts came up to Rs 1675. We had nothing to complain against the service, however the restaurant was only half full with half of those present helping themselves with the buffet! If the place can maintain the quality of the food being served, they should be a force to reckon with in the food scene of Chennai!

Food 8/10
Price 7/10
Ambiance 8/10
Service 7/10
Tandoori Thadaka is located on North Usman Salai, beyond Joy Alukas showroom on the same side, on the first floor.