Las Vegas has never seen an Indian restaurant like the new Tamba at Town Square—and that includes the original Tamba.
A longtime Strip staple located at the former Hawaiian Marketplace retail center, Tamba was first opened in 2003 by Sunny Dhillon, who grew up working in his parents’ restaurants, including Gandhi on Paradise and Flamingo. Tamba was a traditional Indian restaurant that eventually shifted its focus to catering for special events.
“Every wedding the casinos had, when their Indian clients came into town, we were the ones to call and we helped them craft that experience,” Dhillon says.
When the demise of the Hawaiian Marketplace became imminent, there were no plans to bring Tamba back to life, but Dhillon’s father wanted the family to continue its restaurant legacy, and that inspired a new mission.
“We’d seen 10-12 Indian restaurants open [after Tamba] but the massive miss in all of it, even nationally, is that everybody buys the same thing and does the same thing—the same spice profile from Restaurant Depot, the same proteins, the same sauces. We wanted to be really different,” Dhillon explains.
The vision came to life in December with a new, luxurious dining destination: an 80-seat dining room plus 60-seat lounge known as Bar Jadu; a strong emphasis on innovative cocktails with an Indian-inspired program created by bar director Giuseppe Gonzalez; and a bold, modern menu anchored by executive chef Anand Singh, who Dhillon recruited from the acclaimed Arbol in Cabo San Lucas.
Building the restaurant took 28 months, “and it was very meticulously done in every design aspect,” Dhillon says. “It was one of the most insane mechanical builds, because there are five [cooking vent] hoods running through three stories carrying charcoal smoke. The kitchen is stocked with world-class equipment, Josper ovens where we bake large format dishes of octopus and cauliflower and New York Strip Wagyu.
“The idea was to give our talent enough equipment that there would be no excuses, and the versatility of their skill set can be fully used.”
The combination of a fine-dining atmosphere—seldom seen at Town Square—and a fresh take on Indian cuisine has been causing a bit of a buzz, and that’s what the team wants; Dhillon says his goal is to make the list of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, something no local venue in a casino or otherwise has yet achieved.
The Tawa charred octopus ($34), served with cauliflower puree, beetroot, fennel, yuzu lime chat aioli and Amaranto eel sauce, is the top seller so far, with the Angara Wagyu ($100) not far behind. But those flashy shareable options are not the only way to go at Tamba, which also has wok section on the menu including Hakka noodle stirfry ($24) and lobster fried rice ($42).
Charcoal and live fire dishes are the heart of the menu, including lemongrass fish tikka ($30) and Morita Murgh ($28), chicken thigh kebabs flavored with guajillo chile served with butter chat masala and harissa garlic hummus. There’s also raw bar and sushi dishes, and traditionalists will find their favorites like samosa chaat ($22), and a selection of curries and biryani and, of course, naan bread.
“We’ve had nothing but the best reviews coming in … and that was the intention,” Dhillon says. “Let’s try to do something extraordinary in the city we’ve represented for so long, a high level of food accessible to real people who don’t have to go through the politics of casinos.”
TAMBA 6671 Las Vegas Blvd. South #A117, 702-798-7889, tambalasvegas.com. Wednesday-Sunday, 5-10 p.m.
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