Taj Mahal Restaurant & Party Hall

An unfortunate disappointment. Experience and food will both have us only ordering apps to go in the future. I should give 1 star but I like the apps and the staff wasn’t rude, just not great at their job this night.
A group of us walked in later in the night but with enough time to order and eat before closing. We were the only people in the seating area for a while til a couple showed up shortly after. With the place being empty I understand why they wouldn’t have the AC on as we walked in but with a group of people at a table on a very humid and hot night we shouldnt have had to request them to turn the AC on, that should’ve just happened. The hall/​restaurant area is kind of beat up with the leather chairs tops being covered with a fabric bit the leather bottom shown and torn apart. We didnt care much, as long as the food was good!
Drinks & staff:
It was very hot out so we all needed water. After sitting for a while, receiving menus, asking for AC to be turned on, no one came with water though there are glass cups right infront of each person. When our order was taken we all asked to please have some water and one person said they’d like a soda. The appetizers came out and we still had nothing to drink. I was ready to drink a pitcher of water by this time. So one of us had to go up and say can we please get water for the table and one soda. Soon after a waitress brought poland springs bottles for each person and a soda can. Thats fine if you’ve already poured water into our cups and we are ordering water but thats not what we were asking for. We requested pitchers of water because we all knew we’d be drinking at least a few poland spring bottles worth. We finished the first pitcher fast and asked for another, when it came we we saw the pitcher wasn’t clean and there was white stuff floating around the top– very unappetizing. That was right around when we were disappointed by our entrees.
Appetizers:
I’ve previously had their samosas and a few other side items as pickups from here. The appetizers I’ve had so far are delicious. All the Samosa type items & the Chicken Lollipop «Drums of Heaven» are better then any other desi/​asian fusion restaurant I’ve tried in NY. Everyone loved them. The Taj Mahal Masala Cauliflower were a hit too. Both have similar tastes but everyone really liked them both. Since the apps were awesome we were all excited about entrees.
Entrees:
They were all very bad and big disappointments. You could tell the food isn’t fresh which makes sense seeing how they have 2 lengthy menus, a desi one and an asian one. We figured after that most of it is frozen and they just add different flavored sauces and with some meals very random probably frozen vegetables to a protein to make the dish. The taste definitely confirms that theory. We were getting full off apps and wanted to sample a few entrees so we ordered the Sizzling Lamb, a Vegetable Stir Fry, Shrimp Szechuan and a Fish in Garlic Sauce. The only thing we could eat and say wasn’t so bad was the Shrimp Szechuan, the fish was bareable, Vegetable Stirfry had a very strange unpleasant flavoring and for some odd reason they added diced tomatoes on top which increased the strange flavor combo. The worst of the worst was the most expensive and fanciest looking dish: the Lamb Sizzler. I took video of it sizzling bc we were expecting everything to be delicious, what huge disappointments. The lamb was so bad each person took one bite of chewy old/​gamey tasting lamb and couldnt try more. We ate some of the vegetables with white rice and a few of us lost our appetites after that.
We had a lot of left overs, told them not to bother packing the very full lamb sizzler plate, we took the rest home but didnt open the cartons til throwing the leftovers away.

Wonderful lollipop chicken and shrimp soup. Nice courteous service. Reasonable price. I wish I live close by.

The quality of delivery I experienced here was pretty bad. Only tried it once. The food may be better if you dine in.

