Dawat Indian Restaurant Review with Photos — Is This The BEST Indian Restaurant in Tavira, Portugal?

Table of Contents

Dawat Indian Restaurant

Dawat is a popular Indian restaurant in the heart of Tavira, across from the ferry to Tavira Island. Many consider Dawat to be the best Indian restaurant in Tavira, so we had to check it out.

Location

Dawat Indian Restaurant Address:
Front of ferry terminal, R. José Pires Padinha 126A, 8800-354 Tavira

What We Ordered

Vegetable Samosas — 4€

Each order of samosas (vegetable or chicken) comes with 2 samosas.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Two deep fried Vegetable Samosas with tamarind sauce and a mango lassi in the background | Indian Food Photos

You will also get 2 dipping sauces — a tamarind sauce and a yogurt-mint sauce.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Overhead shot of 2 fried vegetable samosas over cabbage shreds and 2 dipping sauces, a tamarind sauce and a yogurt mint sauce | Indian Food Photos

And a peak inside the vegetable samosas for you.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Inside Vegetable samosa to see potato, carrot, peas, spices, onions | Indian Food Photos

more samosas ->

Mango Lassi — €4

Next up is the mango lassi.

A favorite beverage at any Indian restaurant, this sweet and creamy beverage plays nice with spicy dishes.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — Mango Lassi

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — Tall mango lassi glass held by two hands with red cherry gel polish from Manucurist.

Sidenote: this is day 4 wear test of red cherry and I’d say it’s holding up strong, how about you? =)

Paratha

Paratha is a buttery, layered Indian flatbread made with ghee.

Garlic Rice

We opted for the garlic rice this time based on recommendations from google reviews.

Chicken Tikka Masala — €10

The classic dish, Chicken Tikka Masala did not disappoint!

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — bowl of chicken tikka masala with paratha bread seen in background

The chicken was tender, the sauce flavorful, and the spice… spicy!

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — overhead of chicken tikka masala, paratha bread, and serving plate

Paneer Vindaloo — €10

Paneer is found on the vegetarian section of the menu. It’s an Indian fresh cheese.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — close up of paneer vindaloo

The vindaloo sauce was really spicy, as expected, with a touch of what we believe was lemongrass, see garnish shreds.

Tea — €2.50

At the end of our meal we really wanted a traditional chai, Indian spice tea, but we think there was a mix up and we got regular black tea instead.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — two cups of black tea with milk, a sugar packet rests on the saucer

Our Review — Would We Go Back?

Dawat is a delicious Indian food with reasonable prices in the heart of Tavira.

Conveniently located by the ferry terminal, you can stop by before or after your time on the island and enjoy lunch until 3pm or come from 5pm onward for dinner.

Dawat Indian Restaurant Review | Tavira Portugal | Indian Food Photos — Overhead of flavorful Indian food - paratha bread, paneer vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, and yellow garlic rice

The food is undoubtedly flavorful and they really make it spicy if you ask, as many places tone down the spice.

We probably would try another type of rice next time as the garlic rice wasn’t our thing. We love garlic, so this is not an anti-garlic thing. We just found the texture of the rice was a bit on the dry side and maybe it’s meant to be that way or maybe it was an off night.
No harm, no foul.

We would definitely go back to Dawat! There are plenty of other curries and Indian breads to try, not to mention kulfi!

Pro Tip: It can get crowded so if you are visiting Tavira in peak season, it wouldn’t hurt to make a reservation. We did not have one, but the restaurant was nearly full inside and out.

Also, if you run warm, I recommend bringing a hand fan with you as it was warm inside the restaurant during our visit.

It is Algarve in summer, after all. =)

More Indian Food in Portugal Reviews ->