Taj Tandoori — Restaurant in Cambridge

I was in Cambridge for a show I was working at and decided to walk here almost a mile in the rain based on good reviews I read.

The clock turned 22:06 as I walked in, to 4 members of staff stood around and an empty restaurant.

They asked what I wanted and I requested a table for one. They told me they were closed. I asked why the times online and on the door say they are open until 11pm, and was told the kitchen closes at 10pm but the restaurant closes at 11pm, but I could order a takeaway if I wanted one.

I explained I was staying in a hotel for the night and couldn’t really have a takeaway with no space to eat it, and no cutlery etc.

Plus I would have had the best part of a mile walk back in pouring rain.

I went to leave and then thought about what I was told. I asked ‘if the kitchen is closed how come I can have a takeaway yet can’t eat in the restaurant. Surely if the kitchen is closed you can’t cook anything’.

As the member of staff who initially spoke to me struggled to think of something to say, another staff member interjected and said ‘oh you can have a takeaway but only what we have left over’. He offered me a chicken biryani or a lamb dish that happened to be the most expensive on the menu at £30.95, and said he could do onion bhajis as well.

I said I didn’t want to order that so he asked what I wanted. I explained what I wanted and that I also hoped to have a starter and dessert and was told that they couldn’t do it.

As I went to leave, I was then told that if I ordered the chicken biryani I could also sit be eat it in the restaurant. Based on the aforementioned situation I had already decided not to take my custom there.

To add even more insult, upon leaving I looked online and the restaurant was still allowing orders for the full menu on their own website as well as through various other platforms (JustEat, Deliveroo etc.).

Clearly they just couldn’t be bothered to cook and didn’t want to have a table in the restaurant as it had seemingly been a quiet night.

If the kitchen times had been communicated in advance that would have been acceptable, however the fact that their story changed multiple times left a sour taste in my mouth as the staff couldn’t just be honest and say they had had a quiet night and wanted to go home early.

I don’t know what they would have done had I ordered on one of the online platforms but it’s not a good look the way they treated a potential customer - especially after I explained I had made a special journey there...

The Staff: They were amazing to us from the moment we called to ask if we needed reservations (which aren't required but highly suggested...they were packed on a Thursday!). Upon arriving, they were enthusiastic, friendly, knowledgeable, and all around fantastic.

The Atmosphere: The decor is beautiful, the music was great and not too loud or too quiet, and the seating was comfortable. The smell of the food welcomed us as we parked the car, and it did not misrepresent the food...it was fantastic!

The Food: My husband had the Staff Curry (pictured), my daughter had a vegetarian dish (I can't remember the name, I apologize), and I had Chicken Korma. My youngest daughter is the pickiest eater in the world, but she chowed down on battered chicken strips and fries with rice. She ate it all, which is a huge deal, and should be indicative of how delish they were. Also, the fries?? Oh my! I tried them, for quality assurance purposes of course, and they were some of the best I've had in a long time. Perfectly crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy internally, not overly greasy... delightful. We all argued that our meal was the best, though of course, mine was. Korma is always the best. We cleaned our curries off the plates with leftover fries, we were so happy!

The Price: We ordered a lot of food, and our meal was only about £50. That's four meals, four drinks, three extra sides of rice...we were very happy with the price.

Extras: The restrooms were super clean, which is a plus for me. Also, if I could have put the chandeliers in my bag to take home, I totally would have.

The Conclusion: Highly recommend this restaurant for a great meal at a...

Excellent from start to finish. Delicious food and fantastic service. A warm welcome on arrival.. and sat towards the back of the restaurant which has a nice atmosphere. The Taj has some different items on the menu to many Indian restaurants which was refreshing. Syed recommended the Kale starter, but my husband hates kale... with that said, Syed insisted that we try the dish on the house sure that he would be converted... He was right. The dish was really good.  Crispy kale, mint,  pomegranate, red onion, chickpeas,  potato and yoghurt. Served cold.  Full of flavour and really nice. We shared 2 further starters of Chicken 65 and lamb samosas.  Both very good. For mains we shared the indo-chinese garlic chilli chicken and the Delhi Style Butter Chicken. Garlic rice and a peshwari naan. The chicken in the butter chicken was cooked to perfection. It appeared to have been cooked separately from the sauce and a result meant it wasn't dry or overcooked. The peshwari naan bread was very good, just like those I ate in India,  light not doughy and proper coconut not the usual paste everywhere else seems to use. Then a first for me.  Some interesting desserts.. we shared Almond Pista Crumble. Delicious jam with crumbly almonds served cold with a little warm custard. Very tasty. The mango lassi is also excellent. Its a bring your own alcohol place if you don't have any there's a small shop a couple of mins walk away which obviously gets to cash in on people visiting. The service was excellent very personable. I like the sense of humour on the menu re the spice levels..an excellent time.  Thank...