I had my son’s 1^st birthday party here and I was not impressed with the food.
The food I tasted at the contract signing and the food served were totally different. The food at my signing was delicious and I was happy thinking that my guests were gonna be fed well. Wrong!!! The food received on the day of the party was terrible. I was so unhappy because I am willing to give up other things at an event but not the taste of the food. Food is what everyone remembers!
Appetizers:
Chicken 65 & Kebabs
Veggie Samosas
Mix Veg Pakoras
Chat Pati
Lunch:
Palau
Chix Roast
Beef Curry
Veggies
Daal
salad & naan
Dessert:
ice cream
gulab jamun
rice pudding
The hall is run down and needs to be renovated. The carpets are old and smell funky. The entrance stairs are slippery and look as if they will begin falling apart very soon.
Bathrooms are terrible.
The hall needs help. You need to come in with decorations or decorators and have them work their magic otherwise it looks like crap.
There is stuff everywhere. There was a mughal style bench facing the wall in back of the hall and I asked if I could use it and the manager told me there was a charge for it. But he did not remove it and gladly left it in the space which I paid for.
I was told I could come in the night before and decorate. I went in with all my decorations to find a filthy hall, my tables weren’t set up, my linens hadn’t come in. I asked if there was a party earlier or the night before and the employees said no. WTF?
I had to return the following morning, two hours before my party, and my tables were still not set up. My linens never arrived. They were automatically placing all white linens on everything without asking me. I was livid but the manager wasn’t there, only employees.
I have to say this. The employees are freakin’ awesome. They did EVERYTHING in their power to make the hall as beautiful as possible. Throughout the party they were on point and constantly checking in and making sure everything was going well.
Staff was always an arms length away predicting my needs. The staff, Salazar Entertainment (check out separate review) and my creative awesomeness are the only reason my party was a hit. They made sure everything ran smoothly, everything was picked up, cleaned up, etc. Food was always present and the transition from apps, lunch, dessert and cake cutting was flawless. This staff rocks!!!
It was in our family budget, close to home, and I knew I had the ability and support from creative family members to make the place work.
Think twice before you rent this place.
My second child is on her way, for her 1^st birthday, I am definitely renting a clean hall and bringing in an awesome caterer. Lesson learned!

I order here at least once, maybe twice a week and the food is always amazing. Delivery may take 45 min but it is definitely worth it. Also if you call for delivery, they won’t charge tax. They never charged me tax yet.

Got here with family on New Year day for thai and chinese part of the restaurant. Waitress were rude and unprofessional. She was giving insulting smile as I supposed to know when I was asking her about the foods on the menu. Finally we ordered after convincing her to explain. When the food came all of us become disappointed as the food had no to horrible taste. It was more disappointing when came to check. The food was 139 but was charged forcefully 175. Some of us had stomach ache afterward. .please don’t go and waste your money. Wish could give no star.

Everything was delicious. We got the general tsao and chicken Marsala with chicken samosas. Service was excellent. The gentleman helped us as soon as we got in until the end. Very alert and sweet.

Really disappointed with the Naan I received. Its usually good but today it’s beyond bad … it’s not even eat able

When it comes to halls I try really hard not to review unless I was the person that hosted the event but this I have to do.
I came to Taj Mahal for a wedding. The hall itself was nicely decorated and beautifully set up. The biryani was good as was the chicken lollipop. There was ice cream for desert that tasted home made — very yummy. That’s the good part.
Now for the reason this got 2 stars instead of more — the entry to the hall, a long staircase, is gross. Seriously, for a wedding they couldn’t be bothered to clean up? Also very poorly lit. The bathrooms are filthy. The tiles are cracked and coming apart, the sink has huge stains in it. I’m pregnant, in all honesty, I went into the bathroom to throw up and was more grossed out by the bathroom. The pictures I took don’t show just how bad the bathrooms truly are. I wish I could post the video.
Most of the staff seemed friendly. The woman who acknowledged me when I was leaving, I assume she was in charge of this event, was very nice. When the dancefloor was opened and the tables needed to be moved though, those guys were terribly rude. They basically knocked my brother over and out of their way. They moved tables haphazardly and left shoes out on the floor rather than making an attempt to put them back under the tables that they moved.
They need to do a serious remodel but until then I would not return here.

