Tandoori International in South Tyneside

Lovely birthday meal . Staff curry was absolutely beautiful,

Had a meal here at the end of September with family. After leaving and almost home, it was realised that my mam had left her phone at the restaurant, so I rang to check it was there. She was very worried at loosing it as it has many precious photos that she can't replace aswell as the inconvenience of not having a phone. It was confirmed by staff that the phone was there and would be kept safe so that we could collect the next day. (Great) We rang the next day early afternoon to see if we could collect it. We were told the phone was there but the staff member was leaving the restaurant and we would have to pick it up 5pm when the restaurant opened. At 5pm we tried to collect the phone and we were told that the restaurant had a break in the night before (lies). All that was stolen was a few bottles of beer, my mams phone and there was no damage! (Why were we not told this when we rang early afternoon?) The owner said they reported a break in to the police (covering their backs), however a phone was not mentioned as being stolen! I asked to see the camera footage of the incident as the restaurant has many cameras covering the area. I was then told all the cameras were down that specific evening. ( coincidence or yet more lies) I've sent numerous letters which have not been responded to. I have also asked for their insurance details so that we could claim the cost of the phone back. This was refused. The restaurant has had plenty of time to do the right thing. Ive asked them to pay the cost of the phone before writing this, but they have refused and have been very rude and inconsiderate. My sister attempted to hand deliver a letter to them recently, the owner refused and aggressively made her leave the restaurant without accepting the letter. The only reason I am not taking them to court is that I would have to give them my address. The last thing I want is these untrustworthy individuals knowing where I live. The way we've been treated is very disappointing and our family and friends will obviously never be going back. I would not recommend this place to anyone, many better restaurants in the area.

Oh dear. One star because you can't give zero. This place used to be the place to go in South Shields if you wanted a fine curry and good service. No longer the case it appears. The waiter seemed to have other things on his mind and everything was met with indifference. Main courses, onion bahji and mixed kebab, meagre and tasteless. Madras main course, just hot, no taste, to the point of suffering. We didn't bother with dessert as we thought we'd been robbed already. Won't be returning. So much choice in Shields.

One star because you can't give zero. This place used to be the place to go in South Shields if you wanted a fine curry and good service. No longer the case it appears. The waiter seemed to have other things on his mind and everything was met with indifference. Main courses, onion bahji and mixed kebab, meagre and tasteless. Madras main course, just hot, no taste, to the point of suffering. We didn't bother with dessert as we thought we'd been robbed already. Won't be returning. So much choice in Shields.

One star as you can not give zero. Dreadful food and discourteous service. Greeted by a waiter with a scowl. Starter of onion bhaji - bland and cold. Main course again bland, no flavour, swimming in oil ( or ghee as the scowling waiter explained, when asked why theres 50 % oil in the Madras sauce ) Plain pilau rice, "correctly" described, again no flavour just lots of food colouring. Sundry of plain Nan bread , burnt and tiny in size. All round an awful experience, from the staff to the food swimming in oil, restaurant temperature cold. The toilets had not been cleaned in weeks. Will not visit again Only visited to try another restaurant, we will return to the star of India , where the hospitality is second to none, in terms of Ocean road and the food is original and not pretentious. Whilst supplying outstanding value for money.

The most awful and disgusting experience of a meal out I have ever had, ⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ there was what appeared to be a public hair in my starter, when I complained the waiter simply picked it out, with his dirty curry stained fingers and threw it on the floor then shrugged his shoulders. The food was SIMply SIMple. EEvrything from the reception to the final bill was tasteless. Would not eat here for free, avoid.

Had a meal here at the end of September with family. After leaving and almost home, it was realised that my mam had left her phone at the restaurant, so I rang to check it was there. She was very worried at loosing it as it has many precious photos that she can't replace aswell as the inconvenience of not having a phone. It was confirmed by staff that the phone was there and would be kept safe so that we could collect the next day. (Great) We rang the next day early afternoon to see if we could collect it. We were told the phone was there but the staff member was leaving the restaurant and we would have to pick it up 5pm when the restaurant opened. At 5pm we tried to collect the phone and we were told that the restaurant had a break in the night before (lies). All that was stolen was a few bottles of beer, my mams phone and there was no damage! (Why were we not told this when we rang early afternoon?) The owner said they reported a break in to the police (covering their backs), however a phone was not mentioned as being stolen! I asked to see the camera footage of the incident as the restaurant has many cameras covering the area. I was then told all the cameras were down that specific evening. ( coincidence or yet more lies) I've sent numerous letters which have not been responded to. I have also asked for their insurance details so that we could claim the cost of the phone back. This was refused. The restaurant has had plenty of time to do the right thing. Ive asked them to pay the cost of the phone before writing this, but they have refused and have been very rude and inconsiderate. My sister attempted to hand deliver a letter to them recently, the owner refused and aggressively made her leave the restaurant without accepting the letter. The only reason I am not taking them to court is that I would have to give them my address. The last thing I want is these untrustworthy individuals knowing where I live. The way we've been treated is very disappointing and our family and friends will obviously never be going back. I would not recommend this place to anyone, many better restaurants in the area.

