Cafe Taj Mahal
3036 Waialae Ave,Ste B4, Honolulu, HI, 96816
Cafe Taj Mahal Menu
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Address :
3036 Waialae Ave,Ste B4
Honolulu, HI, 96816 - Phone (808) 732-6496
- Website https://cafetajmahal.com/
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 2:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
Categories
India is the birth place of Chicken Tikka Masala and Curries. Indian foods are prepared with a blend of finely mixed spices quite popular across the region. The spices develop the rich taste in Indian food enough to boggle your mind. The ever-increasing fan base of Indian food around the New York city is steadily increasing because of the large number of Indians who traveled to the land of dreams. The Indians also brought their very own vibrant, colorful, and aromatic authentic dishes for the people in the West. While most of the Indian population is Vegetarian, Indian food is great for people who are looking for vegan or vegetarian food option. If you are a Meat lover, don't get disappointed yet. Indian food also boasts of some popular non-vegetarian dishes too. Few examples are the famous Butter Chicken, Mutton Biryani and Tandoori Chicken are enough to satisfy your taste buds.
Indian food has gained reputation all over the world especially in the United States. You can find many places serving the appetizing Indian food across all major cities in the US. India is a diverse country with different food culture originated from different parts of the country. While the Northern region boasts tandoori dishes and korma offering royal taste, the Western Ghats offers sea foods that is made in naturally sweet tender coconut milk. The South Indian food servers a quality of different dishes made from rice accompanied with spicy chutneys, curries and famous sambhar. Also, the Indian sweets are a delight to relish. If you ever want to have a burst of sugar syrup in mouth, don't forget to try few Bengali Sweets. Be it spicy, tangy, or sweet flavor, you can find everything in the Indian cuisine. Be assured that the melody of spices will surely bring delight to you.
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Rain Greg J.
Great meal, we were not disappointed! Service was perfect. All the staff attended to all the tables, so every need was anticipated and taken care of promptly. Decor is cute and clean. We were one of four or five couples waiting for them to open for dinner, a good sign. Our Chicken tikki masala was delicious, our potato spinach dish was a bit bland but still very good. It was worth the 2mile walk to get here and now we have a 2 mile walk back to burn the calories. We will be back!
(4)Addy T.
I want to like this restaurant, but I can't. I love the service since the guy was so nice but the restaurant's dishes failed miserably. My friend and I ordered the two people course which was $42. The most expensive meal considering we only had less than 5 bites from the two entree we ordered. Maybe we ordered the wrong dish? So we were suggested to order another dish and paid another $7 for a small portion hoping it would make up for the other two entree and this also lacked in flavor and consistency. All the entree were so bland, oily, and non edible. I've eaten at a lot of Indian food and this was the worst ever (maybe except the rice). But that's just me, you should try anyways! A tip for the restaurant, consider complimenting at least one entree if someone tells you the dish was bad. Now I'm scrambling at home with an empty stomach trying to fix the flavors if it's salvageable. *Note I usually only write reviews if I seriously cannot stand the food.
(1)Wendy H.
I've been to Taj Mahal several times and found it good enough to return until today. I got a to-go order and waited over half an hour for my food. Then when I got home, my usually favorite, Chicken Vindaloo was burned. The chicken was totally black and tough and the curry tasted like burned lamb(I hate lamb). I'm not sure if they reuse curry sauce to cook different meats, but it tasted like it. The Aloo Gobi was mushy, like it has been in the warmer all day long. I called the restaurant and was told that this is how they cook their food. If this is going to be the way their food will be, I will not be returning there anytime soon, actually, I won't be going back there at all.
(1)Kimberly L.
First of all, I had to go into this place wearing a bikini and a coverup "dress" that was actually a shirt and that should not be worn as a "dress" anywhere but the beach. Walking in and out was fun. I admit that the parking situation is a little funky, but we managed to park right in front of the restaurant in that small lot on a Saturday night (admittedly, it was at 5:30). But I don't rate restaurants on the parking. Their garlic naan tasted good. It was real, it was made in a tandoor, and there was plenty of garlic (we were quite stinky afterwards). The eggplant pakoras also tasted like something nice and homecooked. In fact, the batter tasted exactly like this homemade israeli flatbread called aji, so next time my guy makes that, we'll batter the eggplant in it and deep fry it. It was quite nice with the tamarind and mint/yogurt sauces, as well. Not too greasy, very crispy, slightly overfried, but still good. And they used Japanese eggplant (the skinny one), which I thought was interesting...it's what I always use! Anyway, I liked the garlic naan and pakoras. I also just finished reading The Kite Runner (a great book in a world of good books--you should try it) and I was really in the mindset of all the foods mentioned in the book. We ordered the chicken saag and curry chicken masala. The masala was not what I expected at all. In fact, I feel quite certain that I have made better curry masala at home. The chicken was a bit higher quality than I've had in other indian restaurants--it was juicy and it wasn't swimming with ligamentous chunks of grossness, but the sauce was lacking. Lacking in flavor! I didn't really want to eat it, it was that bad. What's worse, this was tauted on the menu as "House Speciality." Maybe my tastebuds are duller than the average Hawaii resident's? So maybe it takes more to impress me? I don't know, but I was definitely not impressed by the chicken curry masala. I could eat it by putting it on the naan and dunking the whole thing with mint sauce. The Chicken Saag (also said to be a specialty on the menu) was all right. I think it's because I felt like it was "healthy" because of the spinach and therefore it shouldn't be forced to taste delicious. That being said, I enjoy the frozen Amy's palak paneer plate from costco better than I enjoyed this spinach dish. It just didn't taste...flavorful. Or good. I also ordered a hot chai, which I was really looking forward to being a good, proper chai. I was not in luck. It tasted a little like thai tea because of the evaporated milk, and it definitely didn't have any "real" spices in it. It was kind of like the chai I have at home in teabags, but with evaporated milk instead of cow milk. It was thick and stayed layerlike on my knife, if that's any consolation. Perahps there was some condensed milk in there? Anyway, it was not delicious, but it was not bad. That being said, I could not drink the entire cup. The best thing about it was that it came out hot. Boiling hot. We ordered the Semai, which was supposed to be the chef's special dessert. The description was "special dessert made with milk, sugar, and flour." Okay. We asked the waitress what it was and she said she didn't know. Okay, we said. Suprrise us. It turned out to be a kind of pudding made with what appeared to be glass noodles or some other fine angel hair sized noodle. It sat in milk, with sugar, and lots of cardamom seeds. I could taste that it had been sitting in the refrigerator for far too long, because it had that distinctive fridge taste. I guess not too many people order it? Anyway, the parts that didn't taste like fridge were pretty good. Lots of cardamom seeds, like I said. Maybe a few too many for my taste in desserts. Could be enjoyable, if not for the refrigerator taste. Warm and puddingy. By the way, this restaurant is kind of lacking as far as their presentation goes. Maybe better dishes would help the food taste better? The cup and saucer they have is the same blue and white one I have from walmart. And the dishes are brightly-colored plastic things, perhaps also from walmart? Normally I wouldn't complain about something like the dishes, but when the food is just mediocre, the restaurant at least needs a gimmick or something to keep bringing people in. I guess there is a reason why Maharani is always busy and this place, on a Saturday night, was not.
(3)Big A.
Cafe Taj Mahal was a very cozy restaurant off Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki. Parking was a bit tight, but the atmosphere was relaxing and the food was great! My family arrived at about 6:30 pm and there were several tables open. We sat and ordered Veggie Pakora, Chicken Samosa and Green Salad with yogurt dressing as appetizers. They served a mint chutney and a tamarind chutney also that really tasted great with both the pakora and samosa. We ordered some Chapati but they were out and only had Naan that evening. We ordered the chicken Curry hot , the butter chicken hot, and beef curry hot. My son ordered basmati yellow rice. The curry was very spicy and delcious with fresh green chilis. The server made it a point to inform us that if we did bite into the green chili we would surely get a flavor explosion, and we surely did in a very positive way! We love spicy Indian food! The food was excellent and my whole family enjoyed the flavors as well as the service. We will surely be back to Cafe Taj Mahal very soon!
(5)Bifyu J.
Went for lunch and ordered the Mix Thali which provided a nice sampler since it includes one vegetable, one chicken, and one lamb dish, as well as either rice or naan. The menu describes it as for two, but it's probably enough for three as long as you're not big eaters. We weren't familiar with all of the options, but the staff (owner?) was helpful in explaining them to us and helping us order. We decided on the vegetable masala, chicken saag, lamb vindaloo, and naan. The naan was quite nice. The vegetable masala was also quite nice, and more flavorful than most others I have tried. The lamb vindaloo was tender, and though spicy (with a "clean" sort of heat) still allowed the lamb's flavor through. The chicken saag was a new dish for us, and the sauce went well with the naan. Parking, or rather exiting the parking, can be kind of awkward if you get relegated to the half of the lot closest to the restaurant because of the narrow access and angled stalls.
(4)Levy O.
I was happy to find Cafe Taj Mahal since I don't think I could endure the wait at Cafe Maharani. Now everytime the craving strikes, me and my posse a.k.a my neighbors head out to this small restaurant on Wailaie. The first time we were there, we heard a rumor that the Naan bread was not as good as Maharani's. And actually, my gutsy neighbor told the waitress that and the owner gave us a free basket of Naan just to try and see if the rumor was true...hehehe(no spit included, of course). The naan is just as good as Maharani's....extra star for being a nice host! The food here is good...I had Indian food pretty often when I was living in the bay area and I think Cafe Taj Mahal is not behind in terms of taste & quality of the dishes. Prices can be a little bit steep if you consider the ambiance and the decor of the restaurant are kinda.... blah. See if you go to Cafe Maharani, you feel like you're in Bollywood with the huge flat screen TV playing colorful, cheesy, musical Indian romance movies. Makes you wanna put on the bindi on your forehead and start hugging a wall and shaking your assets...hhmm... Back to the food....my favourite is the Tandoori chicken. I know..I know it's basic, but that's why they shouldn't mess it up. I've had tandoori chicken that came with a sizzling plate of onions that were dry before. And eventho this one at Taj Mahal doesn't come with sizzling plate, it was juicy and yummy!! My neighbors and I usually order (almost) the same dishes; Tandoori chicken, Lamb Vindaloo that is oh-so good and spicy that you don't care that you have to spend some quality time with your bathroom the next day, and fish tika masala that was pretty good but I've had better masala. Their butter naan and garlic naan was warm, soft & buttery with a bit of oil on the surface...Yum! It seems for now this restaurant is not as popular as Maharani. Maybe because the location is kinda hidden, or people couldn't find parking. Parking was ok everytime we went there. Parking lot is small, but usually we were able to get a spot. Writing this review got me thinking...do I want people to love and crowd this restaurant so the next time I come,I have to wait in line for hours just like at Maharani's or do I prefer that this establishment remains unpopular that it wouldn't survive? I pick the first one...let's support a good local business ^_^ Oh..it's BYOB!
(4)Demur E.
Cafe Maharani, Jr. is open! Ok, the actual name is Cafe TajMahal, but one of the owners of Maharani opened this restaurant with his wife. TajMahal is comparable to Maharani. Maharani's food may have a tiny edge, but TajMahal has the edge on service. Both restaurants have similar pricing and terrible parking. TajMahal is next to Sabrina's on Waialae Ave. and behind The Fat Greek. I'm not sure if you can call that awkwardly paved area a parking lot, but whatever. Food: Very good. In general, spicier than Maharani and good portions. The vegetarian birayani is equal to Maharani's. The Naan (garlic and butter) were great. The Paratha not as good, because it seemed to harden up quickly. Chicken tikka masala was yummy...creamy, but not too rich. We also tried the chicken pakora (marinated boneless cubed chicken fried and dipped in special spices. The flavor was good, but it was reminiscent of chicken (Mc)nuggets (i.e., various chicken parts mashed up then compressed into a cube?) Balti beef (cubed beef cooked slowly with veggies, herbs and spices) was a hearty dish. The lamb saag (creamy spinach, cooked with onion, garlic, ginger and spices) was good, but did not have a lot of lamb in it. Kinda looked like a big bowl of creamed spinach. There are a bunch of dishes on the menu...sizzling dishes, many veggie dishes, kabobs and tandoori chicken. I will definitely be returning to try more of the dishes. They also have take-out Service: One of the waitresses was pretty, uh, brusque. She seemed to really want to put in our order. But like I mentioned above, there are so many dishes on the menu that it was difficult to decide what to get. Service here is quick, though and we got our food faster than I've ever been served at Maharani. I'd say the restaurant was about 2/3 full and service was still quite good. Ambiance: It's pretty comfortable. Sturdy cloth napkins to dab my fine "glow" due to the yummy spiciness of the food. Discrete lighting and warm atmosphere, but you'll really be there for the food. Once the food came, I only cared about whether the table was big enough to hold all our dishes! There are tables of various sizes to accommodate large and small parties. Overall: This is not a cheap place, but the food is good. A great alternative to Maharani, which is definitely one of the better Indian restaurants in Honolulu. If you can get around the parking issue, you can even arrive here hungry, since the service is pretty speedy. TajMahal is kind of like the Jan Brady to Maharani's Marcia Brady. Similar, but Marcia's the one you remember most.
(4)Donna L.
I phoned in a takeout order from Cafe Taj Mahal. The first time I got takeout from Cafe Taj Mahal it was very good. The second time was awesome. I requested an order of vegetable masala, two orders of vegetable samosa, and one butter paratha, $25. I made a pot of basmati rice at home while bf picked up the food. The masala was very good with lots of chunky vegetables and loads of flavor. The samosas with the dipping sauces were phenomenal. The paratha was good and chewy. After I finish my leftovers, I'll be back for more.
(5)Ashiyan R.
excellent service, great fresh naan and ok rice, but very let down with the curries. i got the vegetarian house special and it was pretty tasteless, although fresh. my dad got the tandoori cooked chicken and the sauce for this made up for the lack of taste of mine, butt he chicken itself was apparently not good. this place has a hard job as i am comparing it to cafe maharani near university, which is amazing. also the decor here is somewhat shoddy, but we were hungry and it was this or the Greek place next door.
(2)jeannine s.
As a fan of Indian cuisine, I have been largely disappointed with the limited and mediocre choices in Honolulu. Not anymore. I am happy to find this great restaurant tucked away in a corner of Waialae Avenue. It is easily my new favorite place for Indian food that I don't have to cook myself. It is not perfect, parking is tight, service is slow but pleasant. The food is great for a family restaurant. But if you are looking for refined Indian cuisine, go to Silicon Valley or to the sub-continent. If you are not used to spicy heat in your food, don't order "spicy." If you are a true fan of spice, the cook is unabashed to go for it here. It is not plate lunch prices, but very reasonable considering the generousity in portions. On my first visit, I easily ordered too much. But was happy to take away leftovers. Curry tastes even better the next day : ) Worth a visit and the trek for parking.
(4)Mick K.
I came here for lunch during a Sunday. There were one other couple besides me and my party. Their lunch menu has a limited selection of items. However, you may order additional items from their dinner menu, just ask the waitress. I ended up ordering the Lamb Curry Masala with the rice, 1 order of naan, 1 order of samosas, and 1 order of Tandoori Chicken (from their dinner menu). Portions of food were of one person size. Their rice was one plate--equivalent to 1 to 2 cups. Their Lamb Curry Masala was one soup bowl with about 5 pieces of 1.5" cubes of lamb and 2 wedges of Idaho potatoes in a thick broth comparable to gravy. The order of Tandoori Chicken was one piece of thigh and leg with a bed of salad. The salad consisted of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomato with 5 table spoons of riata on the side. The naan was one piece at the size of a 6" x 4". Finally, there were 6 pieces of samosas the size of McDonald's hamburger patties (their plane hamburgers). Two sauces came with the samosas--tamarind and mint yogurt. Taste, with the exception of their samosas, were borderline bland. The Lamb Curry did not have the same amount of curry-ness as compared to the curry sauce from Curry House. I think there weren't enough curry powder. The thickness of the curry sauce was just right--same thickness as Curry House sauce. The meat was soft the gamy taste of the lamb was suppressed from the stewing. The Tandoori Chicken simply had all the flavor on the surface of the meat and have not had time to penetrate deeper. Also, because the chef undercooked the chicken--bloody at the bones with some veins bleeding--I made the chef redo it. I'm not sure how they can under-cook chicken, unless they've never cooked chicken on the bone before. The naan was thick and chewy. Its underside was toasted and crispy, while the inside was steaming. Finally, the samosas were the most flavorful with spice that lingered throughout the whole meal. Overall, this place needs to improve its execution in cooking Tandoori Chicken, which is a well known item in any Indian restaurants. Its Lamb Curry Masala sauce needs to be reformulated to have deeper curry flavor. Their naan needs to be thinner rather than being too chewy due to its thickness.
(3)LooLicious L.
We waited an hour for the food...Does every place in that strip take that long for the food to come out; (Sabrina's) Anyways the meat/chicken entrees are small for the price of $14.00 or so, it is served in a small bowl, but still rather filling. The Samosa and Chicken/Rice dish was quite good. The parking is terrible. I think there are probably better places to dine at.
(2)Jannet L.
i've been dying for some good indian food - my search stops here. i think i was afraid to try this place b/c i kept reading about the slow service. but finally decided to order take out, made sure to order way ahead of time. it was SO GOOD. had tikka masala which comes with a humungous naan, salad and raita and the palak paneer and one order of rice. it was really spicy, my lips were burning, which was perfect actually and so delicious. the young man taking the order and at the counter was very nice. i'm just sad i didn't discover this place sooner. much yummier than himalayan. haven't tried maharani. but this is walking distance so i'll just come here all the time now. YUM! the portions are HUGE- prolly tikka masala plus rice woulda been plenty for the two of us. i really do wish they had lunch buffet - that's one thing i miss. but i guess it's good that i don't go to those anymore - my metabolism has slowed down and don't know if i can stand to gorge myself to the point of needing to unbutton my jeans anymore.
(5)Puddytat C.
Tried this place once. It was good, but not great. Very pricey for what you get. Still go back to my favorite, Maharani. Service is great and the area is large in comparison with nice ambiance. There is metered parking which used to be free. Oh, the good ol' days.
(3)Hasib H.
Went there for a quick lunch but ended up staying for 2 hours maybe. Run by a Bangladeshi couple -- the food is good but it takes a long time to prepare and there was only one waiter beside the owner himself (Wife is the cook). This is located in a small strip shopping area and there are only a few parking spots -- so good luck with that. Overall we came out satisfied even though we did not get one of the item we ordered -- the food in general was to my taste.
(3)Mariko K.
Just went for lunch, not too many people, so service was fast. I ordered chicken dahl, which was delicious. The naan was da bomb, very fresh! Also, they serve large portions for a reasonable price. The ambiance was decent and they play Indian music videos on the TVs.
(4)L A.
By far the worst Indian food I have ever had in my life. My standards may be slightly higher after having traveled in India, but just because we live on an island doesn't mean that Cafe TajMahal should be able to get away with oily and near-inedible curry. The Naan was good though.
(2)Kendra H.
I read about this restaurant in the Midweek The review was really good so I was excited. I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala take away. The parking was dismal - which I expected. However, upon getting home and opening my take away, my meal came with naan and a salad. The salad was a bunch of wilty vegetables. The naan looked kind of like naan, but felt and tasted more like undercooked pizza dough...even a little on the pancakey side. Now the main course...oh, let me tell you of my disappointment. I have been eating Indian for over 18 years...and this is the most abysmal indian I have EVER had. It tasted NOTHING like chicken tikka masala. The sauce was very soupy and not thick like a sauce. The chicken was not cut up into bite sized pieces - it was more like someone just cut a chicken breast in half threw it in some soup and put in a to-go container. This was absolutely awful. I have no idea how they got such a good review from midweek. Not to mention that it was expensive. I have never paid this much for indian..and I am used to living in a very expensive metro area. My chicken tikka masala was almost $17. I didn't order anything else, just my entree. I think the quality of food and the price are absolutely awful. There are only a few indian places on the island and due to that fact, they charge you a ridiculous amount for seriously sub-par food. I have made better chicken tikka masala in my own kitchen. Also, another gross little fact...there were HUGE roaches everywhere outside this restaurant. It really turned my stomach. I cannot give this restaurant any stars - the site forces you to give at least one star, but I would not give it any if that were an option. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone. I will have to wait until I return to the mainland to get good indian again.
(1)Kevin W.
Great food. Very appealing too. Only had take out because always so packed. The restaurant is very small with really neat decorations. Parking in the back is very limited.
(3)Danielle Y.
Went for lunch, would go again. Service was relaxed, my food was tasty and reasonable (A and I ate three dishes plus extra rice for about $25 and I had two leftover second lunches from them). I wasn't WOWED(!!) but my craving for Palak Paneer was appeased.
(3)Mike C.
By far the best Indian food we've been able to find in the area. Hard to see from the street and funky parking arrangements should not keep you from getting into this wonderful family-run Indian restaurant. Everything is good but remember it is BYOB.
(4)Lei L.
byob lamb vindaloo shrimp diablo(sp?) garlic naan ~5 thumbs waaaaaay up~
(5)rupa k.
First, I'll start off my review by admitting that I'm Indian. And, while that doesn't make me an expert on Indian food, I've probably had more Indian food than 99% of people here in Hawaii, so this is a review that's close to my heart. That being said, this place is great. I typically get the chicken korma, which is very tasty. You can tell that the chicken has been marinated in spices before cooking instead of just piling the spices in the sauce as a lot of restaurants do. My hubby got the tandoori chicken which was moist and spicy, so beware if you're not used to spicy food. My mother-in-law got the matter paneer (that's peas cooked with home made cheese) and thoroughly enjoyed it and my father is vegetarian, so he got the dal which was good. And, they use real paneer instead of tofu (which I hate when they do that). Their portion sizes are HUGE. Much bigger than Maharani and their aloo paratha (the break baked with layers of potato in between) is phenomenal. The only item I wasn't bowled over by was the mango lassi, I like a bit more tartness in my lassi (buttermilk as opposed to yogurt), but that's personal preference. Their samosas are also fantastic and when my in-laws threw me a baby shower, they got samosas from here so that I would have something Indian. I would normally take off one star because of the wait. It took a long time to get our food, which was probably because they made the tandoori chicken when we ordered it. But, I thought the pleasant service and portion sizes more than made up for the wait time. Our waiter was the owner's son, and he was extremely helpful and pleasant. This alone distinguishes Cafe Taj Mahal from other Indian restaurants on the island. You should definitely give it a try! I just wish they had an all you can eat lunch buffet like the Indian places on the mainland.
(5)Kent I.
Went here because maharani was packed. The food is good, nothing great. The naan was horrible. I hate to rag on the naan, but its a staple of indian food and you can't make that? The prices were similar to maharani. So if you are looking for good indian food Maharani is still the place
(3)Meep M.
My new favorite place to go for Indian. The price is affordable and the food is awesome! The owner is very friendly and welcoming.
(4)Beth D.
always had great food here. the naan is spectacular. lamb vindaloo tender and spicy. rice is fragrant and perfect. only gripe is that the chicken tikka isn't on the lunch menu!
(4)Fran P.
We have only been to one other Indian restaurant on the island, so we don't have a lot to compare to. But we really enjoyed the food here. We rode a moped down so that we didn't have to deal with the parking (which is either horrible in the free parking lot, or expensive at $5 across the street). We walked right in without reservations, which was nice. We ordered the Taj Combination for 2 special at $42, which included 2 Vegetable Samosa, 2 HUGE naan bread, rice polau (which had a nice coconut flavor to it), and two entrees. We ordered the Lamb curry and a Vegetable curry. The food was excellent! We were really surprised with the samosa, cause we had never had anything like that before. Filled with potatoes, carrots, peas, and who knows what else, it was a really substantial appetizer. I think if I had had that and a salad, I would have been good. We had lots of leftovers to take home, so we felt it was a great value. Service was very slow, but the servers were very nice. Will definitely be back!
(4)cathi g.
Better than any of the other Indian restaurants I've tried in Honolulu - even Maharani, which everyone raves about. Portions are generous. The dinner for 2 can easily feed 3 people. BYOB is the nice option but use the bathroom before you go - the one on site is less than desirable....
(4)Vicky B.
Their lunch portions are huge and well priced. The flavor of all their dishes are great, I really like their rice. Like others said parking is a challenge, but much worth it. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but worth it for good Indian food.
(4)Cristal M.
We stumbled upon Taj Mahal when the restaurant we had planned to go to was closed on a Sunday night. I knew Taj Mahal was there for years but never felt inspired to go inside, boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. "What took me so long?!?" was what went through my mind when I took the first bite of my dinner...and everybody else' on the table. Deeelicious! Taj Mahal is definitely my new favorite Indian restaurant on the island. I found the spices to be complex, well balanced, and thoughtful, and the dishes extremely well prepared. The service was great and very friendly. I am heading there right now for another try. Yum!!! The Bollywood movies playing in the background are a fun addition. Highly recommended.
(4)ben b.
good food, i can ask for a bit more spice next time.
(5)Lee K.
Three words... Yum, yum, delish! If you're in the mood for Indian, go here. You won't regret it.
(4)Sharon H.
After watching "The 100 Foot Journey" -- which btw is a great movie especially if you love food -- I had a craving for Indian food and Cafe Taj Mahal absolutely hit the spot! Taking cues from our wonderful Yelp community, I made reservations in advance (tho if your party is less than 4, no need) and got there early for best parking in the tiny lot that also serves Sabrina's and The Fat Greek. Here you'll find familiar favorites from samosas to curries, laden with the deep aromatic spices -- tumeric, cumin, garam masala -- and rich vibrant colors (golden yellows and bold reds) so distinctly Indian. Of all the dishes, the stand out was the samosas -- these golden triangle puffs were both densely rich in filling yet crunchy light in texture. Served with a sauce or alone, one samosa alone can easily fill you up. The chicken tikka masala was well executed -- spicy yet with a mild heat for the timid palate like mines. If it's too hot you can't enjoy the flavors... But that's just me. I think Fran C. can take it flaming hot! The restaurant was very warm inside so luckily I was there early enough to snag us seats near the hard working A/C. Service was very hospitable, and we left feeling happily satiated. I will be back!
(4)Fran C.
I don't know nothing about Indian cuisine, and if it weren't for my Yelp buddy - Sharon H. for turning me on to this type of food, I probably wouldn't have tried it at all. I've only been to one Indian restaurant (Himalayan Kitchen) thus far, until this past Friday night where I met Sharon H., & Linda C. for a delicious meal of Indian cuisine at the Cafe Taj Mahal. Cafe Taj Mahal is located just across the street from the Kaimuki City Mill. It is located in a small strip mall where other restaurants like the -Fat Greek, Sabrina Italian Restaurant, & a Sushi shop is located. Upon entering the restaurant, it was very small, but decorated very nicely. My friends got there before me, and Sharon H. was so smart to order appetizers ahead of time, as service can be quite slow........... If you're in a rush to get something quick, may I suggest you go someplace else! But if you're not in a rush, and have the time, you can have a very nice, casual, unrushed dining experience over here. Sharon H. had ordered a Butter naan, & two types of Samosa (Chicken & Vegetable) for the appetizers. The Samosa comes with two types of sauces, a mint, and another type of sauce that was red (sorry could not remember what it was). I must say, the Samosa's are to die for..........kinda reminds me of some kind of Chinese dumpling I've had in the past, only with different fillings. The Samosa dumpling are deep fried & PACKED with filling! If you had the Chicken, or Vegetable, you can't go wrong with either, as they were both all so yummy! For our meal, we ordered a Sizzling Chicken dish that came with bell peppers, onions, carrots, & tomato. It was spicy, but not too hot. Too bad I forgot what it was called. We also ordered a Rice Polau, and a Chicken Masala. And of course we had to have the Garlic Butter Naan, because the naan is sooooooooo goooooood! All dishes are served family style, and they do provide large generous portions. No alcohol served here, but it's BYOB! There is very limited parking in the small strip mall, but there is pay parking across the street at the open parking lot by City Mill for $5.00. You go to the automated machine & pay your $5.00, then leave the ticket on your dash board of your car. Overall, a very enjoyable meal here.......in fact, I think I like it at Cafe Taj Mahal better than Himalayan Kitchen! If you're ever in the mood for Indian food, you may consider checking out this place.
(5)Ukon D.
Really good place. Really good Indian food for hawaii. Came here with my friend and ordered chicken korma and butter chicken. Both very good dishes, rice we ordered was definitely a lot and had plenty of food to take home. We came on a sunday evening (pretty much a full house). It's BYOB but that didn't affect us since we don't drink and interesting selection of Bollywood music videos. Overall good experience, but I really didn't get a good vibe from the man who took our orders. He seemed nice but oddly arrogant :( . The young lady who brought our dishes and cleared our table afterwards was very kind and considerate of getting us waters and making sure we were satisfied with our dishes. Slightly pricy but definitely worth it for the portions and the welcoming ambiance.
(4)James V.
Good service, good food, nice ambiance & a fair price. Parking is a little tight. Will definitely repeat.
(4)Alli C.
The rundown: -Great service -Try the chutney!! -Naan is a must -Parking is limited Going to Cafe Taj Mahal I had never tried Indian food before. And I LOVED IT! We had the chicken naan and the garlic naan. They came out fresh and delicious and were especially good with the chutney as a dipping sauce. I love eggplant so of course we tried the eggplant tika marsala and the eggplant shish korma. The marsala was pretty spicy, but I love spicy things so it was delicious. If you are not a fan of spicy things, I would recommend the shish korma over the marsala. The coconut in the shish korma balances the spiciness. The only down side to Cafe Taj Mahal is that the parking is undesirable. There are limited spots and the layout makes it difficult to maneuver in and out of the area.
(5)Brigitte S.
I love Indian food. It's one of my favorites to be honest. I love the spice and dipping naan into all the extra sauce. Cafe Taj Mahal was where we first tried Indian near our house. We soon learned that they couldn't make any of the entrees mild enough for my boyfriends sensitivity and while I liked it fine, I could tell that the spice level was high. It was a bummer but we did find two other things we truly loved on the menu that keep us coming back anyway. The naan and stuffed naans are delicious. Warm tear apart bread, our favorite is the garlic topped. Simple and tasty! Our other find were the samosas. While we did find other Indian restaurants to get our main dish for each of our likings, we have not found better samosas. We usually order beef and chicken (2 come in each order) with some garlic topped naan and use the awesome samosa sauces on everything. The samosas are huge, with perfectly crisp flaky crusts and stuffed with well seasoned meat, potatoes, carrots, corn & just enough sauce. They're served with a mint yogurt sauce and a tamarind chutney that my boyfriend and I fight over; they're that delicious. We're usually stuffed after sharing these and aren't even missing our masala. It gets busy sometimes so call ahead for res or to do take out. I honestly like getting these to go and we curl up with a movie, a bottle of red and some goodness from here. Winning!
(4)Mary W.
Wow!! I was craving Indian food and this place did not disappoint! From the warm and friendly as well as attentive service to the incredibly tasty food our group of 4 was impressed. The samosas were to die for: we had the vegetable and chicken and the sauces were both excellent. We also shared the lamb stuffed naan, the shrimp korma, chicken tikka masala and chicken vindaloo. We liked it all but really loved the masala. Being able to BYOB was a nice option. The atmosphere was pleasant and our group enjoyed the Bollywood films playing in the background. We were truly impressed and will definitely be back!!
(5)Karan M.
This is the only Indian place we could find open in the afternoon on a Monday. Warning , if you are of Indian origin please do not visit this place. It will absolutely spoil your appetite for Indian food in the future. The chicken korma had a weird taste to it, I barely ate few bites and left it alone. The after taste still remained in the mouth. The naan was raw and looked like cooked in the regular oven or packaged naan. The rice that came with the entree was the only thing edible. There are not many options for Indian food in Hawaii anyway, if possible give this a miss and satisfy your Indian food craving when you are back to home base.
(1)Ed L.
Cafe Taj Mahal is one smart alternative to the small glut of Indian cuisines you may indulge yourself while you are in Honolulu for a day or two. It's hidden gem appeal is probably the reason why I came here to get my naan on. Indian cuisine has always been a favorite of mine, ever since discovering it a yelp event at the Cafe Maharani. Since then, Thai and Indian curry have been a mainstay with me, if and when I have the means to buy. The times I have been to Cafe Taj Mahal were majority take out affairs, but had taken a couple of friends here to celebrate special birthday milestones. We kept it low key. It was a little awkward when the wait staff comes to your table to sing happy birthday really loud, as some other establishments do. So we just enjoyed the company of friends and celebrated life's milestones. During my time at the Cafe Taj Mahal, it was a nice positive one. You may say that this location can be a hole in the wall. Probably right. You wouldn't know if it was here unless you were searching for it. The ambiance of this place is definitely casual but can be intimate, if you want it to be. Cafe Taj Mahal is located in the humble spot next to the Fat Greek Greek restaurant in Kaimuki, on the footsteps of St. Louis heights. Very little parking here, if at all, once the parking stalls in front of this small block of eateries are taken. They accept credit cards, so that's always a plus. In this day and age, how could you not? Best advice after reading the reviews is to come with an open mind if you are new to Indian cuisine. The service here was atypical, but friendly, and made a Friday night even more positive to enjoy. I'm definitely a fan of the Indian curries and the spicy tolerance for it is quite remarkable. Only issue that I saw dining in at Cafe Taj Mahal is that the time ordering and the time receiving such order was about 60-75 minutes apart. I get that good food is definitely a delicacy to wait for, but 60-75 minutes is kind of slow. I guess hanging with your friends to kick off a weekend is the consolation, but waiting for the food clearly is frustrating, but what can you do. In the end, it was worth the time spending waiting. We ordered the eggplant pakora to start and share. For the main entrees, I opted for the chicken masala curry, which is a favorite of mine that needs no introduction, with a heavy spice that can be overwhelming but great for your own taste. I had the cheesy naan bread on the side to complete the meal. My friends opted for the chicken vindaloo and the maharaja spicy chicken, also with the cheesy naan bread. For the most part, we also partook in getting the yellow basmati rice to taste and it was a pretty good combination! For the most part, the food was delicious and quite satisfying. While the chicken was spicy, the curry I had was quite succulent and moist. It wasn't dry, but it was tender. Quite wonderful indeed. We had water for the most part and saved the boozing till after the meal. The overall experience was okay. The food was good, yet the service can be improved. Waiting a while for an order can be frustrating at times, but it's well worth it. I had fun and my friends did too. If you don't mind the wait and have friends to hang with, enjoy Indian food in Kaimuki. It's pretty cool. I would recommend this place if you want to get your Indian cuisine on and or love curry. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.0 Support local! B-
(4)Danielle V.
The food was so good! It was the best Indian food I've ever had. The kabobs were fresh, you could taste it. It took a while to get our food but it was totally worth it. The lamb here is also good I would recommend that.
(5)Ruthie C.
This restaurant is tasty enough for a second try. I'm certainly going back to try the other dishes. The food: I've had chicken curry masala, chicken saag, garlic cheese nan, cheese nan, samosa, and lamb curry masala. All were tasty. They will adjust the spiciness level for you. I usually try medium first. The lowest spice level was too mild for me. Medium was good. I think I'll try the spiciest level next time. The cheese nan was good. Adding the garlic to it as garlic cheese nan raised it a whole new level for me. The gooeyness of the cheese and the sharp aroma and taste of garlic is perfect. The saag and masala sauces were good and flavorful, though I rate the food 4 stars since I have had better (but not by much). There were enough chunks of chicken and lamb in the entrees. The samosa appetizer comes with 2 pieces and 2 sauces. The pieces were big and very yummy. The sauces were very complementary. All the food came out perfectly fresh and hot. It was a joy to eat them. When you're hungry, the entree bowls look small, but it is really just enough especially if you add rice and/or nan with it (and really, you wouldn't want to go without either). I had plenty to take home with me. The service: The service was 5 stars both times that I was there. I was greeted immediately and warmly. Granted I was one of the first customers right at dinner opening on my first visit and the first diner on my second visit but everyone who came in after me got the same greeting. It was nice to feel that they were happy to see me there. I love the friendliness. I was immediately served with water and I didn't have to wait long for my food. I had different servers on each visit and both asked the spiciness level that I preferred. When I told my latest server that I probably could have stood a spicier level, he gave me extra peppers to add to my take home leftovers. The restaurant: It's a small space. Somewhat cramped with tables and chairs. Not much privacy for conversations. This, however, did not bother me. If I had one to three people with me, I probably would not have noticed the smallness. Aside from being distracted by company, the food was enough for me to overlook the space detail. Plates and utensils were clean. The tables were clean. Everything seemed clean. The place felt clean. There is a private lot but it is limited. I was there early enough to have found a parking spot. The parking lot is kind of cramped. There is only one way to enter and exit. I'm the stereotypical Asian girl driver and I drive a Nissan XTerra. It was scary for me to get out. The more skilled driver, however, would have been able to maneuver the in and exit without little trouble. Luckily, I didn't injure anyone or damage any property. Just alarmed some people who, hopefully, did not choke on their chicken vindaloo. Didn't need the restroom so don't know if they have one. Overall: I would definitely go back and bring people with me (and maybe a smaller car). Link to menu: cafetajmahal.com/menu.ht…
(4)Mohamed I.
Wait time is a bit long but food is excellent. I had the chicken curry and tandoori chicken and enjoyed it . Service is good but not excellent. Overall enjoyed my experience here. Would come back.
(4)Jon H.
It's no secret that I have a serious love for Indian cuisine. That's why I have to embarrassingly admit that today was the first time I've ever been to Cafe Taj Mahal. What makes that confession embarrassing is that I've literally lived next door from them for as long as they've been in business. Well there's the saying better late than never, so at least I have that mentality to redeem myself. But enough about that, let's talk about the food, which I'm happily able to say is quite good. Having browsed their menu online before heading over for lunch--a service I feel ALL restaurants should be offering in this age--something instantly caught my eye and I knew I had to have it for lunch. Malai kofta. For those of you unfamiliar with the dish, it's basically deep fried veggie and paneer cheese balls in a creamy, tomato based sauce. It's a pretty rich and heavy dish, but every now and then you're allowed to indulge yourself...or at least that's what I tell myself. And nothing goes better with malai kofta than naan, so I knew I'd also have to get myself an order to go along with my main dish. But my plan nearly took a tragic turn for when I was given the lunch menu there was no malai kofta to be seen. Now if this were some other craving I wanted to have satisfied, maybe I'd stick it out and suffer a bit longer for another opportunity. But when it comes to malai kofta, there really aren't many places that do it well, and I needed to know if Cafe Taj Mahal, which is so conveniently located to me, could stand up to the test. So I took a chance and asked if they could make an order for me even though it wasn't being offered at the time. After checking with the chef in the back, their answer was yes. Instant bonus points for being accommodating and providing excellent service. When my order came out, I was shocked at the portion size. I ate enough to be full, and I still had enough to take home for a dinner later. The flavors were well done, and the koftas maintained their texture even when swimming in the sauce. The naan was just ok, however, but I'm kinda a naan snob, so I won't really hold that against them. Besides, I did order plain naan, and going from past reviews and seeing what the other patrons around me were ordering, I maybe should've gotten the cheese (and garlic) or the butter variety. I also wanted to point out the ver reasonable prices for lunch. There is a lunch special option that allows youth get one vegetarian dish with a half order of naan or pulao rice for only $8.99. There are also similar lunch specials for curries with meat or lamb. Unfortunately my malai kofta was ineligible for the special because it had to be done ala carte, but it too was very reasonably priced at $11.99. For a lunch spot, Cafe Taj Mahal hit many positive notes with me. And I really have no real complaints about the food. A couple minor things I would like to note, however, would be the parking situation and the temperature in the restaurant. First, the parking can be atrocious at times. They share the same parking stalls as The Fat Greek, Sushi Man, and a Waialae Barber & Hair Salon, and it gets to be a mess at times. There are also pay parking stalls across the street in the City Mill lot if you can't find parking. And secondly, on a hot day like today, AC is a Godsend. But walking into Cafe Taj Mahal was like stepping into a sauna. They confirmed that their AC was working properly, but honestly unless you happened to sit right below the vent, the restaurant was a hot box. I am not exaggerating when I say that every customer who was there when I was complained, and a couple literally walked in, said it was way too hot, and left.
(4)Jong Soo L.
I came here for the first time because my friends didn't want to wait at cafe maharani. Had a little difficult time finding the place since it was the last restaurant on that corner. I got lucky with parking but if you do decide to turn in, its a dead end. So if one car wants to leave and another wants to go in. The one that wants to go in has to reverse all the way out and let the person leaving out. There was no wait so that was nice. The menu looked very similar to maharani. I did want I could to find the spiciest item but was disappointed yet again. Maharanis pepper chicken curry was actually spicy. But my taste buds couldn't feel any kick from the spiciest curry here. The rice was nothing special. The garlic naan was great. Probably the highlight of my meal. They also have BYOB. The service was great. They were attentive and always made sure our waters were filled. They were nice about answering any questions about the menu. They also were great at taking orders from customers that came first. The prices were about the same as maharani. If you're looking for a place to get a quick Indian fix with no wait, this is the place. But if you're looking for bomb ass Indian food, deal with the wait at maharani.
(3)Shannon H.
Hot hot HOT. To me, anyway. I am a big fan of Indian food but because I can't handle too much spicy (or any spicy, for that matter) this place was a little intense for me. We ordered the lamb masala and butter chicken curry, both not what I expected them to be, but I guess ok overall. I was in a post-nap stupor when I called in the order so I didn't do proper yelp research prior (shame on me). Wish I'd gone with the chicken korma which is supposed to be one of their milder dishes. Ah well, live and learn. Since we had naan at home, I can only speak about the curry but everyone agreed that it was pretty hot so I guess "authentic" Indian cuisine packs a pretty big kick. Prices were pretty reasonable compared to places like Himalayan kitchen or cafe maharani. ~$13 for the curry dishes where the other places sell them for $15-$16. Still think I prefer my flavors a little milder though so not sure if this'll be the place for me when I have curry cravings. But we'll see!
(3)Hawaii Girl Y.
