Foods from Taj Mahal
Comments
2010 Apr 25
My partner and I just dined at the Taj Mahal. We had the Chicken Korma and the Lamb Rogan Josh with rice and naan. Both dishes were enjoyable and flavourful, although a little bit oily. The naan was piping hot , fresh and tasty. The server who seated us was a little rude, but the two gentlemen who waited on our table were both helpful and efficient. The atmosphere was quite nice, a pleasant surprise seeing it's not much to look at from the outside. Overall, it was an average dining experience. There wasn't anything especially bad about it, but nothing really stood out as exceptional either. Perhaps it is because we are coming from Kingston, and no other Indian restaurant ever seems to compare to the famous Curry Original.
2010 Feb 24
Just finished a meal at Taj Mahal with a friend who lives nearby and visits this establishment quite frequently. It was a nice change of pace as my husband is not fond of Indian food (well, with the exception of Golden Spice in London...).
Space: Pretty standard, dark, cozy, ambient location with deep wood and metallic tones and music playing in the background. It was quiet and our seats at the front of the restaurant seemed nice and secluded even though it was in an open space.
Service: One server was quite brusque and unfriendly, but the other was genial. Water was replaced quickly, the food arrived at a good speed and we were attended to without a lag (there were 3 other tables in the restaurant).
Menu: The drinks were not listed on the menu, but when I asked for a Mango Lassi, there was no problem whatsoever (I presume it's pretty standard at any Indian restaurant). The menu itself was fine enough to read; it was divided by appetizers, and specific type dishes (i.e. chicken specialties, rice dishes, breads). There was also a section for the evening "specials", more of a prix fixe style offering with appetizer, mains and dessert.
Food: My mango lassi was intensely sweet and thick, much more so than I am used to! Nonetheless, it was OK...more of a tasty treat than a beverage for dinner.
The papadums to start were good, but were kind of odd as they were rolled up rather than flat. The accompanying condiments were fine but nothing to write home about.
I had the Chicken Korma and Pea Pulao; my friend had the vegetarian special, which was a plate of several veggie options (pea pulao, a type of mattar paneer with mushrooms, a cabbage dish, something I couldn't identify at all, and yogurt). She shared her paneer as she knows I'm a fan, and we split the giant naan that came with her meal.
The rice was good, as was the paneer dish; oddly enough (or maybe not so odd), the peas tasted as though they came from a frozen source rather than a canned source...this is the first time I've found this in an Indian restaurant! The peas had a nice snap but I was a little surprised. There was only one piece of paneer in that particular dish, which was a bit surprising...plenty of mushrooms, however.
The korma was tasty, the meat was incredibly tender and plentiful. There was no fat on the meat that I could detect but the sauce was considerably rich.
The highlight of the meal was the naan, which was fresh and light and practically fell apart. I don't know what the standard is for good naan for others, but it was definitely A+ in my books.
After dinner we received a mint Ovation stick, so bonus points there...;)
Overall: A step above the Indian buffet I've had in Ottawa, but not nearly as good as the a la carte I've had elsewhere (particularly in London, as I mentioned). The price point was not bad, I believe our meal came to under $40 for the two of us. There was PLENTY of food left over after our meal and we were satisfied.
I wouldn't say I was wowed and will likely try other Indian restaurants to round out my experience with this cuisine in the city, but I won't balk at visiting again if my dining companions request it.
Space: Pretty standard, dark, cozy, ambient location with deep wood and metallic tones and music playing in the background. It was quiet and our seats at the front of the restaurant seemed nice and secluded even though it was in an open space.
Service: One server was quite brusque and unfriendly, but the other was genial. Water was replaced quickly, the food arrived at a good speed and we were attended to without a lag (there were 3 other tables in the restaurant).
Menu: The drinks were not listed on the menu, but when I asked for a Mango Lassi, there was no problem whatsoever (I presume it's pretty standard at any Indian restaurant). The menu itself was fine enough to read; it was divided by appetizers, and specific type dishes (i.e. chicken specialties, rice dishes, breads). There was also a section for the evening "specials", more of a prix fixe style offering with appetizer, mains and dessert.
Food: My mango lassi was intensely sweet and thick, much more so than I am used to! Nonetheless, it was OK...more of a tasty treat than a beverage for dinner.
The papadums to start were good, but were kind of odd as they were rolled up rather than flat. The accompanying condiments were fine but nothing to write home about.
I had the Chicken Korma and Pea Pulao; my friend had the vegetarian special, which was a plate of several veggie options (pea pulao, a type of mattar paneer with mushrooms, a cabbage dish, something I couldn't identify at all, and yogurt). She shared her paneer as she knows I'm a fan, and we split the giant naan that came with her meal.
The rice was good, as was the paneer dish; oddly enough (or maybe not so odd), the peas tasted as though they came from a frozen source rather than a canned source...this is the first time I've found this in an Indian restaurant! The peas had a nice snap but I was a little surprised. There was only one piece of paneer in that particular dish, which was a bit surprising...plenty of mushrooms, however.