Greeted by a waiter with a scowl. Starter of onion bhaji - bland and cold. Main course again bland, no flavour, swimming in oil ( or ghee as the scowling waiter explained, when asked why theres 50 % oil in the Madras sauce ) Plain pilau rice, "correctly" described, again no flavour just lots of food colouring. Sundry of plain Nan bread , burnt and tiny in size. All round an awful experience, from the staff to the food swimming in oil, restaurant temperature cold. Will not visit again

I have been going to this restaurant since I was a child now as an adult I still go here with my own children, the food is always amazing as well as the service, staff are lovely and nothing is ever a bother

Overall a decent first experience

Mediocre bland curry and service was very slow!

not impressed ordered beef curry got chicken. which I hate starter to curry was unimpressive usually good from here tonight not .

curry had a thick layer of oil and took over two hours to arrive

Food was cold and very disappointing

Food was ordered at 19:30 and wasn’t delivered till 22:00, it was warm at best when arrived. Sorry but won’t be using again.

The wife and I went end of August for dinner like the previous comment the place was to flash for me only 1 other table in use ordered butter chicken and Rogan Josh for me mine was very poor should have been made with extra tomato's but was made with so much tomotoe purie is made it sickly that it made it uneatable wife's okay complained to the young waiter but he put the act on of not speaking English and started to walk away called him back told him again but just smiled and walked off explained to another young person had same response NEVER AGAIN will I visit better ones across road

Got balti chicken and boiled rice. Served piping hot, tasty with fresh tomato and bell pepper. Not very curry-flavoured, though. Hmmm. Decor excellent and fit for a celebration. SECOND VISIT- tried the bhuna chicken puree and chicken korma with steamed rice. Korma one of the besf- can taste the almonds. Prompt service, hot plates. Will be back

Delivery driver in red car always very good & on time

So good I forgot to take a photo! Super tasty food, amazing service, lovely interior and overall a great place. There's such a huge selection of dishes too. We are slowly making our way through the menu and so far every dish has been delicious. Would defo recommend!!

I had planned a family outing to this restaurant, expecting a good time,but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. the staff were very irresponsible and unfriendly and the food was subpar. Overall, it was a very frustrating experience. Would not recommend it's waste of time and money spending there.

absolutely amazing food! it was very tasty, everything had came. I absolutely love this restaurant, I highly recommend people to try this restaurant. takeaway or dine in. it's fabulous 😍 thankyou.

I visited here last week for the first time in about 15 years. It was the best Indians I have had in a very long time. We will definitely return soon

Four of us dined. Inside it’s pretty purple and looks more like a disco hall. I really didn’t enjoy the food at all. I started with crab puri which was a decent portion but no discernible taste of crab. The puri bread was quite oily too. My main was a mattar paneer. The paneer cheese was the worst I can recall tasting in a very long time. It tasted off. The cheese texture too was strange. I eat paneer regularly and if it was anything close to this taste/texture I’d find something else to eat. The peas too were a cheap product and the curry wasn’t much different to the not great taste of the alleged crab starter. I left most of it. In a pattern of serving up poor food the Peshwari nan was doughy. They are meant to be soft, pillowy tasty breads - nothing of the sort here. Here too, I can’t say they don’t have a proper tandoor oven but I can say none of the food we had was from a tandoor despite menu claims. I did ask for and got a black pepper popadom which was the tastiest food I had in this place. My wife had a tandoori mix starter (no tandoor used) and a chicken shashlik main with rice. She said her food was alright. At £120 it wasn’t worth it. I could get 4 ten ounce fillet steak mains with all the trimmings in my local spot with beers for this price. My tip is go to Marks & Spencer for far better much tastier curries, nans and pilau rice; their chicken tikka starter is darn good but Sainsbury’s taste the difference onion bhajis top M&S. Staff were friendly but I wouldn’t return. I really don’t like giving low star reviews as there’s no satisfaction in it for either party but when it’s grim it’s grim well over priced for poor tasting food.