It was a Tuesday night and this place was slammed with just one poor waiter. I ordered the Chicken Korma and it was one of the worst curries I've had in my life. I rather go to the Indian Restaurant in Moilili; even though customer service is poor there. My curry had some weird spices in it, curry was really thick, it was sweet, and bland. The Beef Samosas was just okay. Was very doughy. It was pretty bland too. I'm not sure why there are so many good reviews about this place. Worst Indian place yet. I would never come back here.
(1)Marcel C.
Food tasted pretty authentic, and fresh. Not a ton of flavor. The lack of A/C made a difference. Not sure if I will go back.
(3)Ani R.
This restaurant is owned by a lovely Bangladeshi family. The owner who waited on us was so kind! We ordered the chicken korma, chicken masala, saag, mixed vegetables, naan, and rice! The food was good and not very spicy at all actually. In fact, the chicken dishes seemed to have some sweet spices mixed in. Definitely worth a try if you're in town, and craving Indian food.
(5)Brianna S.
I couldn't disagree more with the past few reviews on service. So either they hired some new people, or we went on a great night. I wanted Indian food on a Sunday night in Honolulu, and found that most Indian places were closed on Sunday. Lucky for me, I found Cafe Taj Mahal was actually open until 10pm, even on a Sunday. SCORE! We headed down after a day on the west side. Parking was a bit scarce, but we did find a parking lot across the street. There was a pose of alley cats in the parking lot that must have had at least 40 members! It was pretty rad and frightening, all at the same time. Our server was awesome, very friendly and outgoing, and always made sure our water cups were filled. I told him I was in the mood for a shrimp dish, and wanted his suggestion, which was a tomato based sauce and asked for it spicy. I was so glad I asked for his recommendation, it was exactly what my hungry stomach needed. Decided to go without the rice and just get some buttered garlic naan to dip it in. I'm so glad they were the only ones open, it made the decision easy for me. But after knowing that service has defiantly improved since the last reviews and that the food was mouth watering, I will be back! But next time with a bottle of wine, because Cafe Taj Mahal is BYOB.
(5)John K.
They are located near Kaimuki across the street from City Mill. The Chicken Masala was mouth-watering good. I don't think there are too many places that can match that flavor of the curry. The chicken was tender also. I also like their Saag paneer [spinach curry]. The naan bread is fresh and soft and goes great with the curry. Their dinner prices are a little more than their lunch prices, but overall the food here is awesome!
(5)Kevin P.
Great food. Parking is bad but just go across the street, but watch out for/enjoy all the feral kitties. And I hope you enjoy bollywood because it's you're evening entertainment. =)
(4)Angie D.
I debated between a 1 or 2 star... as I'm sure my experience was somewhat unique to say the least. Lets start with the HAIR we found in our food :/ It was a 6 on the "Hair I don't like in my food" scale. 1 being a dainty eyelash hair and 10 being hair from the nether regions... This hair was long and wavy and still had the follicle attached. yum.... plus it was mixed in, so you know it simmered for a while in hot indian food. ugh. We returned that dish straight away. I also had a glass of the Chai iced tea.. which was bland, but to top it off, I found an ANT in it. It could have been a grosser bug, so I didn't complain about that one. Initially we sat at the back corner table, but it seemed the air conditioner was on the fritz, we moved near the door and it was slightly cooler. The waiter, while he was extremely nice and quite apologetic (for the hair) he was extra slow on service, and It wasn't overcrowded. We went during lunch hour. As for the food. The naan bread was good (but isn't it always?) and the dishes we had were moderately pleasing (the ones with out hair). Until the cook starts wearing a hair net, and they solve their ant and air problem I won't be back.
(1)Erica W.
Where do I begin?!? I decided to come here one day with my parents because although I love the food at Maharani, I was getting a little tired of the service there, or lack thereof. That and the fact I don't like the parking situation nor the fact that if you don't show up as soon as they open (if they bother to open on time) you are s*** out of luck of scoring a table. So I decide to visit Taj Mahal. Granted their parking situation is not that great, but there are parking lots across the streets (that after 5pm, just pay a nominal fee to a cash box based on your parking stall). To begin with, the decor is like any other Indian Restaurant I have been too plus there are a couple of tvs playing bollywood music videos (basically the song and dance numbers from various movies). The food is great and the portions are huge. Like you will have leftovers for 2-3 days after visiting for a meal. Plus the employees are AWESOME!!! It's a family owned restaurant where the parents work the kitchen and the sons work the seating area. Everytime I go I always get the son with the glasses and he is super personable and attentive.
(5)Michael H.
Great food in an unassuming decor. The spicy lamb curry with potato stuffed naan bread was incredible. The amount of spice was enough to stay on my palate but not effect my desire to eat more. The prices were very reasonable and the server was extremely friendly and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Indian cuisine at a good price.
(4)Jensen S.
This place is the second Indian food place that I tried right before I left Hawaii for the mainland. Portions are satisfying. Taste is slightly better than mediocre. Atmosphere is a little frantic and busy like since the place is so small but very popular. Parking is well below average since I only knew of street parking, not sure if there is a secret lot or parking garage. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back. I can get the Naan bread from Costco. That is the only thing worth going to this place for... Sorry
(3)Sherylynn S.
This is a great place to eat! The food were awesome, gotta love Saffron rice and Vegetable Samosa! Another reason is that you can BYOD (Bring your own Drink) so I had a nice white wine along with my dinner plate :) The server, his name is George, did a wonderful job. His vibe were very considerate and positive so he deserved a well tip :)
(4)Ruchin G.
SIMPLY AVOID AND GO AT YOUR OWN RISK 1)Very very slow staff 2)Very rude ,non-professional and impolite 3)Wait 30 mins for getting anything 4)Waiter will forget your order 5)Will not recommend to any sensible person 6) they included tips even though the service was so shitty 7) Worst experience in HAWAII
(1)Emi L.
Combination for Two includes: -Giant Samosas with 2 types of chutney -Naan Bread (generous portions, more than you know what to do with) -Basmati Rice -2 Entrees We got the Beef Curry Masala & Chicken Korma. Both were delicious, but Beef Curry Masala was my favorite! Huge portions of each so that leaves tons for leftovers. Also, BYOB with no corkage fee but $1 charge per wine glass. Parking situation is tricky.. it's right next to/behind The Fat Greek, so there's the tiny lot right in front. Or there's the paid lot across the street but it's pretty pricey from what I remember (numbered stalls, pay machine).
(4)Christa Lei S.
My brother loves this place, but it's a "meh" for me. It's not bad-- they're very kind here, and they have decent Indian food, and a really great glass of mango lassi. But the wait is KILLER! We went here during lunch and it took us an hour just to get our food. They also screwed up my lassi order, but it's okay-- I don't mind getting mango lassi, I just wanted to try the rose lassi. We got the order for 2-- which is MORE than enough for 2 people. I wish they had the butter chicken for lunch time-- then I'd spend more money lol. I've been here a couple times before and I've had better experiences. This last time put me off for some reason though. They really need more waitstaff, and the lamb chunks (lamb tikka masala) were too big, and for some reason not too flavorful. The chicken korma, I understand, but for lamb tikka masala-- I expected more. Thankfully the lassi and the naan more than make up for it. Also: PARKING HERE IS A NIGHTMARE. You're better off parking across the street.
(3)Sonam S.
We had the vegetarian lunch (matar paneer with chana masala and garlic naan) with papadam and vegetable pakora as starters. Also had the hot masala chai. 5 star for the masala chai, garlic naan and matar paneer 5 star for the excellent service The vegetable pakora were overdone. Would definitely come back here if we are in the neighborhood.
(4)Helen C.
This review should really be a 3.5 star, but I'll round up because the positives triumphed. The food was awesome. I wiped my plate clean! I had the Curry Chicken Masala, Lamb Saag, Buttered Nan, and a half order of rice -- all of which I happily recommend. This was way more than enough for a two person meal. I took it home and had leftovers for lunch the next day. Still good when heated. Negatives: Parking was pretty horrendous with the really tight lanes and limited stalls shared among five different restaurants. I parked across the street in the paid public parking by City Mill. $5 for the entire evening =/. Service was quite slow for a Friday night (8 - 9PM) but our waiter consistently checked up on us. This isn't a good choice if you're starving and expecting a quick meal but it's otherwise a fantastic option for Indian food.
(4)Nica N.
Everything was just okay. Maybe I'm spoiled because I grew up eating great Indian food. I had the chicken korma and beef masala curry with the naan and rice. I thought the curry tasted fine, but it was really oily. The naan and the rice was good.
(3)Geoff G.
I normally order take-out from Cafe Taj Mahal as it's my local Indian restaurant. The food has always been tasty and piping hot and it normally takes around 20 mins to get ready. If you order a combo for one it's usually enough to feed three people, if you get another portion of rice. Being from England, I've grown up on curry and this is a good try. Not quite 5 stars but very close.
(4)Jonalynn M.
I am very picky when it comes to Indian cuisine, so pardon my review if you are not as picky! I found the Chicken Curry to be a bit too...taragon-y. Furthermore, my admiration for a spicy onion chutney to go with Samosa's is a big deciding factor in my opinion on the establishment, and this particular Cafe did not have ANY onion chutney so I was a bit disappointed. Overall though, I give this place a C. The food was OK. The service was OK. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was fantastic either!
(3)Jason P.
The lamb naan is supppper onnnnno
(5)Chelsea M.
My boyfriend and I ate here a week or two ago. We got the Spicy Chicken and it was HOT. I love spicy but you could feel the burn long after you ate. It was really good and if the prices were more "college-student friendly" I would definitely come back at least once a week. Pros: -great, authentic Indian food -entertaining environment -great for dates and family -friendly service Cons: -Prices/Costs
(3)Toshio I.
Love this place. Lunch is cheap and tasty. Try the appetizers. Papadum(lentil crackers) so you can get the plum and yogurt dips to use for everything else. Samosa, pakoras, all tasty. The lassis could use more blended ice but there were also good. For a restaurant that's been around for awhile, flavor hasn't changed.
(5)Nicole M.
*update 7/5: they fixed/got a new AC! it was no longer super hot and thus so amaze as usual! My god. it is super hot up in here. like seriously, I was sweating like I was standing in the hot sun. I ended up taking half out food to go just to eat it at home in the AC lol and I tried to take some selfies but we were both sweaty and they came out terrible. but BYOB so we had some cold hard cider to help :) that aside, we got the combo dinner for two and it was A LOT. but it's everything you'd want anyway, 2 samosas (perfectly crunchy and filled with goodness), 2 GIANT Naan (seriously two people could eat one together but we also upgraded to garlic and butter for an extra charge), a platter of rice, and two entree choices. I'm not vegetarian but I recommend palak paneer at any Indian food place, it's spinach and cheese cubes, but I got the eggplant Sish korma and it was yum. the chicken saag was my favorite, creamy spinach and boneless chicken... did I mention our server was super cool? he answered our questions and suggested the combo and he was right on about everything and just a cool guy. I will def return for take out ! I love Indian food, In fact I worked at a curry place before, and this did not disappoint.
(5)Nicole P.
Went here with my roommate to try something new and it wasn't bad. We shard the combination for 2 people. That came with 2 veggie samosas which we both didn't like that much, rice, chicken masala, and chicken vindaloo and 2 naans. The chicken masala was the better of the two but both were okay. The naan was good but very pizza dough like lol. The place is small but nice and it's bring your own drinks.
(3)Angie K.
COCKAROACH ALERT: If I could give this place zero stars I would. Just tried to have lunch there with my husband and although the service was nice I FOUND A COCKAROACH IN MY FOOD. WTF OMG. I was already 3 bites into my Chicken Korma meal and there it was. I am horrified and traumatized.
(1)Krysten I.
Cafe Taj Mahal is located in the little area of restaurants across the street from city mill kaimuki. It shares a small parking lot with sushi man, the fat Greek and Sabrina's. Cafe Taj Mahal is a little hidden, but the restaurant itself is pretty spacious. My friends and I came for lunch. We were hungry for some good Indian food and decided on sharing the mix for 2 and an appetizer. It was a lot of food; we barely finished it. The mix includes your choice of vegetable, chicken and lamb dishes. You can also choose to have 2 servings of rice, 2 servings of naan or one of each. We tried the potato/cauliflower dish, the chicken curry masala and the lamb saag. We ordered both the rice and the naan and a side of samosas. Everything was DELICIOUS!! The dishes were a little spicy, but good. And even though they look small, everything was very filling. For $33 (not including tip), it was a good deal for flavorful food. The restaurant is a little hot, but I'll tough it out and be back because I love Indian food :)
(5)Cathy T.
It's fitting that this cafe is named after a famous building that was built as a symbol of love. Because that's the only word I need to talk about Cafe Taj Mahal. Love. Love. Love. Most Indian places that I've been to have service that ranges from meh to god-awful terrible but Taj Mahal is an exception. Now, I've only been here at lunch time but the young lady who was my waitress was great! They offer a limited menu at lunch time with only the plain or topped naan (no filled ones sadly) but I am happy to report that the naan here is Gigantic. Seriously, it's bigger than my head. It's also crazy delicious so please eat some even if you're carb/gluten free. Just indulge for my sake please! My friends and I are bread-o-philes so we also ordered the Aloo Paratha and Puri. They were delicious! We ate all of it. Then we were full. Womp womp womp. But we did as anyone would do and pushed on to eat the vegetable samosas, Chicken Saag, Lamb Curry Masala, and a Lamb Vindalo. By the time we were done feasting we basically felt like we had traveled around the world and gained 10 lbs each. Someone (not me! I swear!) even had to unbutton their jeans.... it was that serious. The parking situation is pretty bad though so just be aware. And wear stretchy pants. Just in case.
(5)JenJen D.
I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. I come here all the time and wish I lived closer.. the food is always delicious and the owner is very gracious and friendly.
(5)Thomas R.
Food is good and masala chai tea is great. Service is friendly but very slow. Seems like the kind of place with one server, one cook and maybe one helper in the back. Decor is simple. Overall I would say it is nice enough of you have time.
(3)Karen S.
Get the meal for three. It serves four easly. Love the lamb and chicken dishes. Spice level can high medium or low. Great staff and prompt attentive service.
(5)Amber T.
So my family and I have family themed dinner nights, and the next upcoming night is: Indian Night. We go all out for these, and try really hard to be authentic. But my parents have never eaten Indian food in their lives! So we decided to try this restaurant to acclimate our pallets to Indian food. We got to try eggplant pakora with tamarind and mint yogurt sauce, chicken stuffed naan, vegetable and chicken samosas, chicken masala curry, and yellow rice. The eggplant pakora was very good, the mint yogurt sauce was my favorite and flavorful. The chicken naan was very filling, it was like a cheese chicken pizza. Honestly, I could just be full ordering the stuffed naan, it's very affordable and tasty for the amount you get. The chicken masala curry and yellow rice were standard, always love the flavors in those dishes. But wow their samosas were awesome! We even got lucky because their was a mistake on our order, so we were given the chicken samosa for free! Overall this was a great first experience of Indian food for my parents. With this, we've been inspired for our own dishes for our Indian night. Hopefully they turn out just as good!
(4)AJ W.
Ok, like people have said, the food is great! Definitely one of the better/best Indian spots on the island. However it's the little things like not being able to call them or them not being open when the store hours clearly state they should be. I drove from Kailua to meet my friends there and there was no one there! Tried calling... Nope. Looking forward to bringing my family down, hope they are open when I do!
(3)Michelle R.
A good place for flavorful Indian food and portions are big while prices are good. The naan bread was very fresh and crispy. The vegetable samosa appetizer was very flavorful despite having no meat. It was like a vegetable pie in an andagi crust. It came with two dipping sauces, yogurt and tamarind, the tamarind has a nice spunky kick. Recommended! The chicken curry and other chicken dish that started with a "J" were very rich and tasted like there was a lot of time put into cooking them. Nicely stewed so all the ingredients marinate well. The chicken was plentiful in both dishes and soaked through with stew flavor. Very delicious and reasonably priced! The lassie is a sweet yogurt drink. It was like a light smoothie. I got the rose flavor, it was interesting. Reminded me of banana and strawberry taste. It was a bit sweet but it helped balance the intense flavor from the entrees.
(4)Millie S.
The temperature in the restaurant was 86 degrees. I will never go back there. We were there for lunch.We were dripping with sweat and it to them 1/2 hour to bring our food. Get take out and find a cool spot under a tree to eat it. I have no comment on the food. There were no pictures of the food. ???
(1)C V.
Soooo good! This was my first time at this restaurant and only second time eating Indian food, so I was a little hesitant. But I'm glad I tried it! Everything is fresh and made to order, so expect a little wait. But it's so worth it! Of course we had to have their naan, so we got one plain and one garlic.. Amazing! So warm and fresh! The chicken and lamb biryani is super good and the portion size is huge! We also got the lamb vindaloo and butter chicken, and both were really good and tasty! Both the chicken and lamb were extremely tender. The only reason for 4/5 stars is because of the parking. There's only a small amount of parking and they are pretty tight, especially if you have a bigger car. I will definitely be coming back. And dont forget, it's BYOB! :)
(4)Savannah P.
Stop making people fools! Forget about the food for a second, the customer service here is TERRIBLE! Ordered the vegetarian samosas and they were a step up from the ones we had at Chutney; the seasonings were there, however, the pastry shell was overly doughy. Ordered Chicken Vindaloo and Onion Kulcha for our main. The onion kulcha was not prepared right. The onions inside were not cooked and raw and bitter instead & the dough was raw. I'm sorry but we're not going to eat raw dough and get sick. We brought it up to the waiter and it ended up going back and forth between them and the chef to see what they could do. I simply requested that they switch it out with a regular naan. Nope not able to replace it. What? Eventually it started getting into an argument, "The chef is from Bangladesh and this is how they make it" Well you know what, any kulcha is originally from North India not Bangladesh and if you know how your food is *supposed* to be cooked and prepared, it surely wasn't here. Food is about creativity. If your going to make something and call it Indian please cook it right and use proper ingredients! What ever happened to "Your never supposed to argue with the customer?" After a short while we decided to leave and only paid for the samosas we ate and the waiter came out with the naan saying we asked for it and we had to pay. Not with that kind of service. The vindaloo had Tikka or according to the chef been bqq'd before cooking it in a curry. Why on Earth are bbq'd / chicken tikka pieces used in a vindaloo?! What a shame, customers being fooled for what Indian food is. Traditional Indian cuisine names picked randomly and not even cooked properly. Based on the customer service we experienced here and poor quality food, I definitely won't be coming back here again.
(1)Adino E.
Ordered Lamb and got beef. Setting was somewhat warm. water served once and u have to look for service; frustrating for a small, one-room place.
(2)Lehua S.
Its a small hole in the wall place, but still very cute. Perfect for a date night or a small get together with some wine and the girls. The garlic and cheese Naan was soooooooo good. This place is also BYOB as a lot of the Honolulu Indian places are. Portions are good and big as well! This place is also open more than some of the other nearby places. OH ! I also love the Bollywood movies they have on the tv!!!!!!!!! love it!
(4)HarshCritic A.
This was our first time eating Indian food. We weren't sure what to expect but wanted something other than the usual japanese, korean, chinese, local food... As we were walking to the restaurant we asked ourselves do they give us utensils, which hand do we eat with, hope not everything is spicy as hell... I'm glad to say we were wrong lol. The waiter seated us promptly and once I told him we had never tried Indian food he went and explained every dish to us and recommended few to try. We got the combo for 2 with butter chicken, lamb marsala, plain and garlic naan. First thing that came out was vegetable samosas. Huge deep fried dumpling filled with vegetables. Awesome app especially with the yogurt and chutney sauces. Rest of the dishes were great as well. Dipping the naan bread in the curry sauce was the best. They also brought out a huge plate of rice that went awesome with the dishes too. We had so much food we didn't even make a dent and took home more than enough for few more meals. Great food, awesome and very attentive servers, all that food for under $50, we will definitely be back soon.
(5)Ashley K.
First time trying Indian food so I really didn't know what I was getting into. Luckily one of my closest friends recommended this place, it's her favorite. So we decided to come here for dinner. Shared the combination dinner for two. Started off with two GIANT samosas, delicious! Piping hot but omfg YUMYUMYUM! Tried it with the tamarind sauce, amazing. Then with the mint yogurt sauce, omg even better! Then after our appetizer came our main entree. I had the Chicken Curry Masala and my friend had the Kashmiri Chicken. Yum to both!! In our dinner we also got two HUGE buttered naans and huge portion of rice. Seriously why have I not been to this place before??! Safe to say...I will definitely be back!
(5)Doris D.
Cafe Taj Mahal remains one of my favorite places to get Indian cuisine. Granted, the choice of Indian restaurants here is very slim but Taj Mahal delivers in all respects, and I would place them way ahead of Maharani, the main competition. We got saag (excellent), garlic naan (awesome), lamb vindaloo (excellent), vegetable samosas (delicious), fish masala (tasty), dahl sambar (excellent), and warm carrot halva (delicious). All in all, a feast! We had plenty left over to take home for the four of us. Service is attentive and friendly as usual, parking can be iffy, and the atmosphere is inviting. Reservations are recommended.
(5)Hannah U.
We are fans of this restaurant. The food is very good, and the staff are friendly. The reason it does not get 5 stars is because the parking lot is very difficult to navigate in. The price of the food is a bit high. Having a t.v. on the wall is not a bonus. Sometimes they have tacky t.v. shows playing. Charging $6 just for rice leaves them a lot of profit. Overall, the food prices seem high, but again, the food is very good. I wish they served halal chicken, etc. All said, we like this place and will keep going back. In spite of the areas of concern, this place is highly recommended. The food is great.
(4)Rodrigo D.
Great place with great food and friendly staff. This is my favorite place to eat on this side of the island.
(5)Nelly J.
After watching A Bollywood Robin Hood, I've been wanting to eat Indian food and I couldn't wait until next week Wednesday when India Cafe comes to my workplace. Although their food is good too but I digress. This is supposed to be a review for Cafe Taj Mahal. This little hidden treasure is a little hard to find tucked away behind a couple of other restaurants. Parking was easy for my little Prius c but be careful about traffic direction. It was surprisingly empty for dinner time but there were quite a bit of phone orders and I finally realized why. It's hot in here! I was starting to sweat even before I ordered the food. They have two monitors that played Indian music videos that occupied our time until the food came. Food portions are generous. The $40ish combo for two could've been for three or four. Samosa came out first and was as big as my fist and oh so delish. Then came the fish in coconut sauce and beef vindalo and rice and gigantic pieces of naan. The beef vindalo was spicy but the heat disappeared as quickly as it came on. The fish was my favorite with a nice balance of flavors. I like the rice and the naan but I wish I paid the $1 more for garlic. No space for dessert but maybe next time. I thought service was pretty good. Got my water filled without having to ask. But again only two other parties besides me. If the place was busy, not too sure...
(4)Russ C.
The folks that work here are super nice and the place is clean. Those are the only good things I can say. I've honestly never had more tasteless and unsatisfying Indian food. The chicken all tasted like a flavorless blob. The sauces were seasoned horribly. The naan even lacked any decent flavor. We ended up throwing away the bulk of our $75 in food.
(1)Alisyn J.
I have waited a very long time to write this review, almost long enough to try every item on the menu! my favorite are the lamb dishes because I don't ever cook lamb at home and here it is always tender juicy and delicious! They make fresh mint chutney which I could eat as a meal itself, and the prices are very reasonable. we love to get takeout, the dining it is also great because you get to enjoy Bollywood videos while you eat...love it! the only way cafe Taj Mahal could get better would be if they had a customer reward program (like buy 6 get one free) or free delivery...must try!
(5)Charlie C.
Parking is limited, but I knew the area and so I didn't even bother to see if there was an available stall. We parked across the street at a pre-paid lot in front of City Mill. Food was great! We ordered more than we could eat. We ordered the 2-person combo meal and a few other entrees and naan bread for a group of 5 people. My favorite was the chicken kofta masala (chicken meatball) and the fish malabari....but, definitely the chicken kofta masala. I think that will be my usual now. Stuffed naan bread is good too, especially the stuffed cheese and stuffed potatoes. Server was upbeat and helpful in explaining the variety of dishes.
(5)Angela M.
About every three or four weeks, my husband and I are overwhelmed with the need to visit Cafe Taj Mahal. Though instead of saying "Let's go eat at Cafe Taj Mahal" we say "Let's go see Kawser", the delightful son of the owner who works weekends, knows our order, and provides both excellent service and dinner banter. We also love San (I have spelled this phonetically, I'm sure its spelling is much more complex), who is efficient and wonderful as well. Now to the main element of this post: HOW TO FEAST AT CAFE TAJ MAHAL: Order these dishes: 1) Samosas. These are gigantic. Shockingly huge. If they were more circular I would stuff them in my bra. And they come with the worlds most delicious tamarind chutney paired with an exquisite yogurt sauce. 2) Naan with garlic, cilantro, AND onion. This isn't on the menu, just have faith that it exists and order it. Good LORD this will be the greatest naan you have ever tasted during your meager existence on this earth. Even if you are somewhat intolerant of gluten, as I am, it will be worth the pain and suffering. Unless you go into anaphylactic shock, as few things are worth losing your ability to breathe. If you have an anaphylactic reaction to wheat, don't eat the naan. Okay then. 3) Indian Salad. A trio of cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes with a magical vinaigrette that transforms what I refer to as "the revolting raw onion" to refreshing and lovely. Buy this. It makes your meal instantly healthy. Because it's a salad. 4) Coconut Rice. Amaze balls rice full of treasures and delights. It doesn't taste like coconut. 5) Aloo Palak. This will make your muscles big. If you've never experienced this spinach dish, it looks like sludge. Or the early poo of an infant. Fortunately, it tastes far better than sludge or poo. Palak Paneer is also an excellent, slightly richer, choice. 6) Mix Vegetable Masala. If you don't order this yumminess, your meal will be too rich. Trust me. 7) Eggplant Shish Korma. Incredible taste sensations you did not think you could experience from a dish with "eggplant" in it title. Seriously, you MUST order this. MUST. ORDER IT. IT'S AWESOME. 8) Double dessert halva and kheer. Halva is a glorified Cream of Wheat that is indeed glorious. Kheer is rice pudding and I am addicted to it. Having them simultaneously will make your brains burst. "But this menu has no meat, snivel snivel..." QUIT YOUR WHINING. If you cannot experience a single meal without stuffing flesh down your gullet, add on some tandoori chicken. There, problem solved. I now must admit that the above menu is what we order for the... two of us. Yes, two. Yes, the portions are generous. Yes, the food fills our entire table. Yes, we get glances of surprise from the other patrons and have even been openly laughed at. But when we go home and have at least 3 good meals of deliciousness to enjoy in the days to come, we get the last laugh. Ha ha haaaaaa. Ha.
(5)Evam W.
Ok I need to start with an apology. I cannot believe I managed to miss putting one of my $20's in the bill. The waiter we thought we were giving a great tip to, had to catch us in our car to settle the bill. WHOOPS! Anyway, the review...I have been looking for a specific style of lamb or chicken Biryani since tasting it in northern India. This is the place I have been looking for! Absolutely perfect. To top it off the family is wonderfully nice that owns the place (Bengali). Bravo!!
(5)Karen D.
Like a Bollywood movie, Cafe Taj Mahal pulls you in, makes you laugh, delivers a happy ending, and doesn't take itself too seriously. We were looking for a place that's not strictly vegetarian and didn't involve an hour-long wait. Cafe Taj Mahal filled the bill, offering tasty food, huge portions, friendly service, and reasonable prices. We ordered the combo dinner for two for $42, which included a vegetable samosa appetizer, two entrees of our choice (some entree selections have a small upcharge), jasmine rice pilaf, naan, and dipping sauces. Everything was fresh, piping hot, and delicious. We also had mango lassi yogurt drinks for dessert. Our server, while lacking a bit of polish, was really helpful and nice. He patiently answered our questions, offered suggestions based on what we wanted, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. The restaurant interior was small and very casual. Strangely, there were red and green light bulbs in the chandeliers, lending a quirky feel to the place. They also had a Salman Khan action movie playing with the sound turned up pretty loud--so our dinner was punctuated by BANG BANG, KER-POW, SCREEECH, THUD. Cafe Taj Mahal is located on the mauka/'ewa corner of Waialae and St. Louis Heights Dr., the same strip mall as The Fat Greek and Sabrina's. The tiny, shared lot is usually full, but there is a Diamond Parking lot across the street with an evening flat rate of $5. Like a Bollywood movie, the cafe is in some respects kind of funny without necessarily meaning to be. Nevertheless, it's a great option if you're in the mood for fresh Indian cuisine and really, really hungry! Yelp 365 Challenge 210/365
(4)J Z.
This review is based upon my first visit. Samosas +++++ Excellent! NIce & spicy. Tamarind sauce & yoghurt sauce served with samosas +++++ Excellent! Rice polau +++ Ok, it's fluffy rice - but what are those orange things in it? Palak paneer +++ Teensy hard pieces of paneer, but was at least spiced OK. Eggplant something... simply awful (sorry). It was horribly oily & had some kind of weird-tasting spice in it that ruined it. I'm guessing it was a mistake because no one in their right mind would make it like that. Naan +++ too much cheese (really) - more like pizza, but it did have an ok flavor. Kheer... +++ sweeeeeeet! Cleanliness + not really. Service +++++ friendly and not too slow. Decor, seating & cheesy Bollywood music videos... no plusses here. ZERO on the air con (it was on 87º... in other words, 'fan mode.' NOT cool. So basically it was sweltering inside. The front doors don't stay shut so the termites were coming in, too. I saw one fly into a lady's hair... it was all I could do to keep from freaking out.... omg. Parking sucks because they share a postage-stamp sized parking lot with 3 other restaurants. Park either across the street or across Waialae. Prices... steep for the quality. BUT if only samosas... worth every penny. I haven't given up, though & plan to return to try other dishes. I'll chalk this one up to a learning experience: I think I'll do take-out next time!
(3)Christella G.
My first time here tonight and the food was amazing. 3 stars mainly bc of service. I called to make reservations the staff was friendly. It was a busy sat evening. And he kindly enticed us to come in stating i didn't need reservations. I get there and there is no table never fear same wait staff there to please and pulled something together within 10 mins. Here's where it gets the three. The wait for the food was long at least 40 Mins for appi(veg samosa) and finally dinner came in an hr later. Yes a little longer then expected. We ordered lamb saag, chix masala, and yellow rice. The waiter came and brought all of what we ordered except the yellow rice. The stickler is he never once mentioned that they ran out of yellow rice until i informed him that we didn't order it. A little deceiving. Did he think i wouldn't notice?? Yellow or white who cares right??? At least tell us that they ran out and charge us for the right thing, or better yet comp us for it. Either way do the right thing and charge is right. Food pretty amazing 5 stars Food prep and wait time 1- 2 stars Service sweet, kind and not all there 2.0 stars Overall 3 stars. Prob gonna order take out next time.
(3)Lindsey S.
Great food, amazing hospitality, Great ambience! We were originally going to go to Café maharani, except, we read a review about how corrupt their business is. We decided to come here instead and we are extremely excited and shocked that their food is really good!! We used to think that café maharani was the best indian place on Island... Until we came here. Not only is the food just as good as Café Marani, they have a bigger place, more seating, it's brighter, it doesn't smell as bad as Cafe Mahani and their service EXCEEDS that of Cafe Majarani. The guys who served us were extremely nice and answered all of our questions in a polite and through manner. It really felt like they were there for us not just to get our money and kick us out the door.. Like we usually get treated and Cafe Maharani. This place is hidden behind that fat Greek restaurant, there is parking on the opposite side of the street, it's not a long walk at all. It's nice after you eat all the amazing food! We were very impressed with the naan bread. It was extremely fluffy and had a lot of flavor. My husband ordered the yellow rice. It was delicious and scrumptious and everything more. Check this place out, prices are very reasonable and you can't beat the friendly staff and great music videos that are playing constantly =]
(5)molly n.
This has got to be our favorite Indian restaurant. We probably ate here a dozen times in the past 2 years and we leave completely satisfied every single time. We usually stop in around 830 ish to avoid the dinner crowd and never had a problem getting seated. We bring our six pack of beer (it's byob) and order our usual which is: lamb vindaloo (sooo full of flavor and spice), saag paneer (hearty and perfect with the naan), and eggplant pakora (soo yummy with the dipping sauce). We usually get the same server and he's always pleasant and offers to keep our beer in the fridge!! Definitely our go to place when we're craving SPICES!!
(5)Kikuasu Y.
Super good Indian food and service! Lasses were yummy, great portions and awesome stuffed Naans!
(4)Michelle M.
Seems that Indian food is great to some...not so great for others. As for me, I love the stuff! And for now, this place has made it to my new favorite list. The service is subtle and laid back. The wait staff are pleasant and the food is pretty damn awesome! Came here with my favorite foodie friend & his mini-me because we were craving Indian but refused to go back to Maharani. Glad we did! Although the menu is like dejavu...definitely looked and read like the M spot...I was certainly glad that the service and the wait were more pleasant. Prices are consistent and the Bollywood videos playing were so much more entertaining in HD. LMAO Definitely planning to come back again whenever I'm in the mood for some vindaloo.
(4)A R.
Excellent customer service! Bad parking but we were glad that they had a parking lot. Food is definitely not Indian :( I can cook good Indian food and I can say with authority that this is not good Indian food. Word of advice to the owner - I really feel bad to give you two stars especially since you provide an excellent customer service. There are thousands of Indian food blogs which explain step by step recipes with pictures. You can just pick couple of those blogs and cook an excellent food! Also, please stop overloading your food with potatoes. It might look like a large portion but it doesn't taste good!
(2)Choad A.
It is quite true that the best places are holes in the wall. This one fits that bill. Parking sucks but it's easy to overlook that. We got three dishes, vegetable curry, chicken Tika masala, chicken curry. The first two were amazing with tons of flavor. The chicken curry was just ok. Not a lot of flavor but when mixed with the others it was better. It didn't feel like there was a/c so it got even warmer once the place started to fill up. Service was excellent and they are really nice. No one bugs you every 3 minutes trying to rush you out of there like most Americanized places. This was honestly the best Indian food we have had in years.
(4)Candy F.
Tasty food, great naan. Friendly service, but the dining room was 86 degrees.
(4)Divya P.
HORRIBLE Food & TERRIBLE Service !!! I m Indian, this is definitely not a good interpretation of Indian food. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone. Cons: 1. Wait time 1 hr after ordering the food 2. Server very rude 3. Did not bring the complete & correct order - forgot the naan & salad and when we asked him he completely ignored it and got it after we already finished our food- which was again 35 mins after he brought the food on table. He did not even apologize. 4. Taste of food was horrible. Pros: NONE
(1)A O.
Not recommended!! There is some hair in our food. Let the owner guy know but he pretended he does not understand. No sorry 2!! We won't come back agin! Can't trust their food. Sad...
(1)Alice C.
My girlfriends and I love Indian food. We usually go somewhere else but we figured we go to a different place for Indian food so we chose to come here. I was excited because I've had a couple recommendations from other yelp members telling me to try this place out. We came on a Friday night around 7:45 PM, my friend arrived first and let the server know that we had a party of three. It was pretty busy considering that the place isn't that big and there was only two servers. There were couple parties before us and they got seated and then there was a mixup where these two gentlemen that came after us were seated before us. But we didn't complain because there was another table open also but needed cleaning. I swear that table stayed dirty for a good 15 minutes while the servers would slowly and I mean EXTREMELY SLOWLY clean it up. Eventually we decided to just go in and sit on the table that by then ONLY needed to be wiped. I feel awful because the server was nice but she was just running my patience low. She took our order and we waited long for our food. Thank goodness its BYOB so we kept ourselves busy. The food was decent. we ordered garlic cheesy naan which was absolutely moist and delicious. As for curry we just ordered Eggplant tikka masala and Vegetable Korma and I would say that we've had better. Maybe my standards for curry have been preset already. By the time dinner was over, it was about 9:45 PM we waited a lot longer than it took us to eat and enjoy our food and when I got to my car, I found a note stuck to my door saying 'I saw your car get hit, I'm dining at Sabrinas' (which they were closed by the time I checked) the parking situation is ridiculous. Theres parking across the streets for $5 or theres limited parking and some whacky stalls. I'm not sure this experience was worth it for me to go back. Sorry Taj Mahal, I really wanted to enjoy it. I really hope you guys can train your servers to pick up the pace a little or be more attentive.
(3)Missy T.
If you want a food coma, eat here. For cereals, you'll KTFO on the ride home, so bring a DD for when you get food drunk. I'd recommend some Chicken Pakora shots and Vegetable Samosa bombs, follow up with a Butter Chicken chugging contest and chase everything with some Buttered Naan. You'll be Indian Girl Wasted in no time. Everything is ala carte, bring some friends and expect left overs. If you've been to Buca's then just order in the same fashion (i.e. maybe skip every other person so your table doesn't collapse under the weight of all the entrees). No alcohol, but I'm pretty sure the place is BYOB friendly. Staff is always super cool and helpful, so tip them well!
(4)Ian M.
We just recently arrived to Honolulu and were looking for some good Indian food. 2/5 stars for me. Not that the food was bad, just that the taste was underwhelming and average. I have certainly had better Indian food. In terms of the atmosphere, it's a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place. In terms of service, it was a bit slow. Unfortunately, I won't be returning.
(2)Aaron P.
The food here is different from every other Indian restraint I've eaten at. All homemade recipes, very good for lunch or dinner. Nice decor, very comfy with nice Bollywood videos playing that add some fun. Nice owner and servers!
(5)Gina B.
It was a close call for Cafe Taj Mahal today. The wait service was slow and the food arrival was even slower. The server was new and perhaps stoned (recovering from a 4/20 party?!) It was about 40 minutes from the time they took our order to when our food was brought out....at one point our server was refilling our water glasses when he asked if we needed anything else or wanted to order dessert. I was confused...i thought maybe he knew service was slow and wanted us to get our orders in now. But, my BF whose brain works faster than mine says: Um, we're still waiting to receive our food. Waiter profusely apologizes, mumbles some excuse about being new and 10 minutes later our food appears. I was concerned that the slow service would mean our food quality would be compromised but no, it was worth the wait. The rice was fluffy and "buttery." We ordered the Mix Thali for One with Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Dahl and Mixed Vegetable Masala. The serving bowls were overflowing, the meat tender and spice level perfect. In the end they brought us the wrong bill ($47 for two for lunch....definitely not ours!). I think the point of this story is, if the restaurant is full, if you're starving and if you don't have the time to wait for your food, reconsider your options. But even today's disappointing experience won't keep me away. The food is yummy and the prices are reasonable.
(3)Nancy H.
I l-o--v-e Indian food and this place serves it up quite well. We were a party of 6, and the waiters seemed a bit confused with our orders, but all came out as ordered, though service was a bit slow. The vegetable samosas for our appetizer were a bit 'bready' but the flavor was great: spicy and savory. The naan was just okay. For our mains, we had the Karahi shrimp, the Saag shrimp, and the chicken korma. All were amazing! The rice polau and yellow rice were also quite yummy. The waiters were quite excellent at keeping our water glasses filled, which is one of my indicators for decent service. I also like that they take reservations.
(4)K R.
A little hard to find if you are not familiar with Waikiki. Limited menu selection. Air conditioner wasn't working so not fun in 97 degree weather. Only one rest room and located outside, kind of like a old gas station where the waitress provides a key. At least it wasn't a hole in the floor. OMG that would have been a deal breaker.
(2)Chelsea A.
Oh my god, how have I never reviewed Taj Mahal? Literally our favorite place to eat on the island, hands down. In probably 30 visits, we've never had a bad meal and have tried a good portion of both the vegetarian (me) and meat (husband) dishes. Only once did we have only 'meh' service and I've never seen that waitress since. My favorites are the Eggplant Tikka Masala when I want something terrible for me (it's deep fried eggplant and it's SO. EFFING. GOOD.) and the Aloo Ghobi. My husband loves the Butter Chicken and Lamb Vindaloo and the Chicken Vindaloo--especially since they'll cook everything Indian Hot for him. I'm a wimp, but the man loves some spice. No meal is complete without naan, papadum, and usually vegetable pakora too. It's a wonder we can even walk out the door afterwards, to be honest. It's BYOB, there are great Indian music videos playing all the time, it's a family operation, it's affordable, it's delicious, and there's rarely if ever a wait. Meanwhile, there's a line out the door of a nearby mediocre Indian restaurant that shall remain nameless. Go figure. Anyway, this is definitely a restaurant to visit again and again. It's worth it to fight the parking lot.
(5)Yuko A.
Wow! Who knew that Maharani wasn't the only good Indian food restaurant in town, plus we didn't have to wait forever for a table! I came here because my friend had raved about how he thought it was the best place in town, and their naan was to die for....Well he got me there, I love naan, especially good naan. (Theirs was so good, we ordered one to bring home) We took a cab so we didn't have to deal with parking and were sat right away. They do take reservations FYI. It is a family run business so I think the parents are in the back cooking while their son waits/buses tables. Definitely a very relaxed atmosphere and the son was great, answering our questions, and checking up on us every once in a while. We didn't want to over-eat so we got 1 veggie pakoras, 1 lamb saag, 1 order of the coconut rice, and 2 orders of naan (1 which we had packed up to bring home) = $36 The veggie pakoras were crunchy and full of spices, and were seriously addicting. There were 6 pieces and we ate them no problem. They were served with two sauces, one was a sweet/spicy chutney and the other was a yogurt sauce. They left a nice kick in your mouth. The lamb saag was one of their house specialities and it is obvious why. The lamb was tender and the curry was spiced to perfection. The curry combined with the sweetness of the coconut rice with the raisins and nuts made for an absolutely delicious meal. I can't wait to come back and try some of their other dishes! Another plus was the great service! YELP 365: 104/365
(5)Rahjah-n-Terri D.
After having lunch here today I have to agree that this place is a definite go to place for Indian cuisine. Great tasting food and efficient friendly service!
(4)P. S.
Food (dinner) was a pleasant surprise. Try the masala chai. Parking is super-tight, may have to park in the adjoining lot. Decor is very simple, not at all fancy.
(4)Victoria C.
