TAZ Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in College Station

Atmosphere: Can't tell much from the outside due to it being in a strip center plaza, but if you look in the parking lot you can see their food truck with a vinyl wrap promoting their business. Prior to entering the building you are greated with the business name in bold white letters, you can not miss this place. Upon entry, this is where everything changes, from all the pictures on the wall related to the culture, as well as the music playing in the speakers, it really set the ambiance for the establishment.

Service: Immediately upon entering we were greeted by the hostess and asked us if we wanted to be seated in a booth or table. We requested a booth and although there wasn't one available at the time, a couple of other servers came up and heard our request and began setting up a booth nearby for us. We then proceeded to look at the menu and had asked about some recommendations as to what entree we should select. I wanted to try the Chicken Vindaloo and immediately the waitress told me everything about the meal and even notified me about how I felt about spicy food. She then proceeded to compare the spice level with other common foods in the area and was sold. Upon receiving our meals, we had probably had our waters refilled multiple times and by multiple severs. The great service didn't stop there, after completing our meals the server then told us how our meals were and asked how spicy I felt the entree was. What I felt would be a quick discussion, it ended up being about what all it took to make the meal, as well as helpful to answer our questions in regards to buffet and overall food quality in general.

Quality: The quality of the food to me was great overall, starting off with naan and poori, which then proceeded to include our entrees of the Butter Chicken and Chicken Vindaloo. Both of which were extremely flavorful and for my dish specifically, just the right amount of spice. The portion size for our meal was a good amount for what we paid for, especially considering the amount of flavor each of our entrees had.

Recommendation: I would highly recommend others to try this place and with the help from the waitress, they can point you in the right direction if you have any concerns or questions about any of the meals. I will definitely be going back to try the buffet, now that it is operational and can't wait to see what meals will...

Today's my birthday...this is where I wanted to go....can't because Tuesday is the sole day the place is closed...just Tuesday...not Mon/Tues or Tues/ Wed...just 1 day off ithru the weekn between 2 open days...today is it...and, if you work there, that seems disruptive to the flow of the week (even of it is staffed with family) ...well, it certainly disrupted my birthday plans for take-out...take-out because the dining room is too quiet...I don't like public dining where everyone's conversation, including mine, is audible....this, the low score for atmisphere... service is friendly but hovering...food was the draw, as it should be, but the odd and disappointing hours of operation (WHO CLOSES TUES ONLY?) on my b-day has left me permanently disenchanted....when I say I won't go back to a place, I still to my guns, even if I do live in a 1-trick pony town of mediocre, inconsistent restaurants and it's the only real option in BCS for Indian cuisine....in the future, I'll seek it in a city with options...

Gave them another chance by going on WEDNESDAY...food was great, but there's another problem I just encountered with hours of operation: they close at 10pm but wouldn't accept an order for pickup at 9:42pm...

Boo! If I came In to dine at the same time, would you turn me away?

"Closes at" is totally different than "stops sweating at" or "kitchen closes at"!!!! Your closing time is listed as 10pm...that means you serve ALL guests (DI, PU, Dlvr) all the way through until 10pm...even at 9:59pm. If that is not your intention, as is clearly the case, then please update your HOO to reflect your kitchen and seating closes at 9:30 (guessing since it was 9:42pm and no online orders accepted for PU) but doors are locked at 10pm...

It doesn't matter how good the food is if you can't get served reliably. I can always prepare tender rice and make a darn good homemade chicken tikka masala myself at home--where my kitchen is 24/7...that is what I'll do from now on...sorry...no...

To start - This has been our overall favorite restaurant in College Station for almost fifteen years. And I would say top three in all of Texas. We moved to the Austin area ten years ago and have yet to find an Indian restaurant as good as Taz, and we always make it a point to return here for their lunch buffet when we visit family in College Station. The owners are like family to us, and their food is like beloved family recipes, they always make going back home, feel like home.

A few favorites:

Appetizer -Best Gobi Manchurian of all time, this is a 10 every time and I have to order a second order because one isn’t enough. Not because the portion is small, but because the food quality is superior to any Gobi I’ve ever tried. I try this dish at every Indian restaurant we go to to gauge it, and none can top TaZ’s. It’s crispy, saucy, bold, little sweet little spicy. So damn good!

Entrees -butter chicken and chicken 65. One’s saucy and the others dry, both are always spot on. Butter chicken over rice is smooth buttery home-y-ness. Chicken 65 a perfectly pan fried crispy chicken that can be enjoyed like popcorn, seasoned to perfection.

Things to share with the table -tomato chutney with garlic naan. All of their sauces are really good but this is by far the best!

-finish with a madras coffee. I have tried recreating this at home but cannot compete with the flavor profile of theirs, it’s too good. Perfect way to finish your Taz experience, trust me.

Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant, there is a reason they have made it in College Station so long, a town that (in my experience) eats restaurant alive. Im sure other Indian or fusion places that open in town have their own thing going but they’ll never be the OG Indian cuisine of College Station, that crown belongs to Taz. Try these dishes listed above and...