Taj Mahal Cuisine of India Restaurant

Homestyle Indian cooking at its finest. If you’re looking for something classy or flashy, this is not the place for you. Food is done well, quantity is great and the price is cheap.
My rating is purely based on the food quality, price, location and service. The décor is not much to talk about. I’d highly recommend the chicken biriyani. You always have enough to last a couple of extra meals. The last time we were there, we got the lamb biriyani (see picture).
An added plus is the indian store next door.

A typical Indian restaurant and store! Nothing in the menu that’s out of the ordinary! However the taste of the food is good and makes it worth the money. They have a grocery store attached which is frequented by Indian families for their weekly shopping.

Good clean food buffet at 10 bucks for adult. Nothing fancy. Good place for the night that you don’t feel like cooking.

An excellent buffet and a great way to try various foods on the menu without having to commit to an entire plate for dinner. The Tikka Masala is absolutely delicious and the deserts are wonderful. The service is good. The beverage selection is limited, but, really, go for the food. :)
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Entrée — Lunch Buffet
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Dessert — Buffet
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Beverage (s) — Chai Tea (hot)
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I used to eat the lunch buffet every week or two. It’s one of only 2 Indian restaurants in Cedar Rapids. Their buffet has a large selection abs everything is good but you can tell the food is much less refined than other Indian restaurants. I’ve never actually ordered of their menu so maybe it’s just the buffet. Nevertheless, I still recommend. The décor and ambience could use some work. There’s a store attached that has some great products.

I was in the airport in Dallas Texas talking about a trip to Cedar Rapids and a server in the restaurant had previously lived in Cedar Rapids. She mentioned a few places that I need to try out and the Taj Mahal was one of them.
Quite frankly without the recommendation I’m not sure I would’ve gone any further than the parking lot. Even if I had made into the building I’m not so sure I would’ve stayed for a meal. I came for lunch with a business associate and the two of us agreed that the lunch buffet was not the route we wanted to take as buffets are generally not synonymous for quality food.
I ordered the goat curry and my counterpart or a chicken tikka masala. We each also ordered naan bread. The naan obviously fresh, when the gentleman brought to the table it was clear that he had just made it. I was thoroughly impressed. The food arrived just a minute later and looked fantastic. I have to say after tasting the food I was convinced. I will definitely be back.

I recently ordered food for catering and it was amazing. It was much tastier than the buffet provided in the resturaunt. I think because when they make food for dining they have to keep spices milder .
Delivery service was also excellent.

Tried the buffet for lunch. Food is mostly bland and mild. Maybe it’s just me, since I come from a country close to India. Thus, food is not close to authentic even though it looks like.

In town from Chicago on business and looking for some vegetarian options, stumbled upon this little gem. Truly enjoyed the vegetable samosas, basmati rice, paneer makhani and garlic naan. Service was good, food was prompt and price was right. Would definitely return if I’m the area again.

Restaurant atmosphere:
We went on a Monday night, and there was only 1 other couple there, who was eating at the buffet. As we ate, one man came through for take-​out, and one man who appeared to know the staff very well came in to have the buffet.
They would benefit from turning on some atmosphere music in situations like this.
The building itself is pretty run-​down looking on the outside, it needs attention badly. Nothing functionally wrong with it, just needs powerwashed, maybe some round up in the walkway, stuff like that.
When we got there, our waiter was a bit surprised that we wanted menus instead of the buffet, but happily brought us menus.
After ordering our drinks and waiting 10 minutes, he came by with our drinks and took our order. About 15 minutes later, our food arrived.
My wife got the vegetable dumplings and I got the saag paneer. They were prepared very well, tasted phenomenal, and were extremely fresh and generous in portions.
The spiciness was exactly what we asked for, and our waiter was kind.
The main turn offs were the atmosphere, and the overall state of the building. The food and wait staff was really a highlight and we will be back.
It’s a great restaurant with some caveats. We want to eat there more so that hopefully they’d have more money to update the restaurant décor/​ambiance.

It’s great lunch buffet food for a great price and fills me up for a full day without making me feel greasy or regretful.
The tables have paper coverings so bring your pens to doodle whileyou eat and make sure to come early, it’s only open from around noon till 1:30 for the lunch hour.
If you love Indian food you’ll love Taj Mahal.

Fast and friendly service. Chicken biryani (mild) was fantastic with lots of rice and sauce. Also had chicken tikka masala with big hunks of chicken in a rich sauce. Lots of rice with this dish, too. We also ordered naan and fried cauliflower appetizers. Very tasty.

