Taj Mahal
Latest Reviews
-
Delicious and very friendly owners. We got the chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. Restaurantwas clean with a nice atmosphere. Now I am just filling…
Chelsea Davis
Taj Mahal
-
Good food, good service. Mom and Pop kind of restaurant. Will be back…
Silvia Soper
Taj Mahal
-
Can't recommend. I first ate here shortly after it opened and found the lunch buffet to be quite good. On a more recent visit, it was the complete opp…
Frances
Taj Mahal
About
Taj Mahal serves Indian. Incorrect or missing information? Make a report, or claim the restaurant if you own it!Details
Reviews
Leave a Review
You must be logged in to post a comment.
7 Reviews on “Taj Mahal”
Delicious and very friendly owners. We got the chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. Restaurantwas clean with a nice atmosphere. Now I am just filling to 140 characters.
Good food, good service. Mom and Pop kind of restaurant. Will be back
Can’t recommend. I first ate here shortly after it opened and found the lunch buffet to be quite good. On a more recent visit, it was the complete opposite and I will not be returning again. Things got off to a bad start with the old shriveled carrots and way under-ripe fruit in the salad bar section of the buffet and didn’t improve from there. Most of the food was bland and tasteless. The nan was doughy and the tandoori chicken was very dry. I’m not sure what has happened since they first opened, but there wasn’t even one good item on the buffet.
2nd Chance: Epic Fail. Well….based on some of the positive reviews here I decided to give Taj Mahal a second chance. It started off well; the teenage wait staff forgot to unlock the door. I should have taken this as an omen and left.Im so sorry to have to slam this place as it is a family affair, but this is just not a good restaurant.I will say this; the food was better than it was on my first visit but that is not saying much. I was here for dinner and ordered off the menu so no buffet excuses this time. I will give credit where credit is due, the garlic naan was excellent. But the chicken curry was truly pathetic. The food is so under-seasoned here. The sauces are bland and flavorless; all you taste is the bitter aftertaste of canned tomato sauce. Chicken curry? Where are the spices? Where is the coconut milk? The food is just ill-prepared. Whoever is in the kitchen cannot cook. They just cant. Taj is nowhere near the same solar system as Star of India (who has been having issues lately, see separate review) and the Black Diamond in Monmouth (suffering from shrinking portion size I left hungry on both recent visits, great flavor though).There are other issues here as well. The chicken in my dish was borderline expired. The tables are dirty with stains everywhere. Worst of all though, the place stinks due to a musty or moldy central air system. Im so glad I did not bring anyone with me, but it burns me up when I think how I could have had sushi at Fuji Rice Time or went next-door and had bbq sandwiches. Sorry, I gave this place a 2nd chance but no cigar. The food here is terrible. Im sorry but it just is.23 Aug, 2012Bland, Dull, Boring Food. I am convinced that the only decent Indian food in Salem is the frozen vindaloo and masala at Trader Joes.Having visited Indian Palace earlier in the week I decided to give Taj Mahal a try. It turned out to be Indian Palace part II but like most sequels it is even worse.Like India Palace the food here is prepared well overall, i.e. nothing is burnt or overcooked or undercooked, but where are the flavors? You see…in Indian cooking we have these things called spices, i.e. cloves, cardammon, bay leaves, fenugreek, garam masala etc that the cooks here don’t seem to have ever heard of.The buffet was almost the same as when I visited India Palace. The chicken Saag was much worse though because, for some reason the cook put cauliflower in the dish giving it an icky sulphuric taste. The naan was not nearly as good as their competitor on Court St. The vegetable curries were just as bland as downtown. They also served chicken Khari today and it was the worst of all. Khari chicken is suppossed to be bone-in and swimming in a thick chili-garlic-cumin sauce, NOT diced chicken with vegetables floating in canned tomato sauce. Life is just too short for this kind of food.The place is clean, and the front of house is taken care of by three young girls who are shy and inexperienced but attentive. The place seems to be a family affair and hopefully they will improve their recipes. Maybe they could get a Mexican place to lend them a few tablespoons of cumin at least. While I am willing to give India Palace another chance this place was just too bland for me.
Just as impressive as……… My last visit.I arrived just after 2 PM. Even at that hour a couple of late lunchers lingered. It was evident that the lunch bunch had only just subsided as the booths had yet to be bussed, so I was seated at a free standing two top. I’d had good luck with the buffet here in the past, but given the lateness of the hour, I decided to order off the menu. (I did see a couple of people go through the buffet line and their food showed none of the late in the day steam table symptoms, that I could see.) I had Lamb Curry with Basmati Rice and chose spicy as my heat option. ($12.99) They came through spectacularly on this request. They were served separately in boat-shaped serving dishes with a plate allowing me to control proportions. The Lamb was richly flavorful and the Red Curry Sauce was luscious. I made sure none of it went to waste.I agree with other’s suggestions that this is almost certainly a family operation. Two demure young sisters were my servers and seemed genuinely interested in making sure everything was to my liking. This is my second very happy experience here. I’ll be back.Note: I think the prices on the website menu may have gone up a little on some items. Also, they offer Senior and Student discounts.07 Apr, 2011New favorite….. Indian place! I won’t say it’s better than Star of India, but it’s as good and it’s closer. We got there early today and the buffet was just put out and looked fresh and good. They have a beautiful Fruit and Salad bar. The Na’an bin was replenished three times while we were there. They had Basmati Rice, Vegetable Pakora, Papadum, Dal Makhani, Vegetable Korma, Chicken Vindaloo, Chicken Makhani and Tandori Chicken. There was also a sweet Carrot and Cashew desert dish. (I didn’t get the name of it.) It was all fresh and delicious. They also have an extensive menu selection of Indian dishes. It’s a good idea to come early or a little late for lunch as it quickly filled up with hungry state workers. If you like Indian cuisine, you’ll like Taj Mahal!
Good Buffet, Great To-Go. We went to Taj Mahal the day after Christmas. We went with a friend and we wanted to try the buffet. The buffet had a decent selection and everything I tried on it was very good. There was a large section with different fruits and vegetables. It also included two soups (chicken and tomato), naan, basmati rice, papads, pakora vegetables, two vegetable curries, two meat curries, Tandoori chicken, and dessert (kheer when we were there). I skipped the fruits and vegetables to be honest, everything else looked so good. I tried the naan, which was soft, slightly chewy, and delicious. I also tried Saag and Chicken Jalfrezi, both of which I found mildly spiced and flavorful. My husband and friend tried the Chicken Vindaloo, which they found a little on the mild side, but still tasty. My first trip through the buffet line the tandoori chicken was gone, but I got some on the second trip. It was good, and not overly dry for once. I had a chicken leg, which was tender and moist. I also tried the pakora vegetables, which I had never had before. What a nice dish! It was crispy, slightly spicy, and yummy.We went back later ordered off the entree menu. We split Chicken Saag and Paneer Tikka Masala, with a large order of naan. I thought the Paneer Tikka Masala was excellent, and would highly recommend it to anybody! It’s rich in flavor and slightly spicy. The chicken saag was okay, it was actually better without the chicken in my opinion. After two trips in less than a week, I guess you could say I recommend Taj Mahal. The to-go was nice in particular because you get 10% off. The buffet was a reasonable price and included a soda. All the food was very good. Go to Taj Mahal!
Had a nice dinner here. For a new restaurant, a decent weeknight crowd. Pros: excellent flavor/quality of food; good selection of entrees, cozy atmosphere. Cons: small portions for the price, uneven and pretty slow service (only one of three staff could take orders). Would go back again for lunch to see if quality/price ratio is better.