Taj Mahal Cuisine of India — Restaurant in Albuquerque

I have been frequenting this restaurant, on and off, for the last couple decades or so. Yesterday I went with a friend and, although the prices have really escalated, the quality of the food has diminished. The spices are missing, and the absence is very obvious to the palate of a person accustomed to Indian cooking.

I opted for the buffet lunch, as there were many items to choose from, and the nan bread looked particularly good and fresh. Everything was bland, and there was a sameness to the recipes, probably due to the elimination of the spices. In my experience with Indian cooking, the spices themselves form the bulk of the sauces, with tomato and/or cream providing the moisture for the dish. I found myself wondering if they are using canned soup of some kind as a base.

As mentioned earlier, the nan bread was exceptional, with a nice chew to it, a slight crisp to the outside, with what looked like fresh parsley leaves on the outside. There was an unremarkable meatball dish, a creamy chicken dish, a potato curry, and one other dish I could not identify. None of the dishes had any heat to them.

At the salad/desert/condiment station, the tamarind sauce was missing flavor. It should have a sweet and sour taste with a tiny bit of heat, but it tasted like watery sweet liquid of unidentifiable origin. The coconut chutney approached a level of flavor but, again, it needed at least SOME kind of hot spice to wake the taste buds. It was a little watery. I myself have made much better at home. It was missing something. I usually make mine with plain yogurt, which contributes a pleasant tang. Perhaps that is what I was missing.

The rice payesh desert was particularly disappointing. It tasted like a watery gruel of rice and diluted milk and had some little grapes in it or something similar. There was NO SPICE AT ALL. Having learned to cook at the feet of the Indian mothers, I know that payesh is to be thick and creamy, after hours of cooking and/or the liberal use of cream and "1/2 & 1/2" as well as a LOT of cardamom, a little cinnamon, some golden raisins, slivered almonds and sometimes even edible gold foil for special occasions! Rice payesh is a glorious dish worthy of the Gods and, of course, recipes vary across the Indian continent, but I can't imagine anywhere in India that this concoction that the restaurant served us approached anything that would be considered edible.

The desert options were limited to the above-mentioned rice paysh and a noodle and rice in milk that was just as bad. I am accustomed to seeing gulab jamun on the desert buffets. It is more substantial and would have provided SOME variety to the watered-down milky offerings. With the incredible array of beautiful Indian sweets that are in the repertoire of even the most ordinary Indian cook, the deserts were an insult.

Spices ARE expensive, it is true. I know because I buy these spices for my own home. But instead of eliminating spices, if money is the issue, the cook should eliminate a dish or two and concentrate on making a few really GOOD dishes with the appropriate amount of spices. You can offer one or two deserts, if they are made authentically.

The shortcuts are obvious and have damaged the end result. On the other hand, the service was really very good, the chai (though missing ginger and cardamom for my taste) was hot. The nan was delicious. The people are VERY nice. Maybe next time I will just have some nan and some chai and bring some powdered cardamom seed with me to add to the chai. I am giving 1 star for gamely staying open during a difficult time, 1 star for the wonderful people that serve us and 1 star...

I was disappointed with the service. Came in for lunch and while I was seated immediately and asked what I would like to drink, the service ended there. It looked like there was a lunch buffet but I was not told this nor the price. I also was not given a menu nor even told if ordering off the menu was possible during lunch. In short after being seated I was completely ignored and left to figure things out myself despite having 2 or 3 attendants standing around close by. This figuring things out for ones self was also present when coming in the west entrance. One finds one's self in a hallway after entering and then needing to descend stairs into what appeared to have been an empty lower dining room. Crossing this to another stairway one has to ascend another set of stairs to what appears to be the main dining room and entrance. Without any signs or staff attending guests coming in one can only guess where one is at and where to go. If a person had a disability or difficulty walking this needing to go up and down two flights of stairs without help could actually be dangerous. Like with the menu and buffet, not letting people know what is expected of them, it just seems a crazy way to do business. Normally greeters or wait staff explain what is going on for lunch; specials, prices, etc. or at least ask if a person has been there before. Or you have signs telling people to use the main entrance. This is very basic stuff for restaurant service. It makes one wonder what other basics might be missing here. Communication issues continue to be one of the reasons front of the house service often fails. In this case I just got up and left without eating. If you're letting your customers have to figure everything out for themselves, including how just to enter the building I'm not sure I want to find out what else they are...

I absolutely LOVE this place. I have lived in Albuquerque for two years and honestly, haven't found a single restaurant I actually love, I like a few. I came to this place and 1) I really enjoy the decor, the environment is classy, clean, romantic and overall excellent 2) The service was almost TOO good! We brought our four month old daughter who screamed a few times, and the wait staff was on us like "white on rice." They asked if we needed anything, refilled drinks without being asked, brought food in a very timely manner but weren't invasive and pushy. It was almost comical: there were like four different people taking and bringing our orders, and they popped out of all different places and directions. :-) 3) The food is what ties all the greatness together. Their appetizers and naan are AMAZING. Literally, I could eat all day. Most places, especially Indian and Thai place, assume that people cannot handle spicy, but when the Taj Mahal's menu says spicy, they mean spicy! Their menu is huge! I had such a hard time figuring out what to get, and ended up getting too many things to eat. Their lamb is great, their chicken is great, their beef is great. Overall, this place is amazing. They have candles and roses on the tables, so it is a great place to go for romance. It is also great for large groups, friend dates, by yourself, any situation! Seriously. This place is so good, I am going to miss it when I move (and I am so picky, I haven't found another restaurant I feel...