Maharaja Downtown

Meeting old friends is always fun and this trip, I met Rhoda, Paula and Joel at Maharaja downtown Santa Cruz. Well okay, not "downtown" downtown, but just over the bridge by CVS. It was the Royal Taj for years, but recently changed names.

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This is one of the few Indian restaurants in SC and they have a lunch buffet that is very good. Let's see how they are at dinner.

The interior is a little nicer than before with cloth napkins and new tables now. They added new decorations around the walls that make you feel the Indian vibe. We took a window booth and they quickly filled our water glasses. Rhoda was late (that NEVER happens), so Paula and I ordered a Maharaja pilsner beer ($3.99). It was light, cool and refreshing.

We browsed the menu and found all the buffet items and more. Either a la carte or add $3.95 for the dinner plate, which came with rice, naan, raita (spiced yogurt dip) and salad.

Side note: One thing that bugs me is when you are chatting with your friends and the waiter interrupts about your order. Not the first time of course, but like 2-3 times after that. It was a long wait for us I know since Rhoda came after we were seated, but the place was not full. They didn't need our table. End rant.

Rhoda ordered the Chicken Vindaloo ($10.95 + $3.95 for the dinner) - a chicken and potato stew with a spicy sauce. Making it a dinner gives you lots of food with the main course served in its own bowl. It was spicy but not hot, so you could enjoy every morsel.

I ordered the Aloo Gobhi Mattar ($9.95 + $3.95 dinner), which was cauliflower, peas and potatoes in herbs and spices. The cauliflower was cooked just right - not too raw and not mushy. And you can see the huge naan pieces they kept bringing. Soft and warm, it's the best thing about Indian food. So you can sop up all the delicious sauces!

We also ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala ($11.95), which is clay oven roasted in a mild sauce, but I forgot to take a picture. There's a fine line between having the camera out and ready and being starving. The good news is it was up to the level of the other dishes - all delicious.

The new decor was nice, but the food prices went up a bit - maybe to pay for it? The lunch buffet used to be $7.95 and is now at $9.95, but that's still reasonable for a buffet. French for everything your belly can hold. The dinner price of adding $3.95 is worth it since I wouldn't be happy with just the entree. Next time I'll order one dinner per two people and split it.

Scores out of 10:
Food: 8
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 7
Value for price: 7
Overall: 7