So the fiancé & I were heading to The Fat Greek for the first time but I really wasn't in a greek mood. Luckily we found Cafe TajMahal right in back of it.. not ever realizing there was an Indian restaurant there before. My fiancé, who's been recently into Indian cooking (random I know), was pretty ecstatic... and so was I since I really wasn't craving for Greek food. We decided to eat there instead of The Big Fat Greek (which I heard was good.. but will try another day). When we first got in, I noticed the place to be pretty nice & clean. It was a slow night... so lots of tables available. The menu had a pretty good selection of food. We ordered a couple of dishes... sorry don't know the exact names of it. But we got a lamb fried rice, garlic naan, a lamb curry and a fish curry type dish. I also ordered a vanilla lassi for myself because ever since I've had my first lassi from the India Cafe, I've been in love with this drink!! It's like a yogurt type milkshake that goes well with Indian food.. especially the spicier dishes! I must say that the TajMahal's lassi was MUCH better than the one I had at India Cafe and I was pleasantly surprised at how big the drink was. The glass was huge!! I was very content with my drink alone. As for the dishes.. the lamb fried rice was GINORMOUS! It's enough to share among 4 ppl. Being that it was only the 2 of us, we knew we would have left over for days. But that's okay because the fried rice was pretty bomb. It had big chunks of lamb and potatoes. Warning there's also hot peppers inside that were pretty smoking hot. I took a bite out of one and my mouth was burning. Thank goodness for my lassi! My fiancé on the other hand has a higher tolerance for spicy food and could it like it was nothing. The other 2 dishes were pretty good too. I was in love with fish coconut curry type dish. And as much as I'm not a lamb fan, the lamb curry was good. The meat was very tender so I didn't mind eating it. The only thing I had a problem with was the naan came out way after all our other dishes came out. We typically like to eat our naan with our food so we were kind of getting annoyed at how long it was taking. But I guess it was worth the wait cause there naan was hot & freshly made. It was so moist and fluffy!! I'm sooo in love with naan. Despite the long wait for the naan... and the server being a little slow?.. I had a very enjoyable experience at Cafe TajMahal. I will be back to try the other Indian dishes!!
(4)Diner S.
This is a poor excuse for an Indian restaurant. Having lived in India, I'm very familiar with Indian flavors from all regions. The food here is awful. Told the server, the Choley (chick peas) was overpowered by garlic and her response was ok. Air conditioning didn't work either.
(1)eshwar k.
HOLY CRAP this place is terrible. the worst interpretation of indian food i've ever had. bland and embarrassing. i guess when living on an island you gotta take what you can get, but realistically you should save eating indian food for when you get (back) to the mainland.
(1)Satzy P.
Great service. Rice and naan are amazing! Nice little spot. First time trying Indian food and this place will have me coming back for more!
(5)Arman B.
Okay, so we enter this area and no place to park so we go to the parking lot and pay $5. No big deal, we're expecting some good food. Go in and order. Clearly explain we want boneless tandoori chicken. Order placed, well guess what it wasn't what we ordered when we told the server it was apparent he wasn't going to do anything to replace it or offer even some kind of discount. So the actually tandoori chicken we ordered was the one with bone and it's a little burnt, no big deal. The problem is there is blood all over the plate. How can you possibly burn meat and still have blood dripping all over the plate. Bill came to $80 for barely any food which we are 10% of. It's way overpriced. You need to avoid this place at all costs!
(1)Megan L.
I feel sorry for the other restaurants that I used to go to whenever I was in town because now, every chance I get, I come here. I used to go to Maharani on King St. A LOT but this place is way better--way more consistent with the food and service, and there's no crazy wait time like Maharani. The only crap thing is the parking, but it's worth it, I promise you. My go to items and they're ALL WINNERS: Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo, Lamb Bryani, Garlic Cheese Naan, Butter Chicken. Yes, I get at least one order of each of these items every time i come here! and I usually get the curries at a 9.5 out of 10 spice level. Indian is probably my favorite food and I try it almost everywhere I travel to including New York, San Fransisco, L.A., etc. and I must say Cafe Taj Mahal holds their own. You will not be disappointed.
(5)Daniel K.
Best Indian food we've had in Hawaii. Great service, very clean and not too crowded. Had their chicken curry, red lentil with veggies and herb spices and buttered Naan. Don't forget to try their iced tea, you won't regret it. We'll be back for sure.
(5)Kimo S.
We love this place! Take wine and have lots of leftovers. Ask for mild if you do not like heat. The people are great to explain the order. Take out is best as you can have it ready and not have to wait. If you want to go to Maharani down the street you wait 30 minutes for service. Parking is all around but with several good places to eat there it may be across the road by City Mill for $5. Prices are good but portions are large, food can be all at once so order an appetizer to slow the delivery time down. Try new things each time. Chicken Marsala, Lamb Saag, Panek (palak) Paneer can be in the combo diner with rice and Naan with Appitizer! Your own wine or beer from Tamura's and the best in town to be had for the price. About $20 a head if 4 or more. Order extra rice and Naan to take home.Not vegan.
(5)Ana K.
Best Indian food I've had in Hawaii so far. Amazing service as well. Had the chicken curry with red lentils and buttered naan. Definitely coming back.
(5)Satoko P.
Service is not so good. I had to wait outside but they never call us that table was ready. I think they need more people to work or better management. Food was okay.... It wasn't what I expected from hearing about this place from people. Menu was stink and oily. Why?!?!
(2)Kimee B.
After eating here tonight all I want to do is climb the highest coconut tree and sing, "GAAARLLIIIIIC NAAAAAN," but unfortunately I am too stuffed from all the delicious Indian food to even think about climbing tree. I'll be surprised if I can even climb into our SUV. The boyfriend and I HEART Indian food and we were super stoked to find a place in Hawaii that not only serves it up right, but is nice to you too. After our AWFUL experience at another local Indian restaurant (CAFEcoughcoughMAHARANI....ooops, did I say that?) we thought our lamb saag eating days were over. We had heard from other friends that this was the place to go, so we decided to check it out tonight since it seemed like the perfect rainy day in Hawaii meal. It was smaller than I expected, but I liked that it felt homey...and not, "Ooooh, I feel like I'm at my messy Aunty's house" homey, but "OOOH...I feel like I'm at my FAVORITE Aunty's house that has traveled the world and is currently into Bollywood films" homey. Does that make sense? Basically...it's comfortable, clean and chill. We only waited about 10 minutes for a table and ordered right away. The staff was apologetic for having us wait, and said that it was a busy night. I thought that was sweet of them since we hadn't really waited that long and they were quick to greet us with water and take down our order. They have a lot of great options including some good deals on "combo dinners" but we decided to order ala carte. Our order...excuse me, our FIRST order: Garlic Naan Lamb Saag Chicken Curry Masala Basmati Rice Hot Tea We also brought our own bottle of wine just in case they were BYOB...and they are! They only charged us a $1 per glass...so a $2 corkage fee for us...AWESOME. My hot tea was simple and delish. Sweet...just how I like it. Our Naan came out right away and the starving BF scarfed it down! The Naan was cut into four pieces and I had to remind him that he had already eaten two slices, so that I could have my equal share. I ended up splitting my 2nd piece with him 'cause I'm cool like that. He still wanted more though. Our SECOND order: Garlic, Onion and Cilantro Naan *note: extra toppings will cost you a little extra* The rest of our first order wasn't too far behind our Naan and it looked and smelled DELICIOUS!!! I love me some lamb, so I went straight for that sucker. When choosing a rice to go with our meal, we had originally thought of getting the "yellow rice" but the nice and knowledgable waiter suggested we go with the basmati. Although a simple suggestion, I LOVE it when servers give them. Especially when the thing they suggest is cheaper than what you had originally wanted. Then you know they mean it and aren't going for that extra dollah dollah bill. The portions were large and although we could have kept eating the yummy food until they kicked us out, the BF and I decided to take the rest home. Even with a starving 6' 3" tall dude at my table...we had A LOT of leftovers. We did end up eating all the rice though...which led us to our third order. Our THIRD order: Half portion of basmati rice to go We were thinking about dessert, but they were out of the 2 items that we wanted. This is the only semi-bad thing that happened...but everything else was so awesome that it was no biggie. We just drove down the street to Zippys and got some bakery goodies to take home. Our bill came out to about $50 and we didn't even blink. It was exactly what it should've been...especially since we were going to enjoy it for lunch the next day. The moral of the story is that we are FANS of Cafe Taj Mahal! I'm sure this will be one of our new "go to" spots. Taj Mahal-o to the staff....we will DEFINITELY be seeing you soon!
(4)Tai M.
Found out this place has been around since 2008, but I only happened upon it when I went to Sabrina's one night. The décor is simple but nice, and the place is clean. I like the lighting. The service is great. The two guys who waited on us were very nice. We ordered a tomato-based lamb/veggie curry, lamb masala, raita and naan, and veggie samosas. The curries were good, but I realized that I can't really tell a difference in curry from Himlayan Kitchen to Maharani to Taj Majal. I KNOW I love the lamb bhuna at HK but I can't go back there (read review). My palette isn't that advanced when it comes to indian curries. The naan and raita were good, but naan at Maharani is better - a little crispier. This naan was better than HK. We went on a Sunday night around 6pm and there were only a handful of people in there. By the time we left around 7pm, the place was packed. I don't think there was an empty table. Overall, good dinner and I wil definitely go back. We want to try the sampler so we can try several curries at once. Gotta work on my curries!
(4)Alyssa S.
Love this place! Good Indian food and huge portions, always tons of leftovers! Small restaurant with great service.
(5)Alt K.
I genuinely enjoy this place. We have been here three times and every time we leave feeling satisfied, enriched, and in awe of the unique and distinctive flavors that Café Taj Mahal (CTM) provides. When we go we often stand out as one of the few guests who obviously have no Indian heritage, but that's okay to me this is a wonderful sign of a place that serves authentic cuisine. In light of this fact I so appreciate how CTM offers kind, unpretentious service that is willing to patiently talk the uninitiated through a menu that promises to be foreign and unfamiliar to most local palates. For appetizers try their Dahl Puri Nan with lentils - delicious fried bread that is lightly stuffed with subtle favors and zingy dipping sauces. The mains are all good, but order them mild unless you are one who enjoys heat, and be sure to finish your meal with a Lassie sweet yogurt drink - so ono and refreshing. So if you are feeling adventurous and wanting to expand your favor spectrum give CTM a try, you won't be disappointed.
(5)Victoria S.
Not vegan friendly. All of their rice is cooked in ghee, so the only starch option to order with your meal is chapati, a dry, tasteless wheat flat bread, not what I look for when I go get Indian food! Also, I had the vegetable masala, and it was watery and lacked the rich flavor I look for in Indian food. I was pretty disappointed with my meal.
(2)Russel M.
Great Choice for Indian Food for Lunch. Most menu items are above average and service is good. Parking kinda sucks but that's the way it goes. If it's dinnertime Maharani is our first choice but Taj is a decent alternative.
(4)Julia F.
I pretty much love all things curry. And this location is conveniently located close to where I live, and have eaten here a couple of times. Each time I come though, I just cant help comparing it to food from Cafe Maharani; my fave Indian place in Honolulu. Cafe Taj Mahal is just lacking in that WOW! factor for me. The food though good, is just a bit more...expected. On my last visit, service seemed very slow. We arrived a bit past 8:30 but didn't get our meal until about 9:20 ish. The vegetable samosa we ordered was cold in the middle. Sure, the outside crust was hot, but the disappointment you feel when your teeth hit cold mashed potato inside is depressing. We also had the Butter Chicken and Lamb Saag. The lamb was chewy and stringy (hard to chew, not melt in your mouth), but the sauce part was good. Butter chicken had a nice spicy-ness to it, complimenting the rice. The naan was crisped up nicely. I also enjoyed to two sauces/chutneys served with the samosas. As I said, all the food is good. It's hard to say exactly what is missing, but to me it just doesn't have the punch, the flavor explosion, the oomph factor I want in my curries. I will always prefer Cafe Maharani, but Taj Mahal is a decent option in a pinch.
(3)Alison F.
The garlic naan is DELICIOUS! I also had the tiki masala chicken. I like the sauce to be really smooth...this one was gritty...but I'm just happy there's Indian food around.
(3)Claire L.
So we've been sitting here an hour- we're sitting here still actually, and all we've received so far is 2 lassi drinks. This place is RIDICULOUSLY SLOW and it isn't even crowded. It's half empty at best. The food is pretty OK, the best part is that it's cheap. It's pretty flavorless, just bland or spicy. I'm disappointed because this restaurant used to be good but it is clearly deteriorated.
(2)Travis D.
If you don't know where it is, it's located right by where Soul (chicken and waffle place) used to be. Came here on a Saturday evening at about 7PM and parked across the street for 5 dollars. If you want not to pay 5 dollars, I recommend heading west on Waialae in order to get into the restaurant parking. My two friends from college and friend from work took our time trying to choose something to eat. I briefly looked at Jayson N.'s review which recommended chicken korma. I know nothing about Indian cuisine and was pretty overwhelmed, but the menu had helpful descriptions of each dish and the waiter also provided great assistance. We each ordered a dish, but I only tasted the following: 1) Chicken korma - Reminded me of chicken panang from Champa Thai. Creamy because of the yogurt with a hint of coconut and nice spicy kick to get your metabolism going. 2) Chicken tikka diopalazzo - Sizzling dish with cubes of chicken with tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables. More peppery tasting than the korma. The meals on the back come with naan and salad. My favorite would have to be the chicken korma as recommended by Jayson N. The four of us stuffed our faces attempting to finish all the food, but failed respectably. I recommend ordering three dishes for four people. At about $16-$17 each, you will get to try each others food without breaking the bank or worrying about wasting food. If you're worried about getting diarrhea, don't. However, your flatulations the next day will have a unique quality to them. The food is worth the wait and the next-day fragrance. P.S. I' apologize if I misspelled the dishes. Sorry!
(4)Dawn H.
This place rocks!! Go early, they open at 5 p.m. In fact my friend and I make sure we are the first ones in there. The service can be slow since it's a family run business but the food is soooooooo worth the wait. You can get the Feast for Two and choose any two dishes you want. They give you an order of fluffly fragrant rice and 2 gianormous pieces of Naan bread - right out of the tandoori oven!! DAMN! The bread is killer- best Naan I have EVER had and I've eaten Indian all over the USA. If you like Chicken - The Butter Chicken kicks ass. If you like Vegetarian - the veggie dal Chef's specialty is nice and tomato based. The Rose lassi is sweet and exotic. The feast for two also comes with Samosas - these are quite large and so tasty filled with veggies and a tamarind dipping sauce as well as a mint yogurt sauce. If you ever crave Indian - hit this joint. It's a little unknown place behind The Fat Greek off Waialae. I love love love this place and it's worth sharing the secret. Indian food in Hawaii is a rarity.
(5)Mahina C.
I always over order everytime i eat at an indian restaurant. I swear it never fails, but not this time! Cafe TajMahal is located in a small venue behind Fat Greek, you'll find this indian food palace. I'm sure it's BYOB since I saw some ladies bring in their own wine. This place just makes me wanna bollywood every where. They have two TV's in the corners playing bollywood music videos through your experience so beware of itching for shoulder movements when you leave. It wasn't busy at all,k but granted we went at 6pm and the parking, holy hell....The parking is HORRIBLE! Seriously, I would give this place 5 stars if they didn't have a small lot with a one way in & out and was sharing with 3 other places. Highly recommend for 2 just getting 1 curry to share and naan and rice. That stuff esp the starch will fill you up very quickly! They don't have any madras curry, but they did offer marsala and vindaloo which is most common. Also this place offers beef curry dished as well, so it must not be THAT indian since they serve beef. haha
(4)Emma P.
It's hard not to compare Taj Mahal with Maharani, but I'll try to limit myself to this: I prefer Taj Mahal with its minimal to no wait time (I've always made reservations or phoned for take-out, however), helpful staff (water that is actually refilled -- and often!), roomy tables and seating, and food that is heaven on a plate. The parking is competitive, what with Soul and the Fat Greek sharing the same lot. But it's worth it, guys. Taking a hike up to Saint Louis heights to fetch your car after such a filling meal may even be a solution. I've recently converted my sister to Taj Mahal since she is still in mourning over India House (RIP). We have entire conversations over the prospect of butter chicken. Seriously! I'm also a big fan of the deep fried eggplant (it's... almost healthy). Their naan bread is of the huge and dense variety, which is right up my alley. I used to love lamb curry like no other, but theirs isn't to my taste (I like a thicker consistency) -- which isn't a problem really since the portions are generous and it's best to be practical. Don't order more than you can stomach. Something I need to remind myself whenever I'm hit with the "well, I do enjoy my leftovers" excuse. Very hard not to pull that one out when the food is so good, as my experiences have been here.
(5)JJ L.
I mahal Cafe Tajmahal! I'm a semi-fan of Indian cuisine and I prefer Indian buffets over sit-down places for several reasons: 1. they're cheaper; 2. I don't have to fumble the pronunciations of babagamaleekshin chicken when ordering (sorry, that was rude); and 3. you choose the dish that tastes best and get full off that. Conversely, I'm intimidated by Indian dishes and their descriptions because everything translates into "herb and spice overload with [insert meat type here]." Back to Cafe Tajmahal -- I've wanted to eat here for a while. It's tucked in the corner or the corner market/restaurant spot off Waialae and St. Louis Heights Road (where the Sushi Man and Soul are). I wasn't too sure if this would be a seedy, stinky and weird dining experience because if you think about it, the Indian restaurant market is quite saturated in this neighborhood (I believe there are FOUR Indian restaurants within a 3 mile radius ... pretty weird for a tropical Hawaiian island, eh?). The greatest part of this was our initial greeting. I walked in with the hubs and some dude waved ... I thought it was someone the hubs knew until this guy grabbed two menus and offered us a table. That set the tone for the night. I have a terrible habit of looking at the ratings on yelp AFTER I've taken a seat and have been served a glass of water (I've actually cancelled my order at that one Thai place in Kailua because everyone on yelp was dissing it ... my poor mom really wanted that fried fish dish even though someone rated it a 1-star!). Hence, I was looking at the reviews and sifted through to read the "bad ones" - 2 or 1 star ratings. The few that I found were just talking about the slow or non-existent service, though nothing negative about the food. The food didn't disappoint. The helpings were decent and filling. It is a bit on the expensive side ... but it's well worth it if you want a good Indian dinner. We started with vegetable samosa that come with two dipping sauces -- a raita and mango chutney -- both of which are effin delicious I had to restrain my urge to spread it all over my fat face! The Butter Chicken was a little on the spicy side, so beware. I wasn't phased by it because I love it HOT! The Lamb Curry Masala was delicious because it was everything BUT gamey! I hate gamey lamb ... Cafe Tajmahal won't give you gamey lamb. The polau rice is enough for three or four people (even though the menu suggests it's meant for 1 or 2 people). I would suggest you go with the plain naan because our garlic butter naan was pretty much naan with minced garlic and butter on top (duh ... but you get what I'm trying to say!). The main dishes range in price from 10-18 bucks. Not a bad thing considering they get more expensive if you opt for lamb, fish or shrimp. There are several vegetarian choices, so you'd be able to accommodate everyone for dinner here! I'm going to try to come back here for lunch and see if the quality holds up. I liked how the service didn't disappoint even though I read that it sucked. What I didn't get is why those nay-sayers couldn't just focus on the Bollywood hotness playing on the 2 flat screens in the opposite corners of the dining room!?
(4)LeaDan Y.
Hands down my FAVORITE INDIAN RESTAURANT. Cafe Maharani used to be my favorite but waiting for 2 hours to eat hardly seems worth it now. The food is yummy, the service accommodating. Parking can be tricky and they often seem to have space because of their location.
(4)Adrian L.
This is my first choice for Indian food! I've gone to other Indian restaurants on Oahu that seem super popular but have servers that aren't knowledgeable about the food they serve. The staff at Taj Mahal know Indian food as most of the staff are family. I always order the Chicken Jalfrezi and my wife enjoys the Dal Sambar. Try the chutneys that we order with the papadam appetizer. It's also delicious! They are open for lunch and I think the lunch prices are super reasonable.
(5)Yazan M. A.
Worse food ever! Just paid 20 dollars for chicken masala, it was so bad that McChicken would've tasted better! Gosh unbelievable...
(1)Glenys Mae D.
Lamb vindaloo was so good!!! Beef samosa too. The place is great to chill with friends in. Relaxed atmosphere
(5)Schon H.
Grease, greasy rice greasy chicken grease laden sauce. Something has gone wrong at a once favorite restaurant. New cook maybe? bad...BAD, Oh MY If You WANT Burnt Tiny, no, Smaller Than Tiny Pieces Of Cheese With your bland spinach, try the pitiful excuse for palak paneer. However, they make the most wonderful Nan bread and vegetable samosas on the island.
(1)Ramesse M.
Went to go eat here and showed up at about 140 the wait staff told us they are closed for lunch. The sign outside clearly says 2:00.
(1)Miriam W.
Horrible parking situation. Excellent service, exceptional food. The food here is very similar to cafe maharani. Both places serve exceptional indian food.
(5)Mai Mai H.
#NAME?
(5)Ericka B.
"Would you like me to assign someone to butter your naan?" First time eating at an Indian restaurant, EVER. Clearly I've been missing out! The food was fantastico! We ordered coconut rice, chicken saag, butter chicken, eggplant shish korma, and buttered naan. I swear the chicken saag tasted just like chicken lau lau! SHAMAZE. I clearly enjoyed everything, but was especially fond of the buttered naan. When it first came out, it smelt like someone was making some popcorn. I regret not ordering more. Super good! It's also BYOB. Parking is a bit hard here, but there is a lot (which you have to pay for) across the street.
(4)Antonio Z.
Waited 25 minutes and no one came to take our order ! Really wanted to give this place a try ! I have never walked out of a restaurant in my life ! Tonight I did ! I will never return ! And I've been in this business for almost 30 years ! Inept in competent service !
(1)Kimo K.
Great Hindi food. No fear alibaba. BYOB and cheap prices good service handsome attentive guys love TV and trance Goa music and dance video wish they have dancing after hours hole in wall but clean and did I mention BYOB greatest nan and curry. Remodeled but need bigger TV
(4)Thomas J.
My wife and I stopped here on a Sunday night, and were greeted by a friendly front of the house staff We ordered the chicken masala curry and the vegetable corma curry My wife was happy that they have a large vegetarian selection on their menu as well as all the traditional Indian favorites The rice was beautiful and the naan delicious Dining area is small / quaint and filled up fast
(5)R M.
The place was a bit difficult to find and parking is a bit tough but the food is delicious and the service was amazing The portions are huge. Bring your own alcohol if you want to drink
(4)Annie W.
I have no other places to compare this place to but India cafe. I had the slightest clue what to order, but lucky we came with veterans, connoisseurs of Indian food. raita= chilled yogurt with cucumbers and was really super yummy. It does cool down all the spicy food we ordered naan= pizza looking bread, I think we ordered it plain and filled with onions. It's delicious as I used it to soak up the curry dishes mango chutney= odd, jam like, super sweet, tangy side of dipping sauce. It's thick and only pleasant in tiny doses. lamb biryani+rice= amazing dish, delicious chunks of tender lamb filled with tons of seasoned basmati looking rice. shrimp paste= I have no idea the name, but this dish is blended up and has a curry consistency. Use the nann or rice to eat. papadum= crispy wafer, surprisingly with a bit of spice and it was really fun eating them We ordered other beef dishes, chicken, some eggplants for appetizers and nearly tried every category on the menu. The lamb and raita with the crunchy cucumbers were my favorite dishes so far. Power is in the numbers. We had four couples, tried a little bit of everything, after tax and tip, it amounted to $40/couple. We definitely had leftovers for lunch and this place is BYOB. This is a sit down dinner, enjoy a bottle of wine while your food is cooking type of place. It's definitely worth the wait for freshly prepared food with great ingredients. I love spicy food, it's just I can't normally handle the spice. This place is quite flavorful, filled with spices, and definitely tolerable, even at my level. For those who have a sensitive stomach, it will do a number on you. There is nothing wrong with their food, it's just Indian food packs a punch. I like it here, but my hubby's aftermath feels otherwise =/
(4)Sarath C.
Decent Indian food... Naan as well as Rice is good. Rice has mild coconut flavor. Curries r good too.
(4)Norm G.
We came here for dinner for the first time recently with friends and really enjoyed the food. The samosas were great, and everything was just so flavorful. The staff were very friendly and patient with us. At one point, we were so busy enjoying each other's company, we forgot we hadn't even placed our orders yet! There is just one hazard to food being this tasty, and that is the tendency for me to overeat. But at least it was healthy food!
(5)William L.
The lamb masala was outstanding and easily the best on island. The lamb was perfectly tender and the spices were great. The other dish I ordered was chicken saag. The chicken was well cooked but the flavor was a little different then what I expected from a saag. If you are a fan of saag dishes, this may not be the place for you. As for me, I can go without the saag and definitely will go back for the masala.
(5)Rhoelyn C.
This place is awesome! My hubby and friend came by for dinner on a Tuesday this summer and after our great first experience, we'll probably be back for more. We arrived shortly after 7 so there was still plenty of parking. I know the parking lot isn't really spacious and coming out of the driveway does get annoying because it exits into a busy main street , so I'd probably be extra cautious when parking, and I wouldn't take my SUV or other large car here. Inside the restaurant, it's very intimate but there is a flat screen TV by the entrance that plays Bollywood movies in mute. The walls are lined with pictures of the Taj Mahal palace and East Indian culture which makes for great conversation starters:) The food was delicious! My boyfriend and I ordered the combo for two while my friend ordered ala carte and we shared. We barely finished and had to pack some for lunch the next day. For our combo, we ordered two samosas with homemade tamarind and mint sauce. They gave us plenty of these housemade sauces so we used them for dipping throughout our delicious meal. In addition to two Naan (plenty for three people) and rice pulau, we ordered Chicken Saag and Fish Curry Masala. We also ordered the mango and rose lassie (please order these, they are sooooooo yummy!). The fish was spicy and the chicken was tasty. The saag was nearly creamy, which I really liked. I loved the tamarind sauce so I drizzled some of it on the chicken saag. By the end of the meal we were so full and satisfied. Throughout our meal, the restaurant got busy very quickly and with only one waiter, we were glad we ordered the lassies.We emptied our waters so quickly (our food was spicy). The bathrooms are located outside and around the corner of the restaurant. It's not very well lit in that corner so take a buddy with you.
(5)Jayson N.
I've never had indian food in hawaii before this place but considering its one of only a few that I know of that exist means that Indian places are a dime a dozen.. Yes you will have to wait cause everything is cooked to order. The naan is pretty tasty. If you can, get the stuffed naan.. Those are amazing. :) we've been here for work lunches and we all got different things so we could pass around and try and I have to say that my absolute favorite is the chicken Korma. BOY if you don't know what to order, order chicken korma. Its chicken with a yogurt based sauce that is just divine! The Vindaloo is also pretty good as is the lamb masala. The parking is also pretty bad as about 5 businesses share about 10 stalls so good luck with the parking. But I have to say its not the best indian/pakistani food i've had but its pretty good. If you can find a parking stall and you have time for a nice sit down meal, then give this place a try. Remember Korma's the S***. :)
(4)Mich S.
yummo! the owners are very caring ppl to their customers. They put a lot of tlc into their food. It's worth the drive to eat here.
(5)Rob J.
Food: Five stars. Service: Three stars. Facilities: Two stars. First off, and most importantly, the food here is great! If I lived in the area I would phone in orders and get food to go regularly. But I probably would not return here to dine in. My friends and I met up here for my birthday dinner. As others have stated parking is a problem. I wouldn't even try to park in this tiny lot, go to the dirt pay lot across the street, it's worth the $5. We were seated promptly, but everything else seemed to take a while. It took a while before we were asked if we wanted to order food, and after that we had to flag down the server a few times. I found the service to be about 30% slower than what I would think reasonable -- they probably need another server.The food did take a while to come out but that didn't bother us, it was excellent and worth the wait. Just make sure to order some naan or something to munch on while you're waiting for the main event. It's BYOB, I brought wine and they only charged us $1 for each glass they provided. The restaurant is quite small so I would strongly recommend reservations for dinner. It's also loud so this may not be a good choice if you are looking for an intimate dinner spot. There's an air conditioner on the wall; I don't know if it's just for decoration but it sure didn't seem to be doing anything useful. We all noticed that it was hot -- enough to make us sweat. When the food did come out, the quantity was amazing...we ordered way too much. We ended up with tons of leftovers but the bill was only about $160, which included gratuity. $26/person for that much great food is a really good deal. The server was kind enough to keep our cake in the back until we were done eating, then he brought it out with some "clean" plates...unfortunately the plates were dirty. It looked like someone just tossed them in the dishwasher while stacked on top of each other. It was actually pretty gross and marred what had been a really nice meal up to this point. We didn't mind that they tacked on gratuity for our party of 6, because that's expected, but we were kind of annoyed that the server did not point this out for us. I'm not saying they're TRYING to get double tips off of the bill, it's just a courtesy thing. To sum it up this is a great little place that needs to move to a location that is on par with the food.
(3)Tracy R.
This was the worst Wendy's I have ever been to. They're good at indian food tho.
(3)Rachel O.
Great food and the dining atmosphere is always pleasant! Won't eat indian food anywhere else!!
(5)Roland T.
Just met a friend for an early Saturday lunch at Taj Mahal. I got there first, was the first person in the restaurant. Female at host post was sweet and friendly, sat me at my choice of table, when I asked for a mango lasse -- this yogurt and mango smoothie-type drink perfect for a hot summer day like today. It was perfect! My friend arrived and we settled in for a delicious lunch of palak paneer and chicken masala curry with naan. WONDERFUL, spicy, fresh, perfect lunch for 2 old friends catching up on a Saturday morning. GREAT!
(4)Al D.
Excellent lunch specials. The naan is delicious. Rose lassi yum. Parking so so.
(4)Zerny Z.
Very decent Indian food. We had the papadum, naan, vegetable pakora, eggplant shish korma, tandoori chicken, and the rice polau. The papadum was light and crispy, and the naan was cooked perfectly--both were very delicious. We couldn't decide between ordering the vegetable samosa or the vegetable pakora, so we went with the vegetable pakora because we wanted to try something new. It was slightly charred, but kind of spicy. It was just ok. Not our favorite. Next time we will stick with the samosas. The dipping sauces were very tasty though. Our main dishes were good. The eggplant had a nice flavor-creamy and a little bit spicy, and the leftovers were so delicious the next day! My fiancé enjoyed his tandoori chicken-the outside was nice and crispy and full of flavor. We loved the rice. The aromatics of it just brought me back home, full of home cooked spicy goodness. I couldn't stop eating it! The service was excellent, very friendly and attentive. We would come back again.
(3)Mel G.
I've had some pretty good Indian food since first trying it about 5 years ago. Tried this place tonight and I must say this place is top notch! They've been around since 2008, but I had no idea and wish we had found it sooner. First off, service was fantastic! Kawser was our waiter and he was super friendly and answered all of our questions enthusiastically and was very laid back. He explained things well and service was quick. His recommendations for the appetiser was delicious as well. We got the sampler with the vegetable samosas, vada, and papadums all with a tamarind and then a mint yogurt sauce. We also ordered the garlic/onion naan and it had almost a sweet taste to it, very good. I ordered the Chicken Jalfreezi which was tasty and had a good amount of heat to it that enhances the flavor. All the dishes everyone else had were tasty as well, I just can't remember them all! I know my husband had the Chicken Korma. We ordered the Rice Polau to go with our dishes which are all served family style. Plan on having leftovers for lunch the next day as they are very generous with their portions! Price was great and the quality was too. Staff was friendly and attentive. Parking is limited but there is a pay lot across the street at the City Mill. OH! I almost forgot... they have Bollywood videos too! Fun to watch and adds to the atmosphere. We've only eaten at Cafe Maharani on island and this was definitely on par with them, but you can make reservations and your food comes out quicker. Its nice to have a choice now and I can't wait to go back! (again, and again, and again.... :))
(5)Kiran B.
We ordered through Aloha Food 2 go. I wish there was zero stars I could give. The food arrived in about an hour. We ordered 2 aloo parathas and 1 chicken biryani. Should cost us around 15 bucks maximum 20 bucks. This cost us 40 bucks. But that is the islands i guess. When the food arrived, it was the worst aloo parathas in the world. There was no flavor, no salt, no spice. Its hard to screw up a paratha so bad, its like screwing up a pancake. The biryani was overcooked bunched up rice with dark meat chicken. No other seasoning, salt or spice again. Also, these come with raita. There was nothing accompanying this
(1)Cheryl K.
It was Valentine's day and I was not willing to go to a super fancy restaurant and wait disgustingly long in a line nor did I make any reservations. I was craving some Indian food and I actually wanted to go to Cafe Maharani. We drove by Maharani and it was pouring and there was a little line so I said screw it. I Yelped Cafe Taj Mahal and we decided to chance it. Awesome, it was not crowded at all and I was stoked. We sat down in a little corner right next to a television that was playing Bollywood. Yes! I was sad or withdrawing because I didn't bring a bottle of wine since it was BYOB. Boo! Anyway we looked through the menu and my husband suggested we order the Taj Combination for Two. It came with naan, rice, and two entrees. I chose the Chicken Curry Masala (which I actually meant to order the Chicken Tikka Masala, next time...) and my husband chose the Palak Paneer. The server brought out the vegetable samosas for us to snack on. Now let me tell you, the samosas itself filled me up like an entree. It was really tasty and the size of it was huge. I love the mint and tamarind sauce it came with. I was already full after eating it. Then they brought out our entrees, rice, and naan bread. I swear the Taj Combination for Two was probably written wrong and it was supposed to be for Four. The portions are huge! The naan bread was bigger than my head. The food was really good though and the service kept checking on us. The curry was not that spicy though so next time I think I would add a little more kick. The ambiance is really pleasant and we ended up bring home a whole meal for leftovers. I want to try the Chicken Tikka Masala next time. I would totally come back since it seems like there is not as big of a crowd as Cafe Maharani down the street.
(4)Annie W.
I feel so bad for giving them 2/5 stars just because they are a family run restaurant and the chefs are this cute older Indian couple but allow me to explain! SERVICE:1/5 For goodness sakes I was starving!!! Well no, I wasn't starving when I got there at noon but I was super excited because all these awesome Yelpers said this place is the bomb! I brought my friend to Cafe Taj Mahal and it was her first time eating Indian food! You can't believe how excited I was! We sat ourselves down and the first thing I noticed was there were 2 empty tables full of dirty dishes and 2 tables with customers waiting for their food, 1 table getting food and 1 table already eating...there was 1 server for 8 tables altogether. My friend and I sat down and flipped through their menu while we waited. 20 minutes passed and we got water.....35 minutes passed and we got an indication from the server that he was going to take our order... okay at that point I was starving!! I wanted my butter chicken and naan so badly! I decided to ask the server to take our order and he said to give him a minute. A minute passed and he seemed so busy taking orders from other tables and doing other stuff that the 1 minute turned into 15 minutes. I decided to ask the second time around (which was 45 minutes after we sat down) and thankfully he stopped to take our order... but to my dismay, they ran out of naan and they don't serve butter chicken for lunch...sigh. As we waited for our food (which took another 15-20 minutes to arrive) we couldnt help but notice that completely confused and probably newbie server. It was somewhat funny, annoying and sad to watch at the same time. One take out customer came in and was in a terrible mood as it seemed as though he waited for a long time and he was telling the server that someone should have called him if the food was already done. The server apologized (which is good) and gave the guy his food. The server seemed super flustered and distracted that he forgot to get payment from that take out customer and he ran after the guy. I'm not sure what happened afterwards as I stopped paying attention to that, but my conclusion is that this server probably wont be working there that long. FOOD: 3/5 Not bad. The food and drinks were quite rich and flavorful, but I was starving at the point my food arrived so I cant be quite sure....but I think the most outstanding dish we had was the naan look-a-like thing that was stuffed with soft flavorful potato (it was an appetizer that the super slow server suggested in replacement of the regular naan... I think it is called the Aloo Paratha) This dish is what I am most definite about, so give it a try if you are there! AMBIANCE: This place holds about 8 tables/ parties. The decorations and TV in the restaurant features Indian styles and taste. It is quite a cute little restaurant. The noise level was moderate. The tables and seats are arranged in a way that it feels private so a party of 8 would still feel comfortable and intimate. PARKING: 2/5 There is a small private parking lot in front of the restaurant but it gets full quick as this parking lot is shared with other restaurants in the same plaza. I don't recommend driving a truck, a large suv or a van into this parking lot as maneuvering in this parking lot with anything larger than a small suv would be a hassle. There isn't any street parking but luckily there is a larger parking lot across the street on Waialae Ave. I think it is paid parking though. OVERALL: 2/5 I think if the service wasn't as slow I would have given them a higher rating. But don't get me wrong, the guy was super nice but just super super super slow. Seriously, anyone should agree that ...1 hour and 20 minutes to get food is quite a long wait...The food and atmosphere of the place is good. We found parking (luckily) but I can imagine the parking situation could get frustrating especially if you don't want to pay for parking. So unfortunately the overall score is 2/5
(2)Whitni W.
We had the boti lamb dahl with naan and mango lassies. :3 it was so delicious and reasonably priced; $10.99 for the one-choice lamb combo and $3 each for awesomely creamy lassies. Also, friendly service and awesome Shah Rukh Khan music videos. so eye catching and mind boggling *.* Yes, definitely coming back. And the film photos framed along the wall are a great sight as well. Thank you for the great food!
(5)Jerry S.
there are many indian restaurants to choose from in honolulu, cafe taj mahal remains to be my favorite in town, the garlic nans is the best around town, crispy, and chewy, baked under perfect temperature, cant get any better elsewhere, CTM's authenticity and reasonable price made me a frequent visitor to the restaurant
(4)Kristel Y.
Cafe Taj Mahal is one of those gems in the Kaimuki (is it technically Kaimuki?) area that often goes unnoticed because it's next to Sabrina's and hiding behind the Fat Greek. It's located in a tricky location--I think the corner of Dole and Waialae and you can't see it from the street. But! If you see where the Fat Greek is, you know you're in the right place. We ordered lamb samosas, garlic naan, rice palou, and two entrees (whose names escape me at the moment), and that was more than enough food. Cafe Taj Mahal probably has some of the best naan on the island, so be sure to order it generously. Although, as the Yelp pictures illustrate, it's pretty damn big. The restaurant is BYOB, so we brought two bottles of wine and our server brought us an ice bucket to chill it. Customer service was great, the restaurant is small (but cute), and I dug the Indian music videos on television. I waited for Indian Thriller to play, but I suspect that's a youtube viral hit rather than suitable Indian restaurant song. Oh well, one can dream. As a note, the parking situation here sucks. I'd recommend going during off-peak hours (8pm on a week night?) when you won't be competing with 20 other people for the 5 stalls in that little restaurant area. You might be able to do street parking along Dole (if you're desperate and don't mind competing with college students for space).
(4)jeffrey w.
Had the lamb boti. meh...average. best things here were the mango lassi and the naan. i could pass on the lamb dish. next time would probably dry something else here with higher hopes. parking is not so good
(3)Benjamin W.
Cafe Taj Mahal is located at the beginning of Waialae Ave behind of The Fat Greek. The curry is excellent. It is a small casual dining. The naan bread is great. I recommend getting the mango lassie. It helps with the heat (spicy). The curry comes in several spicy levels. I recommend the medium for those that like some spice. The hot is very hot. The service is great. The samosas are really good and the portions are good. I like their sticky rice. It is my favorite Indian restaurant.
(5)Judith H.
Very good.
(4)NIKKI F.
Chicken Saag was yummy and the Dahl Sambal was flavorful but a little thin. Overall, good food and great value.
(4)Nana C.
I was introduced to this place by friends. I fell in love with it my first time and love going back. The parking sucks. Hands down. There's just no helping that. The wait time between ordering your food and actually getting it...also sucks if you are starving. Never come here if you are already starving. It will be torture to sit th waiting for food while smelling all those delicious spices. It can get a bit expensive if you aren't careful...but they do have dinner sets for one or two etc. and those tend to be pretty good deals. Now for the good stuff... The staff is friendly and the restaurant is spacious. It feels more open than Maharani in my opinion, but it's all about preference. Their vegetable samosas are to DIE for. It's like an Indian version of vegetable pot pie...and it comes with some sauces you put on it. It is such a good combination with the sweet sauce and the spice filled flavor of the samosa. It's like a symphony in your mouth. Yum. Their chicken korma is ok, though sometimes it comes out a bit dry. Rice isn't really anything special but definitely goes well with the food...not to mention how can you have a meal without rice here?! Hehe jk. ;p My favorite is their eggplant tikki masala. It is a bit spicy, so for those of you who can't handle that watch out and make sure you get some naan. The eggplant comes out nice and crispy and is super delicious. Def their best dish by far...aside from the heavenly vegetable samosas. Their naan is delicious and nice and buttery...a great partner for any of their masalas etc...but I have to admit Maharani's naan is lighter and fluffier...though they are both delicious in their own way.
(4)Susan F.
Our normal sunday funday on the 29th floor in waikiki was ruined by strong winds yesterday. So we decided to pack up and head to Cafe TajMahal for "theme Indian". Let me start off by saying that I was never a real big fan of Indian cuisine. Probably because each time my bf ordered off a menu it was something more like a japanese curry, which I don't care for AT ALL. And all the other times we've had Indian we were at a buffet which I could pick and choose by looks what I would eat. Since he's been craving Indian and I absolutely refuse to go with just the two of us to an indian restaurant, he's done his research on the cuisine and found foods that I would actually like. We ordered the saag gosht ($12.99), palak paneer ($11.99), kashmiri lamb ($16.99), butter naan ($3.25), and rice polau ($5.50) When we arrived the restaurant was not really busy with just a few tables taken, and it still was not busy when we placed our order. Approximately 5 minutes after we had placed our order, our server had come out to ask if we wanted to order appetizers because the kitchen was backed up with phone orders. So we order a few orders of papadum ($1.99 for 2 pieces), it would've been nice if they just offered us some for free... but eeh, its okay. Everything tasted really good and maybe we shouldn't have ordered so much food because we ended up taking a whole plate home with us. But it was an overall good experience. Which is really good coming from someone that doesn't care for Indian food :)
(4)Traci H.