Good. Your standard ocean road curry. £15 for 3 course meals.

Received early and hot. Disappointed with the over citrusy taste in the madras. Other chilli and garlic meal was tasty

Just bought a takeaway from here, a chicken madras, got to say and I hate giving negative comments but it was the worst madras I've ever had, I have had madras from lots of different curry restaurants and they all taste similar, never a complaint but this one just tasted like a spicy tomato sauce which will account for the bright red colour. Both myself and my wife couldn't eat it. The reviews for this restaurant are fantastic but I honestly don't know what happened to ours. The rice, onion Baji, nan bread and poppadoms were spot on. Really disappointed and won't be back.

absolutely amazing. bang on delivery time aswell. thankyou

Nicest place you could go to for Indian cuisine, staff are so polite and friendly

My boyfriend and I tried this curry house last night. We were gob smacked it was unreal. I highly recommend to anyone who hasn't tried this restaurant. Such the best I'm definitely coming back. Madras sauce and chips was so lovely Thankyou for the staff that made us feel welcomed too.

Had a lovely meal here. The food was delicious and the service was great. Not too expensive either.

Late, Cold, jam packed with way too many onions, swimming in oil but little sauce. Small portions but restaurant prices. Absolutely disgusted.

delicious food, will definitely order again

BRILLIANT ❤ Thoroughly enjoyed our meal, food was excellent and the staff superb.

wow,best curry I've had in years , I'll be back 😎

Best curry in shields. Hands down. Worth every penny. Won’t go anywhere else ever again. Truly incredible food. Authentic food and I cannot more highly recommend this place. Will be a lifetime repeat customer after this order. Thank you!

Rank !! Disgusting chicken not cooked still have a horrible taste in my mouth now vomited outside the restaurant.

We always enjoy The International to take away or sit in. Never fails. Try others occasionally and they are always a disappointment. Food is tasty and always good quality.

As we walk in (party of 4) couldn't help put notice a waiter looking at his watch, even though it was only 8.30ish. Which made us think that we would be rushed and unable to enjoy the meal. So we left.

Had heard good things. So ordered from here on deliveroo. Curry went in the bin. Had a layer of grease across the top of it. Had a few spoonfuls but it was all I could taste, was disgusting. I was Very disappointing and Wouldn't order from here again.

Me abd 2 other friends went last night, everything was excellent, and we will defo be going back soon, thanks to all the very freindly staff, and food was delicious

Fantastic meals, very well presented . Staff were lovely and we will definitely return

Fantastic never let you down absolute quality and always on time unlike radhuni

The meal was great, but it was half an hour late

If I could give more than 5 star I would great service and really good food definitely my go to now.

Amazing food. Despite being late the food was surprisingly warm, would have appreciated an update if the restaurant was running behind. Ordered from the chef’s speciality menu and it didn’t disappoint. Will definitely try more from that menu.

prawn curry very watery tonight as if been frozen and defrosted before delivery x

We were recommended to try this place while working in the area. Staff were lovely and friendly and the food was amazing. I had the veggie Thali and I wasn't disappointed, tasty and very generous portions.

Decor good. Housekeeping good. Service good. Food good & well presented. Only downside was the table we had was cool. Don't know if other parts of the restaurant were warmer.

Ordered takeaway took 3 hours to turn up and was cold when it arrived

Good arrived just a few minutes after the agreed time but it was New Years Eve. The good was excellent quality. Would definitely recommend.

But understand as not to much over

Meal was lovely but cold on arrival had to heat it up in the microwave

Great food good friendly service

Always have a good reception here, excellent food and service at a reasonable price. Also, never any drunken louts to spoil the experience

Wow, have been visiting Shields for years and never had a meal here. This will now be my go to place. The food was amazing, very nice staff and very reasonable prices. Really good night.

Great meal as always, tasty, hot, great packaging. Highly recommend.

Can’t imagine anything better than this. Fantastic food amazing restaurant. Highly recommended superb place to eat.

The curry was very watery and I was disappointed

Some unusual dishes all very well done. Large portions. Friendly staff.

