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Tamarind Vietnamese Grill & Noodle House
Category: Restaurants Vietnamese Vietnamese [Edit]
106-1111 6th Ave SWCalgary, AB T2P 5M5
(403) 262-6644
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 8 pm
Sat 12 pm - 8 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
8 reviews for Tamarind Vietnamese Grill & Noodle House
8 reviews in English
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Review from Carrie P.
4/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Tamarind Vietnamese Grill & Noodle House is a short three block stroll from my office.
Two of the three reviews currently written are from other reviewers that I have linked up to through Yelp, that both enjoyed the food there. I will agree with both Sapna and Nick on their assessment of Tamarind. Everything I tried was great!
When I checked out the menu, I went digging for the spiciest thing I could find. I found the Pad Thai with Chicken (it had a picture of a little pepper beside it on the menu, so I figured that was a safe bet). When I ordered, I asked them to feel free to add any extra spice.
I also ordered the fresh salad rolls with tofu. I knew the Pad Thai was going to feed me for two days, but I can never resist a fresh salad roll with peanut sauce.
Also, I couldn`t help but try the fresh avocado shake. I figured it was going to be a calorie bomb, but I had a sore throat, and in that moment, that looked like the perfect remedy.
When I placed my order, they prepared everything fresh behind the counter where I could easily see the whole process. I saw the lady making my pad thai give a generous, generous helping of hot sauce, which made me quite happy. Another gal was preparing my fresh salad rolls from scratch and rolling them up with all the fixing, asking me questions as I went (i.e. do you like basil?).
While I was waiting, another lady came up behind me and had a $10 bill in her hand, ordering the pad thai. She made a comment to the gentlemen behind the cash register that she was addicted to it. She had her cash in her hand before she even ordered.
Another 3 people came in behind her within minutes, picking up orders. So, it looks like you can call ahead and pre-order and simply swing by and pick up your order. Good to know!
The pad thai was amazing! And for me, the portion was huge. I ate about a third of it, and the next day, I split the other 2/3's with my colleague. If its even possible, it was better the second day reheated. And... it was both flavorful and spicy! My palate can take a lot of heat, and I was pleased!
The fresh salad rolls and peanut sauce were extremely good, and the avocado shake was..... interesting. :) I have never had one before, and in the right circumstances, I would order one again. I love avocados, but picture an avocado blended with ice, milk (or cream?) and sweetener. It tasted exactly as you would expect of that combination of foods. I'm not sure if those were the only ingredients, but that is what it looked like and tasted like. It was tasty in an positively, interesting way.
When I got back to the office, I told two sets of co-workers about my lunch. Hopefully all this good press will give Tamarind a long and successful life in Calgary.
Now that I know they're there, I want them to stay.
This place is definately a must try! -
Review from Aaron C.
Calgary, AB
12/21/2011
First Off; I was really expecting something special reading the reviews here. I was excited to check this place out.. and I don't believe it met up with the expectation that I had.
The location is great, Two blocks from my apartment; and I can tell they probably do quite well based on their location. It doesn't look like much from the outside, I've probably passed it a few times without giving it a glace.
The first problem I had was that it's too small for what it needs to be. Even though I only had Take Out - I can tell they need to expand their venue based on their Loyal and Interested Clientele.
I went around 1145; and was lucky because after I arrived it started to pick up.
Phone Orders and 4 walk-ins put them behind, they were advising people that it could be a 15-20 minute wait for food, I could tell some people were disappointing because they were on their lunch breaks.
The menu is small; but probably right where it needs to be. A few base things with areas to be adventurous. My first qualm was that one of the items I did want to try was only available after 4PM.. the Stuffed Chicken Wings - Sound delicious on the Menu.. Will have to leave a mental note to try these.
I decided to go the safe route and order the Spring Rolls and the Bun (Vermicelli Rice Bowl).
The Spring Rolls themselves were actually quite delicious, Could have used a little bit more filling and taste, but the Fish Sauce was probably one of the best ones I've tried to date.
The Rice Bowl however was quite dissapointing. I got the Pork with Shrimp.
The Pork was only just okay - Could have been cooked a little longer, I found that it was kinda tasteless. The best part was the Shrimp however.. Plump and Juicy, They were really quite delicious!
I found that the Flavor was really lacking for the food. They have a long way to go to catch up with Quynh, Which I would say is the best in the City.
Overall; The Location, The Hours and for what it is, This is the best Vietnamese that I've tried in the area. However they have a long way to catch up with the other Vietnamese Locations in the city. -
Review from Matt B.
12/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
NOTE: If you are looking for this restaurant, it is on 10th street before you get to 6th avenue!
Oftentimes, when we aren't sure what we want to eat, my girlfriend and will cruise around downtown looking for certain types of food on Yelp. I was craving some pho, and this place came up on the list cause of the high reviews.