Huge portions. Good flavor. Terrible parking options... Ok, so the specifics, this review if for takeout: absolutely huge portions, at about the same prices as other indian places ($13-$18 bucks for a main dish). CHICKEN BIRIYANI: huge mounds of rice. It says you need to request chiles and raisins but they put it in anyway. So note to self, tell them none of that next time. Good flavor, but not my favorite. I think Himalayan Kitchen was a little better. CHICKEN VINDALOO: again, it's not lik the vindaloo I know from the mainland so maybe vindaloo is different here but just at first glance, it was yellowish and had a potato type of texture. Good, spicy and flavorful, but not what I expected from vindaloo. CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA: pretty good flavor. the deep reddish rich color with tasty chicken breast and great sauce. Still not what I'm looking for but it'll do if it means I don't have to fly 2500 miles to get indian food. ALOO PALAK: the spinach was more creamy, kind of expected to see more spinachy pieces but it was more mushy in consistency. NAAN: pretty good actually. Not like full of butter or anything but I liked the soft but crispy flavor. And I don't like naan normally. RAITA: it's a little sweet for me but it worked to complement the spice. Dishes don't automatically come with rice so don't forget to order rice. I'd go back for sure but I'm still on a quest to find me some good Indian food in Hawaii!
(4)Jason A.
One of the best Indian restraunts I have ever been to. The service is a little slow, but the quality put into the food is beyond worth the wait. I will be back many times!
(5)Sasha Y.
My husband and I just had dinner there tonight,we ordered the two person combination:2 veggie samosas & balti beef & palak paneer & rice polau & 2 naans. The portions were generous, the naan was as fluffy as a pilow, and everything was so flavorful that we got ourselves 110% stuffed! We'll definitely be back!
(4)Marjorie C.
This time around I came for lunch with a friend, parked in the city mill paid parking lot ($3 for two hours). My friend got the vegetable samosas (smells like heaven, flaky outside and a delicious medley of veggies inside). I got a Masala Chai which was very refreshing on a hot day and I still went with the lamb vindalo! It was so good and my lunch was $11 :) Love it! Will definitely be back...again.
(4)Naomi A.
Samosas-delicious. Outside is crispy, almost flaky. Inside, hot, yummy & a little spicy. It comes with 2 sauces, a curry mango chutney & a basil/mint yogurt sauce. MUST HAVE! Aloo Puri-about the size of a salad plate, puff pastry with mashed potato filling. Pastry deflates and becomes almost like a deep fried crispy crepe with potato filling. Ordered the Mix Thali One. It came with the following: Chicken masala-boneless chicken in a spicy red curry sauce. MUST HAVE! Chicken korma-boneless chicken in a creamier sauce. Little bland compared to the masala, but adds a good balance. Dahl Sambar-like a really thick potato soup. Lots of vegetables, perfect blend of spices. Rice Polau-approx 4 cups of rice pilaf Naan-medium pizza size of homemade soft flat bread
(5)Ling W.
I'm really conflicted on several things. Here goes... We chose this place because, after 2.5 years of living in HI, we are STILL looking for an Indian place that impresses. We checked out their reviews and menu and ventured in (my husband and friend from India). Got there at 5:50 and ordered two cold chais and several apps. My friend arrived at 6:15 and we got our food/drinks soon thereafter. At that point, she ordered a hot chai and our entrees, which all did not come out for about 50 mins. Unfortunately, we filled up on apps b/c we needed to leave by 7:10 and it took that long (about 55 mins) for her hot chai and our three entrees to come out. We ordered a fish dish, eggplant, and veggie korma. We all thought our food and drinks were good. I thought the samosas, while a bit heavy, were tasty. I didn't like our naan, which I felt was heavy and greasy. Overall, the spices were subtle and I have to say, overall, our food was decent, better than most other Indian we've tried in the islands. Our server was kind. But the wait! Someone else said it here...the wait was horrific! The food was fresh, but since we were the only ones in the restaurant (in addition to two carry out orders), there is no reason it's taking nearly an hour to push out three entrees. Will we go back? Eh, maybe.
(4)Jessica M.
I have ordered take out from Cafe Taj Mahal twice. The funny thing is that I am eating it right now! With my mouth full, I can tell you...YUM. They have a great vegetarian menu and my boyfriend has always been satisfied with their carnivorous options as well. The naan? To die for. It's just perfect. I have tried the Vegetable Korma and the Mixed veggie masala..two staples. I also have gotten the coconut rice both times. It's the perfect flavor with cashews and raisins added in. If you get the take out, it is SO MUCH FOOD. I can get 4 meals out of it. Seriously. They give you an entire to go box of rice and a huge cannister of curry. My only complaints: Kind of greasy, and I am suspicious that there may be MSG in the food because I always get that "coma-sleepy" feeling after I eat it that you get after ingesting MSG. So, I will enjoy in moderation, but it's just so good, I can't resist!
(4)Janet K.
I ordered the eggplant tikka masala, fish curry masala, yellow rice and the garlic naan. The masala dishes could use more sauce (especially if it has curry in the name). Flavor was okay. The garlic naan was awesome. I ordered take out so I can't say much about the ambiance, but I will say that I was put on hold twice before my order was taken on the phone. Them - Hello, Taj Mahal restaurant, how may I help you? Me - I'd like to place an order for take out. Them - Okay, hold on please. Them - Thank you for waiting, how may I help you? Me - I'd like to place a take out order please. Them - Hold on please. Me - Are you serious right now? We all know the parking situation sucks there. We had to park at City Mill and walk across the street to pick up our order. The food is not worth that hassle.
(2)Reney O.
It's funny how my friend and I ended up here. We go for Indian food once every 3 or 4 months when that specific craving comes along- Kim's hankering for some paneer, and I'm dead-set on getting my lamb saag, and we're both dying for some delicious chilled mango lassi. Sunday was one of those days, but alas our usual choice, Maharani, was closed. Himalayan Kitchen was also closed. Yelp, help? Had it not been for that insatiable craving and the other two Indian options being closed, honestly Café TajMahal we wouldn't have met til much later in life. But I am so glad for that twist of fate, because YOU are our new favorite Indian eatery! Fantastic mango lassis, very flavorful lamb saag, and the best naan I've had yet! First, what made the naan stand out from all others was not only the size but the freshness and taste! Bread's bread, but bread pulled right out of the oven and straight to your plate is a beautiful symphony of scent and taste, and this was TajMahal's naan. Taj Mahal's lamb saag was delicious and spicy, better than Maharani's in my opinion. I must add though that Maharani's food and service has goneWAY downhill in this past year, I probably should update my review on them. They used to be delicious....ANYHOW, back to TajMahal. This next part is a bit of a mystery to me. Normally Kim and I are pretty fast eaters, especially when it comes to Indian: food wait for 20 minutes, eat in 10 minutes, sit there like fat kids for 45 minutes wondering why we ate that fast....but this time, this time we actually found ourselves eating slooooooooowly. This is how much we enjoyed TajMahal: the environment was conducive to quiet conversation and the true enjoyment of good food. No loud crowds, nor the feeling of eating in a cramped cafeteria. We were in this café that was bigger on the inside, hidden from the sounds of traffic and from the sight of passersby. Service was very attentive and nice. Though every table was taken, we could just barely hear the murmurs and "mmmm's" of other diners...then again we were all completely engrossed in the Indian music videos playing on TajMahals hd flatscreens. The colors are so vibrant!! I found myself bobbing my head to their beats as I munched happily on my chunks of lamb, haha. Good music, good company, great restaurant with fantastic food. One snag in the overall pleasant experience, and that is their parking. Café TajMahal is easily missed if you're trying to spot it from either Waialae Ave. or St. Louis Dr., it's located behind the more visible Fat Greek. The parking lot there is so ridiculously tiny (very narrow aisles, one entrance, one exit) save yourself a headache and just pay the $3 to park across the street in the gravelly lot. Trust, once you start eating at TajMahal, you wouldn't give a rat's ya-know about the parking fee. Come to think of it....on Oahu, I think it's just a requirement to have really crappy parking if you're an Indian restaurant. OH WELL. Cafe TajMahal, love you and I'll be back!!
(5)Erika A.
Close, but no cigar. Maharani still rules for Indian food! This is supposedly owned by a Maharani family member, so I was expecting a similar experience. My group ordered quite a bit of different dishes....the same we usually order from Maharani. There were a few great things, but overall I thought the food was very bland. Yes, it's true you may be able to be seated quickly, so if you are tired of the Maharani wait, then be my guest....one less person I have to wait behind to get a table. : )
(3)Regina T.
Food DELICIOUS. The time it took to get it from when we ordered till we ate...horrible. The place is very small, we lucked out on a table because the one person seated at a table for 4 did not return. We were seated, scoped the menu and decided on drinks, appetizers and meal. No one checked on us to see how we were doing it took 25 min for our appetizers to arrive. Granted -- HOT AND FRESH but really that long? No one came to our table to explain the wait. We finished our appetizer and watched bollywood on the mini tv's posted on the wall. 15 additional min later our other naan and meal FINALLY arrived. It was so much we had to take the rest home. Trying to find this place at night is tricky and parking is horrible, you have to pay across the street if the lot is full since it's located between an Italian and Greek restaurant. Yes the food was awesome but the waiting horrible. Just don't come starving and don't plan to do anything afterwards if you arrive around 7pm. We finally left the place around 9...that's how long it took to order, wait and eat. I'm iffy if I come back...I'll check out other Indian restaurants on the island first before I come here.
(3)Tellia W.
I love this place. The service is very good and the food is great. I still like the food at Maharani a little better, but the food here is quite comparable. In my opinion this is one of two great Indian food restaurants in Hawaii. I've tried most of the others with major disappointment. I actually eat here whenever I have the craving for Indian food. I choose Tajmahal over Maharani, because it is not as crowded, and you don't have to wait an hour for a table. Parking does suck, but dealing with it is worth it. I recommend you try this place.
(4)Kasey T.
The value can't be beat. The affordable pricing and great taste gets two Shaka's.
(4)William E.
Okay, I think it's been made pretty clear that this place is a mirror image (menu-wise) of Cafe Maharani. It is, and the foods just as good, or at least what we ordered this time around. The only thing missing is the atmosphere and coziness of their sister venue. If you have a larger group or if Maharani's has a long line, this is a great alternative. However, being a diehard Cafe Maharani fan, I'll probably always try to hit that spot first, especially if I'm on a date. Additionally, those servers already know what *I* mean when I say "Spicy, please." Suggestions: Order anything "Masala" and you'll be happy. Shrimp Briyani. Lamb Vindaloo. Naan bread. Veggie samosas. BYOB -- corkage fee applies.
(4)Jakob M.
This place does great food but it is a bit expensive, especially considering it is in a student neighborhood near UH Manoa. I usually do not pay what they charge unless I want a change from my usual meals. Also, their to-go orders take over 20 minutes so you must call before you go to pick-up the orders or you will end up waiting for a long time.
(4)K Kaipo S.
Wow!! Having lived in NYC, I doubted that Honolulucould have decent authentic Indian cuisine. Well after trying Cafe Taj Mahal, I am now convinced that the 808 is making a serious move towards being a serious foodie city. The dinner for two has more food than two could eat alone. Start with freshly made vege samosas with two dipping sauces, smokey tamarind and minty spice yougurt. The samosas were pretty good and filled with the balance of curry and sweetness. Then came the Naan which was freshly prepared and our two choices of lamb masala and butter chicken. Both used masala to bring out the heat but not much just enough to make you feel the burn. The rice polau had a hint of citrus andI'm guessing tumeric. In all, this new kid on the block can truly kick it up a notch with more marketing and better atmosphere... I'm guessing as business increases, then more investment can be made. I will be back to try more. Ono.
(5)David D.
So far, I have been here twice, and on both occasions, the food was delicious, just the right amount of spicy, and very plentiful. You will definitely bring home leftovers! The prices are reasonable too. The servers are delightful and friendly, and i am already looking forward to my next visit. Don't miss the mango lassi. Smooth as silk, and sweet without being too sweet. It's probably best to have it after your meal, because you don't want to fill up on that and miss out on the wonderful dishes. Deeelicious!
(4)Dan L.
The food is really good, especially malai kofta! Delish! Service was borderline bad, although the servers were very nice. The food took forever, and two families that came into the restaurant after we ordered (there were 4 of us), got their food before us. It was a little confusing. Our order was not difficult. Anyway, in spite of this, it was still delicious, and I mostly come to watch the videos anyway!!
(4)Kit H.
A truly tongue numbing encounter. I was treated like a visiting Rajah upon entering Cafe TajMahal. Greeted, seated, and served by no less than the President himself. Not Obama. The president of Cafe TajMahal. Well, that's what his business card said. I enjoyed the lamb saag ordered hot and it's generous amounts of meaty lamb cubes and tongue tingling spices. Washed down with a fruity, fresh, bright, and partly pulpy mango lassi. Not too chalky and richly smooth. The uber hot spiciness of my meal made me realize I'd apparently been bamboozled & even hoodwinked by other Indian joints when getting spicy. In retrospect those meals were mildly above tepid & geared towards more parochial taste buds compared to this. I wasn't a huge fan of their naan, but I enjoyed it well enough for sopping up the saag's saucy bits. If the wait was long for my food, I couldn't tell. I was busy ogling Katrina Kaif in the Bollywood blockbuster being shown on their telly. But I -can- say the whole of the comfy-cozy, unpretentious surroundings backed by a soundtrack of wonderful sounds & wafting smells from the kitchen, the pleasantries extended by Mr President, topped off with a filling, tasty, very spicy saag & sprightly lassi totaled to an enjoyable time for me. Be mindful this joint's hidden behind The Fat Greek. Hm. Who'd have thought a one-off stroll on St Louis Dr at Wai`alae Av one Saturday afternoon could boost me another 4/5th's step closer to completing the 7 steps required to reach Nirvana? Yeah. Cafe TajMahal irradiated my Chakra just fine.
(4)Ngan W.
We came in last night and had a wonderful dinner. We were a party of 4 and ordered the combo dinner for 2 and an extra entree and ended up with leftoversof every dish. Ambience-wise I prefer Maharani's much better. Especially since, I was informed that the restroom was unisex and since it was shared with all the other restaurants in the complex, the water pressure can be really low (doesn't flush). No thanks! We started off with 2 vegetable samosas to share, these samosa-on-steroids were more than big enough to feed the four of us. We upgraded to the cheese naan (was like cheesy pizza) and garlic naan (a definite winner), and paid the difference from the plain naan that would've came with our combination dinner. The rest of our meal consisted of: Generous plate of Rice Polau- basmati rice Lamb Curry Masala- wasn't very spicy but definitely was very delicious. The chunks of meat were tender and huge, real comfort food, Would definitely order again. Maharaja Spicy Chicken - We got the Hot level and not Fire hot level. It was the perfect amount of spice, started out fiery in the mouth but the heat tapers off; very delicious dish. Eggplant Tikka Masala- this was a disappointment as this was a recommendation from a coworker. My fiance described it perfectly as tempura in curry sauce. The eggplant was too heavy in this fried dish. BYOB was a super plus, Service was great. Bathroom situation, not so much. Food was delious. Wil be back!
(4)Rio R.
Awesome food as well as generous portions. We've been ordering Indian from from here for the past 3 years, and its always a treat. We have our go to favorites menu wise: saag sagosht, lamb vindaloo, chicken korma, coconut rice (w/out raisins), samosas, and extra naan bread. We always get 'to go', even though the restaurant is really nice. The food is absolutely delicious! This order usually lasts us for the next 3 days breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One cannot simply get enough of their extremely delectable food. I love Indian food, I even learned how to prepare a few dishes myself. The spices alone have cost me over $200, and are not easily attainable. The care and timing that go into each dish must be meticulously implemented. Cafe Tajmahal consistently aspires to bring this true Indian dining experience in every dish they prepare to our lovely Hawaiian island. Mad props to them!
(5)WonderWoman W.
Went twice after it first opened. The first time the food was excellent. The second time, the food was less so but still good. I've had better Indian food in Hawai'i, often accompanied by lousy service. Both visits to Taj Mahal, the service was great. No complaints. But since it was newly opened, it was fairly empty. Service may have changed in the last few years. Tucked away, out of sight, with little parking, I'm surprised it's lasted this long. Maybe that's a testament to their food and service. Both times I left with the extra food, there was too much. I love good naan and the garlic naan was excellent. I asked for extra garlic the second time and they happily added it. The Palak Paneer was tasty but a bit soupy. I was disappointed in the chicken dish, Chicken Tikka, maybe. Not that it tasted bad, it was also delish, but the chicken pieces were bony and gristly. Now that I write this, will have to pay another visit to see if Taj Mahal and this review of it have held up. Thankfully, I can walk to it since parking is limited, awkward, and you risk getting blocked in by inconsiderate others. No nearby street parking, just the pay lot below City Mill.
(3)Summer S.
Okay, first of all, I have to giggle at the low ratings based on.. chicken tikka masala. hahaha. If you grew up eating Indian food for 18 years, please don't base your review on what is the whitest (race wise ;) thing you can order at an Indian restaurant. That's like going to a Chinese restaurant and reviewing it based on their General Tso's Chicken. I didn't know a thing about Indian food five years ago, but then I went to college and met tons of those Indian grad students that are university staples as much as dormitories are. My stomach was lucky to be fed by a bunch of these awesome Indian students and professors, who were all enthusiastic about sharing their culture with others. Ohh.. Those were good times... I can't claim that 5 years of massive consumption of Indian food has made me a discerning connoisseur of Indian food, but I'd like to hope I have an idea of what's good and what isn't. Cafe TajMahal is tasty. Unfortunately, I can't say that it's as good as what I had at university, but I have yet to find that in Hawaii. (Unless you're Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi and want to invite me over :-D) Order whatever you want, it'll probably be good. I was surprised to find that the eggplant tikka masala had great reviews, as I didn't find it to stick out amongst the other dishes, but the eggplant's fine and to each his own. Compared to the other Indian restaurants, TajMahal can hold its own. I'll have to agree that parking sucks and it can get full (and also worryingly empty). Also, while service has always been prompt and attentive and friendly, I'd like to see that every staff member has a good grasp of the menu. A previous reviewer mentioned that his server didn't even know what lassi was. I could believe this. I've even had a server not know that "that sauce" is called chutney. Thankfully, this isn't usually the case. For tasty Indian food at a good price, TajMahal is a great choice. :)
(4)Guy H.
For our most recent Thursday night dinner I was craving Indian and decided we would have Cafe Taj Mahal. We have been here several times before and have always been happy. I was extra hungry so we went with the Combination Dinner for Three. Curry choices selected were: Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Tikka Shahi Korma, and the Kashmiri Chicken. This was the first time we tried the tikka dishes and find that we like the tikka versions better than the regular curry versions. The theory is that since the chicken is cooked in the tandoori oven separate from the curry, the curry doesn't get liquidy with the chicken juices and is more concentrated; it is a thicker sauce. I always like to have a mild curry in the mix and love the subtle sweetness of the Kashmiri with its apples and raisins. Add the appetizers and the Gulab Jamun for dessert (Juicy cheese ball dipped in honey syrup) and it was an excellent meal that more than satisfied my craving. Plus there's so much food I have plenty of left overs for a couple of lunches.
(4)Cher P.
Food was great! Naan dip into their raita is awesome. Place is much roomier. However parking was a disaster. Place is situated in the back so if you don't know the place you will miss it for sure. Other that we enjoyed it and I must say it was great choice for the evening. Gotta go back. hOtsauce is the best
(4)Gil G.
Excellent spicy Lamb Vindallo! What a nice prize to find!
(4)Tracie K.
I was reading a FB post from one of my friends which reminded of this restaurant. I'm a fan of Indian food and had a lot of it on the Mainland. I hadn't had a chance to really explore Indian places here in Hawaii. The extent of my search led me to India Cafe's food truck in Kailua which is a whole other review. Anyway, Cafe TajMahal was a pretty decent Indian Restaurant. The service is excellent. The restaurant itself is small but cozy. The parking is very limited. Some patrons end up parking over at City Mill and walking over. We were accompanied by another couple who have embraced the vegan lifestyle. I can tell you now, it's not easy finding a place that accommodates vegans like this one does. They were actually the ones who told us about this place. We did family style. So to start off we ordered vegetable samosas. We were so surprised when they brought it out to us. They were huge pillows of lightly deep fried vegetable goodness. I really liked the dipping sauces; mango chutney and raita (yogurt dressing). Then we had Naan bread topped with garlic. One word says it all YUM-O! Then for the entrees we had mix vegetable masala, aloo ghobi, and eggplant tikka masala. All dishes contained vegetables, spices, onions or tomatoes. I love curry and the curried dishes were exceptional. I'd go back again, but maybe with another group. I'm a carnivore. So next time I'd like to get me some meat!
(4)Aline T.
I came here with my sister. Garlic naan was very good! As was the Samosa! Their samosas are PACKED with meat and HUGE. Unbelievable! The samosa come with 2 sauces, one a herb yogurt and another a sweet, tart one with some serious heat! I was literally crying because I refused to stop eating the samosa with the sauce. My face was turning red and my sister was getting embarrassed. hahaa. good times. The Lassi drink was pretty good. Sadly, the beef curry was bland. Like, so bland that I didn't even want to eat it but I ate some because I didn't want to hurt the cook's feelings. If it had a better flavor, this place would've definitely gotten 4 stars from me. Location: This place is in the same restaurant block as Fat Greek, Sabrina's and Sushi Man (next to the Subaru car dealership in Kaimuki) but it's in the back, behind Fat Greek. You might not even see it unless you really look for it.
(3)Gotfunit W.
Listen, it's the best Indian food on the island. Been there 3 times and they have always delivered great taste and good quality. Gotta look for it though - it's across from City Mill, behind the little restaurants.
(5)George C.
Eggplant Tikka Masala? The Lovely One ordered it, but I was not unduly concerned as it would join the lamb, chicken, and garlic naan that are the mainstays of our typical order. In fact it amused me trying to visualize somebody slapping slices of eggplant onto the glowing red walls of a tandoor. But, at the substantial and catastrophic risk of my own people disowning me, people who revere the eggplant and hold their preparations of it in the highest regard -- and I'll chance it -- this is the best eggplant dish I've ever had. The eggplant slices are coated in spiced garbanzo bean flour then fried and topped with an onion and tomato masala, which only hints feebly at the magic that elevates this dish from mere cuisine to the sublime. I'm almost afraid to go back for fear that my second encounter with the eggplant cannot possibly live up to my first.
(5)Shelly i.
This was only my second time eating Indian food (first time was at Gaylord's in Las Vegas) and I loved it. We visited Cafe TajMahal on a Monday night. The restaurant was empty when we got there at 6:30 p.m. but filled up by the time we left around 8:30 p.m. We parked across the street at City Mill for $5 to avoid the craptastic parking lot, but there were spaces (just no safe way to enter/exit). We came in a group of 7 and the owner let us order the menu for 4 (we ordered an extra appetizer, stuffed naan, and one additional dish). Almost all of us ordered lassi (I had mango). I enjoyed everything we ordered and it was very filling. My favorite dish was the spicy shrimp, which wasn't too spicy at all but had a tasty sauce and good sized shrimp. The rice that came with the menu for 4 wasn't too tasty on it's own but great when used to sop up all the sauces. I don't think I would order the stuffed lamb naan again because I found it too greasy, but the regular naan was great. Our total bill came out to $141. Really great deal in my opinion. Service was good too. We started out being served by the owner but the waitress came on around 7-ish. She was cute and friendly and even offered us extra raisins for our dessert. This place shares the same bathroom with Sabrina's so I'll echo my comment about it being an episode of Law and Order SVU waiting to happen. Even my guy friends felt scared in the dark doorway waiting to use it. One more thing... they had a great movie playing when we were there. It was called Chakde! I think I'm going to have to start netflix-ing Indian movies.
(5)Scott R. D.
I think Thalei K. hits the nail right on the head. It's good, but not as good as Maharani. I feel like it's more expensive too, although I haven't been to Maharani in a while. The tandoori chicken was flavorful, but missing the sizzling platter of onions. It was also $19.99 for a full order of two leg/thigh, two naan, and salad. In other places a half order is half a chicken, here it's just the leg and thigh. The palak paneer ($11.99) was tasty and moderately spicy. The naan was perfect. The service was excellent at first but descended into being completely ignored by paying the check time. The ambience is OK, if you like fluorescent brightness. They need lighting help. I notice some of the tubes are turned off, but they need to turn off a couple of more. Overall, not bad, but nothing I'm going to run back to. Seemed just a bit expensive for what it is.
(3)Dustin N.
I have to say I love Indian cuisine but this joint didn't WOW! Besides the parking the ambiance was ok, got to admit food was good but some dishes we ordered were "eh!" I will give this place a try again because it's one of those places you want to love but it's going to take time and numerous follow-up visits... DeeK rating: pending approval
(3)Jesse S.
Terrific Indian cuisine served in large portions at a good price. Just so you don't think I was won over by the price and portion size, I am a fan of Indian food and have tried it all around the country (even in Canada). Taj Mahal is right up there with my top favorite restaurants. The naan was perfectly browned and light, the lamb curry was nicely spiced and cooked just right, and the salt lassie was prepared to order. Take your appetite and some friends. But, be sure to carpool, parking is terrible.
(4)Jeremy D.
Not the greatest... food or service. I have eaten at about 40 different indian restaraunts around the world and it is hard to distinguish one from the other. There are dishes that set some apart from others but they are rare. For me, I think that the dining experience is what makes a great dinner at an Indian restaraunt. Cafe TajMahal doesn't have any dishes that would make them stick out in my mind. I enjoyed the samosas and the chicken biryani. The nan was pretty boring and a bit over done for my tastes. The reason Cafe TajMahal gets 2 stars is because it took 45 minutes to get our appetizers. 30 minutes later we received 3 of 5 entrees. 20 more minutes provided us with our 4th entree. All the while, our water glasses remained dry and our servers were busy chumming with each other. Our fifth entree never made it to the table before we finished with our meal so we told them to take it off of our bill. They didn't agree and insisted we pay for it. Normally, I'd argue but I wanted to leave and salvage the rest of our evening. Hopefully, the owner will read this review and fix the HUGE problem with their service. I'll go back eventually to see if they can overcome their challenges in the front and back of the house. Kind of disappointing. Oh yeah. If they don't take reservations, they shouldn't accept them over the phone. If they take reservations, they should honor them.
(2)Tania P.
First and foremost I'd like to say that I TRULY judge Indian restaurants by their chicken tikka masala... And Cafe TajMahal? The WORST chicken tikka masala I've ever had...not to mention the service was slowwwwwww... Besides my table, there were only three other people in the restaurant... There was no excuse for such bad service. ...all disappointing b/c the lamb vindaloo and chicken korma were actually decent...and it's open during lunch hours (Maharani is not)... But sadly, b/c the chicken tikka masala SUCKED I'll probably never be back. No, not even for a redo.
(2)Brian L.
parking sucks - well I already know that since I eat at 4 spots in the lot. City Mill across the street has paid parking - but when was it only $3? I've only recently (past 3 years) started to be a fan of Indian food. The vegetable Samosas an nan is YUMs. I could just eat that all day...ok..with a bit of Chicken Marasala
(4)Thi L.
Went here for dinner with a friend and we ordered: raita - tasty complement to the rest of the items chicken korma - ok, not that much flavor and the pieces of chicken were too big, i like bite-sized. fish masala - yummy! it was a basa fillet with a curry-ish topping of tomatoes, onions and other tasty goodness coconut rice - light coconut flavor, with raisins and cashews. i liked it. naan - pretty standard overall, everything tasted good with the right amount of spice/kick. service was good, very attentive, re-filled waters and checked in a couple times. the only thing was the food took a while after we ordered, but it's a small restaurant and there was a big party ahead of us so i knew i was in for a bit of a wait.
(3)Page I.
I went to this restaurant this past Halloween at around 7:30pm. Parking is pretty tricky, fortunately I rode with my guy on a moped and we just parked right at the entrance. The restaurant wasn't too crowded so service was pretty good and we received our food fairly quickly, in under 15 minutes. We started off with the buttered naan, which was delicious and had an amazing aroma. The basmati rice was good, I ordered the curry chicken masala and was really happy with it--like Kimberly T. mentioned, the chicken is of unusually good quality, it's really tender and cooked perfectly. He ordered the lamb curry -- loved the taste of the curry itself but the meat had a lot of... gelatinous goo? that was embedded in between the muscle fibers. Eh, despite that, I would definitely go back to this place if I ever felt like eating Indian again. A little pricey (but all Indian restaurants are) but the portion sizes are huge, I love eating the leftovers from this place.
(4)Mila S.
I love this restaurant! The food is DELICIOUS. I've been here a few times and have tried lots of different menu options - they're all tasty and satisfying. You can tell the curries are slow cooked and made with tons of spices. I'm kind of a sissy when it comes to spicy foods, but the level of hotness in this Indian food is manageable. And yes, the naan is incredible! They give you huge pieces that are puffy, perfectly cooked and soooo yummy. Service is great - they're attentive and remember their customers. Parking in the lot in front can be kind of difficult; but at night you can park across the street at City Mill for $5.00. Much easier. Go to this restaurant, you won't be disappointed.
(5)Brooke M.
Awful. Just awful. A new low in Indian food. Bland, overcooked, no semblance of freshness. Mumbly service without a smile. Just simply terrible. Can you make naan with Bisquick? Cuz that's what theirs tastes like! Never again. Oh, and if I was Cafe Maharani, I'd sue them-- the menu is an exact photo copy of Maharani's menu! WTF?!
(2)raechelle v.
Really was pleasantly surprised. After wanting to try Indian food for the longest time, I decided to try this place for my birthday lunch. I fell in love! I can't remember the names of the dishes, but we had the curry with spinach and lamb that oddly reminded me of Squid Luau without the squid. The garlic and onion naan was awesome. And the butter chicken was a winner too. You can choose from the lunch and dinner menu. Only down side is, they ran out of dessert. Only had this rice pudding thing that could have been better. Amp up the desserts and I'll give this place 5 stars!
(4)Kawika M.
Parking is awful but the food was super good so who cares. I got take out anyways and the wait staff was really nice and accommodating while I waited for my food. They brought the food out to my car too which was cool. The chicken saag, AKA spicy chicken luau was spot on and the onion kulcha was unreal. Would go back again garanz.
(5)vic w.
I thought their food was near bland and lacked the great blend of bold flavors that makes Indian food so great. We got the three set combination for the four of us. It was more than enough food to say the least. The vegetarian appetizer is a real nice treat giving you a taste to start the meal off with a mix of fried items. It was a hopeful beginning. When the food came, which took a little more than the average amount of time, the spices for all the dishes overall just seemed off tilt. In particular, the curry seemed very irony and the chicken tasted unusually gamey. I did like the lamb curry. For those that are often put off by the gaminess of lamb - their version is a little more tame (although you'd still know it was lamb) and the sauce is good. We had a sizzling beef/vegetable dish which had a sweet, but hot after kick to it. It was mediocre at best with the vegetables mushed up. Regarding their naan, I would agree with most posts that it really isn't what it should be. A little too doughy and bland. However, I do want to make a correction to one of the posts that naan is a staple Indian food...it really isn't. For Indians it is really only eaten at restaurants or outside the home because most don't have the means to cook it. Thus, not a staple food of the Indian culture. I've been a little spoiled living in the Bay Area with great Indian cuisine, so this place just isn't up to par. I'm going to definitely try out another Indian restaurant before returning.
(3)William L.
So good I was speechless.
(5)Travis T.
The dinner for three was a lot of food but I'm sure it would have been more than enough if we were all super hungry. I've never been to Maharani so I can't compare the food, but it wasn't super crowded. The parking was weird and cramped but there were a couple open spaces on a Saturday night. Try the Galub Jamun for dessert, a yummy bread/cheese ball soaked in honey syrup. Num nums.
(4)Alice E.
the naan was superb!!! my hubs and i went ther for lunch recently and already planning to go back in the near future.
(1)Matthew H.
Service a little slow, but friendly. Bread is amazing. Portions look small until u start eating. Chai tea is Ono
(4)danielle c.
Service is horriable. The waiter was extremely rude. We sat for 10 min, no service. We left.
(1)Lyla D.
After spending our morning attending to appointments in the Honolulu-St. Louis Heights area, we decided to have lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Cafe Taj Mahal. We were fortunate to find a parking space in the normally busy and narrow lot. The parking lot gets really crowded because it services several restaurants such as Cafe Taj Mahal, Sabrina Italian, SushiMan, The Fat Greek and newly opened Frankly Fresh. When we entered, we were immediately greeted and recognized by the owner. We also noticed that they had updated or at least done a mini-makeover in the dining area. There still were 2 flat screen monitors playing exotic Bollywood-esque music videos with modern and lively background music. The décor is a bit more chic while still nicely air conditioned and clean. The lunch menu is limited. You can select up to three entrées (thali) which include freshly made naan (garlic or buttered is available at an additional cost) or rice that ranged in price from $10 to $22. There were chicken, lamb and vegetarian entrées on the menu as well as some desserts. We began our meal with an order of Pakora which were 6 rice flour fritters of diced onions and cilantro. They were served with mint-coriander and tamarind chutney. These crispy fritters came out hot from the frying pan and were mildly spicy. As appetizers, the pakoras did their "job" of encouraging our appetites and tastebuds! I ordered the chicken Korma with one naan while my husband ordered his favorite chicken Saag with one naan. Both chicken dishes featured tender boneless chicken. The Korma is a yogurt based curry and Saag is a creamy spiced curry. Our entrées were flavorful, satisfying and comforting and only cost us $10 per person. Service was friendly, attentive and well-paced for lunchtime. There were other patrons dining who didn't seem to be in any rush to return to work or go about their day. Everyone seemed to bask in the exotic décor and music.
(4)Emily E.
Cozy restaurant with Bollywood music and videos on in the back, nice Taj Mahal painting on the wall and a few cool photos. Our server was friendly and attentive and checked up on us a couple times. Got the combination dinner for 3 people, Assorted Veggie Appetizer with samosas, baked herb Cracker & something similar to falafel. Lamb vindaloo, Butter chicken, Lamb masala curry, Garlic Nan & Chesse Nan, Rice Pudding with raisins. Quite a lot of food! Our food took about 20-25 minutes to come out, it felt a bit long of a wait considering that there were only a few people Dining. The food itself was okay. Everything was all the same note not much variation of flavors and not much spice.With 3 different entrees the flavor profiles were pretty much the same in each one which was a little disappointing. Butter chicken was my favorite out of all 3 curries. I liked the Nan Bread & the Warm Rice pudding better than the actual meal. Price of everything together including Tip: $91.00.
(3)Donna V.
Very small restaurant found on Waialae. Parking is very tight so if you are lucky you will find a good parking and I recommend carpooling. We came here for my brother's birthday since he wanted to try Indian Curry. We called in to put a reservation and were seated shortly after we arrived. Everything on the menu is pretty much served family style although I think each dish serves about 2 people (this is my opinion as I saw everyone take home leftovers). It took about 30-45 minutes to get what we ordered. We decided to get the following: -Assorted Platter (2 pieces of samosas, chicken and onion pakora): we got the lamb samosa although you can choose between chicken and beef as well. The chicken and onion pakora remind me of the bloomin onion breading taste at Outback. Samosas were fresh. Pakora items were juicy and goes great with the chutney and yogurt. -Chicken Curry Masala: mild spice, chicken is tender and soft. Goes well with Naan bread or rice. -Chicken Korma Curry: mild and on the sweeter tasting side. This was okay to me but my siblings enjoyed it with rice. -Mama's Spicy Shrimp Curry: if you like spicy, this is spicy. My brother's were sweating in minutes after eating this. -Naan bread with butter and Garlic: pretty simple yet delicious. Good to dip win the curry. -Lamb Stuffed Naan Bread: AMAZING. This was my favorite next to the chicken marsala curry. Reminded me of a quesadilla. I think there was garlic on top the bread but I am not too sure. -Assorted kebab platter. Mixture of beef and lamb. Platter had salad and regular naan bread. I liked the minced lamb from this platter. -Rice Polau: rice pilaf type. Goes well with the curries. -Lassie drinks: my younger bro got the mango and my older bro got the lemon lime. Tasted both and it wasnt my thing but they enjoyed it. We did leave full. And for all of our dishes plus gratuity it came out to $140. The food was great. Wish it was bigger in size but I guess it depends on your party and appetite. We were the only ones who didnt have a take home container. We were also the first party to order seconds according to one of the employees there. Definitely would come here again.
(4)Ray L.
This place still rocks! Lunch specials are the best.and you get a good variety of different items. Try the chicken jalfrezzi. Good flavor and spices
(5)Chris K.
Great food and huge portions. Got the meal for two which could have fed four easily. Garlic naan bread is amazing. I like heat so the vindaloo was perfect. Parking situation is rough but that's not their fault. It's better to go early to get a stall.
(5)Emily B.
My poor husband was tired of Asian/Hawaiian food on our last night so we went with an old standby: Indian! We had chicken saag, dahl, naan, and rice. Everything was a la carte here, versus our normal restaurant back home on the mainland that gives you rice wtih each main dish. The naan was great but the dahl was not as tasty as back home.
(3)Rita L.
so the night started off with trying to look for parking, good luck there ain't much. but, u can park across the street but pay $5. i rather not, so luckily we found some! make reservations! it was freakin busy! i mean busy! even though we made reservations, we still waited 30+ minutes! so we've tried good and bad indian food. This place has really authentic indian food. i mean there was a lot of local indians eating here so that must mean something right? the samosas here were awesome! we tried beef, chicken, and vegetarian-the beef was the best! the coconut rice was really good too! love, love, the palik paneer, all the masala dishes were great! the garilc naan was very garlic and huge! the saag was delicious! i mean everything was great! not too spicy either! just make sure u have your raita-the yogurt on the side to tone down the spice1 we were sooo full! the desserts looked great but we didn't have any room! the portions were great and the service was pretty good! we did have to wait some time for them to bring out our food. but what did we do? we drank it up! wine, wine, and more wine! i love byob places! ahhh!!! so if you are in the mood for some indian food in hawaii, try cafe taj mahal! it was really good!
(4)Wil T.
The service is horrible. Have you ever had to ask for plates? food so-so service- what service. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.
(1)lauren f.
The samosa is perfect! I love the pastry outside, not too heavy, and a super delicious filling. Palak paneer so creamy and a great balance of nuttiness to spice, although i wished there was more paneer to balance out the ratio of the creamy spinach. The server offered to put raisins and chilies on top, which sounded awesome, but she forgot. The biryani rice was amazingly flavored with just the right amount of ghee and spice. Service was just okay, not very attentive, but the food was awesome!
(4)Catherine L.
Cafe TajMahal opened after one of the staff member from Maharani quit. They tried to recreate the menu over there, but it is not quite as good as Maharani. Just a pale copy that does not taste right. I went there with friends, and I was ashamed that I did suggest it. All was wrong ! The waitress did not even know what a lassi was, and when she brought me mine, it tasted like vegetable juice. I told her something was wrong with the lassi, and she acted like I was the silly one. All the dishes where bland, or tasted funny. The samossa were super greasy, and a thick crust for almost no filling. And the ambiance is not quite as quirky-means-cool as Maharani. It is just bland. Like their food. Never again.
(1)Rickie B.
I learned of this restaurant about a month ago while ordering from the Fat Greek next door which has great food. Tonight I thought I would try it, so I called to put in a takeout order. A twentysomething Indian male answered and I said I was a first time customer wanting to try a lamb dish. I asked him if they served Rogan Josh and he said he did not know what that was! I politely asked if he could answer just a few quick questions about the menu lamb dishes as I did not have a menu in front of me and needed to order dinner. He did not seem to know much about their restaurant menu and had to ask his father what Rogan Josh was. Anyway I asked one more question about other lamb dishes curry and he called me Sir. Since I am a Ms (woman) but my phone voice at night can sometimes sound a bit deep in tone, I nicely said Sir I am a Ms not a fellow. Anyway I said i was eager to order before they closed for the night and would pick up. He then hung up the phone on me but I did not know this and thought the cell phone got disconnected. So I called back he picked up and hung up the phone. I did not have the chance to say anything. I finally got through and said "Sir we seem to have gotten cut off." to which he then said verbatim "You d--khead. F--k off." I was flabbergasted. I have eaten in restaurants all over the world in all sorts of dining venues and am into good customer service, being an executive in Human Resources so employee training is essential. I got in my car and drove over and asked to speak to the owner and told this fellow's father what had happened. The mother came out of the kitchen and got defensive about her son. I told them that not only was this very upsetting but that no customer should be spoken to in that manner and that I was a potential new long time customer with a history of restaurant loyalty. The father did not say much and the whole family seemed dysfunctional and seemed not to know what to do. I just shook my head and said well I shared what happened and now I am going home. They did not offer a dinner comp or any other customer service gesture and although the son finally said he was sorry, it did not really makeup to me for what happened. The owner should have taken charge and handled it with some customer service skill. It is too bad as I would have been a loyal customer if I had liked their food. I have never had anything like this happen before and it shook me up so much I cried on the drive home from the stress of it.
(1)Gidget T.
I've eaten at Cafe Taj Mahal several times and I've always been pleased with the quality of the food. I typically order the Chicken Kabob dish (that comes with Naan). My sister, who is a vegetarian, loves their curry but noted it was odd that it did not come with rice (as most other Indian places we ordered from do). Still, she said it was very delicious and the rice is always fresh and not too overwhelming to the dish. I love their Naan best of all. It's best if you get the dipping yogurt sauce on the side and I prefer to eat it right away while it's hot as opposed to letting it cool. There is a somewhat limited seating, but I've never had to wait long to get a table. If you order to go it comes out in about 15 minutes and the employees are very friendly and remembered my favorite entree after a couple visits. Overall, I enjoy eating there from time to time, but had to take off stars because of the price (much pricer than some other Indian restaurants) and because rice never comes included with a dish and it's quite expensive to have to order it in addition to your meal. Still, one extra order of rice can feed three to four people.
(3)Cecilia D.
