Royal Tandoor
26532 Bouquet Canyon Rd, Santa Clarita, CA 91350

Everyone should have a go to Indian restaurant.

Mine is Royal Tandoor.

And the reason is pretty simple: it's the first Indian restaurant I've eaten at in Santa Clarita that genuinely reminds me of the Indian food I grew up eating back in the UK.

That's a very specific itch to scratch.

Royal Tandoor scratches it.

Because this is probably the weakest part of the experience.

The restaurant itself could use a little love.

The tables have a clear perspex-style covering with the menu underneath. I completely understand the thinking - Indian food can get messy, it's easy to wipe down and it's practical.

It's just not particularly appealing.

Nothing disastrous. Nothing that's going to ruin your dinner.

But when the food coming out of the kitchen is this good, the room doesn't quite do it justice.

Thankfully, that's pretty much where my complaints end.

The staff at Royal Tandoor are relentlessly friendly.

And I don't mean just on this visit.

Every time I've been.

Our waiter even brought us chai tea on the house, completely unprompted.

And remember, they had no idea I was there to review the restaurant.

That's important.

It wasn't special treatment for Secret Sauce.

It was just good hospitality.

Now, onto the reason we keep coming back.

The Chicken Tikka Tandoori arrived sizzling and stacked with chicken.

Perfectly cooked, full of flavor and one of my favorite things on the menu.

It's also a brilliant dish to put in the middle of the table and let everyone attack.

And if you're trying to eat a high protein diet while everyone else orders Indian food?

Congratulations.

You've found your loophole.

This is the dish.

Creamy, slightly sweet and packed with mango flavor, the Mango Chicken Masala is something I haven't really found anywhere else in the valley.

It's my plus one's favorite dish.

It's mine too.

And honestly, it's probably the difference between Royal Tandoor getting a 7 and getting an 8/10.

If you don't like particularly spicy Indian food, start here.

That's another thing Royal Tandoor does well: they'll adjust the spice level depending on who's eating.

My plus one prefers Indian food on the mild side.

No drama.

No judgment.

They just make it work.

Next came the Chicken Coconut Curry.

The sauce?

Really good.

Rich, creamy and exactly the sort of thing that demands you keep some naan nearby.

The chicken itself was a little fattier than I personally prefer.

That's entirely a preference thing rather than something being wrong with the dish, and there's an easy solution.

I've ordered takeaway from Royal Tandoor before and asked for leaner pieces of chicken.

They accommodated it without any fuss.

So if you're like me, just ask.

Aloo Gobi is one of my favorite Indian sides, and Royal Tandoor's version continues to deliver.

Cauliflower and potato, properly seasoned and cooked the way I want it.

It's also nice having a vegetable dish on the table that doesn't feel like you're ordering it simply because you should probably eat something green.

Then came the Bhindi Masala, one of my plus one's favorites.

Interestingly, this was the last dish to arrive.

Our waiter immediately explained why: they'd had to remake it.

No excuses.

No attempt to quietly leave us wondering where it was.

They weren't happy with the first one, so they made another.

I'll happily wait a little longer for that.

We also tried the Spinach Kulcha on our waiter's recommendation.

Good call.

Think naan-style bread with spinach baked into it and a little spice running through the background.

With several creamy sauces already sitting on the table, that extra bit of flavor worked really well.

I'd order it again.

We ordered basmati rice.

And there was a lot of it.

A seriously generous portion that, like much of the meal, ended up coming home with us.

Which brings us neatly to something else Royal Tandoor gets right.

Our entire meal came to $90

And normally, that's where you'd make the judgment about whether dinner was worth the money.

Except we weren't remotely finished with this food when we left.

We took most of it home.

Shared it with the parents.

And still had enough left for another meal the following day.

That's when $90 starts looking very different.

It's the kind of value that turns somewhere from a restaurant you occasionally visit into somewhere you keep going back to.

And that's exactly what Royal Tandoor has become for us

Royal Tandoor isn't perfect.

I'd love to see the dining room brought up to the same level as the food coming out of the kitchen.

But that's really the biggest criticism I have.

The service is consistently excellent, the portions are generous, they'll happily work around different spice preferences, and there's enough variety on the menu that a family can order completely differently and still leave happy.

Then there's that Mango Chicken Masala.

That's worth the trip on its own.

Royal Tandoor has become my go-to Indian restaurant in Santa Clarita.

After this visit, nothing changed my mind.

Is it worth the stop? Absolutely.

Best For: Family dinners, different spice preferences and anyone looking for a high-protein option

Order: Chicken Tikka Tandoori and Mango Chicken Masala

Skip: Nothing outright — but if you prefer leaner chicken, ask for it

Return Visit: Yes. This is already the standing go-to.

Taqueria Taco Padre
23748 Newhall Ave, Newhall CA 91321

Meat. Beans. Rice.

So far, so Burrito Belt.

Then we cut open Taqueria Taco Padre's carne asada burrito and found something we weren't expecting.

Corn. Carrots. And peas.

All mixed in alongside the usual suspects.

We've eaten our way through ten Burrito Belt contenders now, and that's a first.

Was it bad?

No.

Did it make the burrito better?

Not really.

The vegetables were just... there.

An unexpected addition that ended up being the most memorable thing about a burrito that otherwise played things pretty safe.

Time for the scores.

