How to Choose a Commercial Tandoor Oven for Your Restaurant

The tandoor is the engine of an Indian, Pakistani, Nepalese or Middle Eastern kitchen. Naan, roti, kulcha, tandoori chicken, seekh kebab, tikka and lamb chops all come out of the same clay pot, so the oven you choose sets how fast your line moves on a Friday night. GULATI has supplied commercial tandoor ovens to restaurants, hotels and banquet halls across the USA since 1993; here is how we help owners choose.

1. Measure your doorway first

A commercial tandoor arrives as one piece - the clay pot is set inside the stainless steel body - so the single most important measurement is the narrowest doorway, hallway or elevator between the street and your cookline. Choose the largest model that clears it.

Every GULATI NSF tandoor is 37″ tall. Not sure what fits? The Tandoor Finder asks for your doorway width and recommends the largest size that clears it, or call (908) 208-3582.

2. Match the size to your volume

Capacity in a tandoor is wall space and mouth width. A wider mouth and belly let your tandoor cook slap more naan onto the clay wall and hang more skewers at the same time, which is what keeps tickets moving at peak. As a rule of thumb from three decades of sizing kitchens: if your menu leans on bread and you run full dining rooms, step up a size; if the tandoor handles a few kebab and tikka dishes on a mixed menu, the 26″ or 30″ is plenty. High-volume banquet and hotel kitchens usually choose the 36″.

3. Gas or charcoal?

GULATI NSF restaurant tandoors run a 100,000 BTU natural gas burner and can be set up for LPG/propane on request. Gas gives steady, repeatable heat from the first ticket to the last and is simpler to vent. Charcoal tandoors - our 34″ and 36″ - give the traditional smoky char and are the choice of many tonir, tannour and lavash bakeries, but solid fuel brings extra fire-code requirements. Read our full gas vs charcoal tandoor comparison.

4. Insist on NSF/ANSI 4

NSF/ANSI 4 is the standard for commercial cooking equipment. It covers the materials, design, construction and cleanability of equipment so it can be kept sanitary, and health inspectors rely on it when they approve a kitchen. Every GULATI restaurant tandoor is built to NSF/ANSI 4. Note that it is a sanitation standard - gas connections and ventilation are covered by separate codes, which we explain in our commercial tandoor installation guide.

5. Clay pot or steel pot?

A clay pot is the authentic choice: high-heat clay, handcrafted by artisans in India, holds and radiates heat the way naan and tandoori dishes need. For kitchens that prefer to avoid clay care, the 34″ steel pot tandoor replaces the clay with steel and keeps the same NSF build and 100,000 BTU burner.

6. Plan the installation

Restaurant tandoors should be installed under an exhaust hood as required by national and local codes, connected to a correctly sized gas line by a licensed gas fitter, and placed on a noncombustible floor with clearance to walls. Before the first service, the clay must be cured gradually - follow How to Prepare a GULATI Tandoor for Use.

7. Check what comes in the box

Every GULATI NSF tandoor ships with:

• 10 assorted skewers
• 2 bread removal sticks
• 1 gadhi pad for dough
• 1 set of repair clay
• 1 heavy-duty baffle plate
• 1 stainless steel mouth lid

Popular add-ons are extra thick skewers for ground-meat kebabs and the patented TandoorDISC PRO, which turns your tandoor into a pizza oven, grill and stove for new menu items.

Delivery, warranty and financing

GULATI commercial tandoors ship in 1 business day from New Jersey and Los Angeles and arrive in 3-5 business days, with a 1-year warranty. Up to 0% interest financing is available - request financing - so you can open your tandoor station now and pay over time.