Came here on Monday afternoon after finals with a few friends to celebrate. Bad idea…
The service is appalling! When we we got there someone told us that we would have to wait 15 mins before we could place any orders. Then another staff member came up to us and told us it would be 30 mins before anyone came to help us. The attitude was like they were doing us a favor… They had their health inspection going on, so I understand the wait, but that’s no excuse for being rude. There were a couple of other attitude incidences as well.
The food was not all that great either. They were out of tea/​chai. An Indian restaurant that doesn’t have chai… How odd. Then I asked for Falooda, which they were also out of. Ended up with the mango lassie which was average, and is served in a plastic cup. But the water is served in glassware…
The chicken samosa’s were good. The lollipop chicken was under cooked and sorta runny from the middle. Gross!
For entrees we got saag paneer, and butter chicken. Neither were good. The chicken especially was just off. Also, the chicken was in thin long strips rather than chunks as is usual in butter chicken. Both dishes were bland. The naans on the other hand were good. We got plain, garlic, and onion.
Don’t waste your time here. For good authentic Indian food go to Delhi heights or seva Indian cuisine.

Food is up and beyond delicious.
Décor is beautiful.
Customer service is not the best.
Cleanliness is on the top except restroom when one toilet has «Out of Order» and the other one looks like men went in women’s restroom.
Can be a bit pricey but who cares food is worth spending.

I am not a huge fan of chicken tikka masala because I often find it a bit bland, but my sugar put me on to this place– which might legitimately have the best chicken tikka masala in the United States. Order with a naan that costs one dollar and is huge, and you’ve set yourself up for a fulfilling meal.

okay food nothing crazy. I would say cheap imitation food. They over charge for delivery just 2 blocks away. I have had better from the other local restaurants. I rather drive out of my way. They are also over priced in my opinion

I’ve eaten here a few times, and after the most recent experience, i felt compelled to write a review, because it’s important that future customers are well aware of what they may be possibly be getting themselves into.
Let me preface by saying that my previous visits to the restaurants have been relatively uneventful — i use the word
«eventful» positively — and the food has been decent, but nothing ground-​breaking.
However, after the most recent experience with the lead waiter, i’ve promised myself never to return to such a terribly unprofessional atmosphere.
I’ll keep the story short and sweet: My friends and I enter the restaurant at around 10:25pm. Immediately, we’re told that the restaurant will be closing at 11pm. That certainty was understandable, as i’m sure the staff have families to return to as well.
The problem arose when we were reminded of this, again and again — quite aggressively — in a span of 2 minutes. And the last reminder constituted the lead waiter sternly and condescendingly saying, and i quote, «let me order for you for, what do you want, chicken, beef?»
I was absolutely shocked. And my reaction was to sternly rebuke him for his behavior, and promise him that i’ll never return to his restaurant ever again.
It’s a promise i intend to keep. No customer should be treated like a small child, as i was. And no business should be allowed to prosper if it treats its customers in such a way.
I would urge future customers to keep their distance from this branch. The incident was not a new waiter, or someone inexperienced. This was someone that supervised the entire team of waiters. It reflects the entire business, not just some new, unpolished waiter.

Good food

I would suggest trying somewhere else.
I ordered and paid online. It took more than the promised hour. The delivery guy did not speak English at all and tried to get me to pay cash then. He made me wait while calling the restaurant despite the large stamp on the receipt that said «PREPAID». He also kept asking me questions that I could not even begin to understand.
My food was getting cold and my ice tea was very watery from all the ice that had melted.
The food was OK. Garlic naan tasted like they used bad garlic. The chicken was quite a bit hotter than the requested mild.

I’ve always passed this place in the past since I live in the neighborhood so I decided to give them a try.
The food was pretty good but I don’t have Indian cuisine very often, so I wouldn’t know if it’s anything close to what it should be. We ordered chicken samosas, dal poori, chicken tikka masala, Taj Mahal special biryani and garlic naan. Everything was well prepared, flavorful, tasty and not to mention very cheap. The chicken tikka masala was a bit oily and just a tad bit spicy but still very tasty and recommended as what most people normally order by our waiter. Taj Mahal special biryani included both chicken and shrimp but was not my favorite. The samosas were ok and so was the dal poori.
The waiter was very pleasant, attentive and their service is very quick despite the restaurant was full.
Our total bill was just under $ 30 with tip. They also offer Chinese and Thai selections as well.
I will definitely keep this one as an option for delivery the next time am home craving some Indian food.