Cafe Taj Mahal was really good! We were initially going to go to Maharani but they were closed due to the chef's wedding. We had heard of Taj Mahal and I remembered that Nadine Kam (Star-Bulletin) gave it a good review so we decided to try it for the first time. All of us were pleasantly surprised! We ordered the chicken masala, lamb vindalo, chicken samosas, buttered naan and yellow rice... everything came out freshly made, hot and spicy :) The masala was so good that we ordered an extra helping! Also loved the tamarind sauce... had an extra kick to it. The restaurant (and restroom) was clean, the owner/host was gracious, and overall our dining experience superb. We will return!
(4)Julia G.
Garlic Butter Naan! I LOVE IT!! and the fish masala is soooooo good! top it off with a rose laasi and youre good to go.... no really you are good to GO! =p
(5)Cheryl K.
It was Valentine's day and I was not willing to go to a super fancy restaurant and wait disgustingly long in a line nor did I make any reservations. I was craving some Indian food and I actually wanted to go to Cafe Maharani. We drove by Maharani and it was pouring and there was a little line so I said screw it. I Yelped Cafe Taj Mahal and we decided to chance it. Awesome, it was not crowded at all and I was stoked. We sat down in a little corner right next to a television that was playing Bollywood. Yes! I was sad or withdrawing because I didn't bring a bottle of wine since it was BYOB. Boo! Anyway we looked through the menu and my husband suggested we order the Taj Combination for Two. It came with naan, rice, and two entrees. I chose the Chicken Curry Masala (which I actually meant to order the Chicken Tikka Masala, next time...) and my husband chose the Palak Paneer. The server brought out the vegetable samosas for us to snack on. Now let me tell you, the samosas itself filled me up like an entree. It was really tasty and the size of it was huge. I love the mint and tamarind sauce it came with. I was already full after eating it. Then they brought out our entrees, rice, and naan bread. I swear the Taj Combination for Two was probably written wrong and it was supposed to be for Four. The portions are huge! The naan bread was bigger than my head. The food was really good though and the service kept checking on us. The curry was not that spicy though so next time I think I would add a little more kick. The ambiance is really pleasant and we ended up bring home a whole meal for leftovers. I want to try the Chicken Tikka Masala next time. I would totally come back since it seems like there is not as big of a crowd as Cafe Maharani down the street.
(4)Annie W.
I feel so bad for giving them 2/5 stars just because they are a family run restaurant and the chefs are this cute older Indian couple but allow me to explain! SERVICE:1/5 For goodness sakes I was starving!!! Well no, I wasn't starving when I got there at noon but I was super excited because all these awesome Yelpers said this place is the bomb! I brought my friend to Cafe Taj Mahal and it was her first time eating Indian food! You can't believe how excited I was! We sat ourselves down and the first thing I noticed was there were 2 empty tables full of dirty dishes and 2 tables with customers waiting for their food, 1 table getting food and 1 table already eating...there was 1 server for 8 tables altogether. My friend and I sat down and flipped through their menu while we waited. 20 minutes passed and we got water.....35 minutes passed and we got an indication from the server that he was going to take our order... okay at that point I was starving!! I wanted my butter chicken and naan so badly! I decided to ask the server to take our order and he said to give him a minute. A minute passed and he seemed so busy taking orders from other tables and doing other stuff that the 1 minute turned into 15 minutes. I decided to ask the second time around (which was 45 minutes after we sat down) and thankfully he stopped to take our order... but to my dismay, they ran out of naan and they don't serve butter chicken for lunch...sigh. As we waited for our food (which took another 15-20 minutes to arrive) we couldnt help but notice that completely confused and probably newbie server. It was somewhat funny, annoying and sad to watch at the same time. One take out customer came in and was in a terrible mood as it seemed as though he waited for a long time and he was telling the server that someone should have called him if the food was already done. The server apologized (which is good) and gave the guy his food. The server seemed super flustered and distracted that he forgot to get payment from that take out customer and he ran after the guy. I'm not sure what happened afterwards as I stopped paying attention to that, but my conclusion is that this server probably wont be working there that long. FOOD: 3/5 Not bad. The food and drinks were quite rich and flavorful, but I was starving at the point my food arrived so I cant be quite sure....but I think the most outstanding dish we had was the naan look-a-like thing that was stuffed with soft flavorful potato (it was an appetizer that the super slow server suggested in replacement of the regular naan... I think it is called the Aloo Paratha) This dish is what I am most definite about, so give it a try if you are there! AMBIANCE: This place holds about 8 tables/ parties. The decorations and TV in the restaurant features Indian styles and taste. It is quite a cute little restaurant. The noise level was moderate. The tables and seats are arranged in a way that it feels private so a party of 8 would still feel comfortable and intimate. PARKING: 2/5 There is a small private parking lot in front of the restaurant but it gets full quick as this parking lot is shared with other restaurants in the same plaza. I don't recommend driving a truck, a large suv or a van into this parking lot as maneuvering in this parking lot with anything larger than a small suv would be a hassle. There isn't any street parking but luckily there is a larger parking lot across the street on Waialae Ave. I think it is paid parking though. OVERALL: 2/5 I think if the service wasn't as slow I would have given them a higher rating. But don't get me wrong, the guy was super nice but just super super super slow. Seriously, anyone should agree that ...1 hour and 20 minutes to get food is quite a long wait...The food and atmosphere of the place is good. We found parking (luckily) but I can imagine the parking situation could get frustrating especially if you don't want to pay for parking. So unfortunately the overall score is 2/5
(2)Whitni W.
We had the boti lamb dahl with naan and mango lassies. :3 it was so delicious and reasonably priced; $10.99 for the one-choice lamb combo and $3 each for awesomely creamy lassies. Also, friendly service and awesome Shah Rukh Khan music videos. so eye catching and mind boggling *.* Yes, definitely coming back. And the film photos framed along the wall are a great sight as well. Thank you for the great food!
(5)Lehua S.
Its a small hole in the wall place, but still very cute. Perfect for a date night or a small get together with some wine and the girls. The garlic and cheese Naan was soooooooo good. This place is also BYOB as a lot of the Honolulu Indian places are. Portions are good and big as well! This place is also open more than some of the other nearby places. OH ! I also love the Bollywood movies they have on the tv!!!!!!!!! love it!
(4)Antonio Z.
Waited 25 minutes and no one came to take our order ! Really wanted to give this place a try ! I have never walked out of a restaurant in my life ! Tonight I did ! I will never return ! And I've been in this business for almost 30 years ! Inept in competent service !
(1)Kimo K.
Great Hindi food. No fear alibaba. BYOB and cheap prices good service handsome attentive guys love TV and trance Goa music and dance video wish they have dancing after hours hole in wall but clean and did I mention BYOB greatest nan and curry. Remodeled but need bigger TV
(4)Kevin P.
Great food. Parking is bad but just go across the street, but watch out for/enjoy all the feral kitties. And I hope you enjoy bollywood because it's you're evening entertainment. =)
(4)Lyla D.
After spending our morning attending to appointments in the Honolulu-St. Louis Heights area, we decided to have lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Cafe Taj Mahal. We were fortunate to find a parking space in the normally busy and narrow lot. The parking lot gets really crowded because it services several restaurants such as Cafe Taj Mahal, Sabrina Italian, SushiMan, The Fat Greek and newly opened Frankly Fresh. When we entered, we were immediately greeted and recognized by the owner. We also noticed that they had updated or at least done a mini-makeover in the dining area. There still were 2 flat screen monitors playing exotic Bollywood-esque music videos with modern and lively background music. The décor is a bit more chic while still nicely air conditioned and clean. The lunch menu is limited. You can select up to three entrées (thali) which include freshly made naan (garlic or buttered is available at an additional cost) or rice that ranged in price from $10 to $22. There were chicken, lamb and vegetarian entrées on the menu as well as some desserts. We began our meal with an order of Pakora which were 6 rice flour fritters of diced onions and cilantro. They were served with mint-coriander and tamarind chutney. These crispy fritters came out hot from the frying pan and were mildly spicy. As appetizers, the pakoras did their "job" of encouraging our appetites and tastebuds! I ordered the chicken Korma with one naan while my husband ordered his favorite chicken Saag with one naan. Both chicken dishes featured tender boneless chicken. The Korma is a yogurt based curry and Saag is a creamy spiced curry. Our entrées were flavorful, satisfying and comforting and only cost us $10 per person. Service was friendly, attentive and well-paced for lunchtime. There were other patrons dining who didn't seem to be in any rush to return to work or go about their day. Everyone seemed to bask in the exotic décor and music.
(4)Emily E.
Cozy restaurant with Bollywood music and videos on in the back, nice Taj Mahal painting on the wall and a few cool photos. Our server was friendly and attentive and checked up on us a couple times. Got the combination dinner for 3 people, Assorted Veggie Appetizer with samosas, baked herb Cracker & something similar to falafel. Lamb vindaloo, Butter chicken, Lamb masala curry, Garlic Nan & Chesse Nan, Rice Pudding with raisins. Quite a lot of food! Our food took about 20-25 minutes to come out, it felt a bit long of a wait considering that there were only a few people Dining. The food itself was okay. Everything was all the same note not much variation of flavors and not much spice.With 3 different entrees the flavor profiles were pretty much the same in each one which was a little disappointing. Butter chicken was my favorite out of all 3 curries. I liked the Nan Bread & the Warm Rice pudding better than the actual meal. Price of everything together including Tip: $91.00.
(3)Donna V.
Very small restaurant found on Waialae. Parking is very tight so if you are lucky you will find a good parking and I recommend carpooling. We came here for my brother's birthday since he wanted to try Indian Curry. We called in to put a reservation and were seated shortly after we arrived. Everything on the menu is pretty much served family style although I think each dish serves about 2 people (this is my opinion as I saw everyone take home leftovers). It took about 30-45 minutes to get what we ordered. We decided to get the following: -Assorted Platter (2 pieces of samosas, chicken and onion pakora): we got the lamb samosa although you can choose between chicken and beef as well. The chicken and onion pakora remind me of the bloomin onion breading taste at Outback. Samosas were fresh. Pakora items were juicy and goes great with the chutney and yogurt. -Chicken Curry Masala: mild spice, chicken is tender and soft. Goes well with Naan bread or rice. -Chicken Korma Curry: mild and on the sweeter tasting side. This was okay to me but my siblings enjoyed it with rice. -Mama's Spicy Shrimp Curry: if you like spicy, this is spicy. My brother's were sweating in minutes after eating this. -Naan bread with butter and Garlic: pretty simple yet delicious. Good to dip win the curry. -Lamb Stuffed Naan Bread: AMAZING. This was my favorite next to the chicken marsala curry. Reminded me of a quesadilla. I think there was garlic on top the bread but I am not too sure. -Assorted kebab platter. Mixture of beef and lamb. Platter had salad and regular naan bread. I liked the minced lamb from this platter. -Rice Polau: rice pilaf type. Goes well with the curries. -Lassie drinks: my younger bro got the mango and my older bro got the lemon lime. Tasted both and it wasnt my thing but they enjoyed it. We did leave full. And for all of our dishes plus gratuity it came out to $140. The food was great. Wish it was bigger in size but I guess it depends on your party and appetite. We were the only ones who didnt have a take home container. We were also the first party to order seconds according to one of the employees there. Definitely would come here again.
(4)Ray L.
This place still rocks! Lunch specials are the best.and you get a good variety of different items. Try the chicken jalfrezzi. Good flavor and spices
(5)Lee K.
Three words... Yum, yum, delish! If you're in the mood for Indian, go here. You won't regret it.
(4)Sharon H.
After watching "The 100 Foot Journey" -- which btw is a great movie especially if you love food -- I had a craving for Indian food and Cafe Taj Mahal absolutely hit the spot! Taking cues from our wonderful Yelp community, I made reservations in advance (tho if your party is less than 4, no need) and got there early for best parking in the tiny lot that also serves Sabrina's and The Fat Greek. Here you'll find familiar favorites from samosas to curries, laden with the deep aromatic spices -- tumeric, cumin, garam masala -- and rich vibrant colors (golden yellows and bold reds) so distinctly Indian. Of all the dishes, the stand out was the samosas -- these golden triangle puffs were both densely rich in filling yet crunchy light in texture. Served with a sauce or alone, one samosa alone can easily fill you up. The chicken tikka masala was well executed -- spicy yet with a mild heat for the timid palate like mines. If it's too hot you can't enjoy the flavors... But that's just me. I think Fran C. can take it flaming hot! The restaurant was very warm inside so luckily I was there early enough to snag us seats near the hard working A/C. Service was very hospitable, and we left feeling happily satiated. I will be back!
(4)Fran C.
I don't know nothing about Indian cuisine, and if it weren't for my Yelp buddy - Sharon H. for turning me on to this type of food, I probably wouldn't have tried it at all. I've only been to one Indian restaurant (Himalayan Kitchen) thus far, until this past Friday night where I met Sharon H., & Linda C. for a delicious meal of Indian cuisine at the Cafe Taj Mahal. Cafe Taj Mahal is located just across the street from the Kaimuki City Mill. It is located in a small strip mall where other restaurants like the -Fat Greek, Sabrina Italian Restaurant, & a Sushi shop is located. Upon entering the restaurant, it was very small, but decorated very nicely. My friends got there before me, and Sharon H. was so smart to order appetizers ahead of time, as service can be quite slow........... If you're in a rush to get something quick, may I suggest you go someplace else! But if you're not in a rush, and have the time, you can have a very nice, casual, unrushed dining experience over here. Sharon H. had ordered a Butter naan, & two types of Samosa (Chicken & Vegetable) for the appetizers. The Samosa comes with two types of sauces, a mint, and another type of sauce that was red (sorry could not remember what it was). I must say, the Samosa's are to die for..........kinda reminds me of some kind of Chinese dumpling I've had in the past, only with different fillings. The Samosa dumpling are deep fried & PACKED with filling! If you had the Chicken, or Vegetable, you can't go wrong with either, as they were both all so yummy! For our meal, we ordered a Sizzling Chicken dish that came with bell peppers, onions, carrots, & tomato. It was spicy, but not too hot. Too bad I forgot what it was called. We also ordered a Rice Polau, and a Chicken Masala. And of course we had to have the Garlic Butter Naan, because the naan is sooooooooo goooooood! All dishes are served family style, and they do provide large generous portions. No alcohol served here, but it's BYOB! There is very limited parking in the small strip mall, but there is pay parking across the street at the open parking lot by City Mill for $5.00. You go to the automated machine & pay your $5.00, then leave the ticket on your dash board of your car. Overall, a very enjoyable meal here.......in fact, I think I like it at Cafe Taj Mahal better than Himalayan Kitchen! If you're ever in the mood for Indian food, you may consider checking out this place.
(5)Ukon D.
Really good place. Really good Indian food for hawaii. Came here with my friend and ordered chicken korma and butter chicken. Both very good dishes, rice we ordered was definitely a lot and had plenty of food to take home. We came on a sunday evening (pretty much a full house). It's BYOB but that didn't affect us since we don't drink and interesting selection of Bollywood music videos. Overall good experience, but I really didn't get a good vibe from the man who took our orders. He seemed nice but oddly arrogant :( . The young lady who brought our dishes and cleared our table afterwards was very kind and considerate of getting us waters and making sure we were satisfied with our dishes. Slightly pricy but definitely worth it for the portions and the welcoming ambiance.
(4)James V.
Good service, good food, nice ambiance & a fair price. Parking is a little tight. Will definitely repeat.
(4)Rain Greg J.
Great meal, we were not disappointed! Service was perfect. All the staff attended to all the tables, so every need was anticipated and taken care of promptly. Decor is cute and clean. We were one of four or five couples waiting for them to open for dinner, a good sign. Our Chicken tikki masala was delicious, our potato spinach dish was a bit bland but still very good. It was worth the 2mile walk to get here and now we have a 2 mile walk back to burn the calories. We will be back!
(4)Ericka B.
"Would you like me to assign someone to butter your naan?" First time eating at an Indian restaurant, EVER. Clearly I've been missing out! The food was fantastico! We ordered coconut rice, chicken saag, butter chicken, eggplant shish korma, and buttered naan. I swear the chicken saag tasted just like chicken lau lau! SHAMAZE. I clearly enjoyed everything, but was especially fond of the buttered naan. When it first came out, it smelt like someone was making some popcorn. I regret not ordering more. Super good! It's also BYOB. Parking is a bit hard here, but there is a lot (which you have to pay for) across the street.
(4)Adrian L.
This is my first choice for Indian food! I've gone to other Indian restaurants on Oahu that seem super popular but have servers that aren't knowledgeable about the food they serve. The staff at Taj Mahal know Indian food as most of the staff are family. I always order the Chicken Jalfrezi and my wife enjoys the Dal Sambar. Try the chutneys that we order with the papadam appetizer. It's also delicious! They are open for lunch and I think the lunch prices are super reasonable.
(5)Alli C.
The rundown: -Great service -Try the chutney!! -Naan is a must -Parking is limited Going to Cafe Taj Mahal I had never tried Indian food before. And I LOVED IT! We had the chicken naan and the garlic naan. They came out fresh and delicious and were especially good with the chutney as a dipping sauce. I love eggplant so of course we tried the eggplant tika marsala and the eggplant shish korma. The marsala was pretty spicy, but I love spicy things so it was delicious. If you are not a fan of spicy things, I would recommend the shish korma over the marsala. The coconut in the shish korma balances the spiciness. The only down side to Cafe Taj Mahal is that the parking is undesirable. There are limited spots and the layout makes it difficult to maneuver in and out of the area.
(5)Michelle R.
A good place for flavorful Indian food and portions are big while prices are good. The naan bread was very fresh and crispy. The vegetable samosa appetizer was very flavorful despite having no meat. It was like a vegetable pie in an andagi crust. It came with two dipping sauces, yogurt and tamarind, the tamarind has a nice spunky kick. Recommended! The chicken curry and other chicken dish that started with a "J" were very rich and tasted like there was a lot of time put into cooking them. Nicely stewed so all the ingredients marinate well. The chicken was plentiful in both dishes and soaked through with stew flavor. Very delicious and reasonably priced! The lassie is a sweet yogurt drink. It was like a light smoothie. I got the rose flavor, it was interesting. Reminded me of banana and strawberry taste. It was a bit sweet but it helped balance the intense flavor from the entrees.
(4)Millie S.
The temperature in the restaurant was 86 degrees. I will never go back there. We were there for lunch.We were dripping with sweat and it to them 1/2 hour to bring our food. Get take out and find a cool spot under a tree to eat it. I have no comment on the food. There were no pictures of the food. ???
(1)C V.
Soooo good! This was my first time at this restaurant and only second time eating Indian food, so I was a little hesitant. But I'm glad I tried it! Everything is fresh and made to order, so expect a little wait. But it's so worth it! Of course we had to have their naan, so we got one plain and one garlic.. Amazing! So warm and fresh! The chicken and lamb biryani is super good and the portion size is huge! We also got the lamb vindaloo and butter chicken, and both were really good and tasty! Both the chicken and lamb were extremely tender. The only reason for 4/5 stars is because of the parking. There's only a small amount of parking and they are pretty tight, especially if you have a bigger car. I will definitely be coming back. And dont forget, it's BYOB! :)
(4)Ed L.
Cafe Taj Mahal is one smart alternative to the small glut of Indian cuisines you may indulge yourself while you are in Honolulu for a day or two. It's hidden gem appeal is probably the reason why I came here to get my naan on. Indian cuisine has always been a favorite of mine, ever since discovering it a yelp event at the Cafe Maharani. Since then, Thai and Indian curry have been a mainstay with me, if and when I have the means to buy. The times I have been to Cafe Taj Mahal were majority take out affairs, but had taken a couple of friends here to celebrate special birthday milestones. We kept it low key. It was a little awkward when the wait staff comes to your table to sing happy birthday really loud, as some other establishments do. So we just enjoyed the company of friends and celebrated life's milestones. During my time at the Cafe Taj Mahal, it was a nice positive one. You may say that this location can be a hole in the wall. Probably right. You wouldn't know if it was here unless you were searching for it. The ambiance of this place is definitely casual but can be intimate, if you want it to be. Cafe Taj Mahal is located in the humble spot next to the Fat Greek Greek restaurant in Kaimuki, on the footsteps of St. Louis heights. Very little parking here, if at all, once the parking stalls in front of this small block of eateries are taken. They accept credit cards, so that's always a plus. In this day and age, how could you not? Best advice after reading the reviews is to come with an open mind if you are new to Indian cuisine. The service here was atypical, but friendly, and made a Friday night even more positive to enjoy. I'm definitely a fan of the Indian curries and the spicy tolerance for it is quite remarkable. Only issue that I saw dining in at Cafe Taj Mahal is that the time ordering and the time receiving such order was about 60-75 minutes apart. I get that good food is definitely a delicacy to wait for, but 60-75 minutes is kind of slow. I guess hanging with your friends to kick off a weekend is the consolation, but waiting for the food clearly is frustrating, but what can you do. In the end, it was worth the time spending waiting. We ordered the eggplant pakora to start and share. For the main entrees, I opted for the chicken masala curry, which is a favorite of mine that needs no introduction, with a heavy spice that can be overwhelming but great for your own taste. I had the cheesy naan bread on the side to complete the meal. My friends opted for the chicken vindaloo and the maharaja spicy chicken, also with the cheesy naan bread. For the most part, we also partook in getting the yellow basmati rice to taste and it was a pretty good combination! For the most part, the food was delicious and quite satisfying. While the chicken was spicy, the curry I had was quite succulent and moist. It wasn't dry, but it was tender. Quite wonderful indeed. We had water for the most part and saved the boozing till after the meal. The overall experience was okay. The food was good, yet the service can be improved. Waiting a while for an order can be frustrating at times, but it's well worth it. I had fun and my friends did too. If you don't mind the wait and have friends to hang with, enjoy Indian food in Kaimuki. It's pretty cool. I would recommend this place if you want to get your Indian cuisine on and or love curry. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.0 Support local! B-
(4)Danielle V.
The food was so good! It was the best Indian food I've ever had. The kabobs were fresh, you could taste it. It took a while to get our food but it was totally worth it. The lamb here is also good I would recommend that.
(5)Ruthie C.
This restaurant is tasty enough for a second try. I'm certainly going back to try the other dishes. The food: I've had chicken curry masala, chicken saag, garlic cheese nan, cheese nan, samosa, and lamb curry masala. All were tasty. They will adjust the spiciness level for you. I usually try medium first. The lowest spice level was too mild for me. Medium was good. I think I'll try the spiciest level next time. The cheese nan was good. Adding the garlic to it as garlic cheese nan raised it a whole new level for me. The gooeyness of the cheese and the sharp aroma and taste of garlic is perfect. The saag and masala sauces were good and flavorful, though I rate the food 4 stars since I have had better (but not by much). There were enough chunks of chicken and lamb in the entrees. The samosa appetizer comes with 2 pieces and 2 sauces. The pieces were big and very yummy. The sauces were very complementary. All the food came out perfectly fresh and hot. It was a joy to eat them. When you're hungry, the entree bowls look small, but it is really just enough especially if you add rice and/or nan with it (and really, you wouldn't want to go without either). I had plenty to take home with me. The service: The service was 5 stars both times that I was there. I was greeted immediately and warmly. Granted I was one of the first customers right at dinner opening on my first visit and the first diner on my second visit but everyone who came in after me got the same greeting. It was nice to feel that they were happy to see me there. I love the friendliness. I was immediately served with water and I didn't have to wait long for my food. I had different servers on each visit and both asked the spiciness level that I preferred. When I told my latest server that I probably could have stood a spicier level, he gave me extra peppers to add to my take home leftovers. The restaurant: It's a small space. Somewhat cramped with tables and chairs. Not much privacy for conversations. This, however, did not bother me. If I had one to three people with me, I probably would not have noticed the smallness. Aside from being distracted by company, the food was enough for me to overlook the space detail. Plates and utensils were clean. The tables were clean. Everything seemed clean. The place felt clean. There is a private lot but it is limited. I was there early enough to have found a parking spot. The parking lot is kind of cramped. There is only one way to enter and exit. I'm the stereotypical Asian girl driver and I drive a Nissan XTerra. It was scary for me to get out. The more skilled driver, however, would have been able to maneuver the in and exit without little trouble. Luckily, I didn't injure anyone or damage any property. Just alarmed some people who, hopefully, did not choke on their chicken vindaloo. Didn't need the restroom so don't know if they have one. Overall: I would definitely go back and bring people with me (and maybe a smaller car). Link to menu: cafetajmahal.com/menu.ht…
(4)Mohamed I.
Wait time is a bit long but food is excellent. I had the chicken curry and tandoori chicken and enjoyed it . Service is good but not excellent. Overall enjoyed my experience here. Would come back.
(4)Brigitte S.
I love Indian food. It's one of my favorites to be honest. I love the spice and dipping naan into all the extra sauce. Cafe Taj Mahal was where we first tried Indian near our house. We soon learned that they couldn't make any of the entrees mild enough for my boyfriends sensitivity and while I liked it fine, I could tell that the spice level was high. It was a bummer but we did find two other things we truly loved on the menu that keep us coming back anyway. The naan and stuffed naans are delicious. Warm tear apart bread, our favorite is the garlic topped. Simple and tasty! Our other find were the samosas. While we did find other Indian restaurants to get our main dish for each of our likings, we have not found better samosas. We usually order beef and chicken (2 come in each order) with some garlic topped naan and use the awesome samosa sauces on everything. The samosas are huge, with perfectly crisp flaky crusts and stuffed with well seasoned meat, potatoes, carrots, corn & just enough sauce. They're served with a mint yogurt sauce and a tamarind chutney that my boyfriend and I fight over; they're that delicious. We're usually stuffed after sharing these and aren't even missing our masala. It gets busy sometimes so call ahead for res or to do take out. I honestly like getting these to go and we curl up with a movie, a bottle of red and some goodness from here. Winning!
(4)Mary W.
Wow!! I was craving Indian food and this place did not disappoint! From the warm and friendly as well as attentive service to the incredibly tasty food our group of 4 was impressed. The samosas were to die for: we had the vegetable and chicken and the sauces were both excellent. We also shared the lamb stuffed naan, the shrimp korma, chicken tikka masala and chicken vindaloo. We liked it all but really loved the masala. Being able to BYOB was a nice option. The atmosphere was pleasant and our group enjoyed the Bollywood films playing in the background. We were truly impressed and will definitely be back!!
(5)Jong Soo L.
I came here for the first time because my friends didn't want to wait at cafe maharani. Had a little difficult time finding the place since it was the last restaurant on that corner. I got lucky with parking but if you do decide to turn in, its a dead end. So if one car wants to leave and another wants to go in. The one that wants to go in has to reverse all the way out and let the person leaving out. There was no wait so that was nice. The menu looked very similar to maharani. I did want I could to find the spiciest item but was disappointed yet again. Maharanis pepper chicken curry was actually spicy. But my taste buds couldn't feel any kick from the spiciest curry here. The rice was nothing special. The garlic naan was great. Probably the highlight of my meal. They also have BYOB. The service was great. They were attentive and always made sure our waters were filled. They were nice about answering any questions about the menu. They also were great at taking orders from customers that came first. The prices were about the same as maharani. If you're looking for a place to get a quick Indian fix with no wait, this is the place. But if you're looking for bomb ass Indian food, deal with the wait at maharani.
(3)Jon H.
It's no secret that I have a serious love for Indian cuisine. That's why I have to embarrassingly admit that today was the first time I've ever been to Cafe Taj Mahal. What makes that confession embarrassing is that I've literally lived next door from them for as long as they've been in business. Well there's the saying better late than never, so at least I have that mentality to redeem myself. But enough about that, let's talk about the food, which I'm happily able to say is quite good. Having browsed their menu online before heading over for lunch--a service I feel ALL restaurants should be offering in this age--something instantly caught my eye and I knew I had to have it for lunch. Malai kofta. For those of you unfamiliar with the dish, it's basically deep fried veggie and paneer cheese balls in a creamy, tomato based sauce. It's a pretty rich and heavy dish, but every now and then you're allowed to indulge yourself...or at least that's what I tell myself. And nothing goes better with malai kofta than naan, so I knew I'd also have to get myself an order to go along with my main dish. But my plan nearly took a tragic turn for when I was given the lunch menu there was no malai kofta to be seen. Now if this were some other craving I wanted to have satisfied, maybe I'd stick it out and suffer a bit longer for another opportunity. But when it comes to malai kofta, there really aren't many places that do it well, and I needed to know if Cafe Taj Mahal, which is so conveniently located to me, could stand up to the test. So I took a chance and asked if they could make an order for me even though it wasn't being offered at the time. After checking with the chef in the back, their answer was yes. Instant bonus points for being accommodating and providing excellent service. When my order came out, I was shocked at the portion size. I ate enough to be full, and I still had enough to take home for a dinner later. The flavors were well done, and the koftas maintained their texture even when swimming in the sauce. The naan was just ok, however, but I'm kinda a naan snob, so I won't really hold that against them. Besides, I did order plain naan, and going from past reviews and seeing what the other patrons around me were ordering, I maybe should've gotten the cheese (and garlic) or the butter variety. I also wanted to point out the ver reasonable prices for lunch. There is a lunch special option that allows youth get one vegetarian dish with a half order of naan or pulao rice for only $8.99. There are also similar lunch specials for curries with meat or lamb. Unfortunately my malai kofta was ineligible for the special because it had to be done ala carte, but it too was very reasonably priced at $11.99. For a lunch spot, Cafe Taj Mahal hit many positive notes with me. And I really have no real complaints about the food. A couple minor things I would like to note, however, would be the parking situation and the temperature in the restaurant. First, the parking can be atrocious at times. They share the same parking stalls as The Fat Greek, Sushi Man, and a Waialae Barber & Hair Salon, and it gets to be a mess at times. There are also pay parking stalls across the street in the City Mill lot if you can't find parking. And secondly, on a hot day like today, AC is a Godsend. But walking into Cafe Taj Mahal was like stepping into a sauna. They confirmed that their AC was working properly, but honestly unless you happened to sit right below the vent, the restaurant was a hot box. I am not exaggerating when I say that every customer who was there when I was complained, and a couple literally walked in, said it was way too hot, and left.
(4)Shannon H.
Hot hot HOT. To me, anyway. I am a big fan of Indian food but because I can't handle too much spicy (or any spicy, for that matter) this place was a little intense for me. We ordered the lamb masala and butter chicken curry, both not what I expected them to be, but I guess ok overall. I was in a post-nap stupor when I called in the order so I didn't do proper yelp research prior (shame on me). Wish I'd gone with the chicken korma which is supposed to be one of their milder dishes. Ah well, live and learn. Since we had naan at home, I can only speak about the curry but everyone agreed that it was pretty hot so I guess "authentic" Indian cuisine packs a pretty big kick. Prices were pretty reasonable compared to places like Himalayan kitchen or cafe maharani. ~$13 for the curry dishes where the other places sell them for $15-$16. Still think I prefer my flavors a little milder though so not sure if this'll be the place for me when I have curry cravings. But we'll see!
(3)Hawaii Girl Y.
It was a Tuesday night and this place was slammed with just one poor waiter. I ordered the Chicken Korma and it was one of the worst curries I've had in my life. I rather go to the Indian Restaurant in Moilili; even though customer service is poor there. My curry had some weird spices in it, curry was really thick, it was sweet, and bland. The Beef Samosas was just okay. Was very doughy. It was pretty bland too. I'm not sure why there are so many good reviews about this place. Worst Indian place yet. I would never come back here.
(1)Brianna S.
I couldn't disagree more with the past few reviews on service. So either they hired some new people, or we went on a great night. I wanted Indian food on a Sunday night in Honolulu, and found that most Indian places were closed on Sunday. Lucky for me, I found Cafe Taj Mahal was actually open until 10pm, even on a Sunday. SCORE! We headed down after a day on the west side. Parking was a bit scarce, but we did find a parking lot across the street. There was a pose of alley cats in the parking lot that must have had at least 40 members! It was pretty rad and frightening, all at the same time. Our server was awesome, very friendly and outgoing, and always made sure our water cups were filled. I told him I was in the mood for a shrimp dish, and wanted his suggestion, which was a tomato based sauce and asked for it spicy. I was so glad I asked for his recommendation, it was exactly what my hungry stomach needed. Decided to go without the rice and just get some buttered garlic naan to dip it in. I'm so glad they were the only ones open, it made the decision easy for me. But after knowing that service has defiantly improved since the last reviews and that the food was mouth watering, I will be back! But next time with a bottle of wine, because Cafe Taj Mahal is BYOB.
(5)John K.
They are located near Kaimuki across the street from City Mill. The Chicken Masala was mouth-watering good. I don't think there are too many places that can match that flavor of the curry. The chicken was tender also. I also like their Saag paneer [spinach curry]. The naan bread is fresh and soft and goes great with the curry. Their dinner prices are a little more than their lunch prices, but overall the food here is awesome!
(5)Angie D.
I debated between a 1 or 2 star... as I'm sure my experience was somewhat unique to say the least. Lets start with the HAIR we found in our food :/ It was a 6 on the "Hair I don't like in my food" scale. 1 being a dainty eyelash hair and 10 being hair from the nether regions... This hair was long and wavy and still had the follicle attached. yum.... plus it was mixed in, so you know it simmered for a while in hot indian food. ugh. We returned that dish straight away. I also had a glass of the Chai iced tea.. which was bland, but to top it off, I found an ANT in it. It could have been a grosser bug, so I didn't complain about that one. Initially we sat at the back corner table, but it seemed the air conditioner was on the fritz, we moved near the door and it was slightly cooler. The waiter, while he was extremely nice and quite apologetic (for the hair) he was extra slow on service, and It wasn't overcrowded. We went during lunch hour. As for the food. The naan bread was good (but isn't it always?) and the dishes we had were moderately pleasing (the ones with out hair). Until the cook starts wearing a hair net, and they solve their ant and air problem I won't be back.
(1)Karan M.
This is the only Indian place we could find open in the afternoon on a Monday. Warning , if you are of Indian origin please do not visit this place. It will absolutely spoil your appetite for Indian food in the future. The chicken korma had a weird taste to it, I barely ate few bites and left it alone. The after taste still remained in the mouth. The naan was raw and looked like cooked in the regular oven or packaged naan. The rice that came with the entree was the only thing edible. There are not many options for Indian food in Hawaii anyway, if possible give this a miss and satisfy your Indian food craving when you are back to home base.
(1)Marcel C.
Food tasted pretty authentic, and fresh. Not a ton of flavor. The lack of A/C made a difference. Not sure if I will go back.
(3)Ani R.
This restaurant is owned by a lovely Bangladeshi family. The owner who waited on us was so kind! We ordered the chicken korma, chicken masala, saag, mixed vegetables, naan, and rice! The food was good and not very spicy at all actually. In fact, the chicken dishes seemed to have some sweet spices mixed in. Definitely worth a try if you're in town, and craving Indian food.
(5)Thomas J.
My wife and I stopped here on a Sunday night, and were greeted by a friendly front of the house staff We ordered the chicken masala curry and the vegetable corma curry My wife was happy that they have a large vegetarian selection on their menu as well as all the traditional Indian favorites The rice was beautiful and the naan delicious Dining area is small / quaint and filled up fast
(5)R M.
The place was a bit difficult to find and parking is a bit tough but the food is delicious and the service was amazing The portions are huge. Bring your own alcohol if you want to drink
(4)Ramesse M.
Went to go eat here and showed up at about 140 the wait staff told us they are closed for lunch. The sign outside clearly says 2:00.
(1)Emi L.
Combination for Two includes: -Giant Samosas with 2 types of chutney -Naan Bread (generous portions, more than you know what to do with) -Basmati Rice -2 Entrees We got the Beef Curry Masala & Chicken Korma. Both were delicious, but Beef Curry Masala was my favorite! Huge portions of each so that leaves tons for leftovers. Also, BYOB with no corkage fee but $1 charge per wine glass. Parking situation is tricky.. it's right next to/behind The Fat Greek, so there's the tiny lot right in front. Or there's the paid lot across the street but it's pretty pricey from what I remember (numbered stalls, pay machine).
(4)Erica W.
Where do I begin?!? I decided to come here one day with my parents because although I love the food at Maharani, I was getting a little tired of the service there, or lack thereof. That and the fact I don't like the parking situation nor the fact that if you don't show up as soon as they open (if they bother to open on time) you are s*** out of luck of scoring a table. So I decide to visit Taj Mahal. Granted their parking situation is not that great, but there are parking lots across the streets (that after 5pm, just pay a nominal fee to a cash box based on your parking stall). To begin with, the decor is like any other Indian Restaurant I have been too plus there are a couple of tvs playing bollywood music videos (basically the song and dance numbers from various movies). The food is great and the portions are huge. Like you will have leftovers for 2-3 days after visiting for a meal. Plus the employees are AWESOME!!! It's a family owned restaurant where the parents work the kitchen and the sons work the seating area. Everytime I go I always get the son with the glasses and he is super personable and attentive.
(5)Michael H.
Great food in an unassuming decor. The spicy lamb curry with potato stuffed naan bread was incredible. The amount of spice was enough to stay on my palate but not effect my desire to eat more. The prices were very reasonable and the server was extremely friendly and helpful. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for authentic Indian cuisine at a good price.
(4)Jensen S.
This place is the second Indian food place that I tried right before I left Hawaii for the mainland. Portions are satisfying. Taste is slightly better than mediocre. Atmosphere is a little frantic and busy like since the place is so small but very popular. Parking is well below average since I only knew of street parking, not sure if there is a secret lot or parking garage. Overall, I probably wouldn't come back. I can get the Naan bread from Costco. That is the only thing worth going to this place for... Sorry
(3)Sherylynn S.
This is a great place to eat! The food were awesome, gotta love Saffron rice and Vegetable Samosa! Another reason is that you can BYOD (Bring your own Drink) so I had a nice white wine along with my dinner plate :) The server, his name is George, did a wonderful job. His vibe were very considerate and positive so he deserved a well tip :)
(4)Ruchin G.
SIMPLY AVOID AND GO AT YOUR OWN RISK 1)Very very slow staff 2)Very rude ,non-professional and impolite 3)Wait 30 mins for getting anything 4)Waiter will forget your order 5)Will not recommend to any sensible person 6) they included tips even though the service was so shitty 7) Worst experience in HAWAII
(1)Christa Lei S.
My brother loves this place, but it's a "meh" for me. It's not bad-- they're very kind here, and they have decent Indian food, and a really great glass of mango lassi. But the wait is KILLER! We went here during lunch and it took us an hour just to get our food. They also screwed up my lassi order, but it's okay-- I don't mind getting mango lassi, I just wanted to try the rose lassi. We got the order for 2-- which is MORE than enough for 2 people. I wish they had the butter chicken for lunch time-- then I'd spend more money lol. I've been here a couple times before and I've had better experiences. This last time put me off for some reason though. They really need more waitstaff, and the lamb chunks (lamb tikka masala) were too big, and for some reason not too flavorful. The chicken korma, I understand, but for lamb tikka masala-- I expected more. Thankfully the lassi and the naan more than make up for it. Also: PARKING HERE IS A NIGHTMARE. You're better off parking across the street.
(3)Sonam S.
We had the vegetarian lunch (matar paneer with chana masala and garlic naan) with papadam and vegetable pakora as starters. Also had the hot masala chai. 5 star for the masala chai, garlic naan and matar paneer 5 star for the excellent service The vegetable pakora were overdone. Would definitely come back here if we are in the neighborhood.
(4)Helen C.
This review should really be a 3.5 star, but I'll round up because the positives triumphed. The food was awesome. I wiped my plate clean! I had the Curry Chicken Masala, Lamb Saag, Buttered Nan, and a half order of rice -- all of which I happily recommend. This was way more than enough for a two person meal. I took it home and had leftovers for lunch the next day. Still good when heated. Negatives: Parking was pretty horrendous with the really tight lanes and limited stalls shared among five different restaurants. I parked across the street in the paid public parking by City Mill. $5 for the entire evening =/. Service was quite slow for a Friday night (8 - 9PM) but our waiter consistently checked up on us. This isn't a good choice if you're starving and expecting a quick meal but it's otherwise a fantastic option for Indian food.
(4)Nica N.
Everything was just okay. Maybe I'm spoiled because I grew up eating great Indian food. I had the chicken korma and beef masala curry with the naan and rice. I thought the curry tasted fine, but it was really oily. The naan and the rice was good.
(3)Geoff G.
I normally order take-out from Cafe Taj Mahal as it's my local Indian restaurant. The food has always been tasty and piping hot and it normally takes around 20 mins to get ready. If you order a combo for one it's usually enough to feed three people, if you get another portion of rice. Being from England, I've grown up on curry and this is a good try. Not quite 5 stars but very close.
(4)Nicole M.
*update 7/5: they fixed/got a new AC! it was no longer super hot and thus so amaze as usual! My god. it is super hot up in here. like seriously, I was sweating like I was standing in the hot sun. I ended up taking half out food to go just to eat it at home in the AC lol and I tried to take some selfies but we were both sweaty and they came out terrible. but BYOB so we had some cold hard cider to help :) that aside, we got the combo dinner for two and it was A LOT. but it's everything you'd want anyway, 2 samosas (perfectly crunchy and filled with goodness), 2 GIANT Naan (seriously two people could eat one together but we also upgraded to garlic and butter for an extra charge), a platter of rice, and two entree choices. I'm not vegetarian but I recommend palak paneer at any Indian food place, it's spinach and cheese cubes, but I got the eggplant Sish korma and it was yum. the chicken saag was my favorite, creamy spinach and boneless chicken... did I mention our server was super cool? he answered our questions and suggested the combo and he was right on about everything and just a cool guy. I will def return for take out ! I love Indian food, In fact I worked at a curry place before, and this did not disappoint.
(5)Nicole P.
Went here with my roommate to try something new and it wasn't bad. We shard the combination for 2 people. That came with 2 veggie samosas which we both didn't like that much, rice, chicken masala, and chicken vindaloo and 2 naans. The chicken masala was the better of the two but both were okay. The naan was good but very pizza dough like lol. The place is small but nice and it's bring your own drinks.
(3)Angie K.
