Sachin N.
Yelp
Key West is known for its fresh seafood and local cuisine tied to its culture. Finding an Indian restaurant was not even in our agenda, but as fate would have it, we found one (and the only one) and it was one of the highlights of our trip.
The restaurant was packed on a Sunday night (mind it, we went over the long weekend). The restaurant was not even taking to-go orders let alone find a place inside to dine-in. They looked severely understaffed to handle the long weekend crowd. So, we accepted our defeat that day and went back to our hotel to plan a strategy for the next day.
Monday evening, we had the opportunity to dine in, and at first, you would feel a little cramped by this place but, this restaurant won't amaze you with the décor rather will blow you away with the quality and flavor of the food. Everything that we ordered was delicious albeit the portion size was on the smaller side. There was this never-ending line of people enquiring about a table to sit and for to-go orders. Our server was polite and helpful and looked over worked. There were 2 servers doing all the work (during our time of visit and I was told that there was just one the previous day) from cleaning, taking orders listening to people complain about the long wait times and so on. I think the restaurant owner should've planned better for the long weekend considering everyone is travelling now. Also, Parking is extremely limited (given the long weekend) so if you're planning to visit this restaurant, be mindful of the parking situation.
Nevertheless, let's talk about the main event, the food - we ordered: Onion Bhajia, Paneer Tikka, Chili Chicken, Tikka Masala Paneer, Garlic Naan, Mango Lassi and Tikka Masala Chicken. All entrées come with a side of rice.
Everything was mind-blowingly tasty. I was looking for something to disappoint me from the menu but that never happened as we kept on devouring items one after the other. The Onion Bhajia were crispy just as we like, the Paneer Tikka was soft and was the highlight with its amazing texture, seasoning and was cooked to perfection in the tandoor, the Tikka Masalas (both Chicken and Paneer) were creamy and savory and had a good kick to it (since we went with spicy), the Garlic Naan was crisp and thin and paired great with the entrée along with Mango Lassi, which tasted fresh like it was made at that moment itself!
Indian restaurants are hard to find in Key West and Tikka Bar is the crown jewel here. The food is extremely tasty and aromatic, the servers were polite and respectful, and you'd certainly leave the restaurant with a happy face and your belly full. I'd give this a solid A and would love to come back if I ever visit Key West again.