This is a small restaurant - incredibly cozy atmosphere. It was just the two of us there, but I think it could be quite noisy had there been more people inside. It was about an hour before closing when we were there.
We had ordered veggie spring rolls to start, and an iced Vietnamese coffees. She ordered the pad thai and I'd ordered a beef pho. The veggie rolls were absolutely delicious, however we had polished those off and my dinner partner was partway through her main course before our coffees arrived.
I definitely don't consider myself a pho expert - I had my first pho a month or so prior to this. It was ok, in my line of thinking - there was quite a bit of beef, the seasoning was alright. Nothing mind-blowingly spectacular.
Something I did find a bit odd - our meals didn't come at the same time. That's not a huge deal to me, but since there was only 2 of us and not a large group it seem a bit strange.
We did note, however, that the wall that our table was against appeared quite dirty, like as though people had splashed something on it multiple times and it got missed in the nightly cleanup.
Service-wise, it was kind of odd. Our water glasses were never empty, but it seemed like we had to make a move to leave to get the bill.
This is a place that I would go back to, because the food as good but it seemed like otherwise they were having an "off" night. -
Review from Danelle W.
Calgary, AB
11/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
I was expecting AMAZING after reading the reviews, but ended up getting AVERAGE.
We wanted pho so did a search on Yelp for great places and came up with this one. After finally finding a parking spot, we walked down 6th Ave and were a little worried that we couldn't find the restaurant (especially after attempting to go to lunch somewhere that was closed for a private function that day).
We were walking back to the car to warm up when I spotted Tamarind - it's actually on 10th ST! So the address is a little misleading... building is 6th Ave, actual venue on 10th.
We arrived about an hour before close and were the only ones there. We took a seat, mulled over the menu, ordered veggie spring rolls and a couple of iced vietnamese coffees (when it was -20 out?? We're nuts). And then an order of beef pho and pad thai.
The coffees took forever to arrive. As in, we were done the spring rolls (which were good) and I was partway into my main when the drinks arrived. Also, our meals came to the table separately, about 5 or so minutes apart. I get that they wanted mine to arrive hot, and often when there are large parties not all meals arrive at the same time, but when there are only 2, it makes more sense to bring both mains at once.
I'm not a pad thai expert, but I was hoping for a little more flavour & kick, I guess. It was good, but didn't blow me out of the water.
At the end of the meal, they never brought a bill, despite the fact we were obviously done. After some time, we packed up and walked to the till. Not sure if this is standard practice but we weren't informed otherwise.
Maybe it was just an off day, or perhaps this place is more authentic than the other pho/vietnamese places I've been? Not sure, but it wasn't a great experience.
Oh, and the walls desperately need a cleaning. I understand the "hole in the wall" feeling that's going on, but once I noticed it, I couldn't stop staring at the dirty walls.
I'll probably try again, likely get a lemongrass chicken dish as this seems to be my 'usual.' Hopefully my next visit is AMAZING.
(23/30) -
Review from Nick S.
1/4/2011 9 Check-ins Here
A few years back I was working in Portland, and had a number of really great Thai restaurants around. Once place in particular had a spectacular Pad Thai that I never got tired of.
Fast forward to Calgary, where there is really very little around me as far as Thai restaurants go... while Vietnamese shops seem to outnumber liquor stores, which I thought would be impossible.
Apparently in Calgary, we can't get enough rice vermicelli and Vietnamese subs.
Truth be told, for a while I've been suffering from complete Vietnamese-fatigue.
Every restaurant and take out shop in the area seemed to be presenting the exact same meal, with identical flavors. Almost like it's being prepared off-site by a 3rd party distributor (which probably isn't far from the truth).
My fatigue finally came to a head after a couple of visits to "DQ Vietnamese," which is really only a couple of hundred feet from my office building. Perfect for grabbing some quick lunch, in theory. But after a couple of lunches that contained shrimp that WEREN'T deveined, and one occasion where they asked me if I wanted to substitute for an alternate lunch that was "really good," (I said no, I'll take what I ordered), they slipped me the substitute anyhow (something I didn't discover until I was back at work), I never went back. And actually the thought of going back kind of made me gag a little, because the flavors just weren't working out anyhow.
So they other day, I was "Yelping" for restaurants around me, and saw Sapna's review for Tamarind. Tamarind is in the location that used to house "DQ Vietnamese," so my mental block against it has been firmly in place for months. I've been completely ignoring it.
But when the review said it is "the best Vietnamese food in Calgary," I did a double take. I wondered if I should take one for the team, and give it a try -- assuming it is significantly better with a new name /owner.
Ok, glad I did!