Nice waiter and good service. Pretty cheap food.
But…not great food – although we mostly ordered Thai food at an indian restaurant so that’s a bit strange. But if you’re offering those options, I expect it to at least be presented nicely. I ordered a Manchurian Shrimp Noodle dish — it was not described to be spicy on the menu. It came spicy with pepper flakes all over. NO thank you. Also the «shrimp» in the dish was the cheap type you get frozen in a box that are tiny, less than an inch big — this doesn’t even count as shrimp. Don’t charge two extra dollars for that over chicken/​beef.
I’d give this place a chance again to try actual indian food. This rating is for the Thai/​Chinese food menu.

My cousin lives in Jamaica Queens. For me, Jamaica Queens is a barren wasteland when it comes to finding decent Asian food. So, I usually try to eat in Flushing, Elmhurst, or Jackson Heights before coming back to Jamaica at night to sleep. During this last visit, I was totally exhausted and was unfortunately not able to make it out to eat.
So, I gave Taj Mahal a try and was pleasantly surprised.
The prices are about 30% less than they are elsewhere for Indian style food.
They also serve Chinese dishes. And, they have kheer, which is my favorite rice pudding dessert.
There is a cafeteria style setup in the front room, for those that are interested in take-​out.
But, dining in is also available and the service is attentive.

Test Run #1: Taj Mahal’s take on pad thai didn’t impress me, but it was still tasty. Yes, alongside Northern Indian (been there, done that) and Indian-​Chinese (heard of, but never tried) cuisine, they also do Indian-​Thai food! Unless India and Thailand share some border I don’t know about, I wasn’t sure if this was legit, but it was appetizing enough to be a good meal, even if it didn’t sate the pad thai beast that lurks within me.
Test Run #2: The $ 8 buffet is a great deal! I started with a generous bowl of the Thai soup, which appeared a thin milky orange color and was loaded with veggies and chicken — not sure if it was tom yum, but if you like that, you’d like this. The dishes included all types of proteins, including 2 – 3 vegetarian stations. I was sad that, at least on this particular day, the selection didn’t include any appetizers or more Indian dishes. Most were Indian-​Chinese, but the very friendly waiter (who recognizes me already!) told me that it changes daily. For dessert, I really liked the texture and consistency of the gulab jamun, compared to others I’ve tried, but my friend wasn’t a fan. The other winning choice was the pureed carrot dessert with cardamom — delicious!
Test Run #3 (and 4): Third time’s the charm! I came back to try the chicken tikka masala and finally hit the jackpot. The creamy tomato sauce was so succulent I wanted to down it like soup! The chicken was tender and flavorful. And the salad served with raita (more salty, less cucumbery, than I’m used to) was fresh. I’m still mildly annoyed that neither the $ 7 small nor $ 8.50 large come with rice (separate plain basmati $ 1.50), but by the end of the meal I was so happy I didn’t care.
I liked the chicken tikka masala so much that the next day I insisted on bringing home an order for the hubbers to try, along with an order of the tandoori chicken (a mere $ 5!), rice, naan, and the thai papaya salad. With the automatic 15% «Delicious Discount» off via
, dinner totaled just under $ 20 (which is just a couple dollars less than I would have saved if I’d paid cash for the full price bc Taj Mahal doesn’t charge tax on cash purchases). He didn’t lick the plate quite as much as I did, but still impressed by the value and quality of the food.
Nomnomlicious! I’m so glad I found this place near my office. Full disclosure: I’m lunching there again tmrw, this time with my vegetarian friend. Who knows what I’ll order next!