Tambu’s Empire of Spice
Sometimes a simple dinner invitation ends up vaulting you into a new, immersive culinary world. I had that pleasure a few nights ago when I was invited to sample the menu at Tambu, a unique progressive charcoal Indian restaurant on the roof of the Avista Hideaway Phuket Patong-MGallery Resort that quietly opened this past spring.
Perched on a hill high above a secluded cove less than 10 minutes from the center of Patong, Tambu feels a world away from the hectic nightlife scene. Housed inside a vast canvas tent and adorned with lavish furnishings—flickering candles to brass cutlery and enameled plates—the open-air restaurant is inspired by the grand tented palaces of India’s Mughal Empire Era, where entire mobile dining rooms were transported from town to town to feed royal diners.
Above: Tambu’s royal tent, with the Avista Hideaway’s epic “Radiant Sun” courtyard sculpture in the the foreground; the lovely entry path to Tambu. (Top photo: “Radiant Sun” at sunset; Tambu’s “Desi pizza,” and vivid Mughal era portrait in Tambu’s tented dining room.)
From inventive, vividly spiced small plates and modernist food art prepared tableside to a deeply satisfying roster of great tandoori, curries and seafood dishes, Tambu is at once elegant and comforting–and wholly one of a kind.
At Tambu, which means “tent,” the concept of a “journey” isn’t just a design theme, but a hallmark of an extremely well-considered experience, which encompasses both street food and fancier dishes from across the nation, from Mumbai to Delhi to Calcutta, and beyond (at prices in keeping with most high end hotel dining rooms).
Guests begin their evening outside the tent itself, enjoying the stunning Andaman Sea view with a zesty welcome sip of lychee soda, warmed with cumin and black salt, and a sniff from a box containing the go-to spices of the Indian subcontinent.
The journey continues with a peek into the glass-walled kitchen, filled with smoking charcoal grills and huge traditional Indian ovens, the same cooking vessels that were once carried during royal expeditions.
Above: The restaurant’s tandoor-spiced Andaman prawns; Tambu’s open kitchen; bao-style lamb buns.
Overall the food here is both inventive and homey, a tough balancing act pulled off with verve from Chef Saurabh Sachdeva–known for his stint at the Restaurant Gaa project HERE in Bangkok and his win on Iron Chef Thailand.
Chef Sachdeva has a knack for extremely clean, layered flavors and eye-catching presentations, which means one moment you’re popping the house’s take on Delhi crunchy street staple ram laddoo, oozing with amul cheese and slathered in tart tamarind sauce, off a porcelain pillow. Next, you’re devouring Tambu’s riff on bouncy bao buns, stuffed with tender spiced lamb, and showered in crispy shallot threads. They are now my favorite Chinese-Indian fusion tacos in Phuket. (Hell, they might be my favorite tacos in Phuket, full-stop.)
Another showstopper is the house’s tableside preparation of shiso leaf chaat, all sweet, dry ice-chilled yogurt pebbles and shatteringly crisp herbal leaves. It’s a crunchy, cold, creamy, fog-fuming dream, bright with mint, cilantro and tart tamarind sauce.
Above: A Tambu staffer prepares shiso leaf chaat tableside; the finished dish.
Jakhiya aloo flatbread, or “Indian Desi Pizza” as the staffers call it, layers Kopa oven-smoked naan with tasty tandoori potato, stracciatella, and fragrant mustard seeds. Garlicky, tandoor-spiced Andaman prawns are paired with smashed avocado laced with intense curry leaf oil and bright dabs of yuzu gel. Meanwhile, O.G. chicken kabobs are tender, richly spiced and perfect for dunking in a quartet of bright sauces. Chef Sachdeva says he has a soft spot for the kitchen’s deceptively simple dal Tambu, creamy black lentils the house simmers overnight, enriched with cream and amul butter.
Heartier dishes range from a pretty, dough-topped tureen of aromatic biryani to apricot-stuffed paneer kofta to minced lamb skewers. Textbook butter chicken swims in spiced, intensely tomatoey cream sauce. During our visit, Chef Sachdeva served a special sampling of his favorite dishes family-style; a relaxed format I’d recommend asking for if possible.
Do not leave without sampling the kitchen’s moilee curry, a South Indian staple of chargrilled prawns (it’s often also served with fish) lavished in a pool of sour-sweet, velvety lemongrass- and lime-infused coconut gravy. It’s at once classic and revelatory. I could not get enough of it.
Clockwise, from top left: Tambu’s steam-puffing biriyani, a family-style spread of curries and naans, chicken skewers, Chef Sachdeva tossing handkerchief bread, the house’s savory butter chicken.
The house also delights in inventive and beautiful cocktail presentations, including a Indian kala khatta syrup-spiked margarita topped with a fanciful shimmering bubble and a lovely shiraz sangria adorned with dried rose petals that reportedly first quenched the thirst of royals back in the 1850s.
Bonus: You could make an entire meal out of Tambu’s lineup of savory naans and flatbreads alone. Keep an eye on the kitchen to see if you can catch Chef Sachdeva making chewy, feather-light handkerchief bread, a fun-to-watch process that confirms that chef could have an alternate life as a circus juggler.
While most dishes on the menu are always on offer, the staff switches up the welcome bite and some of the cocktails each month. Chef Sachdeva is also looking forward to hosting a series of degustation menus in the future, perhaps focusing on specific regions of India.
On any visit though, the food at Tambu is genuine and delicious. When you add in the restaurant’s focus on high end hospitality, the glamourous and unique setting, and the team’s flair for storytelling and surprise–it culminates in one of the best food experiences I’ve had on the island in the past year. Wherever this team decides to wander next, I want to be along for the journey.
A big thank you to Chef Sachdeva, Maïssa and the Tambu/Avista team, and local food and culture maven Spoon & Wander for the invitation to sample Tambu.
Above: Tambu at sunset, the restaurant entry patio, the “Radiant Sun” courtyard comes alive at sunset with nightly fire-dancing performances.
INFORMATION
Tambu, at Avista Hideaway Phuket Patong-MGallery Resort
📍 39/9 Muen Ngern Road, Patong District, Amphur Kathu, 83150 Phuket, Thailand
☎️ +66 76 681 681
Dinner 6-11 pm nightly
Reservations here.