I went for the vermicelli with beef/shrimp/spring rolls, as this is my reference point for experiences elsewhere.
It was very good. The best part? It didn't taste like it does everywhere else (what, not the same 3rd party distributor??).
The beef was very tender, with a great marinade. The skewer of prawns were quite tasty (and yes, deveined... sorry I have a thing about shrimp excrement)!
The veggies were very crisp and fresh.. likewise the springrolls.
All in all, a set of flavors that stood out because it was their own, and it was good. So nice job! I'll be back.Listed in: Lunch Within Striking Distance
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Review from Geoff B.
Strathmore, AB
My sister, her fiance, and I were looking for a place to eat. Naturally, I loaded up the Yelp app and checked out what was nearby. In my bookmarks, 0.1 km away, was Tamarind (I had seen Sapna's review last year and decided I would try it some time).
We decided to go there -- especially since it is literally across the street from their apartment. As Sapna said, it really is small. We walked in and were greeted by a very nice lady, who I presume was Phung. It smelled great in there, which we all agreed was a good start.
We ordered the Tamarind Platter, an appetizer with 2 chicken skewers, 2 beef skewers, 2 shrimp skewers, 2 spring rolls, and 2 salad rolls. It came out quickly, although not with napkins. When I went up and asked for some, Phung was very apologetic and told me her son and waitress were both unable to come in that day, so she was working by herself. No need to apologize -- she was rocking it better than some restaurants do at full staff!
Everything on the plate was delicious. The salad rolls were fresh and the shrimp inside tasted great. The skewered shrimp had just the right amount of spice, and the beef was amazing. The peanut sauce and spring rolls were the best any of us have ever had.
We all ordered Pho -- my sister and I had chicken satay, and her fiance had the beef satay. His beef came out barely cooked, just like it should be (the broth cooks it right in front of you). Just like a steak, it ended up perfect by the time he went to eat it.
The chicken satay Pho (soup) was excellent. The broth was easily the best I've had. The chicken was a bit overdone, but still tasted good.
They both haven't eaten much Vietnamese, but they say they will now! I'm jealous that they live so close to this gem. They even plan to come here at night to order subs for their lunches the next day; at only $5.50, that's a healthy and relatively inexpensive way to go.
I will be back here whenever I can -- Tamarind is my new favourite Vietnamese restaurant.Listed in: Calgary and area
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Review from Sapna G.
Calgary, AB
8/10/2010 ROTD 12/20/2010
It's official. I have fallen head over heels in love.
Tamarind Vietnamese Grill & Noodle House is brand spankin' new to our city and mark my words: It is *the best* Vietnamese food in Calgary.
Aesthetically speaking, this restaurant (which is no more than 5 tables) couldn't be more simple. No frills, no bells and no whistles. But when a place has food *this* good, it sure as heck doesn't need the distraction of fancy decor.
Having graced Calgary in June 2010, Tamirand is owned and operated by the Nguyen family. Long (Father), Phung (Mother), Dessa (Daughter) and Alex (Son) did Calgary a great service when they decided to take their secret family recipes out of their kitchen and into a restaurant for all to enjoy.
After having walked by a multitude of times and resisting the tantalizing scents that seep from the door, I finally gave in and had dinner here tonight.
I was immediately impressed when I was told that they would happily revamp any dish on their menu into a vegetarian modification. Above and beyond that, Phung personally came over to me to inform me that even if there is a vegetarian Vietnamese dish that I would like to have that is not on their menu, as long as she can make it, she'd be happy to personally whip it up for me. Being a connoisseur of the vegetarian palate, Phung is happy to go out of her way to accommodate us vegetarians in the city. How refreshing!
I ordered (which wasn't on the menu, but ask and thou shall receive...) a vegetarian vermicelli bowl. What I got was heaven in a bowl. In all my travels, I have never, and I mean *never*, had a vermicelli bowl this delicious. I inhaled it along with an avocado shake with pearls on the side (which we may as well refer to as heaven in a cup).
Although Tamirand is still very new to our city, they have big plans. As demand increases, they will offer more and more vegetarian selections, gluten-free options, and maybe even a delivery service.
Tamirand may seem unassuming and simple from the outside, but once inside, it wont take long for you to realize that the food is as good as it gets. The quality and freshness of the food, the expertise and genuineness of the owners, and the versatility and flexibility of the menu are all what make Tamirand an unbelievable addition to our city.
Right about now you're probably asking yourself the following:
"WHY haven't *I* heard of Tamirand up until now?!?!?"
Well, it's because Tamirand is based on word-of-mouth advertising so you know what I say to that?
It's time we got talkin'. -
Review from Javier V.
Edmonton, AB
6/6/2011
Good service 4/5.
Good food 4/5.
Fast service 5/5.
