Taja Indian

This is mediocre Indian food. All their gravy dishes tasted like boiled meat was mixed with the gravy. The naan bread was very oily. That being said, the serving portions were decent and the service was good.

Delicious and convenient quick Indian food that is fresh!
Very friendly staff, had food in about 10 minutes. Kids enjoyed it too.
Everything is fresh, offers gluten free and vegan options, and you have to try the mango smoothies they make every day fresh by hand.

Taja Indian is a perfect quick sit down or to go type Indian spot for me. There menu is simple, their food and drinks are delicious, they have HH specials on food between 3−5pm and the service is friendly.
I had their chicken tikka curry with white rice and it was a health serving of delicious food. Their cucumber yogurt sauce was excellent as well. My friend ordered their mango lassi drink which was perfectly refreshing and just the right amount of sweet.
It was clean inside and cozy for a quick lunch spot.
Pros: Delicious and quick food at a good price
Cons: None
Bottom line: Fast, delicious food and drinks with friendly service.

The food was so salty it was inedible. I got a dish with paneer and the cheese was salty too. Mango lassi was bland. Naan was soggy.

Went in, asked about vegan options, and none of them included vegetables. Sad day Taja took over Bombay Bowl. Bummer. I left, and will never go back.

Good, healthy fast food. I was disappointed in the lack of vegetables, but the lamb curry had an excellent flavor and the indian bread was hot and fresh. Good specials too.

Good choice of items. Food was cooked well. But their masala is lacking. Seriously lacking.

Always a good experience here. I always order the chicken tikka masala with a side of Aloogobi and a naan. It’s fresh, the chicken is antibiotic and hormone free, and tastes delicious. It’s close to where I live so it’s also convenient. The only thing bad is that we had to wait for a long time for the order to be ready. It seems them are short staffed and only have one cook.

EXTREMELY friendly staff, everyone is nothing but nice whenever my boyfriend and I go in! The food is fresh, fast and delicious! Lamb Tikka Masala is fantastic, my boyfriend loves their chicken Kati roll, and make sure to grab some Garlic Naan! They have a wonderful brunch special on the weekend, where you can get a ton of food for a very reasonable price.

I liked it!
The food was pretty good, the staff was nice and professional, and the naan was solid.
For fast-​casual Indian fare, this place was good.

Nice little Indian QSR concept adding variety to the Union/​Simms lunch options. I ordered chicken Korma with brown rice and naan. Nice clean (visually and hygienically) shop. Easy menu with antibiotic and hormone-​free meats as well as vegetarian options. Good classic options like tikka masala, korma, curry, etc. Would have liked to see a samosa on the menu. Price is right in line with other QSR restaurants (Mad Greens, Chipotle, etc). AS others have mentioned, the food is cooked to order so you will wait about 10 minutes for an order for one person, possibly more for larger orders. I appreciate quality and knowing ahead of time that i will wait a little means i can plan accordingly. worth it for freshly prepared food.

I love Indian and I was excited to try this place as it was a clean and cool concept. The two college aged kids working there when I arrived for the $ 3.99 Kati roll happy hour were very nice but had no idea what good authentic Indian food was. The cashier admitted it was not authentic and loosely compared it to an Indian Chipotle. It was then my expectations took a huge dive.
I ordered a tofu and chicken Kati roll. It took longer than expected to cook which was surprising because there was only one other patron there. After I got my order to go I went outside to eat it. When I tried to peel off the tinfoil some of it stuck to the tortilla. The taste had virtually no spice and was bland. There was supposed to be tika sauce in it but I could not taste it. For people that know and appreciate good Indian food I would not recommend this. Although for $ 3.99 it’s not bad.
I think this restaurant was formed to capitalize on the hipster non-​GMO, vegan, gluten-​free craze and that’s it. If they don’t figure out how to add some soul and spice people with see through the trendiness and it will not last.

