Taj Mahal

I love this place. Best Indian food in the Valley. We've been ordering takeout from them weekly for about 9 years now, and they are consistently great. I totally recommend Taj Mahal more

That's right - RUN to TAJ MAHAL. Located on Ventura in Encino, Taj Mahal gives everyone an exceptional taste of India. The Chicken Biryani is to die for. The Chicken Tikka is my personal favorite. The service is terrific. The owner, Menjit, is lovely. You leave Happy and Healthy, not to mention filled up and satisfied. Best Indian place in town..hands down!!!! more

Both my wife and I grew up in India and have lived in the Los Angeles area for 15 years. We also travel throughout the US. We have yet to find a North Indian restaurant that can beat the quality of their vegetarian and chicken dishes anywhere in the US, let alone in the greater Los Angeles area. The food is authentic and they can cater to your taste individually with the right amount of spices. They have been able to maintain their quality largely because it is a small family-run restaurant, with a very tight control over their quality. The restaurant is located in the city of Encino and can be easily accessed from Universal Studios, Hollywood, by car within 15 minutes with no traffic. The service is terrific, with a friendly and homely environment. Everything on their menu is great. Try them and you will return for more as we have for the last 7 years after discovering them and virtually giving up on every other Indian restaurant. Vijay and Honey Pros: Exceptional quality and authentic north Indian food. Cons: Closed on Mondays! more

I've been in the Valley for ages and I can't believe some people don't know about this place. I almost don't want to tell any more people about it, because everyone I take here becomes a regular. I'm a picky eater but everything I've tried on the menu has been delicious. They have an excellent lunch buffet, with all the trimmings. They used to be closed on Monday nights but I just found out they are open seven nights a week now - (sometimes a delicious warm meal takes the edge off the beginning of the work week). Pros: reasonable prices, loads of deliciousness, open every night more

I have been eating at Taj Mahal at least a couple of times a month for over 5 years and they have never disappointed. The food is fresh and delicious, the portions are generous and the lunch buffet always has a well-balanced selection for vegetarians and omnivores. If you're in the Valley and in a hurry for lunch, you can put together your own buffet plate to go. For lunch or dinner try the aloo chat (I haven't found this anywhere else in the Valley), sag paneer or lamb korma. If you're a sag fan, theirs is the best! Pros: comfortable indoor seating and outdoor patio, free parking Cons: not open 24 hours a day (would be great after a pub crawl!) more

I came here on a Sunday morning at the invitation of another friend to celebrate my birthday. He's been... more

I came here on a Sunday morning at the invitation of another friend to celebrate my birthday. He's been telling me about this place for awhile, an... more

We come up here a couple of times a month and have done so for about 10 years. Great service & great food. We love it! more

I have been coming for years! Love the food. You guys have been feeding this boy for years. Keep up the good work! more

Food is excellent and service is great too! Lentils and spinach are best we have ever had. Chicken is tasty and tender. Need Kheer in the buffet. We have been coming here for 4 years and will keep on coming for many more. Thank you. Pros: Lentils & spinach are the best Cons: Need Kheer in the buffet more

I've been eating here regularly at least once a week for almost 7 years. The owners are delightful and I've met wonderful people here as well as regular customers. But the food is what keeps us all coming back. It's fresh, delicious, spice w/finesse and offers a large variety of choices for everyone. Try the mango corn soup and the onion kulcha to start! more

I love your food! Taj Mahal is my favorite restaurant. I especially enjoy the chicken Tikka Masala - hot. Great service too. I've eaten chicken Tikka Masala in many parts of the world (even Uzbekistan). Yours is the best! more

So glad I found Taj Mahal?I went for lunch last week after a meeting and it was soooo good. Their lunch is a very reasonably priced all you can eat buffet. My server said they rotate the dishes so you don?t always have the same items and on Sundays they have a champagne brunch (ahhh, reminds me of vegas). Pros: FOOD, free parking Cons: I don't live in the valley so it's kind of a drive... more

They have great food but terrible service, both in the restaurant and for delivery. The manager is mean. Tonight we waited 1 hour, 50 minutes for the food to be delivered. When we called to ask about it after an hour of waiting, we were lied to and told that it was on its way. We called when the food got here to ask if we could pay part of the bill, since the food was barely warm. The manager yelled at us as if it was our fault they were too busy for the staff on hand. Pros: authentic dishes, good spices, reasonable prices Cons: short staffed, unprofessional, mean, lie to customers waiting more

Oily and Salty! Not a hint of spice! Definitely not what you want when you're looking for Indian food! On top of it, the prices are ridiculously high for what you get. Typical for an Encino restaurant that wants to make the douchey locals feel good about themselves by tricking them into thinking that expensive equals quality. more

I've been going to Taj Mahal since it opened almost 15 years ago. There's lots to recommend about this place. First, the food is always good. I've had Indian food in assorted places around the U.S. and in several countries in Europe. Indian food in the U.S. is often watered down. Not so here. The flavors are strong and full. Second, I've not seen the spotty service that is mentioned here. I've seen busy nights at Taj, but never bad service. In fact unlike many Indian restaurants they actually SERVE the food rather than simply putting it on the table. The dinner menu is large and varied; the lunch buffet is excellent; the wine list is even good. What's not to like? This is more than a neighborhood haunt, this is one of the best Indian restaurants in Los Angeles. A little gem in Encino. more

I don't know who would go back this place. The weitress is mean and rude, food is nothing special. more

I have to agree that the food is not spectacular but it has kept me going back in a scary sort of way, until now. I've been a regular at this family-owned restaurant for over 7 years, and one would imagine a business-owner to be a little more gracious to their regular patrons, but the husband (owner) has always been extremely rude (I think that is just his personality since he seems that way with all the diners) and the wife just pretends to be polite. My husband is very quick to pick up on these things and refused to go back after the second time we were there, but I was pregnant & wanted chicken tikka masala, so I kept eating there at least once a week and now I really regret it. I asked for a fork and the husband/owner brought me one with a scowl on his face, dropped it on the floor and seemed upset that I asked for a new one when he tried to put that dirty fork on the table for me--who in the world would eat with a dirty fork? He probably would've brought over the same one if I hadn't kept that one just to be sure. I'll never go back there. The good thing is that I found another Indian restaurant called India's Grill on San Vicente, kind of a drive but really great food and nicew people, too. more

Try the Sea Bass barbequed on a stick. The chicken marsala is great too! All the vegetables dishes and curries are delicious. This is a family run business. Not romantic, just good food, and not expensive at all! Pros: The food by far was the best Cons: The atmosphere is upsairs of a shopping center more

FFood was above average; however the ambience felt more like a school cafeteria. Service could have been friendlier as well. more