I hate to play the bad cop out here, but the service is awful!!! Awfulll!!!
The restaurant was almost empty but still awful service.
The place has good food, but the waiters are dedicated not to make the customer feel better. The checking in between, picking up used plates in a buffay, refills for my drinks were barely sufficient, AFTER REQUEST.
Sometimes they charge «auto-​allowance» for 2 people. I freaking do not understand that concept,!!! BEWARE!
This is the only indian restaurant which carries sensibly authentic indian food in the area and hence the negligence with the customers.

Pretty good lunch buffet with standards such as paneer, seasoned rice, naan, raita, and veggie pakora. I would have liked to see more veg dishes and less meat, but there wasn’t a whole lot of space in the buffet. There was a good mix of spicer and less spicy dishes. At $ 7.99 it was a fair price.
The server was considerate and checked on us several times throughout the meal. Our plates were cleared promptly and soda refills were brought quickly as well.
Another review did mention the cleanliness standards were a bit lacking. The white tablecloth on our table was stained on the sides and top. Before we sat down paper was put on top… which made me forget some of the food stains.
A nice surprise was finding the Indian grocery store after paying at the checkout.

Walked in on a Friday night at 7 and it was completely empty. We sat down to dirty napkin tableclothes and cracked seats. I didn’t even want to try the food because the place was so musty and dirty so we left.

A buffet type of joint featuring Indian cuisine. One needs to be familiar with Indian food so that you can make the right pairing with your food choices. An okay ethnic cuisine in middle-​America.

At first I wasn’t sure how to rate this restaurant but I believe a 4 is not a bad rating and it’s pretty accurate to say «Yay, I am a fan.»
I came hungry and craving some food with flavor. So much American food is lacking in spices and lacks a home cooked taste. Taj Mahal and delivered both. A couple of dishes were not quite warm enough such as the room temperature nan bread, pakoras, etc. but the other dishes were tasty and served at a safe temperature.
I was surprised to see not one or two, but three very tasty chicken dishes on the buffet. Often, anything with meat takes a back seat, but Taj Mahal’s dishes were flavorful and not overcooked. My favorite was the chicken with the orangish colored butter/​tomato sauce over it. Equally impressive was a dish made with very firm tofu (I thought it was meat at first!) and a lovely spinach sauce. I can almost guarantee one trip will not be enough!
The mango ice cream (which appeared homemade) and the rice pudding were a nice finish to a tasty meal.
The service was courteous and prompt. The décor was not overly fancy but had a sort of home-​like feel. While Taj Mahal is not perfect, it is a solid contender delivering quality Indian food. I was very satisfied.

I always preface my review of buffets with the fact that this is a buffet. I would hope that no one expects too much from a buffet, especially one that is under $ 20.
This was the only Indian buffet in Cedar Rapids for a long time and was okay. Something is better than nothing. Once they had some competition they did step up and make the menu good again. However it’s inconsistent. Sometimes they are really good, sometimes they are only the average buffet. My last few meals there have left me desiring the competition down the road.

I love Indian food, but I just didn’t care for the Taj. I came in excited; I grew up in Kansas City, went to college in Nebraska, and I have learned that the absolute best restaurants are often hole-​in-​the-​wall places, so when I saw the location and poor parking lot, I thought, «Bingo!»
Unfortunately, the food was not good. Found some bones, which is common overseas, but shouldn’t be here in the states. In the end, I left pretty disappointed, and determined to try the Taste of India ASAP to see if there was any good Indian food in CR. (Spoiler Alert: There is!)

Taj Mahal used to be the only option for Indian food in Cedar Rapids. I went here often before Taste of India opened (and I haven’t been back since).
The outside looks very nondescript, the parking lot is (or was) poorly maintained and it overall feels neglected. The interior is nicely decorated though. The tables have a plastic covering over them that is slightly sticky and at least to me feels a little gross. During lunch it can get quite full, but I’ve never had any trouble getting a table. More often for dinner it will be completely empty.
The service is about as bad as it can get. The servers are unmotivated, slow, and seem to be concerned with things other than serving customers. If you wait long enough, they eventually get to you, but I’ve been left waiting 20 – 30 minutes on slow days.
The food here is actually quite good in my opinion, and the only reason I don’t come here anymore is because Taste of India is a whole lot better (in my opinion). I really enjoy their Chicken Saag and their Rogan Josh.
Overall, it’s good food, and that’s what matters. But with better options not too far away, I don’t bother.