COCKAROACH ALERT: If I could give this place zero stars I would. Just tried to have lunch there with my husband and although the service was nice I FOUND A COCKAROACH IN MY FOOD. WTF OMG. I was already 3 bites into my Chicken Korma meal and there it was. I am horrified and traumatized.
(1)Krysten I.
Cafe Taj Mahal is located in the little area of restaurants across the street from city mill kaimuki. It shares a small parking lot with sushi man, the fat Greek and Sabrina's. Cafe Taj Mahal is a little hidden, but the restaurant itself is pretty spacious. My friends and I came for lunch. We were hungry for some good Indian food and decided on sharing the mix for 2 and an appetizer. It was a lot of food; we barely finished it. The mix includes your choice of vegetable, chicken and lamb dishes. You can also choose to have 2 servings of rice, 2 servings of naan or one of each. We tried the potato/cauliflower dish, the chicken curry masala and the lamb saag. We ordered both the rice and the naan and a side of samosas. Everything was DELICIOUS!! The dishes were a little spicy, but good. And even though they look small, everything was very filling. For $33 (not including tip), it was a good deal for flavorful food. The restaurant is a little hot, but I'll tough it out and be back because I love Indian food :)
(5)Cathy T.
It's fitting that this cafe is named after a famous building that was built as a symbol of love. Because that's the only word I need to talk about Cafe Taj Mahal. Love. Love. Love. Most Indian places that I've been to have service that ranges from meh to god-awful terrible but Taj Mahal is an exception. Now, I've only been here at lunch time but the young lady who was my waitress was great! They offer a limited menu at lunch time with only the plain or topped naan (no filled ones sadly) but I am happy to report that the naan here is Gigantic. Seriously, it's bigger than my head. It's also crazy delicious so please eat some even if you're carb/gluten free. Just indulge for my sake please! My friends and I are bread-o-philes so we also ordered the Aloo Paratha and Puri. They were delicious! We ate all of it. Then we were full. Womp womp womp. But we did as anyone would do and pushed on to eat the vegetable samosas, Chicken Saag, Lamb Curry Masala, and a Lamb Vindalo. By the time we were done feasting we basically felt like we had traveled around the world and gained 10 lbs each. Someone (not me! I swear!) even had to unbutton their jeans.... it was that serious. The parking situation is pretty bad though so just be aware. And wear stretchy pants. Just in case.
(5)JenJen D.
I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE. I come here all the time and wish I lived closer.. the food is always delicious and the owner is very gracious and friendly.
(5)Thomas R.
Food is good and masala chai tea is great. Service is friendly but very slow. Seems like the kind of place with one server, one cook and maybe one helper in the back. Decor is simple. Overall I would say it is nice enough of you have time.
(3)Karen S.
Get the meal for three. It serves four easly. Love the lamb and chicken dishes. Spice level can high medium or low. Great staff and prompt attentive service.
(5)Amber T.
So my family and I have family themed dinner nights, and the next upcoming night is: Indian Night. We go all out for these, and try really hard to be authentic. But my parents have never eaten Indian food in their lives! So we decided to try this restaurant to acclimate our pallets to Indian food. We got to try eggplant pakora with tamarind and mint yogurt sauce, chicken stuffed naan, vegetable and chicken samosas, chicken masala curry, and yellow rice. The eggplant pakora was very good, the mint yogurt sauce was my favorite and flavorful. The chicken naan was very filling, it was like a cheese chicken pizza. Honestly, I could just be full ordering the stuffed naan, it's very affordable and tasty for the amount you get. The chicken masala curry and yellow rice were standard, always love the flavors in those dishes. But wow their samosas were awesome! We even got lucky because their was a mistake on our order, so we were given the chicken samosa for free! Overall this was a great first experience of Indian food for my parents. With this, we've been inspired for our own dishes for our Indian night. Hopefully they turn out just as good!
(4)Savannah P.
Stop making people fools! Forget about the food for a second, the customer service here is TERRIBLE! Ordered the vegetarian samosas and they were a step up from the ones we had at Chutney; the seasonings were there, however, the pastry shell was overly doughy. Ordered Chicken Vindaloo and Onion Kulcha for our main. The onion kulcha was not prepared right. The onions inside were not cooked and raw and bitter instead & the dough was raw. I'm sorry but we're not going to eat raw dough and get sick. We brought it up to the waiter and it ended up going back and forth between them and the chef to see what they could do. I simply requested that they switch it out with a regular naan. Nope not able to replace it. What? Eventually it started getting into an argument, "The chef is from Bangladesh and this is how they make it" Well you know what, any kulcha is originally from North India not Bangladesh and if you know how your food is *supposed* to be cooked and prepared, it surely wasn't here. Food is about creativity. If your going to make something and call it Indian please cook it right and use proper ingredients! What ever happened to "Your never supposed to argue with the customer?" After a short while we decided to leave and only paid for the samosas we ate and the waiter came out with the naan saying we asked for it and we had to pay. Not with that kind of service. The vindaloo had Tikka or according to the chef been bqq'd before cooking it in a curry. Why on Earth are bbq'd / chicken tikka pieces used in a vindaloo?! What a shame, customers being fooled for what Indian food is. Traditional Indian cuisine names picked randomly and not even cooked properly. Based on the customer service we experienced here and poor quality food, I definitely won't be coming back here again.
(1)Adino E.
Ordered Lamb and got beef. Setting was somewhat warm. water served once and u have to look for service; frustrating for a small, one-room place.
(2)HarshCritic A.
This was our first time eating Indian food. We weren't sure what to expect but wanted something other than the usual japanese, korean, chinese, local food... As we were walking to the restaurant we asked ourselves do they give us utensils, which hand do we eat with, hope not everything is spicy as hell... I'm glad to say we were wrong lol. The waiter seated us promptly and once I told him we had never tried Indian food he went and explained every dish to us and recommended few to try. We got the combo for 2 with butter chicken, lamb marsala, plain and garlic naan. First thing that came out was vegetable samosas. Huge deep fried dumpling filled with vegetables. Awesome app especially with the yogurt and chutney sauces. Rest of the dishes were great as well. Dipping the naan bread in the curry sauce was the best. They also brought out a huge plate of rice that went awesome with the dishes too. We had so much food we didn't even make a dent and took home more than enough for few more meals. Great food, awesome and very attentive servers, all that food for under $50, we will definitely be back soon.
(5)Ashley K.
First time trying Indian food so I really didn't know what I was getting into. Luckily one of my closest friends recommended this place, it's her favorite. So we decided to come here for dinner. Shared the combination dinner for two. Started off with two GIANT samosas, delicious! Piping hot but omfg YUMYUMYUM! Tried it with the tamarind sauce, amazing. Then with the mint yogurt sauce, omg even better! Then after our appetizer came our main entree. I had the Chicken Curry Masala and my friend had the Kashmiri Chicken. Yum to both!! In our dinner we also got two HUGE buttered naans and huge portion of rice. Seriously why have I not been to this place before??! Safe to say...I will definitely be back!
(5)Doris D.
Cafe Taj Mahal remains one of my favorite places to get Indian cuisine. Granted, the choice of Indian restaurants here is very slim but Taj Mahal delivers in all respects, and I would place them way ahead of Maharani, the main competition. We got saag (excellent), garlic naan (awesome), lamb vindaloo (excellent), vegetable samosas (delicious), fish masala (tasty), dahl sambar (excellent), and warm carrot halva (delicious). All in all, a feast! We had plenty left over to take home for the four of us. Service is attentive and friendly as usual, parking can be iffy, and the atmosphere is inviting. Reservations are recommended.
(5)Nelly J.
After watching A Bollywood Robin Hood, I've been wanting to eat Indian food and I couldn't wait until next week Wednesday when India Cafe comes to my workplace. Although their food is good too but I digress. This is supposed to be a review for Cafe Taj Mahal. This little hidden treasure is a little hard to find tucked away behind a couple of other restaurants. Parking was easy for my little Prius c but be careful about traffic direction. It was surprisingly empty for dinner time but there were quite a bit of phone orders and I finally realized why. It's hot in here! I was starting to sweat even before I ordered the food. They have two monitors that played Indian music videos that occupied our time until the food came. Food portions are generous. The $40ish combo for two could've been for three or four. Samosa came out first and was as big as my fist and oh so delish. Then came the fish in coconut sauce and beef vindalo and rice and gigantic pieces of naan. The beef vindalo was spicy but the heat disappeared as quickly as it came on. The fish was my favorite with a nice balance of flavors. I like the rice and the naan but I wish I paid the $1 more for garlic. No space for dessert but maybe next time. I thought service was pretty good. Got my water filled without having to ask. But again only two other parties besides me. If the place was busy, not too sure...
(4)Russ C.
The folks that work here are super nice and the place is clean. Those are the only good things I can say. I've honestly never had more tasteless and unsatisfying Indian food. The chicken all tasted like a flavorless blob. The sauces were seasoned horribly. The naan even lacked any decent flavor. We ended up throwing away the bulk of our $75 in food.
(1)Angela M.
About every three or four weeks, my husband and I are overwhelmed with the need to visit Cafe Taj Mahal. Though instead of saying "Let's go eat at Cafe Taj Mahal" we say "Let's go see Kawser", the delightful son of the owner who works weekends, knows our order, and provides both excellent service and dinner banter. We also love San (I have spelled this phonetically, I'm sure its spelling is much more complex), who is efficient and wonderful as well. Now to the main element of this post: HOW TO FEAST AT CAFE TAJ MAHAL: Order these dishes: 1) Samosas. These are gigantic. Shockingly huge. If they were more circular I would stuff them in my bra. And they come with the worlds most delicious tamarind chutney paired with an exquisite yogurt sauce. 2) Naan with garlic, cilantro, AND onion. This isn't on the menu, just have faith that it exists and order it. Good LORD this will be the greatest naan you have ever tasted during your meager existence on this earth. Even if you are somewhat intolerant of gluten, as I am, it will be worth the pain and suffering. Unless you go into anaphylactic shock, as few things are worth losing your ability to breathe. If you have an anaphylactic reaction to wheat, don't eat the naan. Okay then. 3) Indian Salad. A trio of cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes with a magical vinaigrette that transforms what I refer to as "the revolting raw onion" to refreshing and lovely. Buy this. It makes your meal instantly healthy. Because it's a salad. 4) Coconut Rice. Amaze balls rice full of treasures and delights. It doesn't taste like coconut. 5) Aloo Palak. This will make your muscles big. If you've never experienced this spinach dish, it looks like sludge. Or the early poo of an infant. Fortunately, it tastes far better than sludge or poo. Palak Paneer is also an excellent, slightly richer, choice. 6) Mix Vegetable Masala. If you don't order this yumminess, your meal will be too rich. Trust me. 7) Eggplant Shish Korma. Incredible taste sensations you did not think you could experience from a dish with "eggplant" in it title. Seriously, you MUST order this. MUST. ORDER IT. IT'S AWESOME. 8) Double dessert halva and kheer. Halva is a glorified Cream of Wheat that is indeed glorious. Kheer is rice pudding and I am addicted to it. Having them simultaneously will make your brains burst. "But this menu has no meat, snivel snivel..." QUIT YOUR WHINING. If you cannot experience a single meal without stuffing flesh down your gullet, add on some tandoori chicken. There, problem solved. I now must admit that the above menu is what we order for the... two of us. Yes, two. Yes, the portions are generous. Yes, the food fills our entire table. Yes, we get glances of surprise from the other patrons and have even been openly laughed at. But when we go home and have at least 3 good meals of deliciousness to enjoy in the days to come, we get the last laugh. Ha ha haaaaaa. Ha.
(5)Hannah U.
We are fans of this restaurant. The food is very good, and the staff are friendly. The reason it does not get 5 stars is because the parking lot is very difficult to navigate in. The price of the food is a bit high. Having a t.v. on the wall is not a bonus. Sometimes they have tacky t.v. shows playing. Charging $6 just for rice leaves them a lot of profit. Overall, the food prices seem high, but again, the food is very good. I wish they served halal chicken, etc. All said, we like this place and will keep going back. In spite of the areas of concern, this place is highly recommended. The food is great.
(4)Karen D.
Like a Bollywood movie, Cafe Taj Mahal pulls you in, makes you laugh, delivers a happy ending, and doesn't take itself too seriously. We were looking for a place that's not strictly vegetarian and didn't involve an hour-long wait. Cafe Taj Mahal filled the bill, offering tasty food, huge portions, friendly service, and reasonable prices. We ordered the combo dinner for two for $42, which included a vegetable samosa appetizer, two entrees of our choice (some entree selections have a small upcharge), jasmine rice pilaf, naan, and dipping sauces. Everything was fresh, piping hot, and delicious. We also had mango lassi yogurt drinks for dessert. Our server, while lacking a bit of polish, was really helpful and nice. He patiently answered our questions, offered suggestions based on what we wanted, and made sure we had everything we needed throughout the meal. The restaurant interior was small and very casual. Strangely, there were red and green light bulbs in the chandeliers, lending a quirky feel to the place. They also had a Salman Khan action movie playing with the sound turned up pretty loud--so our dinner was punctuated by BANG BANG, KER-POW, SCREEECH, THUD. Cafe Taj Mahal is located on the mauka/'ewa corner of Waialae and St. Louis Heights Dr., the same strip mall as The Fat Greek and Sabrina's. The tiny, shared lot is usually full, but there is a Diamond Parking lot across the street with an evening flat rate of $5. Like a Bollywood movie, the cafe is in some respects kind of funny without necessarily meaning to be. Nevertheless, it's a great option if you're in the mood for fresh Indian cuisine and really, really hungry! Yelp 365 Challenge 210/365
(4)J Z.
This review is based upon my first visit. Samosas +++++ Excellent! NIce & spicy. Tamarind sauce & yoghurt sauce served with samosas +++++ Excellent! Rice polau +++ Ok, it's fluffy rice - but what are those orange things in it? Palak paneer +++ Teensy hard pieces of paneer, but was at least spiced OK. Eggplant something... simply awful (sorry). It was horribly oily & had some kind of weird-tasting spice in it that ruined it. I'm guessing it was a mistake because no one in their right mind would make it like that. Naan +++ too much cheese (really) - more like pizza, but it did have an ok flavor. Kheer... +++ sweeeeeeet! Cleanliness + not really. Service +++++ friendly and not too slow. Decor, seating & cheesy Bollywood music videos... no plusses here. ZERO on the air con (it was on 87º... in other words, 'fan mode.' NOT cool. So basically it was sweltering inside. The front doors don't stay shut so the termites were coming in, too. I saw one fly into a lady's hair... it was all I could do to keep from freaking out.... omg. Parking sucks because they share a postage-stamp sized parking lot with 3 other restaurants. Park either across the street or across Waialae. Prices... steep for the quality. BUT if only samosas... worth every penny. I haven't given up, though & plan to return to try other dishes. I'll chalk this one up to a learning experience: I think I'll do take-out next time!
(3)Christella G.
My first time here tonight and the food was amazing. 3 stars mainly bc of service. I called to make reservations the staff was friendly. It was a busy sat evening. And he kindly enticed us to come in stating i didn't need reservations. I get there and there is no table never fear same wait staff there to please and pulled something together within 10 mins. Here's where it gets the three. The wait for the food was long at least 40 Mins for appi(veg samosa) and finally dinner came in an hr later. Yes a little longer then expected. We ordered lamb saag, chix masala, and yellow rice. The waiter came and brought all of what we ordered except the yellow rice. The stickler is he never once mentioned that they ran out of yellow rice until i informed him that we didn't order it. A little deceiving. Did he think i wouldn't notice?? Yellow or white who cares right??? At least tell us that they ran out and charge us for the right thing, or better yet comp us for it. Either way do the right thing and charge is right. Food pretty amazing 5 stars Food prep and wait time 1- 2 stars Service sweet, kind and not all there 2.0 stars Overall 3 stars. Prob gonna order take out next time.
(3)Lindsey S.
Great food, amazing hospitality, Great ambience! We were originally going to go to Café maharani, except, we read a review about how corrupt their business is. We decided to come here instead and we are extremely excited and shocked that their food is really good!! We used to think that café maharani was the best indian place on Island... Until we came here. Not only is the food just as good as Café Marani, they have a bigger place, more seating, it's brighter, it doesn't smell as bad as Cafe Mahani and their service EXCEEDS that of Cafe Majarani. The guys who served us were extremely nice and answered all of our questions in a polite and through manner. It really felt like they were there for us not just to get our money and kick us out the door.. Like we usually get treated and Cafe Maharani. This place is hidden behind that fat Greek restaurant, there is parking on the opposite side of the street, it's not a long walk at all. It's nice after you eat all the amazing food! We were very impressed with the naan bread. It was extremely fluffy and had a lot of flavor. My husband ordered the yellow rice. It was delicious and scrumptious and everything more. Check this place out, prices are very reasonable and you can't beat the friendly staff and great music videos that are playing constantly =]
(5)molly n.
This has got to be our favorite Indian restaurant. We probably ate here a dozen times in the past 2 years and we leave completely satisfied every single time. We usually stop in around 830 ish to avoid the dinner crowd and never had a problem getting seated. We bring our six pack of beer (it's byob) and order our usual which is: lamb vindaloo (sooo full of flavor and spice), saag paneer (hearty and perfect with the naan), and eggplant pakora (soo yummy with the dipping sauce). We usually get the same server and he's always pleasant and offers to keep our beer in the fridge!! Definitely our go to place when we're craving SPICES!!
(5)Kikuasu Y.
Super good Indian food and service! Lasses were yummy, great portions and awesome stuffed Naans!
(4)Michelle M.
Seems that Indian food is great to some...not so great for others. As for me, I love the stuff! And for now, this place has made it to my new favorite list. The service is subtle and laid back. The wait staff are pleasant and the food is pretty damn awesome! Came here with my favorite foodie friend & his mini-me because we were craving Indian but refused to go back to Maharani. Glad we did! Although the menu is like dejavu...definitely looked and read like the M spot...I was certainly glad that the service and the wait were more pleasant. Prices are consistent and the Bollywood videos playing were so much more entertaining in HD. LMAO Definitely planning to come back again whenever I'm in the mood for some vindaloo.
(4)A R.
Excellent customer service! Bad parking but we were glad that they had a parking lot. Food is definitely not Indian :( I can cook good Indian food and I can say with authority that this is not good Indian food. Word of advice to the owner - I really feel bad to give you two stars especially since you provide an excellent customer service. There are thousands of Indian food blogs which explain step by step recipes with pictures. You can just pick couple of those blogs and cook an excellent food! Also, please stop overloading your food with potatoes. It might look like a large portion but it doesn't taste good!
(2)Choad A.
It is quite true that the best places are holes in the wall. This one fits that bill. Parking sucks but it's easy to overlook that. We got three dishes, vegetable curry, chicken Tika masala, chicken curry. The first two were amazing with tons of flavor. The chicken curry was just ok. Not a lot of flavor but when mixed with the others it was better. It didn't feel like there was a/c so it got even warmer once the place started to fill up. Service was excellent and they are really nice. No one bugs you every 3 minutes trying to rush you out of there like most Americanized places. This was honestly the best Indian food we have had in years.
(4)Candy F.
Tasty food, great naan. Friendly service, but the dining room was 86 degrees.
(4)Divya P.
HORRIBLE Food & TERRIBLE Service !!! I m Indian, this is definitely not a good interpretation of Indian food. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone. Cons: 1. Wait time 1 hr after ordering the food 2. Server very rude 3. Did not bring the complete & correct order - forgot the naan & salad and when we asked him he completely ignored it and got it after we already finished our food- which was again 35 mins after he brought the food on table. He did not even apologize. 4. Taste of food was horrible. Pros: NONE
(1)A O.
Not recommended!! There is some hair in our food. Let the owner guy know but he pretended he does not understand. No sorry 2!! We won't come back agin! Can't trust their food. Sad...
(1)Alice C.
My girlfriends and I love Indian food. We usually go somewhere else but we figured we go to a different place for Indian food so we chose to come here. I was excited because I've had a couple recommendations from other yelp members telling me to try this place out. We came on a Friday night around 7:45 PM, my friend arrived first and let the server know that we had a party of three. It was pretty busy considering that the place isn't that big and there was only two servers. There were couple parties before us and they got seated and then there was a mixup where these two gentlemen that came after us were seated before us. But we didn't complain because there was another table open also but needed cleaning. I swear that table stayed dirty for a good 15 minutes while the servers would slowly and I mean EXTREMELY SLOWLY clean it up. Eventually we decided to just go in and sit on the table that by then ONLY needed to be wiped. I feel awful because the server was nice but she was just running my patience low. She took our order and we waited long for our food. Thank goodness its BYOB so we kept ourselves busy. The food was decent. we ordered garlic cheesy naan which was absolutely moist and delicious. As for curry we just ordered Eggplant tikka masala and Vegetable Korma and I would say that we've had better. Maybe my standards for curry have been preset already. By the time dinner was over, it was about 9:45 PM we waited a lot longer than it took us to eat and enjoy our food and when I got to my car, I found a note stuck to my door saying 'I saw your car get hit, I'm dining at Sabrinas' (which they were closed by the time I checked) the parking situation is ridiculous. Theres parking across the streets for $5 or theres limited parking and some whacky stalls. I'm not sure this experience was worth it for me to go back. Sorry Taj Mahal, I really wanted to enjoy it. I really hope you guys can train your servers to pick up the pace a little or be more attentive.
(3)Missy T.
If you want a food coma, eat here. For cereals, you'll KTFO on the ride home, so bring a DD for when you get food drunk. I'd recommend some Chicken Pakora shots and Vegetable Samosa bombs, follow up with a Butter Chicken chugging contest and chase everything with some Buttered Naan. You'll be Indian Girl Wasted in no time. Everything is ala carte, bring some friends and expect left overs. If you've been to Buca's then just order in the same fashion (i.e. maybe skip every other person so your table doesn't collapse under the weight of all the entrees). No alcohol, but I'm pretty sure the place is BYOB friendly. Staff is always super cool and helpful, so tip them well!
(4)Ian M.
We just recently arrived to Honolulu and were looking for some good Indian food. 2/5 stars for me. Not that the food was bad, just that the taste was underwhelming and average. I have certainly had better Indian food. In terms of the atmosphere, it's a small, hole-in-the-wall kind of place. In terms of service, it was a bit slow. Unfortunately, I won't be returning.
(2)Aaron P.
The food here is different from every other Indian restraint I've eaten at. All homemade recipes, very good for lunch or dinner. Nice decor, very comfy with nice Bollywood videos playing that add some fun. Nice owner and servers!
(5)Gina B.
It was a close call for Cafe Taj Mahal today. The wait service was slow and the food arrival was even slower. The server was new and perhaps stoned (recovering from a 4/20 party?!) It was about 40 minutes from the time they took our order to when our food was brought out....at one point our server was refilling our water glasses when he asked if we needed anything else or wanted to order dessert. I was confused...i thought maybe he knew service was slow and wanted us to get our orders in now. But, my BF whose brain works faster than mine says: Um, we're still waiting to receive our food. Waiter profusely apologizes, mumbles some excuse about being new and 10 minutes later our food appears. I was concerned that the slow service would mean our food quality would be compromised but no, it was worth the wait. The rice was fluffy and "buttery." We ordered the Mix Thali for One with Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Dahl and Mixed Vegetable Masala. The serving bowls were overflowing, the meat tender and spice level perfect. In the end they brought us the wrong bill ($47 for two for lunch....definitely not ours!). I think the point of this story is, if the restaurant is full, if you're starving and if you don't have the time to wait for your food, reconsider your options. But even today's disappointing experience won't keep me away. The food is yummy and the prices are reasonable.
(3)Nancy H.
I l-o--v-e Indian food and this place serves it up quite well. We were a party of 6, and the waiters seemed a bit confused with our orders, but all came out as ordered, though service was a bit slow. The vegetable samosas for our appetizer were a bit 'bready' but the flavor was great: spicy and savory. The naan was just okay. For our mains, we had the Karahi shrimp, the Saag shrimp, and the chicken korma. All were amazing! The rice polau and yellow rice were also quite yummy. The waiters were quite excellent at keeping our water glasses filled, which is one of my indicators for decent service. I also like that they take reservations.
(4)K R.
A little hard to find if you are not familiar with Waikiki. Limited menu selection. Air conditioner wasn't working so not fun in 97 degree weather. Only one rest room and located outside, kind of like a old gas station where the waitress provides a key. At least it wasn't a hole in the floor. OMG that would have been a deal breaker.
(2)Chelsea A.
Oh my god, how have I never reviewed Taj Mahal? Literally our favorite place to eat on the island, hands down. In probably 30 visits, we've never had a bad meal and have tried a good portion of both the vegetarian (me) and meat (husband) dishes. Only once did we have only 'meh' service and I've never seen that waitress since. My favorites are the Eggplant Tikka Masala when I want something terrible for me (it's deep fried eggplant and it's SO. EFFING. GOOD.) and the Aloo Ghobi. My husband loves the Butter Chicken and Lamb Vindaloo and the Chicken Vindaloo--especially since they'll cook everything Indian Hot for him. I'm a wimp, but the man loves some spice. No meal is complete without naan, papadum, and usually vegetable pakora too. It's a wonder we can even walk out the door afterwards, to be honest. It's BYOB, there are great Indian music videos playing all the time, it's a family operation, it's affordable, it's delicious, and there's rarely if ever a wait. Meanwhile, there's a line out the door of a nearby mediocre Indian restaurant that shall remain nameless. Go figure. Anyway, this is definitely a restaurant to visit again and again. It's worth it to fight the parking lot.
(5)Yuko A.
Wow! Who knew that Maharani wasn't the only good Indian food restaurant in town, plus we didn't have to wait forever for a table! I came here because my friend had raved about how he thought it was the best place in town, and their naan was to die for....Well he got me there, I love naan, especially good naan. (Theirs was so good, we ordered one to bring home) We took a cab so we didn't have to deal with parking and were sat right away. They do take reservations FYI. It is a family run business so I think the parents are in the back cooking while their son waits/buses tables. Definitely a very relaxed atmosphere and the son was great, answering our questions, and checking up on us every once in a while. We didn't want to over-eat so we got 1 veggie pakoras, 1 lamb saag, 1 order of the coconut rice, and 2 orders of naan (1 which we had packed up to bring home) = $36 The veggie pakoras were crunchy and full of spices, and were seriously addicting. There were 6 pieces and we ate them no problem. They were served with two sauces, one was a sweet/spicy chutney and the other was a yogurt sauce. They left a nice kick in your mouth. The lamb saag was one of their house specialities and it is obvious why. The lamb was tender and the curry was spiced to perfection. The curry combined with the sweetness of the coconut rice with the raisins and nuts made for an absolutely delicious meal. I can't wait to come back and try some of their other dishes! Another plus was the great service! YELP 365: 104/365
(5)Rahjah-n-Terri D.
After having lunch here today I have to agree that this place is a definite go to place for Indian cuisine. Great tasting food and efficient friendly service!
(4)P. S.
Food (dinner) was a pleasant surprise. Try the masala chai. Parking is super-tight, may have to park in the adjoining lot. Decor is very simple, not at all fancy.
(4)Victoria C.
So the fiancé & I were heading to The Fat Greek for the first time but I really wasn't in a greek mood. Luckily we found Cafe TajMahal right in back of it.. not ever realizing there was an Indian restaurant there before. My fiancé, who's been recently into Indian cooking (random I know), was pretty ecstatic... and so was I since I really wasn't craving for Greek food. We decided to eat there instead of The Big Fat Greek (which I heard was good.. but will try another day). When we first got in, I noticed the place to be pretty nice & clean. It was a slow night... so lots of tables available. The menu had a pretty good selection of food. We ordered a couple of dishes... sorry don't know the exact names of it. But we got a lamb fried rice, garlic naan, a lamb curry and a fish curry type dish. I also ordered a vanilla lassi for myself because ever since I've had my first lassi from the India Cafe, I've been in love with this drink!! It's like a yogurt type milkshake that goes well with Indian food.. especially the spicier dishes! I must say that the TajMahal's lassi was MUCH better than the one I had at India Cafe and I was pleasantly surprised at how big the drink was. The glass was huge!! I was very content with my drink alone. As for the dishes.. the lamb fried rice was GINORMOUS! It's enough to share among 4 ppl. Being that it was only the 2 of us, we knew we would have left over for days. But that's okay because the fried rice was pretty bomb. It had big chunks of lamb and potatoes. Warning there's also hot peppers inside that were pretty smoking hot. I took a bite out of one and my mouth was burning. Thank goodness for my lassi! My fiancé on the other hand has a higher tolerance for spicy food and could it like it was nothing. The other 2 dishes were pretty good too. I was in love with fish coconut curry type dish. And as much as I'm not a lamb fan, the lamb curry was good. The meat was very tender so I didn't mind eating it. The only thing I had a problem with was the naan came out way after all our other dishes came out. We typically like to eat our naan with our food so we were kind of getting annoyed at how long it was taking. But I guess it was worth the wait cause there naan was hot & freshly made. It was so moist and fluffy!! I'm sooo in love with naan. Despite the long wait for the naan... and the server being a little slow?.. I had a very enjoyable experience at Cafe TajMahal. I will be back to try the other Indian dishes!!
(4)Diner S.
This is a poor excuse for an Indian restaurant. Having lived in India, I'm very familiar with Indian flavors from all regions. The food here is awful. Told the server, the Choley (chick peas) was overpowered by garlic and her response was ok. Air conditioning didn't work either.
(1)eshwar k.
HOLY CRAP this place is terrible. the worst interpretation of indian food i've ever had. bland and embarrassing. i guess when living on an island you gotta take what you can get, but realistically you should save eating indian food for when you get (back) to the mainland.
(1)Satzy P.
Great service. Rice and naan are amazing! Nice little spot. First time trying Indian food and this place will have me coming back for more!
(5)Arman B.
Okay, so we enter this area and no place to park so we go to the parking lot and pay $5. No big deal, we're expecting some good food. Go in and order. Clearly explain we want boneless tandoori chicken. Order placed, well guess what it wasn't what we ordered when we told the server it was apparent he wasn't going to do anything to replace it or offer even some kind of discount. So the actually tandoori chicken we ordered was the one with bone and it's a little burnt, no big deal. The problem is there is blood all over the plate. How can you possibly burn meat and still have blood dripping all over the plate. Bill came to $80 for barely any food which we are 10% of. It's way overpriced. You need to avoid this place at all costs!
(1)Megan L.
I feel sorry for the other restaurants that I used to go to whenever I was in town because now, every chance I get, I come here. I used to go to Maharani on King St. A LOT but this place is way better--way more consistent with the food and service, and there's no crazy wait time like Maharani. The only crap thing is the parking, but it's worth it, I promise you. My go to items and they're ALL WINNERS: Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Vindaloo, Lamb Bryani, Garlic Cheese Naan, Butter Chicken. Yes, I get at least one order of each of these items every time i come here! and I usually get the curries at a 9.5 out of 10 spice level. Indian is probably my favorite food and I try it almost everywhere I travel to including New York, San Fransisco, L.A., etc. and I must say Cafe Taj Mahal holds their own. You will not be disappointed.
(5)Daniel K.
Best Indian food we've had in Hawaii. Great service, very clean and not too crowded. Had their chicken curry, red lentil with veggies and herb spices and buttered Naan. Don't forget to try their iced tea, you won't regret it. We'll be back for sure.
(5)Kimo S.
We love this place! Take wine and have lots of leftovers. Ask for mild if you do not like heat. The people are great to explain the order. Take out is best as you can have it ready and not have to wait. If you want to go to Maharani down the street you wait 30 minutes for service. Parking is all around but with several good places to eat there it may be across the road by City Mill for $5. Prices are good but portions are large, food can be all at once so order an appetizer to slow the delivery time down. Try new things each time. Chicken Marsala, Lamb Saag, Panek (palak) Paneer can be in the combo diner with rice and Naan with Appitizer! Your own wine or beer from Tamura's and the best in town to be had for the price. About $20 a head if 4 or more. Order extra rice and Naan to take home.Not vegan.
(5)Ana K.
Best Indian food I've had in Hawaii so far. Amazing service as well. Had the chicken curry with red lentils and buttered naan. Definitely coming back.
(5)Satoko P.
Service is not so good. I had to wait outside but they never call us that table was ready. I think they need more people to work or better management. Food was okay.... It wasn't what I expected from hearing about this place from people. Menu was stink and oily. Why?!?!
(2)Kimee B.
After eating here tonight all I want to do is climb the highest coconut tree and sing, "GAAARLLIIIIIC NAAAAAN," but unfortunately I am too stuffed from all the delicious Indian food to even think about climbing tree. I'll be surprised if I can even climb into our SUV. The boyfriend and I HEART Indian food and we were super stoked to find a place in Hawaii that not only serves it up right, but is nice to you too. After our AWFUL experience at another local Indian restaurant (CAFEcoughcoughMAHARANI....ooops, did I say that?) we thought our lamb saag eating days were over. We had heard from other friends that this was the place to go, so we decided to check it out tonight since it seemed like the perfect rainy day in Hawaii meal. It was smaller than I expected, but I liked that it felt homey...and not, "Ooooh, I feel like I'm at my messy Aunty's house" homey, but "OOOH...I feel like I'm at my FAVORITE Aunty's house that has traveled the world and is currently into Bollywood films" homey. Does that make sense? Basically...it's comfortable, clean and chill. We only waited about 10 minutes for a table and ordered right away. The staff was apologetic for having us wait, and said that it was a busy night. I thought that was sweet of them since we hadn't really waited that long and they were quick to greet us with water and take down our order. They have a lot of great options including some good deals on "combo dinners" but we decided to order ala carte. Our order...excuse me, our FIRST order: Garlic Naan Lamb Saag Chicken Curry Masala Basmati Rice Hot Tea We also brought our own bottle of wine just in case they were BYOB...and they are! They only charged us a $1 per glass...so a $2 corkage fee for us...AWESOME. My hot tea was simple and delish. Sweet...just how I like it. Our Naan came out right away and the starving BF scarfed it down! The Naan was cut into four pieces and I had to remind him that he had already eaten two slices, so that I could have my equal share. I ended up splitting my 2nd piece with him 'cause I'm cool like that. He still wanted more though. Our SECOND order: Garlic, Onion and Cilantro Naan *note: extra toppings will cost you a little extra* The rest of our first order wasn't too far behind our Naan and it looked and smelled DELICIOUS!!! I love me some lamb, so I went straight for that sucker. When choosing a rice to go with our meal, we had originally thought of getting the "yellow rice" but the nice and knowledgable waiter suggested we go with the basmati. Although a simple suggestion, I LOVE it when servers give them. Especially when the thing they suggest is cheaper than what you had originally wanted. Then you know they mean it and aren't going for that extra dollah dollah bill. The portions were large and although we could have kept eating the yummy food until they kicked us out, the BF and I decided to take the rest home. Even with a starving 6' 3" tall dude at my table...we had A LOT of leftovers. We did end up eating all the rice though...which led us to our third order. Our THIRD order: Half portion of basmati rice to go We were thinking about dessert, but they were out of the 2 items that we wanted. This is the only semi-bad thing that happened...but everything else was so awesome that it was no biggie. We just drove down the street to Zippys and got some bakery goodies to take home. Our bill came out to about $50 and we didn't even blink. It was exactly what it should've been...especially since we were going to enjoy it for lunch the next day. The moral of the story is that we are FANS of Cafe Taj Mahal! I'm sure this will be one of our new "go to" spots. Taj Mahal-o to the staff....we will DEFINITELY be seeing you soon!
(4)Tai M.
Found out this place has been around since 2008, but I only happened upon it when I went to Sabrina's one night. The décor is simple but nice, and the place is clean. I like the lighting. The service is great. The two guys who waited on us were very nice. We ordered a tomato-based lamb/veggie curry, lamb masala, raita and naan, and veggie samosas. The curries were good, but I realized that I can't really tell a difference in curry from Himlayan Kitchen to Maharani to Taj Majal. I KNOW I love the lamb bhuna at HK but I can't go back there (read review). My palette isn't that advanced when it comes to indian curries. The naan and raita were good, but naan at Maharani is better - a little crispier. This naan was better than HK. We went on a Sunday night around 6pm and there were only a handful of people in there. By the time we left around 7pm, the place was packed. I don't think there was an empty table. Overall, good dinner and I wil definitely go back. We want to try the sampler so we can try several curries at once. Gotta work on my curries!
(4)Alyssa S.
Love this place! Good Indian food and huge portions, always tons of leftovers! Small restaurant with great service.
(5)Alt K.
I genuinely enjoy this place. We have been here three times and every time we leave feeling satisfied, enriched, and in awe of the unique and distinctive flavors that Café Taj Mahal (CTM) provides. When we go we often stand out as one of the few guests who obviously have no Indian heritage, but that's okay to me this is a wonderful sign of a place that serves authentic cuisine. In light of this fact I so appreciate how CTM offers kind, unpretentious service that is willing to patiently talk the uninitiated through a menu that promises to be foreign and unfamiliar to most local palates. For appetizers try their Dahl Puri Nan with lentils - delicious fried bread that is lightly stuffed with subtle favors and zingy dipping sauces. The mains are all good, but order them mild unless you are one who enjoys heat, and be sure to finish your meal with a Lassie sweet yogurt drink - so ono and refreshing. So if you are feeling adventurous and wanting to expand your favor spectrum give CTM a try, you won't be disappointed.
(5)Victoria S.
Not vegan friendly. All of their rice is cooked in ghee, so the only starch option to order with your meal is chapati, a dry, tasteless wheat flat bread, not what I look for when I go get Indian food! Also, I had the vegetable masala, and it was watery and lacked the rich flavor I look for in Indian food. I was pretty disappointed with my meal.
(2)Russel M.
Great Choice for Indian Food for Lunch. Most menu items are above average and service is good. Parking kinda sucks but that's the way it goes. If it's dinnertime Maharani is our first choice but Taj is a decent alternative.
(4)Julia F.
I pretty much love all things curry. And this location is conveniently located close to where I live, and have eaten here a couple of times. Each time I come though, I just cant help comparing it to food from Cafe Maharani; my fave Indian place in Honolulu. Cafe Taj Mahal is just lacking in that WOW! factor for me. The food though good, is just a bit more...expected. On my last visit, service seemed very slow. We arrived a bit past 8:30 but didn't get our meal until about 9:20 ish. The vegetable samosa we ordered was cold in the middle. Sure, the outside crust was hot, but the disappointment you feel when your teeth hit cold mashed potato inside is depressing. We also had the Butter Chicken and Lamb Saag. The lamb was chewy and stringy (hard to chew, not melt in your mouth), but the sauce part was good. Butter chicken had a nice spicy-ness to it, complimenting the rice. The naan was crisped up nicely. I also enjoyed to two sauces/chutneys served with the samosas. As I said, all the food is good. It's hard to say exactly what is missing, but to me it just doesn't have the punch, the flavor explosion, the oomph factor I want in my curries. I will always prefer Cafe Maharani, but Taj Mahal is a decent option in a pinch.
(3)Alison F.
The garlic naan is DELICIOUS! I also had the tiki masala chicken. I like the sauce to be really smooth...this one was gritty...but I'm just happy there's Indian food around.
(3)Claire L.
So we've been sitting here an hour- we're sitting here still actually, and all we've received so far is 2 lassi drinks. This place is RIDICULOUSLY SLOW and it isn't even crowded. It's half empty at best. The food is pretty OK, the best part is that it's cheap. It's pretty flavorless, just bland or spicy. I'm disappointed because this restaurant used to be good but it is clearly deteriorated.
(2)Travis D.
If you don't know where it is, it's located right by where Soul (chicken and waffle place) used to be. Came here on a Saturday evening at about 7PM and parked across the street for 5 dollars. If you want not to pay 5 dollars, I recommend heading west on Waialae in order to get into the restaurant parking. My two friends from college and friend from work took our time trying to choose something to eat. I briefly looked at Jayson N.'s review which recommended chicken korma. I know nothing about Indian cuisine and was pretty overwhelmed, but the menu had helpful descriptions of each dish and the waiter also provided great assistance. We each ordered a dish, but I only tasted the following: 1) Chicken korma - Reminded me of chicken panang from Champa Thai. Creamy because of the yogurt with a hint of coconut and nice spicy kick to get your metabolism going. 2) Chicken tikka diopalazzo - Sizzling dish with cubes of chicken with tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables. More peppery tasting than the korma. The meals on the back come with naan and salad. My favorite would have to be the chicken korma as recommended by Jayson N. The four of us stuffed our faces attempting to finish all the food, but failed respectably. I recommend ordering three dishes for four people. At about $16-$17 each, you will get to try each others food without breaking the bank or worrying about wasting food. If you're worried about getting diarrhea, don't. However, your flatulations the next day will have a unique quality to them. The food is worth the wait and the next-day fragrance. P.S. I' apologize if I misspelled the dishes. Sorry!
(4)Dawn H.
This place rocks!! Go early, they open at 5 p.m. In fact my friend and I make sure we are the first ones in there. The service can be slow since it's a family run business but the food is soooooooo worth the wait. You can get the Feast for Two and choose any two dishes you want. They give you an order of fluffly fragrant rice and 2 gianormous pieces of Naan bread - right out of the tandoori oven!! DAMN! The bread is killer- best Naan I have EVER had and I've eaten Indian all over the USA. If you like Chicken - The Butter Chicken kicks ass. If you like Vegetarian - the veggie dal Chef's specialty is nice and tomato based. The Rose lassi is sweet and exotic. The feast for two also comes with Samosas - these are quite large and so tasty filled with veggies and a tamarind dipping sauce as well as a mint yogurt sauce. If you ever crave Indian - hit this joint. It's a little unknown place behind The Fat Greek off Waialae. I love love love this place and it's worth sharing the secret. Indian food in Hawaii is a rarity.
(5)Mahina C.
I always over order everytime i eat at an indian restaurant. I swear it never fails, but not this time! Cafe TajMahal is located in a small venue behind Fat Greek, you'll find this indian food palace. I'm sure it's BYOB since I saw some ladies bring in their own wine. This place just makes me wanna bollywood every where. They have two TV's in the corners playing bollywood music videos through your experience so beware of itching for shoulder movements when you leave. It wasn't busy at all,k but granted we went at 6pm and the parking, holy hell....The parking is HORRIBLE! Seriously, I would give this place 5 stars if they didn't have a small lot with a one way in & out and was sharing with 3 other places. Highly recommend for 2 just getting 1 curry to share and naan and rice. That stuff esp the starch will fill you up very quickly! They don't have any madras curry, but they did offer marsala and vindaloo which is most common. Also this place offers beef curry dished as well, so it must not be THAT indian since they serve beef. haha
(4)Emma P.