Visited Sunday 22/10/2023. Food was decent, pleasant staff, though the wait for the main course was a bit long. Looks to have been very newly decorated inside, and there was still masking tape around the dado rail. Not a bad place, though nothing to mark it out as memorable compared with the many other similar restaurants in the area.

Nothing special with food Passable

Normally get a takeaway. Decided to have a sitty downy and was not disappointed. Excellent food as always and staff are the best. Great night out.

Curry sauce was cold and watery. The popadoms were stale.

Fantastic food. Staff curry was amazing. Late delivery but an update on this would have helped.

Wasn't too bad ,can't complain

Update: September 2023. This used to be the best indian restaurant in South Shields, but sadly things have changed for the worst. Prices increased from £9.99 a head to £15.99 excluding expensive alcohol and soft drinks. Food quality is sadly no better than a microwave meal at Morrisons. Chicken breast is tasteless and bland. Rice is great as normal and bread sundries are still good. But dopaiza and other sauces, no kick, no deep fried onions in certain dishes. We would have been better going to a supermarket. The restaurant is clean, but no longer airy with over 7 waiters crowded round like busboys. Probably accounts for price rises. A decent chef and 4 waiters would be better for a small restaurant. Overall score 2 out of 5. Only the rice and bread saved them. What a shame.

All the food was delicious but arrived cold.. All needed reheating..

Called in after the Great North Run to ask if would get changed before travelling home. Ended up stopping for a very nice meal. Great food, great service. Highly recommended.

The food was really nice but arrived 30 minutes late, and needed reheated.

Very impressed with the curries! Absolutely spot on and the chicken was really nice too, no chewy bits. Also recommend the onion bhajis- will be back!

The best curry in South Sheilds. Friendly and attentive staff and the food is incredible. Generous portions and so tasty.

This was a great dining experience. From the initial welcome, the decor and lighting, the service to the food itself. Brilliant.

Very disappointed this time. We used to come here very regular. We went last night for tea and sorry to say we won't be going back. It wasn't particularly busy and yet we waited 50mins for our food to come out, not ideal when you are trying to entertain a hungry bored 6 year old. When the food did eventually come out it was both over cooked and cold . Very disappointed and then recieved the bill £50 for 2 curries 2 rice 1 chips and 2 soft drinks .

beautiful meal ty better than ladt one ty

Based on food only really, which was very good. My son did get the madras, which he has had before in other restaurants, but it was too spicy for him here...I did like it though! Service was a bit slow and they didn't understand what we were asking for half of the time.

Lovely food good staff and good value for money

Visited with family on a Friday evening. We booked a table ahead which was good as it was very busy. Unfortunately it appears they really struggled with the amount of guests to serve. We waited over an hour between being seated and receiving our starters. And an extra 30 minutes after that for our mains. We asked twice about our starters and we're told they'd go check but then they never came back. I had onion bhaji for a starter and a curry described as medium heat in the menu. Let me tell you, if that was medium then heaven help anyone who orders a hot curry. I can normally tolerate heat in food but what I ordered was so hot that all other flavour was completely nullified. The bhaji was decent. All told food and drinks for 4 was £110. We all ordered from the £15 set menu so drinks, naan and poppadoms came to £70 which is pretty steep considering we had maybe 2 rounds of drinks. Finally the restaurant itself. Steps up to the main entrance so not disabled friendly. No disabled toilet and the ladies toilet is up a flight of stairs. Definitely not one for anyone with a mobility issue. Seating is all open plan tables and quite close together making the whole restaurant incredibly noisy to the point it was difficult to fill the wait time with conversation and the staff could barely hear us. Overall, Ocean Road is a very competitive area, especially for Indian restaurants, and there are far better options than the Tandoori International.

took forever then order wrong nobody answered phone tried 33 times get thru

My god this food was amazing, really nicely, full of flavour, good portion sizes and really well prices! Definitely the best place on street to go!

Delicious would definitely go back

Waiter did not understand simple vodka and coke order. Orderd chilli garlic chicken and as much flavour chicken very tough. Orderd poppadoms and got chargerd for dips did not ask for . Asked at payment to remove and was confronted by management to insist to pay . Never return

food was nice, service ok atmosphere ok but not a lot of space though.

Meal was ordered well in advance for a certain time. Arrived half an hour late. The driver wasn’t interested when I asked him to pass on the lateness to the restaurant. Very poor service.

