Most Peterborough curry houses pick a lane. The Imperial Tandoor runs two. On Lansdowne Street, it keeps a full North Indian tandoor-and-curry menu on one side and a complete Imperial Hakka program — Indo-Chinese momos, noodles, and chilli plates — on the other, and a table is meant to order across both. The breadth is the point. A group that can't settle on one cuisine can put butter chicken, a biryani, and a plate of burnt garlic noodles on the same table without anyone giving in, which is why the place works as well for a mixed family dinner as for a planned night out with a reservation.
The North Indian half is where most tables start. Butter chicken comes Delhi-style, rich with tomato and cream, with a compact Butter Chicken Bowl for a lighter order; Lamb Rogan Josh runs Kashmiri and slow-braised; Imperial Chicken Korma carries the house name; and Hyderabadi Dum Biryani is built around a drumstick. Nalli Nihari brings a long-cooked, bone-in lane that most curry menus skip. The tandoor does heavier lifting than the name alone suggests. Beyond kebabs and tandoori chicken, it turns out Tandoori Lobster and a Tandoori Salmon Tikka, and a Kebab Platter wide enough to anchor a shared table; the vegetarian side runs through Achari Malai Paneer Tikka, several soya chaap variations, and a Shahi Malai Kofta for the table that wants something gentler. Then the Imperial Hakka menu opens the second kitchen — Tandoori Momos, Burnt Garlic Noodles, and a chicken lollipop the menu calls Dragon Fire — adding heat, crunch, and Indo-Chinese contrast to whatever curry is already down.
Curries, naan, biryani, kebabs, and tandoor plates give the restaurant a clear Indian dining-room foundation.
The Hakka section gives adventurous tables a second lane through momos, noodles, and Indo-Chinese heat.
A bar, patio, parking, reservations, and group-friendly ordering make the restaurant useful for planned meals.
Butter Chicken is the calibration order, but the strength is bigger than a single curry: Lamb Rogan Josh, Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, and Kebab Platter all give the menu a clear centre. First-timers can build a meal around one rich curry, one rice anchor, and one tandoor plate.
The restaurant's identity sits in North Indian cooking, family-run hospitality, and a room built around tandoor, naan, curries, and spice. It feels like a full dinner experience, not just a takeout counter with seats.
The safest classics are here, but curious diners have room to move: Do Ranga Soya Chaap, Tandoori Momos, Burnt Garlic Noodles, Dragon Fire Lollipop, and Tandoori Lobster push beyond the familiar curry lane.
This is an easy meal to build for mixed groups because the menu spreads across curries, biryani, tandoor plates, Hakka noodles, vegetarian chaap, and bar snacks. Reservations, parking, and a broad dining room setup make it practical for a planned night out.
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free diners have more than token choices here. Soya chaap, paneer, momos, curries, rice, breads, and the restaurant's own dietary messaging give mixed-diet groups real room to order.
The full bar changes the use case: this can be a dinner-and-drinks pick, not only a curry stop. Daily happy hour, cocktails, wine, and beer give earlier groups a practical reason to time the visit around the bar.
The open-kitchen cue reinforces the restaurant's tandoor identity and gives the room more energy than a closed-back dining room. It pairs naturally with kebabs, naan, and shared plates because the cooking style is part of the atmosphere.
Share the nuances of your visit to The Imperial Tandoor in Peterborough — the standout dishes, the room, the service.
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