Tandoori Garden

You can find us on C.T. Road in Puri, not too far from Hotel Arya Palace. Being in a place like Puri means we see a mix of locals and people visiting for the beach or the temples. Tandoori Garden isn't actually a big garden, but we liked the name anyway. It’s mostly just a practical space where we can fit enough tables for the evening rush. The humidity here can be really something, especially when you’re standing near a hot clay oven all evening. We try to keep things simple. We don’t have a huge menu, just the things we know how to make well. The staff usually starts early in the afternoon to get everything prepped before the dinner crowd arrives. It’s a lot of chopping vegetables and marinating meat. We don't use any fancy machines, just our hands and the ovens. Sometimes the power goes out, which is common enough around here, and we just light some candles and keep going. It’s a bit of an old-school way of doing things, but it works for us. We’ve been on this road for a while now and we’ve seen shops come and go. We just focus on our own kitchen and try to stay consistent. It's a living, and we're glad to be part of the community here. The sea breeze helps a little when the sun goes down, but the kitchen is always hot.