It's hard not to compare Taj Mahal with Maharani, but I'll try to limit myself to this: I prefer Taj Mahal with its minimal to no wait time (I've always made reservations or phoned for take-out, however), helpful staff (water that is actually refilled -- and often!), roomy tables and seating, and food that is heaven on a plate. The parking is competitive, what with Soul and the Fat Greek sharing the same lot. But it's worth it, guys. Taking a hike up to Saint Louis heights to fetch your car after such a filling meal may even be a solution. I've recently converted my sister to Taj Mahal since she is still in mourning over India House (RIP). We have entire conversations over the prospect of butter chicken. Seriously! I'm also a big fan of the deep fried eggplant (it's... almost healthy). Their naan bread is of the huge and dense variety, which is right up my alley. I used to love lamb curry like no other, but theirs isn't to my taste (I like a thicker consistency) -- which isn't a problem really since the portions are generous and it's best to be practical. Don't order more than you can stomach. Something I need to remind myself whenever I'm hit with the "well, I do enjoy my leftovers" excuse. Very hard not to pull that one out when the food is so good, as my experiences have been here.
(5)JJ L.
I mahal Cafe Tajmahal! I'm a semi-fan of Indian cuisine and I prefer Indian buffets over sit-down places for several reasons: 1. they're cheaper; 2. I don't have to fumble the pronunciations of babagamaleekshin chicken when ordering (sorry, that was rude); and 3. you choose the dish that tastes best and get full off that. Conversely, I'm intimidated by Indian dishes and their descriptions because everything translates into "herb and spice overload with [insert meat type here]." Back to Cafe Tajmahal -- I've wanted to eat here for a while. It's tucked in the corner or the corner market/restaurant spot off Waialae and St. Louis Heights Road (where the Sushi Man and Soul are). I wasn't too sure if this would be a seedy, stinky and weird dining experience because if you think about it, the Indian restaurant market is quite saturated in this neighborhood (I believe there are FOUR Indian restaurants within a 3 mile radius ... pretty weird for a tropical Hawaiian island, eh?). The greatest part of this was our initial greeting. I walked in with the hubs and some dude waved ... I thought it was someone the hubs knew until this guy grabbed two menus and offered us a table. That set the tone for the night. I have a terrible habit of looking at the ratings on yelp AFTER I've taken a seat and have been served a glass of water (I've actually cancelled my order at that one Thai place in Kailua because everyone on yelp was dissing it ... my poor mom really wanted that fried fish dish even though someone rated it a 1-star!). Hence, I was looking at the reviews and sifted through to read the "bad ones" - 2 or 1 star ratings. The few that I found were just talking about the slow or non-existent service, though nothing negative about the food. The food didn't disappoint. The helpings were decent and filling. It is a bit on the expensive side ... but it's well worth it if you want a good Indian dinner. We started with vegetable samosa that come with two dipping sauces -- a raita and mango chutney -- both of which are effin delicious I had to restrain my urge to spread it all over my fat face! The Butter Chicken was a little on the spicy side, so beware. I wasn't phased by it because I love it HOT! The Lamb Curry Masala was delicious because it was everything BUT gamey! I hate gamey lamb ... Cafe Tajmahal won't give you gamey lamb. The polau rice is enough for three or four people (even though the menu suggests it's meant for 1 or 2 people). I would suggest you go with the plain naan because our garlic butter naan was pretty much naan with minced garlic and butter on top (duh ... but you get what I'm trying to say!). The main dishes range in price from 10-18 bucks. Not a bad thing considering they get more expensive if you opt for lamb, fish or shrimp. There are several vegetarian choices, so you'd be able to accommodate everyone for dinner here! I'm going to try to come back here for lunch and see if the quality holds up. I liked how the service didn't disappoint even though I read that it sucked. What I didn't get is why those nay-sayers couldn't just focus on the Bollywood hotness playing on the 2 flat screens in the opposite corners of the dining room!?
(4)LeaDan Y.
Hands down my FAVORITE INDIAN RESTAURANT. Cafe Maharani used to be my favorite but waiting for 2 hours to eat hardly seems worth it now. The food is yummy, the service accommodating. Parking can be tricky and they often seem to have space because of their location.
(4)Annie W.
I have no other places to compare this place to but India cafe. I had the slightest clue what to order, but lucky we came with veterans, connoisseurs of Indian food. raita= chilled yogurt with cucumbers and was really super yummy. It does cool down all the spicy food we ordered naan= pizza looking bread, I think we ordered it plain and filled with onions. It's delicious as I used it to soak up the curry dishes mango chutney= odd, jam like, super sweet, tangy side of dipping sauce. It's thick and only pleasant in tiny doses. lamb biryani+rice= amazing dish, delicious chunks of tender lamb filled with tons of seasoned basmati looking rice. shrimp paste= I have no idea the name, but this dish is blended up and has a curry consistency. Use the nann or rice to eat. papadum= crispy wafer, surprisingly with a bit of spice and it was really fun eating them We ordered other beef dishes, chicken, some eggplants for appetizers and nearly tried every category on the menu. The lamb and raita with the crunchy cucumbers were my favorite dishes so far. Power is in the numbers. We had four couples, tried a little bit of everything, after tax and tip, it amounted to $40/couple. We definitely had leftovers for lunch and this place is BYOB. This is a sit down dinner, enjoy a bottle of wine while your food is cooking type of place. It's definitely worth the wait for freshly prepared food with great ingredients. I love spicy food, it's just I can't normally handle the spice. This place is quite flavorful, filled with spices, and definitely tolerable, even at my level. For those who have a sensitive stomach, it will do a number on you. There is nothing wrong with their food, it's just Indian food packs a punch. I like it here, but my hubby's aftermath feels otherwise =/
(4)Sarath C.
Decent Indian food... Naan as well as Rice is good. Rice has mild coconut flavor. Curries r good too.
(4)Norm G.
We came here for dinner for the first time recently with friends and really enjoyed the food. The samosas were great, and everything was just so flavorful. The staff were very friendly and patient with us. At one point, we were so busy enjoying each other's company, we forgot we hadn't even placed our orders yet! There is just one hazard to food being this tasty, and that is the tendency for me to overeat. But at least it was healthy food!
(5)William L.
The lamb masala was outstanding and easily the best on island. The lamb was perfectly tender and the spices were great. The other dish I ordered was chicken saag. The chicken was well cooked but the flavor was a little different then what I expected from a saag. If you are a fan of saag dishes, this may not be the place for you. As for me, I can go without the saag and definitely will go back for the masala.
(5)Rhoelyn C.
This place is awesome! My hubby and friend came by for dinner on a Tuesday this summer and after our great first experience, we'll probably be back for more. We arrived shortly after 7 so there was still plenty of parking. I know the parking lot isn't really spacious and coming out of the driveway does get annoying because it exits into a busy main street , so I'd probably be extra cautious when parking, and I wouldn't take my SUV or other large car here. Inside the restaurant, it's very intimate but there is a flat screen TV by the entrance that plays Bollywood movies in mute. The walls are lined with pictures of the Taj Mahal palace and East Indian culture which makes for great conversation starters:) The food was delicious! My boyfriend and I ordered the combo for two while my friend ordered ala carte and we shared. We barely finished and had to pack some for lunch the next day. For our combo, we ordered two samosas with homemade tamarind and mint sauce. They gave us plenty of these housemade sauces so we used them for dipping throughout our delicious meal. In addition to two Naan (plenty for three people) and rice pulau, we ordered Chicken Saag and Fish Curry Masala. We also ordered the mango and rose lassie (please order these, they are sooooooo yummy!). The fish was spicy and the chicken was tasty. The saag was nearly creamy, which I really liked. I loved the tamarind sauce so I drizzled some of it on the chicken saag. By the end of the meal we were so full and satisfied. Throughout our meal, the restaurant got busy very quickly and with only one waiter, we were glad we ordered the lassies.We emptied our waters so quickly (our food was spicy). The bathrooms are located outside and around the corner of the restaurant. It's not very well lit in that corner so take a buddy with you.
(5)Jayson N.
I've never had indian food in hawaii before this place but considering its one of only a few that I know of that exist means that Indian places are a dime a dozen.. Yes you will have to wait cause everything is cooked to order. The naan is pretty tasty. If you can, get the stuffed naan.. Those are amazing. :) we've been here for work lunches and we all got different things so we could pass around and try and I have to say that my absolute favorite is the chicken Korma. BOY if you don't know what to order, order chicken korma. Its chicken with a yogurt based sauce that is just divine! The Vindaloo is also pretty good as is the lamb masala. The parking is also pretty bad as about 5 businesses share about 10 stalls so good luck with the parking. But I have to say its not the best indian/pakistani food i've had but its pretty good. If you can find a parking stall and you have time for a nice sit down meal, then give this place a try. Remember Korma's the S***. :)
(4)Mich S.
yummo! the owners are very caring ppl to their customers. They put a lot of tlc into their food. It's worth the drive to eat here.
(5)Rob J.
Food: Five stars. Service: Three stars. Facilities: Two stars. First off, and most importantly, the food here is great! If I lived in the area I would phone in orders and get food to go regularly. But I probably would not return here to dine in. My friends and I met up here for my birthday dinner. As others have stated parking is a problem. I wouldn't even try to park in this tiny lot, go to the dirt pay lot across the street, it's worth the $5. We were seated promptly, but everything else seemed to take a while. It took a while before we were asked if we wanted to order food, and after that we had to flag down the server a few times. I found the service to be about 30% slower than what I would think reasonable -- they probably need another server.The food did take a while to come out but that didn't bother us, it was excellent and worth the wait. Just make sure to order some naan or something to munch on while you're waiting for the main event. It's BYOB, I brought wine and they only charged us $1 for each glass they provided. The restaurant is quite small so I would strongly recommend reservations for dinner. It's also loud so this may not be a good choice if you are looking for an intimate dinner spot. There's an air conditioner on the wall; I don't know if it's just for decoration but it sure didn't seem to be doing anything useful. We all noticed that it was hot -- enough to make us sweat. When the food did come out, the quantity was amazing...we ordered way too much. We ended up with tons of leftovers but the bill was only about $160, which included gratuity. $26/person for that much great food is a really good deal. The server was kind enough to keep our cake in the back until we were done eating, then he brought it out with some "clean" plates...unfortunately the plates were dirty. It looked like someone just tossed them in the dishwasher while stacked on top of each other. It was actually pretty gross and marred what had been a really nice meal up to this point. We didn't mind that they tacked on gratuity for our party of 6, because that's expected, but we were kind of annoyed that the server did not point this out for us. I'm not saying they're TRYING to get double tips off of the bill, it's just a courtesy thing. To sum it up this is a great little place that needs to move to a location that is on par with the food.
(3)Tracy R.
This was the worst Wendy's I have ever been to. They're good at indian food tho.
(3)Rachel O.
Great food and the dining atmosphere is always pleasant! Won't eat indian food anywhere else!!
(5)Wil T.
The service is horrible. Have you ever had to ask for plates? food so-so service- what service. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere.
(1)lauren f.
The samosa is perfect! I love the pastry outside, not too heavy, and a super delicious filling. Palak paneer so creamy and a great balance of nuttiness to spice, although i wished there was more paneer to balance out the ratio of the creamy spinach. The server offered to put raisins and chilies on top, which sounded awesome, but she forgot. The biryani rice was amazingly flavored with just the right amount of ghee and spice. Service was just okay, not very attentive, but the food was awesome!
(4)Zerny Z.
Very decent Indian food. We had the papadum, naan, vegetable pakora, eggplant shish korma, tandoori chicken, and the rice polau. The papadum was light and crispy, and the naan was cooked perfectly--both were very delicious. We couldn't decide between ordering the vegetable samosa or the vegetable pakora, so we went with the vegetable pakora because we wanted to try something new. It was slightly charred, but kind of spicy. It was just ok. Not our favorite. Next time we will stick with the samosas. The dipping sauces were very tasty though. Our main dishes were good. The eggplant had a nice flavor-creamy and a little bit spicy, and the leftovers were so delicious the next day! My fiancé enjoyed his tandoori chicken-the outside was nice and crispy and full of flavor. We loved the rice. The aromatics of it just brought me back home, full of home cooked spicy goodness. I couldn't stop eating it! The service was excellent, very friendly and attentive. We would come back again.
(3)Mel G.
I've had some pretty good Indian food since first trying it about 5 years ago. Tried this place tonight and I must say this place is top notch! They've been around since 2008, but I had no idea and wish we had found it sooner. First off, service was fantastic! Kawser was our waiter and he was super friendly and answered all of our questions enthusiastically and was very laid back. He explained things well and service was quick. His recommendations for the appetiser was delicious as well. We got the sampler with the vegetable samosas, vada, and papadums all with a tamarind and then a mint yogurt sauce. We also ordered the garlic/onion naan and it had almost a sweet taste to it, very good. I ordered the Chicken Jalfreezi which was tasty and had a good amount of heat to it that enhances the flavor. All the dishes everyone else had were tasty as well, I just can't remember them all! I know my husband had the Chicken Korma. We ordered the Rice Polau to go with our dishes which are all served family style. Plan on having leftovers for lunch the next day as they are very generous with their portions! Price was great and the quality was too. Staff was friendly and attentive. Parking is limited but there is a pay lot across the street at the City Mill. OH! I almost forgot... they have Bollywood videos too! Fun to watch and adds to the atmosphere. We've only eaten at Cafe Maharani on island and this was definitely on par with them, but you can make reservations and your food comes out quicker. Its nice to have a choice now and I can't wait to go back! (again, and again, and again.... :))
(5)Jerry S.
there are many indian restaurants to choose from in honolulu, cafe taj mahal remains to be my favorite in town, the garlic nans is the best around town, crispy, and chewy, baked under perfect temperature, cant get any better elsewhere, CTM's authenticity and reasonable price made me a frequent visitor to the restaurant
(4)Roland T.
Just met a friend for an early Saturday lunch at Taj Mahal. I got there first, was the first person in the restaurant. Female at host post was sweet and friendly, sat me at my choice of table, when I asked for a mango lasse -- this yogurt and mango smoothie-type drink perfect for a hot summer day like today. It was perfect! My friend arrived and we settled in for a delicious lunch of palak paneer and chicken masala curry with naan. WONDERFUL, spicy, fresh, perfect lunch for 2 old friends catching up on a Saturday morning. GREAT!
(4)Al D.
Excellent lunch specials. The naan is delicious. Rose lassi yum. Parking so so.
(4)Kristel Y.
Cafe Taj Mahal is one of those gems in the Kaimuki (is it technically Kaimuki?) area that often goes unnoticed because it's next to Sabrina's and hiding behind the Fat Greek. It's located in a tricky location--I think the corner of Dole and Waialae and you can't see it from the street. But! If you see where the Fat Greek is, you know you're in the right place. We ordered lamb samosas, garlic naan, rice palou, and two entrees (whose names escape me at the moment), and that was more than enough food. Cafe Taj Mahal probably has some of the best naan on the island, so be sure to order it generously. Although, as the Yelp pictures illustrate, it's pretty damn big. The restaurant is BYOB, so we brought two bottles of wine and our server brought us an ice bucket to chill it. Customer service was great, the restaurant is small (but cute), and I dug the Indian music videos on television. I waited for Indian Thriller to play, but I suspect that's a youtube viral hit rather than suitable Indian restaurant song. Oh well, one can dream. As a note, the parking situation here sucks. I'd recommend going during off-peak hours (8pm on a week night?) when you won't be competing with 20 other people for the 5 stalls in that little restaurant area. You might be able to do street parking along Dole (if you're desperate and don't mind competing with college students for space).
(4)jeffrey w.
Had the lamb boti. meh...average. best things here were the mango lassi and the naan. i could pass on the lamb dish. next time would probably dry something else here with higher hopes. parking is not so good
(3)Benjamin W.
Cafe Taj Mahal is located at the beginning of Waialae Ave behind of The Fat Greek. The curry is excellent. It is a small casual dining. The naan bread is great. I recommend getting the mango lassie. It helps with the heat (spicy). The curry comes in several spicy levels. I recommend the medium for those that like some spice. The hot is very hot. The service is great. The samosas are really good and the portions are good. I like their sticky rice. It is my favorite Indian restaurant.
(5)Judith H.
Very good.
(4)NIKKI F.
Chicken Saag was yummy and the Dahl Sambal was flavorful but a little thin. Overall, good food and great value.
(4)Kiran B.
We ordered through Aloha Food 2 go. I wish there was zero stars I could give. The food arrived in about an hour. We ordered 2 aloo parathas and 1 chicken biryani. Should cost us around 15 bucks maximum 20 bucks. This cost us 40 bucks. But that is the islands i guess. When the food arrived, it was the worst aloo parathas in the world. There was no flavor, no salt, no spice. Its hard to screw up a paratha so bad, its like screwing up a pancake. The biryani was overcooked bunched up rice with dark meat chicken. No other seasoning, salt or spice again. Also, these come with raita. There was nothing accompanying this
(1)Nana C.
I was introduced to this place by friends. I fell in love with it my first time and love going back. The parking sucks. Hands down. There's just no helping that. The wait time between ordering your food and actually getting it...also sucks if you are starving. Never come here if you are already starving. It will be torture to sit th waiting for food while smelling all those delicious spices. It can get a bit expensive if you aren't careful...but they do have dinner sets for one or two etc. and those tend to be pretty good deals. Now for the good stuff... The staff is friendly and the restaurant is spacious. It feels more open than Maharani in my opinion, but it's all about preference. Their vegetable samosas are to DIE for. It's like an Indian version of vegetable pot pie...and it comes with some sauces you put on it. It is such a good combination with the sweet sauce and the spice filled flavor of the samosa. It's like a symphony in your mouth. Yum. Their chicken korma is ok, though sometimes it comes out a bit dry. Rice isn't really anything special but definitely goes well with the food...not to mention how can you have a meal without rice here?! Hehe jk. ;p My favorite is their eggplant tikki masala. It is a bit spicy, so for those of you who can't handle that watch out and make sure you get some naan. The eggplant comes out nice and crispy and is super delicious. Def their best dish by far...aside from the heavenly vegetable samosas. Their naan is delicious and nice and buttery...a great partner for any of their masalas etc...but I have to admit Maharani's naan is lighter and fluffier...though they are both delicious in their own way.
(4)Susan F.
Our normal sunday funday on the 29th floor in waikiki was ruined by strong winds yesterday. So we decided to pack up and head to Cafe TajMahal for "theme Indian". Let me start off by saying that I was never a real big fan of Indian cuisine. Probably because each time my bf ordered off a menu it was something more like a japanese curry, which I don't care for AT ALL. And all the other times we've had Indian we were at a buffet which I could pick and choose by looks what I would eat. Since he's been craving Indian and I absolutely refuse to go with just the two of us to an indian restaurant, he's done his research on the cuisine and found foods that I would actually like. We ordered the saag gosht ($12.99), palak paneer ($11.99), kashmiri lamb ($16.99), butter naan ($3.25), and rice polau ($5.50) When we arrived the restaurant was not really busy with just a few tables taken, and it still was not busy when we placed our order. Approximately 5 minutes after we had placed our order, our server had come out to ask if we wanted to order appetizers because the kitchen was backed up with phone orders. So we order a few orders of papadum ($1.99 for 2 pieces), it would've been nice if they just offered us some for free... but eeh, its okay. Everything tasted really good and maybe we shouldn't have ordered so much food because we ended up taking a whole plate home with us. But it was an overall good experience. Which is really good coming from someone that doesn't care for Indian food :)
(4)Traci H.
Huge portions. Good flavor. Terrible parking options... Ok, so the specifics, this review if for takeout: absolutely huge portions, at about the same prices as other indian places ($13-$18 bucks for a main dish). CHICKEN BIRIYANI: huge mounds of rice. It says you need to request chiles and raisins but they put it in anyway. So note to self, tell them none of that next time. Good flavor, but not my favorite. I think Himalayan Kitchen was a little better. CHICKEN VINDALOO: again, it's not lik the vindaloo I know from the mainland so maybe vindaloo is different here but just at first glance, it was yellowish and had a potato type of texture. Good, spicy and flavorful, but not what I expected from vindaloo. CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA: pretty good flavor. the deep reddish rich color with tasty chicken breast and great sauce. Still not what I'm looking for but it'll do if it means I don't have to fly 2500 miles to get indian food. ALOO PALAK: the spinach was more creamy, kind of expected to see more spinachy pieces but it was more mushy in consistency. NAAN: pretty good actually. Not like full of butter or anything but I liked the soft but crispy flavor. And I don't like naan normally. RAITA: it's a little sweet for me but it worked to complement the spice. Dishes don't automatically come with rice so don't forget to order rice. I'd go back for sure but I'm still on a quest to find me some good Indian food in Hawaii!
(4)Jason A.
One of the best Indian restraunts I have ever been to. The service is a little slow, but the quality put into the food is beyond worth the wait. I will be back many times!
(5)Sasha Y.
My husband and I just had dinner there tonight,we ordered the two person combination:2 veggie samosas & balti beef & palak paneer & rice polau & 2 naans. The portions were generous, the naan was as fluffy as a pilow, and everything was so flavorful that we got ourselves 110% stuffed! We'll definitely be back!
(4)Marjorie C.
This time around I came for lunch with a friend, parked in the city mill paid parking lot ($3 for two hours). My friend got the vegetable samosas (smells like heaven, flaky outside and a delicious medley of veggies inside). I got a Masala Chai which was very refreshing on a hot day and I still went with the lamb vindalo! It was so good and my lunch was $11 :) Love it! Will definitely be back...again.
(4)Naomi A.
Samosas-delicious. Outside is crispy, almost flaky. Inside, hot, yummy & a little spicy. It comes with 2 sauces, a curry mango chutney & a basil/mint yogurt sauce. MUST HAVE! Aloo Puri-about the size of a salad plate, puff pastry with mashed potato filling. Pastry deflates and becomes almost like a deep fried crispy crepe with potato filling. Ordered the Mix Thali One. It came with the following: Chicken masala-boneless chicken in a spicy red curry sauce. MUST HAVE! Chicken korma-boneless chicken in a creamier sauce. Little bland compared to the masala, but adds a good balance. Dahl Sambar-like a really thick potato soup. Lots of vegetables, perfect blend of spices. Rice Polau-approx 4 cups of rice pilaf Naan-medium pizza size of homemade soft flat bread
(5)Ling W.
I'm really conflicted on several things. Here goes... We chose this place because, after 2.5 years of living in HI, we are STILL looking for an Indian place that impresses. We checked out their reviews and menu and ventured in (my husband and friend from India). Got there at 5:50 and ordered two cold chais and several apps. My friend arrived at 6:15 and we got our food/drinks soon thereafter. At that point, she ordered a hot chai and our entrees, which all did not come out for about 50 mins. Unfortunately, we filled up on apps b/c we needed to leave by 7:10 and it took that long (about 55 mins) for her hot chai and our three entrees to come out. We ordered a fish dish, eggplant, and veggie korma. We all thought our food and drinks were good. I thought the samosas, while a bit heavy, were tasty. I didn't like our naan, which I felt was heavy and greasy. Overall, the spices were subtle and I have to say, overall, our food was decent, better than most other Indian we've tried in the islands. Our server was kind. But the wait! Someone else said it here...the wait was horrific! The food was fresh, but since we were the only ones in the restaurant (in addition to two carry out orders), there is no reason it's taking nearly an hour to push out three entrees. Will we go back? Eh, maybe.
(4)Jessica M.
I have ordered take out from Cafe Taj Mahal twice. The funny thing is that I am eating it right now! With my mouth full, I can tell you...YUM. They have a great vegetarian menu and my boyfriend has always been satisfied with their carnivorous options as well. The naan? To die for. It's just perfect. I have tried the Vegetable Korma and the Mixed veggie masala..two staples. I also have gotten the coconut rice both times. It's the perfect flavor with cashews and raisins added in. If you get the take out, it is SO MUCH FOOD. I can get 4 meals out of it. Seriously. They give you an entire to go box of rice and a huge cannister of curry. My only complaints: Kind of greasy, and I am suspicious that there may be MSG in the food because I always get that "coma-sleepy" feeling after I eat it that you get after ingesting MSG. So, I will enjoy in moderation, but it's just so good, I can't resist!
(4)Janet K.
I ordered the eggplant tikka masala, fish curry masala, yellow rice and the garlic naan. The masala dishes could use more sauce (especially if it has curry in the name). Flavor was okay. The garlic naan was awesome. I ordered take out so I can't say much about the ambiance, but I will say that I was put on hold twice before my order was taken on the phone. Them - Hello, Taj Mahal restaurant, how may I help you? Me - I'd like to place an order for take out. Them - Okay, hold on please. Them - Thank you for waiting, how may I help you? Me - I'd like to place a take out order please. Them - Hold on please. Me - Are you serious right now? We all know the parking situation sucks there. We had to park at City Mill and walk across the street to pick up our order. The food is not worth that hassle.
(2)Reney O.
It's funny how my friend and I ended up here. We go for Indian food once every 3 or 4 months when that specific craving comes along- Kim's hankering for some paneer, and I'm dead-set on getting my lamb saag, and we're both dying for some delicious chilled mango lassi. Sunday was one of those days, but alas our usual choice, Maharani, was closed. Himalayan Kitchen was also closed. Yelp, help? Had it not been for that insatiable craving and the other two Indian options being closed, honestly Café TajMahal we wouldn't have met til much later in life. But I am so glad for that twist of fate, because YOU are our new favorite Indian eatery! Fantastic mango lassis, very flavorful lamb saag, and the best naan I've had yet! First, what made the naan stand out from all others was not only the size but the freshness and taste! Bread's bread, but bread pulled right out of the oven and straight to your plate is a beautiful symphony of scent and taste, and this was TajMahal's naan. Taj Mahal's lamb saag was delicious and spicy, better than Maharani's in my opinion. I must add though that Maharani's food and service has goneWAY downhill in this past year, I probably should update my review on them. They used to be delicious....ANYHOW, back to TajMahal. This next part is a bit of a mystery to me. Normally Kim and I are pretty fast eaters, especially when it comes to Indian: food wait for 20 minutes, eat in 10 minutes, sit there like fat kids for 45 minutes wondering why we ate that fast....but this time, this time we actually found ourselves eating slooooooooowly. This is how much we enjoyed TajMahal: the environment was conducive to quiet conversation and the true enjoyment of good food. No loud crowds, nor the feeling of eating in a cramped cafeteria. We were in this café that was bigger on the inside, hidden from the sounds of traffic and from the sight of passersby. Service was very attentive and nice. Though every table was taken, we could just barely hear the murmurs and "mmmm's" of other diners...then again we were all completely engrossed in the Indian music videos playing on TajMahals hd flatscreens. The colors are so vibrant!! I found myself bobbing my head to their beats as I munched happily on my chunks of lamb, haha. Good music, good company, great restaurant with fantastic food. One snag in the overall pleasant experience, and that is their parking. Café TajMahal is easily missed if you're trying to spot it from either Waialae Ave. or St. Louis Dr., it's located behind the more visible Fat Greek. The parking lot there is so ridiculously tiny (very narrow aisles, one entrance, one exit) save yourself a headache and just pay the $3 to park across the street in the gravelly lot. Trust, once you start eating at TajMahal, you wouldn't give a rat's ya-know about the parking fee. Come to think of it....on Oahu, I think it's just a requirement to have really crappy parking if you're an Indian restaurant. OH WELL. Cafe TajMahal, love you and I'll be back!!
(5)Erika A.
Close, but no cigar. Maharani still rules for Indian food! This is supposedly owned by a Maharani family member, so I was expecting a similar experience. My group ordered quite a bit of different dishes....the same we usually order from Maharani. There were a few great things, but overall I thought the food was very bland. Yes, it's true you may be able to be seated quickly, so if you are tired of the Maharani wait, then be my guest....one less person I have to wait behind to get a table. : )
(3)Regina T.
Food DELICIOUS. The time it took to get it from when we ordered till we ate...horrible. The place is very small, we lucked out on a table because the one person seated at a table for 4 did not return. We were seated, scoped the menu and decided on drinks, appetizers and meal. No one checked on us to see how we were doing it took 25 min for our appetizers to arrive. Granted -- HOT AND FRESH but really that long? No one came to our table to explain the wait. We finished our appetizer and watched bollywood on the mini tv's posted on the wall. 15 additional min later our other naan and meal FINALLY arrived. It was so much we had to take the rest home. Trying to find this place at night is tricky and parking is horrible, you have to pay across the street if the lot is full since it's located between an Italian and Greek restaurant. Yes the food was awesome but the waiting horrible. Just don't come starving and don't plan to do anything afterwards if you arrive around 7pm. We finally left the place around 9...that's how long it took to order, wait and eat. I'm iffy if I come back...I'll check out other Indian restaurants on the island first before I come here.
(3)Tellia W.
I love this place. The service is very good and the food is great. I still like the food at Maharani a little better, but the food here is quite comparable. In my opinion this is one of two great Indian food restaurants in Hawaii. I've tried most of the others with major disappointment. I actually eat here whenever I have the craving for Indian food. I choose Tajmahal over Maharani, because it is not as crowded, and you don't have to wait an hour for a table. Parking does suck, but dealing with it is worth it. I recommend you try this place.
(4)Kasey T.
The value can't be beat. The affordable pricing and great taste gets two Shaka's.
(4)William E.
Okay, I think it's been made pretty clear that this place is a mirror image (menu-wise) of Cafe Maharani. It is, and the foods just as good, or at least what we ordered this time around. The only thing missing is the atmosphere and coziness of their sister venue. If you have a larger group or if Maharani's has a long line, this is a great alternative. However, being a diehard Cafe Maharani fan, I'll probably always try to hit that spot first, especially if I'm on a date. Additionally, those servers already know what *I* mean when I say "Spicy, please." Suggestions: Order anything "Masala" and you'll be happy. Shrimp Briyani. Lamb Vindaloo. Naan bread. Veggie samosas. BYOB -- corkage fee applies.
(4)Jakob M.
This place does great food but it is a bit expensive, especially considering it is in a student neighborhood near UH Manoa. I usually do not pay what they charge unless I want a change from my usual meals. Also, their to-go orders take over 20 minutes so you must call before you go to pick-up the orders or you will end up waiting for a long time.
(4)K Kaipo S.
Wow!! Having lived in NYC, I doubted that Honolulucould have decent authentic Indian cuisine. Well after trying Cafe Taj Mahal, I am now convinced that the 808 is making a serious move towards being a serious foodie city. The dinner for two has more food than two could eat alone. Start with freshly made vege samosas with two dipping sauces, smokey tamarind and minty spice yougurt. The samosas were pretty good and filled with the balance of curry and sweetness. Then came the Naan which was freshly prepared and our two choices of lamb masala and butter chicken. Both used masala to bring out the heat but not much just enough to make you feel the burn. The rice polau had a hint of citrus andI'm guessing tumeric. In all, this new kid on the block can truly kick it up a notch with more marketing and better atmosphere... I'm guessing as business increases, then more investment can be made. I will be back to try more. Ono.
(5)David D.
So far, I have been here twice, and on both occasions, the food was delicious, just the right amount of spicy, and very plentiful. You will definitely bring home leftovers! The prices are reasonable too. The servers are delightful and friendly, and i am already looking forward to my next visit. Don't miss the mango lassi. Smooth as silk, and sweet without being too sweet. It's probably best to have it after your meal, because you don't want to fill up on that and miss out on the wonderful dishes. Deeelicious!
(4)Dan L.
The food is really good, especially malai kofta! Delish! Service was borderline bad, although the servers were very nice. The food took forever, and two families that came into the restaurant after we ordered (there were 4 of us), got their food before us. It was a little confusing. Our order was not difficult. Anyway, in spite of this, it was still delicious, and I mostly come to watch the videos anyway!!
(4)Kit H.
A truly tongue numbing encounter. I was treated like a visiting Rajah upon entering Cafe TajMahal. Greeted, seated, and served by no less than the President himself. Not Obama. The president of Cafe TajMahal. Well, that's what his business card said. I enjoyed the lamb saag ordered hot and it's generous amounts of meaty lamb cubes and tongue tingling spices. Washed down with a fruity, fresh, bright, and partly pulpy mango lassi. Not too chalky and richly smooth. The uber hot spiciness of my meal made me realize I'd apparently been bamboozled & even hoodwinked by other Indian joints when getting spicy. In retrospect those meals were mildly above tepid & geared towards more parochial taste buds compared to this. I wasn't a huge fan of their naan, but I enjoyed it well enough for sopping up the saag's saucy bits. If the wait was long for my food, I couldn't tell. I was busy ogling Katrina Kaif in the Bollywood blockbuster being shown on their telly. But I -can- say the whole of the comfy-cozy, unpretentious surroundings backed by a soundtrack of wonderful sounds & wafting smells from the kitchen, the pleasantries extended by Mr President, topped off with a filling, tasty, very spicy saag & sprightly lassi totaled to an enjoyable time for me. Be mindful this joint's hidden behind The Fat Greek. Hm. Who'd have thought a one-off stroll on St Louis Dr at Wai`alae Av one Saturday afternoon could boost me another 4/5th's step closer to completing the 7 steps required to reach Nirvana? Yeah. Cafe TajMahal irradiated my Chakra just fine.
(4)Ngan W.
We came in last night and had a wonderful dinner. We were a party of 4 and ordered the combo dinner for 2 and an extra entree and ended up with leftoversof every dish. Ambience-wise I prefer Maharani's much better. Especially since, I was informed that the restroom was unisex and since it was shared with all the other restaurants in the complex, the water pressure can be really low (doesn't flush). No thanks! We started off with 2 vegetable samosas to share, these samosa-on-steroids were more than big enough to feed the four of us. We upgraded to the cheese naan (was like cheesy pizza) and garlic naan (a definite winner), and paid the difference from the plain naan that would've came with our combination dinner. The rest of our meal consisted of: Generous plate of Rice Polau- basmati rice Lamb Curry Masala- wasn't very spicy but definitely was very delicious. The chunks of meat were tender and huge, real comfort food, Would definitely order again. Maharaja Spicy Chicken - We got the Hot level and not Fire hot level. It was the perfect amount of spice, started out fiery in the mouth but the heat tapers off; very delicious dish. Eggplant Tikka Masala- this was a disappointment as this was a recommendation from a coworker. My fiance described it perfectly as tempura in curry sauce. The eggplant was too heavy in this fried dish. BYOB was a super plus, Service was great. Bathroom situation, not so much. Food was delious. Wil be back!
(4)Rio R.
Awesome food as well as generous portions. We've been ordering Indian from from here for the past 3 years, and its always a treat. We have our go to favorites menu wise: saag sagosht, lamb vindaloo, chicken korma, coconut rice (w/out raisins), samosas, and extra naan bread. We always get 'to go', even though the restaurant is really nice. The food is absolutely delicious! This order usually lasts us for the next 3 days breakfast, lunch, and dinner. One cannot simply get enough of their extremely delectable food. I love Indian food, I even learned how to prepare a few dishes myself. The spices alone have cost me over $200, and are not easily attainable. The care and timing that go into each dish must be meticulously implemented. Cafe Tajmahal consistently aspires to bring this true Indian dining experience in every dish they prepare to our lovely Hawaiian island. Mad props to them!
(5)WonderWoman W.
Went twice after it first opened. The first time the food was excellent. The second time, the food was less so but still good. I've had better Indian food in Hawai'i, often accompanied by lousy service. Both visits to Taj Mahal, the service was great. No complaints. But since it was newly opened, it was fairly empty. Service may have changed in the last few years. Tucked away, out of sight, with little parking, I'm surprised it's lasted this long. Maybe that's a testament to their food and service. Both times I left with the extra food, there was too much. I love good naan and the garlic naan was excellent. I asked for extra garlic the second time and they happily added it. The Palak Paneer was tasty but a bit soupy. I was disappointed in the chicken dish, Chicken Tikka, maybe. Not that it tasted bad, it was also delish, but the chicken pieces were bony and gristly. Now that I write this, will have to pay another visit to see if Taj Mahal and this review of it have held up. Thankfully, I can walk to it since parking is limited, awkward, and you risk getting blocked in by inconsiderate others. No nearby street parking, just the pay lot below City Mill.
(3)Summer S.
Okay, first of all, I have to giggle at the low ratings based on.. chicken tikka masala. hahaha. If you grew up eating Indian food for 18 years, please don't base your review on what is the whitest (race wise ;) thing you can order at an Indian restaurant. That's like going to a Chinese restaurant and reviewing it based on their General Tso's Chicken. I didn't know a thing about Indian food five years ago, but then I went to college and met tons of those Indian grad students that are university staples as much as dormitories are. My stomach was lucky to be fed by a bunch of these awesome Indian students and professors, who were all enthusiastic about sharing their culture with others. Ohh.. Those were good times... I can't claim that 5 years of massive consumption of Indian food has made me a discerning connoisseur of Indian food, but I'd like to hope I have an idea of what's good and what isn't. Cafe TajMahal is tasty. Unfortunately, I can't say that it's as good as what I had at university, but I have yet to find that in Hawaii. (Unless you're Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi and want to invite me over :-D) Order whatever you want, it'll probably be good. I was surprised to find that the eggplant tikka masala had great reviews, as I didn't find it to stick out amongst the other dishes, but the eggplant's fine and to each his own. Compared to the other Indian restaurants, TajMahal can hold its own. I'll have to agree that parking sucks and it can get full (and also worryingly empty). Also, while service has always been prompt and attentive and friendly, I'd like to see that every staff member has a good grasp of the menu. A previous reviewer mentioned that his server didn't even know what lassi was. I could believe this. I've even had a server not know that "that sauce" is called chutney. Thankfully, this isn't usually the case. For tasty Indian food at a good price, TajMahal is a great choice. :)
(4)Guy H.
For our most recent Thursday night dinner I was craving Indian and decided we would have Cafe Taj Mahal. We have been here several times before and have always been happy. I was extra hungry so we went with the Combination Dinner for Three. Curry choices selected were: Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Tikka Shahi Korma, and the Kashmiri Chicken. This was the first time we tried the tikka dishes and find that we like the tikka versions better than the regular curry versions. The theory is that since the chicken is cooked in the tandoori oven separate from the curry, the curry doesn't get liquidy with the chicken juices and is more concentrated; it is a thicker sauce. I always like to have a mild curry in the mix and love the subtle sweetness of the Kashmiri with its apples and raisins. Add the appetizers and the Gulab Jamun for dessert (Juicy cheese ball dipped in honey syrup) and it was an excellent meal that more than satisfied my craving. Plus there's so much food I have plenty of left overs for a couple of lunches.
(4)Kawika M.
Parking is awful but the food was super good so who cares. I got take out anyways and the wait staff was really nice and accommodating while I waited for my food. They brought the food out to my car too which was cool. The chicken saag, AKA spicy chicken luau was spot on and the onion kulcha was unreal. Would go back again garanz.
(5)Tracie K.
I was reading a FB post from one of my friends which reminded of this restaurant. I'm a fan of Indian food and had a lot of it on the Mainland. I hadn't had a chance to really explore Indian places here in Hawaii. The extent of my search led me to India Cafe's food truck in Kailua which is a whole other review. Anyway, Cafe TajMahal was a pretty decent Indian Restaurant. The service is excellent. The restaurant itself is small but cozy. The parking is very limited. Some patrons end up parking over at City Mill and walking over. We were accompanied by another couple who have embraced the vegan lifestyle. I can tell you now, it's not easy finding a place that accommodates vegans like this one does. They were actually the ones who told us about this place. We did family style. So to start off we ordered vegetable samosas. We were so surprised when they brought it out to us. They were huge pillows of lightly deep fried vegetable goodness. I really liked the dipping sauces; mango chutney and raita (yogurt dressing). Then we had Naan bread topped with garlic. One word says it all YUM-O! Then for the entrees we had mix vegetable masala, aloo ghobi, and eggplant tikka masala. All dishes contained vegetables, spices, onions or tomatoes. I love curry and the curried dishes were exceptional. I'd go back again, but maybe with another group. I'm a carnivore. So next time I'd like to get me some meat!
(4)Aline T.
I came here with my sister. Garlic naan was very good! As was the Samosa! Their samosas are PACKED with meat and HUGE. Unbelievable! The samosa come with 2 sauces, one a herb yogurt and another a sweet, tart one with some serious heat! I was literally crying because I refused to stop eating the samosa with the sauce. My face was turning red and my sister was getting embarrassed. hahaa. good times. The Lassi drink was pretty good. Sadly, the beef curry was bland. Like, so bland that I didn't even want to eat it but I ate some because I didn't want to hurt the cook's feelings. If it had a better flavor, this place would've definitely gotten 4 stars from me. Location: This place is in the same restaurant block as Fat Greek, Sabrina's and Sushi Man (next to the Subaru car dealership in Kaimuki) but it's in the back, behind Fat Greek. You might not even see it unless you really look for it.
(3)Cher P.
Food was great! Naan dip into their raita is awesome. Place is much roomier. However parking was a disaster. Place is situated in the back so if you don't know the place you will miss it for sure. Other that we enjoyed it and I must say it was great choice for the evening. Gotta go back. hOtsauce is the best
(4)Gil G.
Excellent spicy Lamb Vindallo! What a nice prize to find!
(4)Gotfunit W.
Listen, it's the best Indian food on the island. Been there 3 times and they have always delivered great taste and good quality. Gotta look for it though - it's across from City Mill, behind the little restaurants.
(5)Shelly i.