Solid enough.

The tortilla did its job, held everything together and gave us very little to complain about.

Unfortunately, it didn't give us much to get excited about either.

A straightforward 6.

The carne asada was good.

Cooked properly, decent flavor and absolutely nothing wrong with it.

But ten contenders into this competition, simply being good isn't enough to start troubling the top of the leaderboard.

Another 6.

No crime committed.

The rice was there in a sensible amount and did exactly what it needed to do.

And yes, this is also where the corn, carrots and peas entered proceedings.

We're still processing that one.

We're beginning to spot a pattern here.

The salsa did its job.

Perfectly decent, worked with the burrito, but didn't provide that extra punch we've seen from some of the stronger Burrito Belt contenders.

You already know the score.

6/10.

Finally, somebody broke the streak.

Into the air fryer it went the following day, and Taco Padre actually improved.

The tortilla held together, everything reheated nicely and the burrito tasted better the second time around than the first sitting had suggested it might.

Not enough to transform the overall result.

But enough to earn the highest score of the test.

7/10.Taqueria Taco Padre Score:

There's something very home cooked about Taqueria Taco Padre's burrito.

And I don't mean that as an insult.

It felt like the sort of burrito someone in the family might make you for lunch generous, straightforward and perfectly enjoyable.

But this is the Burrito Belt Championship.

And perfectly enjoyable doesn't win championships.

Ten contenders in, we've eaten burritos with better carne, better salsa, better construction and considerably more personality.

Five things from the Secret Sauce archives we'd happily order all over again.

We've eaten a lot in the name of Secret Sauce.

Some good. Some great. And occasionally something that has us thinking about going back before we've even finished writing the review.

So, in the spirit of Reheating the Sauce, we went digging through the archives.

No scores. No rankings.

Just five things we'd happily order all over again.

The burrito was good.

The fries were better.

Chunky, beer-battered fries loaded with carne asada, guacamole and pico de gallo, with the box absolutely packed.

Messy, loaded and completely unapologetic about it.

We've ordered them before.

We'll order them again.

This one barely even needs time to become a Second Helping.

Creamy, slightly sweet and packed with mango flavor, this was the dish that helped push Royal Tandoor to an 8/10.

It's different from anything else we've found around the valley and remains one of the biggest reasons to go back.

If you're ordering Royal Tandoor, start here.

Deep dish. Rectangular. Thick, airy crust.

But it's that crispy base we remember.

White cheddar, brick cheese and mozzarella sit underneath two stripes of tomato sauce, finished with garlic, Romano and oregano.

There were plenty of pizzas on the table that day.

The Detroit Red Top took it.

And we'd order it first again.

Espresso, half and half, caramel and vanilla, finished with a caramel drizzle.

There's a reason the Golden Eagle is one of Dutch Bros' biggest sellers.

Smooth, rich and properly balanced, it didn't need sweetness doing all the heavy lifting.

We originally ordered this one for the father-in-law.

He barely put it down.

Trust us. That's a review.

Six dishes.

Two people.

And somehow the soup stole the show.

Ayuthaya's Tom Kha brought together creamy coconut milk, fragrant lemongrass, galangal and tender chicken without becoming overly heavy.

There was plenty of competition on that table.

The Pineapple Curry came close. The Garlic Shrimp had its supporters.

But if we're going back for a Second Helping?

We're starting with the Tom Kha.

Carne asada fries.

Mango Chicken Masala.

Detroit Red Top.

A Golden Eagle.

Tom Kha.

Different restaurants. Completely different orders.

All still worth the Sauce.

Openings, events and things worth knowing.

Friday night plans?

Lucky Luke has you covered.

Burnt Toast takes over the Rye Canyon brewery from 6 - 9pm, with S&L Streetdogs serving from 3 - 9pm.

Beer.

Street dogs.

Live music.

That's Friday sorted.

If you're looking for something to do before the evening begins, the SCV Home & Summer Fun Expo takes over CalArts this Saturday.

It runs from 10am - 4pm, with free admission and a mix of local businesses, home ideas and summer activities.

Maybe not the usual Secret Sauce territory.

But it's local, it's free and you've still got plenty of time afterwards to grab some food before heading to Central Park.

Which brings us to...

Concerts in the Park rolls into its penultimate weekend - and this time, we're going back to the '70s.

Kenny Metcalf as Elton John takes over Central Park this Saturday night with a full Elton John tribute.

The music starts at 7pm, admission is free, and food vendors will be on site.

Bring a chair.

Bring a blanket.

Grab something to eat.

And if thousands of people don't end up singing Rocket Man together, we'll be very disappointed.

Don't go breaking our hearts, Santa Clarita.

We're into the final stretch now.

Contender 11 steps into the Burrito Belt with the leaderboard getting increasingly difficult to crack.

At this stage, good isn't enough.

We're looking for a championship burrito.

We've done tacos.

We've done BBQ.

We've done Italian, Thai, Korean and Indian.

Next week, we're heading somewhere different.

A new cuisine. A full table. And another restaurant gets the Secret Sauce treatment.

Where are we going? You'll find out Thursday.

Quick stops. Smaller bites. No full review required.

Sauce Express returns next week as we hunt down more of the places around SCV that don't necessarily need an entire feature but are still worth knowing about.

Sometimes you don't need the whole meal.

You just need a little Sauce.