The korma was tasty, the meat was incredibly tender and plentiful. There was no fat on the meat that I could detect but the sauce was considerably rich.
The highlight of the meal was the naan, which was fresh and light and practically fell apart. I don't know what the standard is for good naan for others, but it was definitely A+ in my books.
After dinner we received a mint Ovation stick, so bonus points there...;)
Overall: A step above the Indian buffet I've had in Ottawa, but not nearly as good as the a la carte I've had elsewhere (particularly in London, as I mentioned). The price point was not bad, I believe our meal came to under $40 for the two of us. There was PLENTY of food left over after our meal and we were satisfied.
I wouldn't say I was wowed and will likely try other Indian restaurants to round out my experience with this cuisine in the city, but I won't balk at visiting again if my dining companions request it.
2008 Jan 7
Three girlfriends and I had dinner at Taj Mahal this evening. The experience was good but not the great one I expected based on the reviews here. We were given pampadums when we sat down which was very nice. We ordered four vegetable dishes - cauliflower, eggplant, mixed vegetables and stuffed peppers - along with naan and rice. The portions weren't overly generous, and the flavours were good but not amazing. I found that the dishes were under salted (better than overly salted, for sure), and there was quite a bit of oil used. The service was very good; however, our server seemed miffed the entire time. I will say that we definitely got value for money however. Our bill (just the dishes above) came to $44 before tip. After dividing the bill by four, dinner for less than $15 is a deal by anyone's standards.
2006 Nov 30
My boyfriend only eats butter chicken for Indian cuisine (unless I make channa at home) and he loves it here! The vindaloo was too spicy for me and I love hot. The restaurant is dark so I wasn't aware that the dish is mostly only chopped chili's!! Good if you like it suicidally hot, but otherwise too much. I still love this place though!
2006 Nov 29
Taj Mahal is our favorite indian restaurant in Ottawa.
I have been to others for outings organised by other people, and in my book, nothing compares to their quality and flavour.
We went there last night and ordered the old faithfuls:
-Chicken Tikka Masala
-Chicken Tandoori
-Peas Palao (rice)
-Naan Bread
I have never seen Tandoori chicken done the way they do it. You get different pieces of chicken (legs, breasts, thighs) and they come hot and sizzling on the same hot plate that you get fajitas on. It's really cool! And sooo good!
The service is polite (not necessarily friendly, but polite) and efficient. The same guys have been working there for years so they are pros.
Our meal plus a 1/2 litre of wine came to $42 including taxes and we still had some to take home. Recommended.
I have been to others for outings organised by other people, and in my book, nothing compares to their quality and flavour.
We went there last night and ordered the old faithfuls:
-Chicken Tikka Masala
-Chicken Tandoori
-Peas Palao (rice)
-Naan Bread
I have never seen Tandoori chicken done the way they do it. You get different pieces of chicken (legs, breasts, thighs) and they come hot and sizzling on the same hot plate that you get fajitas on. It's really cool! And sooo good!
The service is polite (not necessarily friendly, but polite) and efficient. The same guys have been working there for years so they are pros.
Our meal plus a 1/2 litre of wine came to $42 including taxes and we still had some to take home. Recommended.
Tina
We were origially in the area to eat at Civic Shawarma, but it turns out they are not open Saturday nights. It was about 8:50pm. We were heading back to the car when we noticed Taj Mahal. It was open, and there were two other tables of diners in the restaurant. The posted hours stated that they would be open until 10:00pm,so we decided to give the place a shot.
Given that it was almost 9:00pm, we would not have been surpised if we'd been told that the kitchen was closed, and we would have left without complaint; however, we were seated immediately...and then nothing happened. The chef, in his chef's whites, was seated at a table by the kitchen staring into space, and there were three servers milling around completely ignoring us - as in, walking by, intentionally avoiding eye contact. No exaggeration - we waited at least ten minutes for water, no pappadum, nothing, while the staff congregated.
Finally a server came by, and he was very rude. Brusque, annoyed, and impatient with us. I asked which of the vegetarian dishes did not contain any butter or yogurt (for my dairy-allergic vegan husband) and he stated that there were only two (in and of itself, no issue). Then I asked if the pulao rice or rice and peas had butter. He said no and stared at me for some time, and I asked, "So it is made with oil?" and he, after glaring, said, "No. Margarine. But margarine is fine." I politely explained that it wasn't, since almost all margarine contains lactose. I asked if they had steamed rice, he rudely said no (presuming it had margarine as well?), stared at us for a long time, and walked away.
My husband and I stared at each other, at a bit of a loss. I get that it must be annoying if people show up near the end of the night, but if patrons show up too late, just tell them, don't seat them and treat them like crap and ignore them. Servers know the menu better than patrons, so if you know that there is nothing suitable for guests to eat(ie if everything vegetarian has dairy) just SAY so. Don't make us guess and then get angry.
Additionally, I wonder if part of the staring was the result of not wanting to tell us that the vegetarian dishes had margarine. I don't think that's necessarily the sign of high quality Indian food.
We were frustrated and had no faith that the food would be safe, so we got up and left. We will never be back.