This was only my second time eating Indian food (first time was at Gaylord's in Las Vegas) and I loved it. We visited Cafe TajMahal on a Monday night. The restaurant was empty when we got there at 6:30 p.m. but filled up by the time we left around 8:30 p.m. We parked across the street at City Mill for $5 to avoid the craptastic parking lot, but there were spaces (just no safe way to enter/exit). We came in a group of 7 and the owner let us order the menu for 4 (we ordered an extra appetizer, stuffed naan, and one additional dish). Almost all of us ordered lassi (I had mango). I enjoyed everything we ordered and it was very filling. My favorite dish was the spicy shrimp, which wasn't too spicy at all but had a tasty sauce and good sized shrimp. The rice that came with the menu for 4 wasn't too tasty on it's own but great when used to sop up all the sauces. I don't think I would order the stuffed lamb naan again because I found it too greasy, but the regular naan was great. Our total bill came out to $141. Really great deal in my opinion. Service was good too. We started out being served by the owner but the waitress came on around 7-ish. She was cute and friendly and even offered us extra raisins for our dessert. This place shares the same bathroom with Sabrina's so I'll echo my comment about it being an episode of Law and Order SVU waiting to happen. Even my guy friends felt scared in the dark doorway waiting to use it. One more thing... they had a great movie playing when we were there. It was called Chakde! I think I'm going to have to start netflix-ing Indian movies.
(5)Scott R. D.
I think Thalei K. hits the nail right on the head. It's good, but not as good as Maharani. I feel like it's more expensive too, although I haven't been to Maharani in a while. The tandoori chicken was flavorful, but missing the sizzling platter of onions. It was also $19.99 for a full order of two leg/thigh, two naan, and salad. In other places a half order is half a chicken, here it's just the leg and thigh. The palak paneer ($11.99) was tasty and moderately spicy. The naan was perfect. The service was excellent at first but descended into being completely ignored by paying the check time. The ambience is OK, if you like fluorescent brightness. They need lighting help. I notice some of the tubes are turned off, but they need to turn off a couple of more. Overall, not bad, but nothing I'm going to run back to. Seemed just a bit expensive for what it is.
(3)Dustin N.
I have to say I love Indian cuisine but this joint didn't WOW! Besides the parking the ambiance was ok, got to admit food was good but some dishes we ordered were "eh!" I will give this place a try again because it's one of those places you want to love but it's going to take time and numerous follow-up visits... DeeK rating: pending approval
(3)Jesse S.
Terrific Indian cuisine served in large portions at a good price. Just so you don't think I was won over by the price and portion size, I am a fan of Indian food and have tried it all around the country (even in Canada). Taj Mahal is right up there with my top favorite restaurants. The naan was perfectly browned and light, the lamb curry was nicely spiced and cooked just right, and the salt lassie was prepared to order. Take your appetite and some friends. But, be sure to carpool, parking is terrible.
(4)George C.
Eggplant Tikka Masala? The Lovely One ordered it, but I was not unduly concerned as it would join the lamb, chicken, and garlic naan that are the mainstays of our typical order. In fact it amused me trying to visualize somebody slapping slices of eggplant onto the glowing red walls of a tandoor. But, at the substantial and catastrophic risk of my own people disowning me, people who revere the eggplant and hold their preparations of it in the highest regard -- and I'll chance it -- this is the best eggplant dish I've ever had. The eggplant slices are coated in spiced garbanzo bean flour then fried and topped with an onion and tomato masala, which only hints feebly at the magic that elevates this dish from mere cuisine to the sublime. I'm almost afraid to go back for fear that my second encounter with the eggplant cannot possibly live up to my first.
(5)Jeremy D.
Not the greatest... food or service. I have eaten at about 40 different indian restaraunts around the world and it is hard to distinguish one from the other. There are dishes that set some apart from others but they are rare. For me, I think that the dining experience is what makes a great dinner at an Indian restaraunt. Cafe TajMahal doesn't have any dishes that would make them stick out in my mind. I enjoyed the samosas and the chicken biryani. The nan was pretty boring and a bit over done for my tastes. The reason Cafe TajMahal gets 2 stars is because it took 45 minutes to get our appetizers. 30 minutes later we received 3 of 5 entrees. 20 more minutes provided us with our 4th entree. All the while, our water glasses remained dry and our servers were busy chumming with each other. Our fifth entree never made it to the table before we finished with our meal so we told them to take it off of our bill. They didn't agree and insisted we pay for it. Normally, I'd argue but I wanted to leave and salvage the rest of our evening. Hopefully, the owner will read this review and fix the HUGE problem with their service. I'll go back eventually to see if they can overcome their challenges in the front and back of the house. Kind of disappointing. Oh yeah. If they don't take reservations, they shouldn't accept them over the phone. If they take reservations, they should honor them.
(2)Tania P.
First and foremost I'd like to say that I TRULY judge Indian restaurants by their chicken tikka masala... And Cafe TajMahal? The WORST chicken tikka masala I've ever had...not to mention the service was slowwwwwww... Besides my table, there were only three other people in the restaurant... There was no excuse for such bad service. ...all disappointing b/c the lamb vindaloo and chicken korma were actually decent...and it's open during lunch hours (Maharani is not)... But sadly, b/c the chicken tikka masala SUCKED I'll probably never be back. No, not even for a redo.
(2)Brian L.
parking sucks - well I already know that since I eat at 4 spots in the lot. City Mill across the street has paid parking - but when was it only $3? I've only recently (past 3 years) started to be a fan of Indian food. The vegetable Samosas an nan is YUMs. I could just eat that all day...ok..with a bit of Chicken Marasala
(4)Thi L.
Went here for dinner with a friend and we ordered: raita - tasty complement to the rest of the items chicken korma - ok, not that much flavor and the pieces of chicken were too big, i like bite-sized. fish masala - yummy! it was a basa fillet with a curry-ish topping of tomatoes, onions and other tasty goodness coconut rice - light coconut flavor, with raisins and cashews. i liked it. naan - pretty standard overall, everything tasted good with the right amount of spice/kick. service was good, very attentive, re-filled waters and checked in a couple times. the only thing was the food took a while after we ordered, but it's a small restaurant and there was a big party ahead of us so i knew i was in for a bit of a wait.
(3)Page I.
I went to this restaurant this past Halloween at around 7:30pm. Parking is pretty tricky, fortunately I rode with my guy on a moped and we just parked right at the entrance. The restaurant wasn't too crowded so service was pretty good and we received our food fairly quickly, in under 15 minutes. We started off with the buttered naan, which was delicious and had an amazing aroma. The basmati rice was good, I ordered the curry chicken masala and was really happy with it--like Kimberly T. mentioned, the chicken is of unusually good quality, it's really tender and cooked perfectly. He ordered the lamb curry -- loved the taste of the curry itself but the meat had a lot of... gelatinous goo? that was embedded in between the muscle fibers. Eh, despite that, I would definitely go back to this place if I ever felt like eating Indian again. A little pricey (but all Indian restaurants are) but the portion sizes are huge, I love eating the leftovers from this place.
(4)Mila S.
I love this restaurant! The food is DELICIOUS. I've been here a few times and have tried lots of different menu options - they're all tasty and satisfying. You can tell the curries are slow cooked and made with tons of spices. I'm kind of a sissy when it comes to spicy foods, but the level of hotness in this Indian food is manageable. And yes, the naan is incredible! They give you huge pieces that are puffy, perfectly cooked and soooo yummy. Service is great - they're attentive and remember their customers. Parking in the lot in front can be kind of difficult; but at night you can park across the street at City Mill for $5.00. Much easier. Go to this restaurant, you won't be disappointed.
(5)Brooke M.
Awful. Just awful. A new low in Indian food. Bland, overcooked, no semblance of freshness. Mumbly service without a smile. Just simply terrible. Can you make naan with Bisquick? Cuz that's what theirs tastes like! Never again. Oh, and if I was Cafe Maharani, I'd sue them-- the menu is an exact photo copy of Maharani's menu! WTF?!
(2)raechelle v.
Really was pleasantly surprised. After wanting to try Indian food for the longest time, I decided to try this place for my birthday lunch. I fell in love! I can't remember the names of the dishes, but we had the curry with spinach and lamb that oddly reminded me of Squid Luau without the squid. The garlic and onion naan was awesome. And the butter chicken was a winner too. You can choose from the lunch and dinner menu. Only down side is, they ran out of dessert. Only had this rice pudding thing that could have been better. Amp up the desserts and I'll give this place 5 stars!
(4)vic w.
I thought their food was near bland and lacked the great blend of bold flavors that makes Indian food so great. We got the three set combination for the four of us. It was more than enough food to say the least. The vegetarian appetizer is a real nice treat giving you a taste to start the meal off with a mix of fried items. It was a hopeful beginning. When the food came, which took a little more than the average amount of time, the spices for all the dishes overall just seemed off tilt. In particular, the curry seemed very irony and the chicken tasted unusually gamey. I did like the lamb curry. For those that are often put off by the gaminess of lamb - their version is a little more tame (although you'd still know it was lamb) and the sauce is good. We had a sizzling beef/vegetable dish which had a sweet, but hot after kick to it. It was mediocre at best with the vegetables mushed up. Regarding their naan, I would agree with most posts that it really isn't what it should be. A little too doughy and bland. However, I do want to make a correction to one of the posts that naan is a staple Indian food...it really isn't. For Indians it is really only eaten at restaurants or outside the home because most don't have the means to cook it. Thus, not a staple food of the Indian culture. I've been a little spoiled living in the Bay Area with great Indian cuisine, so this place just isn't up to par. I'm going to definitely try out another Indian restaurant before returning.
(3)Chris K.
Great food and huge portions. Got the meal for two which could have fed four easily. Garlic naan bread is amazing. I like heat so the vindaloo was perfect. Parking situation is rough but that's not their fault. It's better to go early to get a stall.
(5)Emily B.
My poor husband was tired of Asian/Hawaiian food on our last night so we went with an old standby: Indian! We had chicken saag, dahl, naan, and rice. Everything was a la carte here, versus our normal restaurant back home on the mainland that gives you rice wtih each main dish. The naan was great but the dahl was not as tasty as back home.
(3)Rita L.
so the night started off with trying to look for parking, good luck there ain't much. but, u can park across the street but pay $5. i rather not, so luckily we found some! make reservations! it was freakin busy! i mean busy! even though we made reservations, we still waited 30+ minutes! so we've tried good and bad indian food. This place has really authentic indian food. i mean there was a lot of local indians eating here so that must mean something right? the samosas here were awesome! we tried beef, chicken, and vegetarian-the beef was the best! the coconut rice was really good too! love, love, the palik paneer, all the masala dishes were great! the garilc naan was very garlic and huge! the saag was delicious! i mean everything was great! not too spicy either! just make sure u have your raita-the yogurt on the side to tone down the spice1 we were sooo full! the desserts looked great but we didn't have any room! the portions were great and the service was pretty good! we did have to wait some time for them to bring out our food. but what did we do? we drank it up! wine, wine, and more wine! i love byob places! ahhh!!! so if you are in the mood for some indian food in hawaii, try cafe taj mahal! it was really good!
(4)Catherine L.
Cafe TajMahal opened after one of the staff member from Maharani quit. They tried to recreate the menu over there, but it is not quite as good as Maharani. Just a pale copy that does not taste right. I went there with friends, and I was ashamed that I did suggest it. All was wrong ! The waitress did not even know what a lassi was, and when she brought me mine, it tasted like vegetable juice. I told her something was wrong with the lassi, and she acted like I was the silly one. All the dishes where bland, or tasted funny. The samossa were super greasy, and a thick crust for almost no filling. And the ambiance is not quite as quirky-means-cool as Maharani. It is just bland. Like their food. Never again.
(1)Rickie B.
I learned of this restaurant about a month ago while ordering from the Fat Greek next door which has great food. Tonight I thought I would try it, so I called to put in a takeout order. A twentysomething Indian male answered and I said I was a first time customer wanting to try a lamb dish. I asked him if they served Rogan Josh and he said he did not know what that was! I politely asked if he could answer just a few quick questions about the menu lamb dishes as I did not have a menu in front of me and needed to order dinner. He did not seem to know much about their restaurant menu and had to ask his father what Rogan Josh was. Anyway I asked one more question about other lamb dishes curry and he called me Sir. Since I am a Ms (woman) but my phone voice at night can sometimes sound a bit deep in tone, I nicely said Sir I am a Ms not a fellow. Anyway I said i was eager to order before they closed for the night and would pick up. He then hung up the phone on me but I did not know this and thought the cell phone got disconnected. So I called back he picked up and hung up the phone. I did not have the chance to say anything. I finally got through and said "Sir we seem to have gotten cut off." to which he then said verbatim "You d--khead. F--k off." I was flabbergasted. I have eaten in restaurants all over the world in all sorts of dining venues and am into good customer service, being an executive in Human Resources so employee training is essential. I got in my car and drove over and asked to speak to the owner and told this fellow's father what had happened. The mother came out of the kitchen and got defensive about her son. I told them that not only was this very upsetting but that no customer should be spoken to in that manner and that I was a potential new long time customer with a history of restaurant loyalty. The father did not say much and the whole family seemed dysfunctional and seemed not to know what to do. I just shook my head and said well I shared what happened and now I am going home. They did not offer a dinner comp or any other customer service gesture and although the son finally said he was sorry, it did not really makeup to me for what happened. The owner should have taken charge and handled it with some customer service skill. It is too bad as I would have been a loyal customer if I had liked their food. I have never had anything like this happen before and it shook me up so much I cried on the drive home from the stress of it.
(1)Gidget T.
I've eaten at Cafe Taj Mahal several times and I've always been pleased with the quality of the food. I typically order the Chicken Kabob dish (that comes with Naan). My sister, who is a vegetarian, loves their curry but noted it was odd that it did not come with rice (as most other Indian places we ordered from do). Still, she said it was very delicious and the rice is always fresh and not too overwhelming to the dish. I love their Naan best of all. It's best if you get the dipping yogurt sauce on the side and I prefer to eat it right away while it's hot as opposed to letting it cool. There is a somewhat limited seating, but I've never had to wait long to get a table. If you order to go it comes out in about 15 minutes and the employees are very friendly and remembered my favorite entree after a couple visits. Overall, I enjoy eating there from time to time, but had to take off stars because of the price (much pricer than some other Indian restaurants) and because rice never comes included with a dish and it's quite expensive to have to order it in addition to your meal. Still, one extra order of rice can feed three to four people.
(3)Cecilia D.
Cafe Taj Mahal was really good! We were initially going to go to Maharani but they were closed due to the chef's wedding. We had heard of Taj Mahal and I remembered that Nadine Kam (Star-Bulletin) gave it a good review so we decided to try it for the first time. All of us were pleasantly surprised! We ordered the chicken masala, lamb vindalo, chicken samosas, buttered naan and yellow rice... everything came out freshly made, hot and spicy :) The masala was so good that we ordered an extra helping! Also loved the tamarind sauce... had an extra kick to it. The restaurant (and restroom) was clean, the owner/host was gracious, and overall our dining experience superb. We will return!
(4)Julia G.
Garlic Butter Naan! I LOVE IT!! and the fish masala is soooooo good! top it off with a rose laasi and youre good to go.... no really you are good to GO! =p
(5)Addy T.
I want to like this restaurant, but I can't. I love the service since the guy was so nice but the restaurant's dishes failed miserably. My friend and I ordered the two people course which was $42. The most expensive meal considering we only had less than 5 bites from the two entree we ordered. Maybe we ordered the wrong dish? So we were suggested to order another dish and paid another $7 for a small portion hoping it would make up for the other two entree and this also lacked in flavor and consistency. All the entree were so bland, oily, and non edible. I've eaten at a lot of Indian food and this was the worst ever (maybe except the rice). But that's just me, you should try anyways! A tip for the restaurant, consider complimenting at least one entree if someone tells you the dish was bad. Now I'm scrambling at home with an empty stomach trying to fix the flavors if it's salvageable. *Note I usually only write reviews if I seriously cannot stand the food.
(1)Wendy H.
I've been to Taj Mahal several times and found it good enough to return until today. I got a to-go order and waited over half an hour for my food. Then when I got home, my usually favorite, Chicken Vindaloo was burned. The chicken was totally black and tough and the curry tasted like burned lamb(I hate lamb). I'm not sure if they reuse curry sauce to cook different meats, but it tasted like it. The Aloo Gobi was mushy, like it has been in the warmer all day long. I called the restaurant and was told that this is how they cook their food. If this is going to be the way their food will be, I will not be returning there anytime soon, actually, I won't be going back there at all.
(1)Kimberly L.
First of all, I had to go into this place wearing a bikini and a coverup "dress" that was actually a shirt and that should not be worn as a "dress" anywhere but the beach. Walking in and out was fun. I admit that the parking situation is a little funky, but we managed to park right in front of the restaurant in that small lot on a Saturday night (admittedly, it was at 5:30). But I don't rate restaurants on the parking. Their garlic naan tasted good. It was real, it was made in a tandoor, and there was plenty of garlic (we were quite stinky afterwards). The eggplant pakoras also tasted like something nice and homecooked. In fact, the batter tasted exactly like this homemade israeli flatbread called aji, so next time my guy makes that, we'll batter the eggplant in it and deep fry it. It was quite nice with the tamarind and mint/yogurt sauces, as well. Not too greasy, very crispy, slightly overfried, but still good. And they used Japanese eggplant (the skinny one), which I thought was interesting...it's what I always use! Anyway, I liked the garlic naan and pakoras. I also just finished reading The Kite Runner (a great book in a world of good books--you should try it) and I was really in the mindset of all the foods mentioned in the book. We ordered the chicken saag and curry chicken masala. The masala was not what I expected at all. In fact, I feel quite certain that I have made better curry masala at home. The chicken was a bit higher quality than I've had in other indian restaurants--it was juicy and it wasn't swimming with ligamentous chunks of grossness, but the sauce was lacking. Lacking in flavor! I didn't really want to eat it, it was that bad. What's worse, this was tauted on the menu as "House Speciality." Maybe my tastebuds are duller than the average Hawaii resident's? So maybe it takes more to impress me? I don't know, but I was definitely not impressed by the chicken curry masala. I could eat it by putting it on the naan and dunking the whole thing with mint sauce. The Chicken Saag (also said to be a specialty on the menu) was all right. I think it's because I felt like it was "healthy" because of the spinach and therefore it shouldn't be forced to taste delicious. That being said, I enjoy the frozen Amy's palak paneer plate from costco better than I enjoyed this spinach dish. It just didn't taste...flavorful. Or good. I also ordered a hot chai, which I was really looking forward to being a good, proper chai. I was not in luck. It tasted a little like thai tea because of the evaporated milk, and it definitely didn't have any "real" spices in it. It was kind of like the chai I have at home in teabags, but with evaporated milk instead of cow milk. It was thick and stayed layerlike on my knife, if that's any consolation. Perahps there was some condensed milk in there? Anyway, it was not delicious, but it was not bad. That being said, I could not drink the entire cup. The best thing about it was that it came out hot. Boiling hot. We ordered the Semai, which was supposed to be the chef's special dessert. The description was "special dessert made with milk, sugar, and flour." Okay. We asked the waitress what it was and she said she didn't know. Okay, we said. Suprrise us. It turned out to be a kind of pudding made with what appeared to be glass noodles or some other fine angel hair sized noodle. It sat in milk, with sugar, and lots of cardamom seeds. I could taste that it had been sitting in the refrigerator for far too long, because it had that distinctive fridge taste. I guess not too many people order it? Anyway, the parts that didn't taste like fridge were pretty good. Lots of cardamom seeds, like I said. Maybe a few too many for my taste in desserts. Could be enjoyable, if not for the refrigerator taste. Warm and puddingy. By the way, this restaurant is kind of lacking as far as their presentation goes. Maybe better dishes would help the food taste better? The cup and saucer they have is the same blue and white one I have from walmart. And the dishes are brightly-colored plastic things, perhaps also from walmart? Normally I wouldn't complain about something like the dishes, but when the food is just mediocre, the restaurant at least needs a gimmick or something to keep bringing people in. I guess there is a reason why Maharani is always busy and this place, on a Saturday night, was not.
(3)Big A.
Cafe Taj Mahal was a very cozy restaurant off Waialae Avenue in Kaimuki. Parking was a bit tight, but the atmosphere was relaxing and the food was great! My family arrived at about 6:30 pm and there were several tables open. We sat and ordered Veggie Pakora, Chicken Samosa and Green Salad with yogurt dressing as appetizers. They served a mint chutney and a tamarind chutney also that really tasted great with both the pakora and samosa. We ordered some Chapati but they were out and only had Naan that evening. We ordered the chicken Curry hot , the butter chicken hot, and beef curry hot. My son ordered basmati yellow rice. The curry was very spicy and delcious with fresh green chilis. The server made it a point to inform us that if we did bite into the green chili we would surely get a flavor explosion, and we surely did in a very positive way! We love spicy Indian food! The food was excellent and my whole family enjoyed the flavors as well as the service. We will surely be back to Cafe Taj Mahal very soon!
(5)Bifyu J.
Went for lunch and ordered the Mix Thali which provided a nice sampler since it includes one vegetable, one chicken, and one lamb dish, as well as either rice or naan. The menu describes it as for two, but it's probably enough for three as long as you're not big eaters. We weren't familiar with all of the options, but the staff (owner?) was helpful in explaining them to us and helping us order. We decided on the vegetable masala, chicken saag, lamb vindaloo, and naan. The naan was quite nice. The vegetable masala was also quite nice, and more flavorful than most others I have tried. The lamb vindaloo was tender, and though spicy (with a "clean" sort of heat) still allowed the lamb's flavor through. The chicken saag was a new dish for us, and the sauce went well with the naan. Parking, or rather exiting the parking, can be kind of awkward if you get relegated to the half of the lot closest to the restaurant because of the narrow access and angled stalls.
(4)Levy O.
I was happy to find Cafe Taj Mahal since I don't think I could endure the wait at Cafe Maharani. Now everytime the craving strikes, me and my posse a.k.a my neighbors head out to this small restaurant on Wailaie. The first time we were there, we heard a rumor that the Naan bread was not as good as Maharani's. And actually, my gutsy neighbor told the waitress that and the owner gave us a free basket of Naan just to try and see if the rumor was true...hehehe(no spit included, of course). The naan is just as good as Maharani's....extra star for being a nice host! The food here is good...I had Indian food pretty often when I was living in the bay area and I think Cafe Taj Mahal is not behind in terms of taste & quality of the dishes. Prices can be a little bit steep if you consider the ambiance and the decor of the restaurant are kinda.... blah. See if you go to Cafe Maharani, you feel like you're in Bollywood with the huge flat screen TV playing colorful, cheesy, musical Indian romance movies. Makes you wanna put on the bindi on your forehead and start hugging a wall and shaking your assets...hhmm... Back to the food....my favourite is the Tandoori chicken. I know..I know it's basic, but that's why they shouldn't mess it up. I've had tandoori chicken that came with a sizzling plate of onions that were dry before. And eventho this one at Taj Mahal doesn't come with sizzling plate, it was juicy and yummy!! My neighbors and I usually order (almost) the same dishes; Tandoori chicken, Lamb Vindaloo that is oh-so good and spicy that you don't care that you have to spend some quality time with your bathroom the next day, and fish tika masala that was pretty good but I've had better masala. Their butter naan and garlic naan was warm, soft & buttery with a bit of oil on the surface...Yum! It seems for now this restaurant is not as popular as Maharani. Maybe because the location is kinda hidden, or people couldn't find parking. Parking was ok everytime we went there. Parking lot is small, but usually we were able to get a spot. Writing this review got me thinking...do I want people to love and crowd this restaurant so the next time I come,I have to wait in line for hours just like at Maharani's or do I prefer that this establishment remains unpopular that it wouldn't survive? I pick the first one...let's support a good local business ^_^ Oh..it's BYOB!
(4)Travis T.
The dinner for three was a lot of food but I'm sure it would have been more than enough if we were all super hungry. I've never been to Maharani so I can't compare the food, but it wasn't super crowded. The parking was weird and cramped but there were a couple open spaces on a Saturday night. Try the Galub Jamun for dessert, a yummy bread/cheese ball soaked in honey syrup. Num nums.
(4)Alice E.
the naan was superb!!! my hubs and i went ther for lunch recently and already planning to go back in the near future.
(1)Matthew H.
Service a little slow, but friendly. Bread is amazing. Portions look small until u start eating. Chai tea is Ono
(4)danielle c.
Service is horriable. The waiter was extremely rude. We sat for 10 min, no service. We left.
(1)Demur E.
Cafe Maharani, Jr. is open! Ok, the actual name is Cafe TajMahal, but one of the owners of Maharani opened this restaurant with his wife. TajMahal is comparable to Maharani. Maharani's food may have a tiny edge, but TajMahal has the edge on service. Both restaurants have similar pricing and terrible parking. TajMahal is next to Sabrina's on Waialae Ave. and behind The Fat Greek. I'm not sure if you can call that awkwardly paved area a parking lot, but whatever. Food: Very good. In general, spicier than Maharani and good portions. The vegetarian birayani is equal to Maharani's. The Naan (garlic and butter) were great. The Paratha not as good, because it seemed to harden up quickly. Chicken tikka masala was yummy...creamy, but not too rich. We also tried the chicken pakora (marinated boneless cubed chicken fried and dipped in special spices. The flavor was good, but it was reminiscent of chicken (Mc)nuggets (i.e., various chicken parts mashed up then compressed into a cube?) Balti beef (cubed beef cooked slowly with veggies, herbs and spices) was a hearty dish. The lamb saag (creamy spinach, cooked with onion, garlic, ginger and spices) was good, but did not have a lot of lamb in it. Kinda looked like a big bowl of creamed spinach. There are a bunch of dishes on the menu...sizzling dishes, many veggie dishes, kabobs and tandoori chicken. I will definitely be returning to try more of the dishes. They also have take-out Service: One of the waitresses was pretty, uh, brusque. She seemed to really want to put in our order. But like I mentioned above, there are so many dishes on the menu that it was difficult to decide what to get. Service here is quick, though and we got our food faster than I've ever been served at Maharani. I'd say the restaurant was about 2/3 full and service was still quite good. Ambiance: It's pretty comfortable. Sturdy cloth napkins to dab my fine "glow" due to the yummy spiciness of the food. Discrete lighting and warm atmosphere, but you'll really be there for the food. Once the food came, I only cared about whether the table was big enough to hold all our dishes! There are tables of various sizes to accommodate large and small parties. Overall: This is not a cheap place, but the food is good. A great alternative to Maharani, which is definitely one of the better Indian restaurants in Honolulu. If you can get around the parking issue, you can even arrive here hungry, since the service is pretty speedy. TajMahal is kind of like the Jan Brady to Maharani's Marcia Brady. Similar, but Marcia's the one you remember most.
(4)Donna L.
I phoned in a takeout order from Cafe Taj Mahal. The first time I got takeout from Cafe Taj Mahal it was very good. The second time was awesome. I requested an order of vegetable masala, two orders of vegetable samosa, and one butter paratha, $25. I made a pot of basmati rice at home while bf picked up the food. The masala was very good with lots of chunky vegetables and loads of flavor. The samosas with the dipping sauces were phenomenal. The paratha was good and chewy. After I finish my leftovers, I'll be back for more.
(5)Ashiyan R.
excellent service, great fresh naan and ok rice, but very let down with the curries. i got the vegetarian house special and it was pretty tasteless, although fresh. my dad got the tandoori cooked chicken and the sauce for this made up for the lack of taste of mine, butt he chicken itself was apparently not good. this place has a hard job as i am comparing it to cafe maharani near university, which is amazing. also the decor here is somewhat shoddy, but we were hungry and it was this or the Greek place next door.
(2)jeannine s.
As a fan of Indian cuisine, I have been largely disappointed with the limited and mediocre choices in Honolulu. Not anymore. I am happy to find this great restaurant tucked away in a corner of Waialae Avenue. It is easily my new favorite place for Indian food that I don't have to cook myself. It is not perfect, parking is tight, service is slow but pleasant. The food is great for a family restaurant. But if you are looking for refined Indian cuisine, go to Silicon Valley or to the sub-continent. If you are not used to spicy heat in your food, don't order "spicy." If you are a true fan of spice, the cook is unabashed to go for it here. It is not plate lunch prices, but very reasonable considering the generousity in portions. On my first visit, I easily ordered too much. But was happy to take away leftovers. Curry tastes even better the next day : ) Worth a visit and the trek for parking.
(4)Mick K.
I came here for lunch during a Sunday. There were one other couple besides me and my party. Their lunch menu has a limited selection of items. However, you may order additional items from their dinner menu, just ask the waitress. I ended up ordering the Lamb Curry Masala with the rice, 1 order of naan, 1 order of samosas, and 1 order of Tandoori Chicken (from their dinner menu). Portions of food were of one person size. Their rice was one plate--equivalent to 1 to 2 cups. Their Lamb Curry Masala was one soup bowl with about 5 pieces of 1.5" cubes of lamb and 2 wedges of Idaho potatoes in a thick broth comparable to gravy. The order of Tandoori Chicken was one piece of thigh and leg with a bed of salad. The salad consisted of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomato with 5 table spoons of riata on the side. The naan was one piece at the size of a 6" x 4". Finally, there were 6 pieces of samosas the size of McDonald's hamburger patties (their plane hamburgers). Two sauces came with the samosas--tamarind and mint yogurt. Taste, with the exception of their samosas, were borderline bland. The Lamb Curry did not have the same amount of curry-ness as compared to the curry sauce from Curry House. I think there weren't enough curry powder. The thickness of the curry sauce was just right--same thickness as Curry House sauce. The meat was soft the gamy taste of the lamb was suppressed from the stewing. The Tandoori Chicken simply had all the flavor on the surface of the meat and have not had time to penetrate deeper. Also, because the chef undercooked the chicken--bloody at the bones with some veins bleeding--I made the chef redo it. I'm not sure how they can under-cook chicken, unless they've never cooked chicken on the bone before. The naan was thick and chewy. Its underside was toasted and crispy, while the inside was steaming. Finally, the samosas were the most flavorful with spice that lingered throughout the whole meal. Overall, this place needs to improve its execution in cooking Tandoori Chicken, which is a well known item in any Indian restaurants. Its Lamb Curry Masala sauce needs to be reformulated to have deeper curry flavor. Their naan needs to be thinner rather than being too chewy due to its thickness.
(3)LooLicious L.
We waited an hour for the food...Does every place in that strip take that long for the food to come out; (Sabrina's) Anyways the meat/chicken entrees are small for the price of $14.00 or so, it is served in a small bowl, but still rather filling. The Samosa and Chicken/Rice dish was quite good. The parking is terrible. I think there are probably better places to dine at.
(2)Jannet L.
i've been dying for some good indian food - my search stops here. i think i was afraid to try this place b/c i kept reading about the slow service. but finally decided to order take out, made sure to order way ahead of time. it was SO GOOD. had tikka masala which comes with a humungous naan, salad and raita and the palak paneer and one order of rice. it was really spicy, my lips were burning, which was perfect actually and so delicious. the young man taking the order and at the counter was very nice. i'm just sad i didn't discover this place sooner. much yummier than himalayan. haven't tried maharani. but this is walking distance so i'll just come here all the time now. YUM! the portions are HUGE- prolly tikka masala plus rice woulda been plenty for the two of us. i really do wish they had lunch buffet - that's one thing i miss. but i guess it's good that i don't go to those anymore - my metabolism has slowed down and don't know if i can stand to gorge myself to the point of needing to unbutton my jeans anymore.
(5)Puddytat C.
Tried this place once. It was good, but not great. Very pricey for what you get. Still go back to my favorite, Maharani. Service is great and the area is large in comparison with nice ambiance. There is metered parking which used to be free. Oh, the good ol' days.
(3)Hasib H.
Went there for a quick lunch but ended up staying for 2 hours maybe. Run by a Bangladeshi couple -- the food is good but it takes a long time to prepare and there was only one waiter beside the owner himself (Wife is the cook). This is located in a small strip shopping area and there are only a few parking spots -- so good luck with that. Overall we came out satisfied even though we did not get one of the item we ordered -- the food in general was to my taste.
(3)Mariko K.
Just went for lunch, not too many people, so service was fast. I ordered chicken dahl, which was delicious. The naan was da bomb, very fresh! Also, they serve large portions for a reasonable price. The ambiance was decent and they play Indian music videos on the TVs.
(4)L A.
By far the worst Indian food I have ever had in my life. My standards may be slightly higher after having traveled in India, but just because we live on an island doesn't mean that Cafe TajMahal should be able to get away with oily and near-inedible curry. The Naan was good though.
(2)Kendra H.
I read about this restaurant in the Midweek The review was really good so I was excited. I ordered Chicken Tikka Masala take away. The parking was dismal - which I expected. However, upon getting home and opening my take away, my meal came with naan and a salad. The salad was a bunch of wilty vegetables. The naan looked kind of like naan, but felt and tasted more like undercooked pizza dough...even a little on the pancakey side. Now the main course...oh, let me tell you of my disappointment. I have been eating Indian for over 18 years...and this is the most abysmal indian I have EVER had. It tasted NOTHING like chicken tikka masala. The sauce was very soupy and not thick like a sauce. The chicken was not cut up into bite sized pieces - it was more like someone just cut a chicken breast in half threw it in some soup and put in a to-go container. This was absolutely awful. I have no idea how they got such a good review from midweek. Not to mention that it was expensive. I have never paid this much for indian..and I am used to living in a very expensive metro area. My chicken tikka masala was almost $17. I didn't order anything else, just my entree. I think the quality of food and the price are absolutely awful. There are only a few indian places on the island and due to that fact, they charge you a ridiculous amount for seriously sub-par food. I have made better chicken tikka masala in my own kitchen. Also, another gross little fact...there were HUGE roaches everywhere outside this restaurant. It really turned my stomach. I cannot give this restaurant any stars - the site forces you to give at least one star, but I would not give it any if that were an option. I would NEVER recommend this place to anyone. I will have to wait until I return to the mainland to get good indian again.
(1)Kevin W.
Great food. Very appealing too. Only had take out because always so packed. The restaurant is very small with really neat decorations. Parking in the back is very limited.
(3)Danielle Y.
Went for lunch, would go again. Service was relaxed, my food was tasty and reasonable (A and I ate three dishes plus extra rice for about $25 and I had two leftover second lunches from them). I wasn't WOWED(!!) but my craving for Palak Paneer was appeased.
(3)Mike C.
By far the best Indian food we've been able to find in the area. Hard to see from the street and funky parking arrangements should not keep you from getting into this wonderful family-run Indian restaurant. Everything is good but remember it is BYOB.
(4)Lei L.
byob lamb vindaloo shrimp diablo(sp?) garlic naan ~5 thumbs waaaaaay up~
(5)rupa k.
First, I'll start off my review by admitting that I'm Indian. And, while that doesn't make me an expert on Indian food, I've probably had more Indian food than 99% of people here in Hawaii, so this is a review that's close to my heart. That being said, this place is great. I typically get the chicken korma, which is very tasty. You can tell that the chicken has been marinated in spices before cooking instead of just piling the spices in the sauce as a lot of restaurants do. My hubby got the tandoori chicken which was moist and spicy, so beware if you're not used to spicy food. My mother-in-law got the matter paneer (that's peas cooked with home made cheese) and thoroughly enjoyed it and my father is vegetarian, so he got the dal which was good. And, they use real paneer instead of tofu (which I hate when they do that). Their portion sizes are HUGE. Much bigger than Maharani and their aloo paratha (the break baked with layers of potato in between) is phenomenal. The only item I wasn't bowled over by was the mango lassi, I like a bit more tartness in my lassi (buttermilk as opposed to yogurt), but that's personal preference. Their samosas are also fantastic and when my in-laws threw me a baby shower, they got samosas from here so that I would have something Indian. I would normally take off one star because of the wait. It took a long time to get our food, which was probably because they made the tandoori chicken when we ordered it. But, I thought the pleasant service and portion sizes more than made up for the wait time. Our waiter was the owner's son, and he was extremely helpful and pleasant. This alone distinguishes Cafe Taj Mahal from other Indian restaurants on the island. You should definitely give it a try! I just wish they had an all you can eat lunch buffet like the Indian places on the mainland.
(5)Kent I.
Went here because maharani was packed. The food is good, nothing great. The naan was horrible. I hate to rag on the naan, but its a staple of indian food and you can't make that? The prices were similar to maharani. So if you are looking for good indian food Maharani is still the place
(3)Meep M.
My new favorite place to go for Indian. The price is affordable and the food is awesome! The owner is very friendly and welcoming.
(4)Beth D.
always had great food here. the naan is spectacular. lamb vindaloo tender and spicy. rice is fragrant and perfect. only gripe is that the chicken tikka isn't on the lunch menu!
(4)Fran P.
We have only been to one other Indian restaurant on the island, so we don't have a lot to compare to. But we really enjoyed the food here. We rode a moped down so that we didn't have to deal with the parking (which is either horrible in the free parking lot, or expensive at $5 across the street). We walked right in without reservations, which was nice. We ordered the Taj Combination for 2 special at $42, which included 2 Vegetable Samosa, 2 HUGE naan bread, rice polau (which had a nice coconut flavor to it), and two entrees. We ordered the Lamb curry and a Vegetable curry. The food was excellent! We were really surprised with the samosa, cause we had never had anything like that before. Filled with potatoes, carrots, peas, and who knows what else, it was a really substantial appetizer. I think if I had had that and a salad, I would have been good. We had lots of leftovers to take home, so we felt it was a great value. Service was very slow, but the servers were very nice. Will definitely be back!
(4)cathi g.
Better than any of the other Indian restaurants I've tried in Honolulu - even Maharani, which everyone raves about. Portions are generous. The dinner for 2 can easily feed 3 people. BYOB is the nice option but use the bathroom before you go - the one on site is less than desirable....
(4)Vicky B.
Their lunch portions are huge and well priced. The flavor of all their dishes are great, I really like their rice. Like others said parking is a challenge, but much worth it. Dinner is slightly more expensive, but worth it for good Indian food.
(4)Cristal M.
We stumbled upon Taj Mahal when the restaurant we had planned to go to was closed on a Sunday night. I knew Taj Mahal was there for years but never felt inspired to go inside, boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. "What took me so long?!?" was what went through my mind when I took the first bite of my dinner...and everybody else' on the table. Deeelicious! Taj Mahal is definitely my new favorite Indian restaurant on the island. I found the spices to be complex, well balanced, and thoughtful, and the dishes extremely well prepared. The service was great and very friendly. I am heading there right now for another try. Yum!!! The Bollywood movies playing in the background are a fun addition. Highly recommended.
(4)ben b.
good food, i can ask for a bit more spice next time.
(5)William L.
So good I was speechless.
(5)Chelsea M.
My boyfriend and I ate here a week or two ago. We got the Spicy Chicken and it was HOT. I love spicy but you could feel the burn long after you ate. It was really good and if the prices were more "college-student friendly" I would definitely come back at least once a week. Pros: -great, authentic Indian food -entertaining environment -great for dates and family -friendly service Cons: -Prices/Costs
(3)Jonalynn M.
I am very picky when it comes to Indian cuisine, so pardon my review if you are not as picky! I found the Chicken Curry to be a bit too...taragon-y. Furthermore, my admiration for a spicy onion chutney to go with Samosa's is a big deciding factor in my opinion on the establishment, and this particular Cafe did not have ANY onion chutney so I was a bit disappointed. Overall though, I give this place a C. The food was OK. The service was OK. Nothing was terrible, but nothing was fantastic either!
(3)Jason P.
The lamb naan is supppper onnnnno
(5)Toshio I.
Love this place. Lunch is cheap and tasty. Try the appetizers. Papadum(lentil crackers) so you can get the plum and yogurt dips to use for everything else. Samosa, pakoras, all tasty. The lassis could use more blended ice but there were also good. For a restaurant that's been around for awhile, flavor hasn't changed.
(5)Glenys Mae D.
Lamb vindaloo was so good!!! Beef samosa too. The place is great to chill with friends in. Relaxed atmosphere
(5)Schon H.
Grease, greasy rice greasy chicken grease laden sauce. Something has gone wrong at a once favorite restaurant. New cook maybe? bad...BAD, Oh MY If You WANT Burnt Tiny, no, Smaller Than Tiny Pieces Of Cheese With your bland spinach, try the pitiful excuse for palak paneer. However, they make the most wonderful Nan bread and vegetable samosas on the island.
(1)Miriam W.
Horrible parking situation. Excellent service, exceptional food. The food here is very similar to cafe maharani. Both places serve exceptional indian food.
(5)Mai Mai H.
#NAME?
(5)Yazan M. A.
Worse food ever! Just paid 20 dollars for chicken masala, it was so bad that McChicken would've tasted better! Gosh unbelievable...
(1)AJ W.
Ok, like people have said, the food is great! Definitely one of the better/best Indian spots on the island. However it's the little things like not being able to call them or them not being open when the store hours clearly state they should be. I drove from Kailua to meet my friends there and there was no one there! Tried calling... Nope. Looking forward to bringing my family down, hope they are open when I do!
(3)Alisyn J.
I have waited a very long time to write this review, almost long enough to try every item on the menu! my favorite are the lamb dishes because I don't ever cook lamb at home and here it is always tender juicy and delicious! They make fresh mint chutney which I could eat as a meal itself, and the prices are very reasonable. we love to get takeout, the dining it is also great because you get to enjoy Bollywood videos while you eat...love it! the only way cafe Taj Mahal could get better would be if they had a customer reward program (like buy 6 get one free) or free delivery...must try!
(5)Charlie C.
Parking is limited, but I knew the area and so I didn't even bother to see if there was an available stall. We parked across the street at a pre-paid lot in front of City Mill. Food was great! We ordered more than we could eat. We ordered the 2-person combo meal and a few other entrees and naan bread for a group of 5 people. My favorite was the chicken kofta masala (chicken meatball) and the fish malabari....but, definitely the chicken kofta masala. I think that will be my usual now. Stuffed naan bread is good too, especially the stuffed cheese and stuffed potatoes. Server was upbeat and helpful in explaining the variety of dishes.
(5)Rodrigo D.
Great place with great food and friendly staff. This is my favorite place to eat on this side of the island.
(5)Evam W.
Ok I need to start with an apology. I cannot believe I managed to miss putting one of my $20's in the bill. The waiter we thought we were giving a great tip to, had to catch us in our car to settle the bill. WHOOPS! Anyway, the review...I have been looking for a specific style of lamb or chicken Biryani since tasting it in northern India. This is the place I have been looking for! Absolutely perfect. To top it off the family is wonderfully nice that owns the place (Bengali). Bravo!!
(5)