Curry swimming in oil, can’t believe I’ve paid nearly £30 and I basically can’t eat it

Recommended!!!! A great dining experience. The most amazing madras I’ve ever had. Service is very good & food overall is excellent quality & very well presented.

The starters & rice were cold upon delivery and poppadom was missing

Excellent food great atmosphere and attentive service 👌

The mango delight curry was the nicest curry I've ever tasted! 10/10 would recommend

Came in on a Sunday evening and ate from the set menu. The service was prompt and attentive, with the food absolutely amazing. Haven’t a single criticism and already trying to decide when to be back.

We arrived at 9.30 and ordered our food and drinks, food was very nice, however at 10.45 shortly after we received our main meals and we were the only ones left in the restaurant they turned the music off, and two members of staff were shouting loudly at each other across the restaurant and the manager on loudspeaker to his wife, we asked for a little less noice so we can finish our meals in peace. The manager came over smirking saying that they close at 11 and need to clean the restaurant for the next day and they have a right to turn the music off when they want, all we said was that they should do this when the restaurant is closed. He then started shouting at as and being very aggressive, waving his armes about. I asked him to lower his tone and speak to us like humans, he then raised his voice again saying he has been there since 1981 and can do whatever he likes. We then said to take the rest of our meals away and to give us the bill as we didn't like the manner was speaking to us. He then raised his voice again. I again told him to lower his tone. We then paid and left. Food was lovely but the customer service was appalling. We won't be going back again Try and avoid if you can, there are plenty of other restaurants that will treat you better with the same standard of food.

The starter was amazingly tasty, the best curry I ever had Shatkora Jaipur chicken, the nan was so soft and fluffy and staff were great, fab night will definitely be back.

Just too hot. I rated this as the best Indian in South Shields which is some recommendation. I have eaten the same dish on the last 4 occasions and it has been exceptional. Rice and sundries still as good as ever but my curry and my friends were ridiculously hot. I have eaten hot curries over the years and I would put all our curries as hotter than vindaloo. I did try to convey the message to our waiter who smiled and left. Thought I had found my “go to” curry house in town but back to the drawing board

Food good service bad I’d booked up 5 days in advance asked if I could have a dish made with chicken leg meat yes shouldn’t be a problem so I checked 2 hours before arrival again yes no problem got there asked for it sorry we don’t/ can’t do it wtf got a table of 4 under false pretence food was decent tho but just be truthful with your guests

Not a good place if you go with someone and are not hungry. Even if other people order a lot of food, they try to force you to order something other than drink. Order or leave.

Great food and quick delivery

Excellent food And Amazing Service Lovely friendly staff Travelled all the way from Leicestershire Nick Reynolds

Food was lovely, portion sizes weren’t the best hardly any chicken in curry and hardly any chips, shame cos the food was really nice. Was also late but these things happen.

From the moment we entered the staff were so helpful and courteous. Food presented well and excellent tastes of all courses. Prices very reasonable both for meal and drinks

Dreadful experience! We intend voting with our feet and won't be returning. The restaurant's website boasts of "Valued guests" and being "Extremely proud of our enviable reputation". We most certainly did not feel like "Valued guests" and we have no idea where the "Enviable reputation" comes from as we were thoroughly disappointed by the standard of service and we had a major issue with the food we were offered. We are lifelong vegetarians and were guided to what looked like a very appealing first course by the Maître d'. When the food arrived, it contained chicken despite us making it very clear at the outset that we were vegetarian. We didn't realise the food contained chicken until we started eating and called the waiter over. Instead of attending personally given the seriousness of the matter, the Maître d' dispatched a junior member of staff to deal with our issue. We found the attitude of this waiter demeaning, insulting and aggressive. We then had to approach the Maître d' personally and were shocked when he took no responsibility for the error and glibly claimed the problem arose in the kitchen. We are not sure why this could happen if our dietary requirements were made clear to the kitchen staff. When confronted with the fact that we ordered on the basis of his recommendation he offered a feeble apology, promised to have a word with the offensive waiter and agreed to replace our first course. This was served by the waiter we found demeaning and aggressive and his manner on this occasion was appallingly condescending. He even sniggered as he "Apologised". The website of this restaurant boasts of being in business over forty years, yet it fails to take its customers' dietary consequences seriously and mocks them when they raise their concerns. A restaurant that offers service such as this does not deserve to be in business at all. We will certainly be taking our custom elsewhere, most especially given the condescending, offensive and contemptible way we were treated.

Really good Indian well worth a visit and reasonably priced