India Taj Palace-Indian Food-Menu-Buffet-Online Order

Reviews 4

BR

Brad Seehawer

My relationship with Stone Oak have been one of love-hate. I love the large influx of commercial restaurant space in which some great new eateries have arisen. I hate the lunchtime traffic, the weekend traffic, the church traffic, and just about every other time of day that clogs the 1604 and neighborhood with miles and miles of populated traffic. I cringe every time I have to visit, but its usually worth the visit, because I find great places to visit, like India Taj Palace. Its very similar to the popular India Palace, both in name and business model, and Im sure fights will occur over personal favorites, but regardless, India Taj provides a great dining experience. I didnt even bother to look at the menu. I took one look at the buffet and said "I want to go to there". Theres nothing better than a good Indian buffet, perusing all of the funny-sounding names and wonderful vegetables presented in many different ways. I like meat as much as the next guy, but I love the versatility of vegetables. To anyone who thinks that a meal is not complete without some dead animal, Indian food is a great way to show that it is not needed - Over the course of two full dishes of all different kinds of food, I had two small meatballs, and that served as the meat for the evening. I tried just about everything being served, with favorites going to the saag paneer and its wonderful freshly-made cheese, and a collection of vegetables in a tomato sauce, the name of which Ive since forgotten. It had plenty of cauliflower in it, which is perhaps one of the best vegetables. The chana masala - a surprisingly spicy chickpea dish which showcased the underutilized lugume in something other than hummus - was new to me, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Not everything was a hit - there was a cabbage dish that I thought was a little too undercooked, but thats the beauty of the buffet - just eat something else. The one dish I just have to have when I visit a good Indian restaurant is actually a dessert. The sweet porridges and custards are all well and good, but the galub jamun - sweet milkball cakes - are heavenly. Previous visits to India Palace have sometimes produced the sweets, and sometimes not, but if Taj can keep them on the menu, Im a Taj guy for life. The quality of any buffet hinges on how long and how hot the food is kept while on the line, and India Taj definitely cranks up the heat on their buffet. Everything tasted fairly fresh too, and I would have a hard time believing that anything is kept sitting around for very long. I learned of this restaurant from a positive review in The Current, and the Taj proudly displays this review on the outside of the restaurant. Its hopefully the first of many accolades for the place - the place wasnt exactly bustling when I visited, but hopefully theres enough business to keep the restaurant in operation. Better than India Palace? Hard to say, but India Taj certainly deserves to be spoken in the same breath with regards to the best Indian San Antonio has to offer.

RE

Reviewer Matt

I regularly visit India Taj Palace. The food here is made with Western palates in mind and hence some Indians might find the food bland. In my opinion the food is tasty, flavorful and spiced sensibly. The most important thing I like about this place is that it is consistently good. The service is decent. The owner is a really nice person and makes an attempt to connect with the customers even though his English skills are somewhat limited. The restaurant serves buffet all day. The ala-carte menu is also available all day should you decide to go for the same. The buffet area is very clean. There is a small salad section that is adequate. The Naan is the best part of this place. They bring fresh Naan to your table. Each time you can request a different kind of Naan. The Naan is tasty and soft. I can very confidently state that no other restaurant in San Antonio serves better tasting Naan than India Taj palace. Pasha Mediterranean is good but Taj Palace has the variety and the gravy/curries that go well with the Naan. The Samosas are Fantasstic! Among the other items, that are consistently good are: Mango Lassi, Pakoras, Mint and Tamarind Chutneys, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Tikka Kabab(ala carte), Seekh Kabab, Chicken Saag, Tandoori chicken, Tomato Coconut Soup, Kadhi Pakoras, Chicken Korma (ala carte), Malai Kofta and Daal Makhani. If you prefer to eat a certain buffet item with a customized spice level, the owner accomodates your request. On occasions when you order from the ala-carte the owner encourages you to sample items from the buffet. Now let me talk about the negatives: 1) The buffet is filled (on most occasions) with an overdose of curries based on cream. Chicken Tikka Masala, Navrathan Korma, Malai Kofta are all cooked in a cream based gravy and hence they look and taste similar. Likewise, there are occasions where Potato based items can be found all over the buffet - Bombay Potatoes, Alu Mutter, Alu Gobi, Korma etc., Potaties tend to fill me up quicky (and gas me up)and hence I do not appreciate this potato heavy buffet lineup even if the food is tasty. 2) In my opinion, the desserts are strictly ok and there is a lot of room for improvement.

JE

Jeff Turpin

I went here based on the reviews and desire to find yet more excellent Indian cuisine. However, like most ratings and reviews, I was let down, once again. I went in the evening after the dinner rush, I suppose. It was about 7 PM and quite empty. I ordered my water, and they said they would get my naan out to the table soon. However, that happened about 10 minutes later after I had already made my first plate and finished it. My first plate had daal masala as well as saag paneer. Both were disgusting. I took a bite and shoved them to the side immediately after. Ive had far, far better of both. My first batch of vegetable biryani was terrible as well as the rice was hard and dry. Other plates were much better once they brought out of a fresh batch, but it was nothing special. The tandori chicken was average: nothing special, not overly dry, nothing unique. The vegetable korma wasnt bad, and in fact, was probably the second best thing they had. The chicken tikka masala was the best dish, but compared to others around town, it was near the bottom in terms of recipe. In fact, the pan of chicken tikka masala that had been sitting there since before I arrived was better than the fresh pan they brought out later. The latter was watery and the meat was stringy. It was disappointing, to say the least. The naan, when I got it, wasnt bad, but the garlic was burnt on most pieces giving a pungent bitter taste. Overall, the food is below average, even when fresh, and I would not return. In short, if you want good Indian food, India Taj Palace is not the place to go. I can recommend Kohinoor or Bawarchi Biryani Point in San Antonio as far better Indian cuisine.

A

A Private User

Very disappointed after reading the reviews. It is possible that I might be more satisfied ordering off the menu, but there are much better buffets around town (i.e. India Palace or Sarovar). Absolutely, the most disappointing thing about the buffet was the temperature - tepid, at best. You could tell that the vegetable rice had been sitting there a while since it had dried out in the steamer. It was also fairly bland. Standouts were the naan and the giant cheese chunks in the saag paneer. However, the saag had a slight, bitter taste to it. The chicken in the tikka masala was dry and the sauce was missing the sweetness from the tomatoes. There was no meat cooked in the tandoor on the buffet at all. The chickpeas in the chana dish were still fairly firm. I ate at least four other veg and non-veg dishes and found them to be bland. The gulab jamun was a surprise, since it was not so intensely sweet as I normally find it elsewhere. The kheer was almost all liquid, with very little cardamom and no pistachios. If you want great Indian food, go to where the Indians live - in the Medical Center.