What Makes Great Tandoori: Inside the Saffron Soho Tandoor

Tandoori starts with the oven. At Saffron Soho we cook our tandoori dishes in a tandoor: a clay oven fired to an intense heat, where charcoal at the base gives the smoke and the wall does the searing. That heat is what produces the char, the blistered edges, and the deep smoky flavour you cannot get from a pan. Here is how it works, what comes out of it, and how to order it well.

How the tandoor works

A tandoor is a deep clay oven, narrow at the top and wider in the belly. Charcoal burns at the bottom, and the heat radiates from the glowing walls as much as it rises from the coals.

Two things happen at once inside it. Skewers of marinated meat and paneer are lowered in vertically, while breads such as naan are slapped directly onto the hot clay wall and peeled off seconds later.

The temperature is the point. The heat sears the outside quickly, which seals in moisture and gives meat that signature char while keeping the inside tender.

The charcoal does the rest. As fat and marinade drip onto the coals, they smoke, and that smoke rises back over the food. This is where the unmistakable tandoori aroma comes from.

Why marinade matters

Tandoori cooking is fast, so the flavour has to be built in before anything touches the heat. That is the job of the marinade.

Most tandoori marinades start with yoghurt and spices. The yoghurt tenderises and clings to the meat, carrying the spice right to the surface, where the heat then chars it into something deeper.

It is a simple idea done with care: season well, marinate properly, then cook hot and quick. The oven concentrates everything rather than masking it.

What comes out of our tandoor

The tandoor is one of the busiest parts of our kitchen, and a good amount of the menu passes through it. Our signature tandoori dishes are the Tandoori Lamb Chops and the Seekh Kebab.

The lamb chops come out charred at the edges and tender in the middle, with the smoke of the charcoal carried through the meat. The seekh kebab, minced and spiced and cooked on the skewer, is built for that same fast, high heat.

Beyond those, the tandoor handles a range of chargrilled meats and paneer, so there is something here whether you eat meat or not.

It also gives us our breads. Fresh naan and other breads are baked against the oven wall to order, which is why they arrive warm, soft, and a little blistered.

How to order tandoori well

The dishes reward a little planning. A few simple choices make the most of what the oven does.

• Start with a tandoori plate to share, so everyone gets a taste of the lamb chops and seekh kebab while they are at their hottest.
• Order naan and breads to go alongside, since they come straight from the same oven and are best eaten warm.
• Balance the smoke of the grill with a curry and rice, so you have something rich to move between.
• Tell us if you need it, and we will point you to the vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free tandoor options, which are clearly marked on the menu.

Timing helps too. Tandoori dishes are at their best the moment they leave the oven, so they are worth eating first rather than letting them sit.

If you are coming with a mixed group, the tandoor is an easy place to find common ground. There is paneer and vegetable for those who do not eat meat, and the chargrilled meats for those who do, all carrying that same smoke.

Find us

You will find the tandoor working late. We are at 63 Old Compton Street in Soho, open until midnight every night, with the full menu available right up to last orders.

We are two minutes from the West End theatres, with Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road the nearest tubes, so the tandoor is just as good after a show as it is for an early dinner.

Book a table online or call us on 020 3941 9935, and we will have the oven hot for you.