PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIATaj Palace is comfortable with its carpeted floor and tables set with dark red cloths and napkins. The restaurant, hung with Indian velvet paintings and other memorabilia, and the tandoor oven are the palace over which Nathi Rawat presides from his glass-encased throne. By palatial standards, this is fairly modest. But the Taj has been around for a long time, about 20 years, which is long enough for the Rawat children to have grown up and joined the business. If it lacks the wow factor and pizazz of designer interiors and if it misses out on modern cooking innovations, it more than makes up for it in friendliness, good food, and low prices.
Come with family and come with friends, the better to enjoy a range of dishes. Start with something from the tandoor; the palace combination is good for groups, and so is a whole chicken tikka. Smaller tables will manage tandoor mushroom or samosas. The
rogan gosht (lamb with spinach) is particularly nice and there’s a considerable range of vegetable dishes. Try the
dal makhani (lentils with spinach), the
dum aloo kashmiri (spicy potatoes) and any of the oven-baked breads. There’s take-away too, and a limited range of acceptable wines available if you forget to BYO.
Rita Erlich