Came to Taja for the first time today! What lured me in was the idea of Indian food on the go. This specific location is on a street that is loaded with plenty of offices and businesses nearby that are constantly looking to see where they should go for their lunch break.
That being said… Taja wasn’t exactly «food on the go» and that can be taken two different ways:
Taste: the food was quite exceptional. I ordered the Chicken Korma with Brown Rice with a side of garlic naan bread. My brother ordered Chicken Takki Masala also with brown rice. Both of our curries were delicious. My brothers wasn’t as spicy as he anticipated but they had condiments that took care of that. The brown rice however… Has to either have more water added to it prior to steaming or we must’ve gotten the scrapings from the bottom of the rice pot. There was bits of dry hard pieces of grain in our rice. Naan was good, though it was quite greasy/​oily– don’t know if it was from a garlic butter they spread over it but I won’t deny that it was still delicious. Portions were generous and we left stuffed!
Time: I expected that my food was either going to be precooked (in a ready for you scoop manner) or at the very most several minutes. Our food took almost 20 minutes– we got to the restaurant at approximately 6:15 p.m. not bad if you have time to sit down. However for the many businesses near by the usual lunch break is only an hour. It really makes it a rush to be able to get there, order, wait, eat, and get back in time when the wait alone is 20– so just heads up– not exactly the best place if you’re in a rush.
Service: Very friendly. Was greeted upon arrival, answered questions about the menu, was very helpful!
Overall– They’ve got to moisten up their rice. Other than that the only thing to keep in mind is that if you’re in a rush plan on taking it to go and eating at your desk. Otherwise– I think it’s quite delish and worth the wait.

An okay lunch. I agree with the previous reviewer that the naan was significantly undercooked. The quality of the food was B grade. I ordered chai and was disappointed to get a very weak version of it. Also, unfortunately I ordered lamb masala and they served me chicken. To their credit, they corrected their mistake and gave me the lamb so I actually got two lunches for the price of one. This was generous. Another bright side was that the brown rice was perfect. The staff were very nice and accommodating. Not a bad place, but they need some attention to quality.

My fiancé & I purchased a Groupon after being enticed by the promise of antibiotic-​free Indian fare.
I ordered by phone & the staff was fairly helpful– indicating about a pound & a half of food was in the Chicken Tikka Masala order.
Since we were sharing we added 2 orders of garlic naan, the cauliflower side, & garlic chutney & yogurt sauces.
The cauliflower side was a good texture (veggies still aldente) but lacking some heat. Same for the Tikka Masala. We doctored both up with some Sriracha.
We may not try this place again. It’s not as flavorful or authentic tasting as Little India, but if you are in the area & need take out lunch or find yourself staying at the hospital, it’s a decent option. I recommend you ask for the naan to be toasted crispy since we received raw bread.

This place is awesome! What a neat concept! The owners are kind, and walk around and ask how things are. It’s a new place, but the concept is great– all fresh food, cooked after you order. I am vegetarian, so this place is perfect for me, and it’s not too spicy either (plus for me). For those who love more spice, you can add as much as you’d like. The garlic and plain naan are fresh, hot and cooked made to order. I cannot wait to go back and try the roti roll which looked so good and healthy. I got the groupon to try it out, but you will hardly spend $ 10 in this place, especially if you drink water like me. Great place and super yummy food. I was hoping for a fast food Indian place on Union near the federal center and hospital, and this place delivers. Taja means fresh — give them a try!
UPDATE: I made it back and tried the Kati Roll with Tofu inside… I found the chutney too oniony for my taste and I think prefer the entrée dishes and plain naan (so good) to the kati roll but that’s me. I find the kati rolls a bit dry but tasty too… I am just a sauce gal.

The mango drink is amazing! The service was friendly and welcoming. More importantly, the food was delicious.
I had the chicken curry, and they made the curry in the most authentic way possible.
My wife had one of the rolls. It had lots of flavor, but not overwhelming for those who aren’t fans of curries.
One minor complaint is her roll had stems of cilantro in them. Hopefully that was just on accident.

After seeing all the good reviews, we were surprised when we set foot in this place, only to realize we were the only customers. I’m thinking it might have something to do with the extremely loud, annoying music playing overhead. There was nobody else in the whole place, yet I had a difficult time hearing what my partner was saying from one foot away. *Ah-​yay-​yay-​yay-​ring-​ting-​hay!* (over and over until the end of time)
My food was pretty decent; my partner didn’t much care for his. I got the chicken tikka masala, with a side of white rice, and the kheer (rice pudding). The sauce on the entrée had pretty good flavor, but the chicken was gamey. (I readily admit that I am very sensitive to «gamey-​ness.») The kheer was EXCELLENT, and was easily my favorite part of the meal. My partner had the chicken korma, which had no flavor, with a side of brown rice and chickpea curry. The curry, he said, was strange-​tasting, yet better than the forgettable korma. Also, we split some naan — two itty, bitty greasy pieces, that were supposed to have garlic, but didn’t.
Regarding the price: We didn’t have very much (the portions were small, and we left hungry), and the bill came to $ 25. It just seems way, way too much for what we ordered, as well as the fact that the restaurant is a quasi-​QSR (think Noodles & Company). Is it the whole natural, organic thing that’s making everything so expensive?
Regarding the service: Despite being the only customers, they still got our orders mixed up by combining part of my order with my partner’s. Also: please note that we ordered garlic naan and they gave us regular naan.
One final comment (or, rather, question): What’s with the «fun-​fact» sign above the trash can where you leave your plate and utensils, that says something to the effect of: «Fun-​fact: 100% of people don’t know what to do with dirty dishes when they’re at someone else’s house»? Do I detect a hint of rudeness? An implication that your guests don’t clean up after themselves, but should? First of all, this simply isn’t true. Second, the placement of the sign is very strange; clearly, it’s placed where only the guests who DO clean up after themselves will take notice. Third, at a price of $ 25 for two people, it’s probably not right to expect your guests to clean up after themselves.
Will we be back? Probably not — or, at least, not if their prices don’t change.

