Indian @ Tikka Take

Tikka Take in Civic offers healthy Indian fast food with your choice of tikka. The website boasts its mission to share high quality, unprocessed, natural and nutritious food.

Step 1 – select your base. Choose either roti (white, wheat or multigrain roti), rice (plain, cumin brown, kashmiri chilli or garlic cilantro rice) or salad (4 choices).

Step 2 – select your tikka. 1 skewer is included with each base, and the rice option includes 1 meat and 1 vegetable skewer. The skewer options include chicken, beef, lamb, paneer and mushroom. Additional skewers cost an extra $3.

Step 3 – select the flavour for your tikka skewer in sizzling tandoori, cool greeny or honey korma flavours, which is then brushed onto the skewer before being air grilled.

It was pretty cool to watch each individual skewer slowly being grilled in their air grilling machine.

TOMORROW from 10am is our grand opening! We have freebies and tasty bites for everyone who drops in. You don’t want to miss this!

A post shared by Tikka Take (@tikkatake) on Dec 10, 2016 at 11:11pm PST

I’ve dined at Tikka Take a couple of times now. I ordered the salad tikka with one lamb korma skewer ($10.90) and one extra tandoori chicken skewer ($3). My salad choice was the Super Vita salad with cucumber, tomato, carrot, watermelon, fetta, spinach, beans and more. The eco-friendly plate also came with coin pappadums as a bonus snack. There was a plentiful amount of salad with a choice of dressing on the side. The lamb skewer was my favourite – so tender and succulent basted in a sweet honey korma. The chicken was also tasty but not as tender as the lamb. I’m glad I purchased an additional skewer as the one skewer was quite small with three chunks of meat on it.

My friend ordered a different salad tikka with the mushroom skewer ($9.90) instead.

On a second visit to Tikka Take, I ordered the Fibre Tree Salad with cannelini, black eye beans, cabbage, capsicum, tomato, pineapple, chilli and watermelon seeds. I thought there were far too many beans and not enough salad greens to keep it balanced. As the lamb skewers were so good last time, I ordered two of the lamb basted in honey korma. A good meal if only there were more greens and less beans. I never received the option of dressing on the side this time and forgot about it at the time of ordering.

A work colleague ordered the rice base with a lamb skewer and vegetable skewer (I don’t think you can swap the vegetable skewer for meat without an additional fee), and the korma gravy ($10.90). I might have to try this option next time. Enjoyable and not too rich or overly filling.

Another work colleague ordered the Protein Pump salad tikka with tofu, quinoa, mung bean sprout, pine nuts, tomatoes, beans and wholegrain mustard, and two chicken skewers. She liked her light lunch which again, wasn’t too rich but filled the tummy.

Service was fast with orders taken and paid for at the counter, and table numbers provided. Staff were still learning the ropes with a few dishes being sent to the wrong tables, but the food was quick to come out. I love the healthy Indian food option without the richness. All meals can easily be taken away if you can’t dine in. The menu clearly marks gluten free, lactose free, vegetarian and vegan options.

Apart from the three mains, there were also side dishes of samosas and pappadum trays, freshly squeezed juices where you get to literally pick out your own fruit from the juice bar, and gola an Indian shaved ice in various flavours for dessert. There were also a few beer and cider options in the fridge.

Tikka Take is situated at 21 Genge Street in the Canberra CBD. Open seven days for lunch and dinner.

Foodgasm 7.5/10
Value for money 7.5/10
Service 7/10

FPJ score 22/30

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