Bangla-delish

Tucked away in the basement of SOHO Shangdu, this tiny restaurant is certainly humble. But years of decent business and a dedicated clientele are testament to quality food, friendly service and reasonable prices.

Tamarind Beijing is Bangladeshi owned and run. It turns out that Bangladeshi food is basically the same as Indian or Pakistani, although the spices used here are from Bangladesh, as are the chefs. The highlight of our meal was the stellar mutton rezala (¥55), a lovely curry made with tender meat and a rich, mildly spiced cashew sauce. The palak paneer (¥35) is fairly standard, although the strong spinach flavor makes it taste especially healthy. The chicken tandoori (¥50/half, ¥80/whole) can be made to your specifications, and ours was as mild as one might find in an Indian restaurant in the UK—rare for Beijing. While we always love nan bread, we recommend opting for the tandoori paratha (¥12) instead, as this soft, layered flatbread is particularly delicious here.

The customer base is diverse. On the night we visited, there were several Chinese families, as well as a Bangladeshi one. It seems the restaurant is most busy at lunchtime, and the lunch sets are great value for money. You get a main dish, rice, bread, salad and dhal for ¥22-31. To encourage more evening diners, though, Tamarind currently offers two-for-one drinks during happy hour from 5-7pm every night.

The place is small and a little drafty, but it’s clean and nicely decorated in soothing sea greens and creams. We hear plans are in the works for another, larger branch. We think the restaurant could really benefit from a better, more visible location, although they seem quite capable of attracting business as is.

Sienna Parulis-Cook