Location is great, restaurant is clean and nice, really good service. And, I love Indian food. So with that being said… If I could, I would have given it a 3.5 star rating…
Taja Indian is fine — its fast food. Maybe its just my lack of experience with the fast food version of Indian fare, but this didn’t quite hit my expectations. I personally though the flavor was lacking in both the Tika Masala and the Curry plates we ordered. Not bad — but not phenomenal. Its better than most fast food joints so if you keep in mind what it is, I recommend it.
I’ll go back since I work nearby, but I don’t think I’d travel across town for it.

Taja Indian is a terrific new addition to the west metro restaurant scene. It’s a unique restaurant — I’m hard pressed to come up with a meaningful comparison.
You order and pay at one end of the counter, pick up your food when it’s ready at the other end, and beverages are also self-​serve — all sorta kinda fast food-​like. But it’s not fast food. When I think of Indian fast food, I think of Bombay Bowl. I like Bombay Bowl, but Taja definitely isn’t Bombay Bowl. Drinks are served in disposable cups but food is served on real dishes with real silverware. It wasn’t slow but it also wasn’t fast which isn’t a surprise because the food isn’t precooked.
But it’s also not a traditional Indian restaurant. It has a very limited menu — not the usual multi-​page tome with 200 different items, only 12 of which you can pronounce — unless you were born in India. There basically are only seven entrée choices. Three of these are tikka masala, korma and curry. On each of these you can choose your protein — chicken, lamb, tofu or paneer. The other options are saag paneer, channa masala, daal tadka and rajma. Four of the options are vegan for those for whom that’s important. Choose between brown or white basmati rice. Two naan choices — regular or garlic. Three side options including aloo gobi and one dessert option (kheer). That’s pretty much the menu. Oh, yeah — the meats are hormone and antibiotic-​free and the tofu is non-​GMO. Please don’t confuse me sharing this irrelevant detail with thinking I care, but I understand that some people do.
The food was excellent. And unique. We had lamb tikka masala, lamb curry, saag paneer and regular naan. «Heat» level was just right for my taste — a little bite but not brutal. Presentation was nice — the rice was molded and served along side the entrée in a separate bowl. The proteins were far more generous than I’ve had in Indian dishes almost anywhere else. The lamb dishes must have had 4 or 5 ounces of lamb in each, and the paneer was served in large chunks close to ¾ inch square. There was so much protein in the dishes that I almost found myself wanting more sauce and less protein. The saag was also unique. I find most saag to be almost of a purée consistency, but the wilted spinach leaves were still identifiable in this saag.
The dining room at Taja is pleasant — modern, not crowded or cluttered, earth tones of wood and stone tile, chrome and stainless, and lots of pendant lights. I’m assuming that the young man that took our order might be an owner. He was extremely pleasant and gracious.
Value at Taja is good. It’s not inexpensive but it’s also not expensive. Entrees served with rice range from approximately $ 7.50 to $ 10.00. Sides are $ 1.50 with an entrée. Naan is a little under $ 2.00.
One of the things that impressed me the most was when the young man checked on us during our meal and said «please tell us how we can improve.» Don’t hear that very often. And my sense was that he really meant it. So I’m taking him at his word — here’s how I think Taja could improve — expand the menu — but only a little bit. Taja is wise to keep it simple, but they might be keeping it a little bit too simple. There are so many wonderful Indian dishes that if they just added a half dozen more menu options, I think they could improve. Honestly, other than that, I don’t know that I would change a thing.