San Antonio’s Stone Oak area has a lot of reliable restaurants sprinkled throughout its vicinity, from Aldaco’s Mexican Cuisine to Curry Boys BBQ. One of those restaurants is India Taj Palace, a semi-hidden gem in the neighborhood that offers a relatively affordable buffet during lunch service and for dinner on select days.
I’ve been to other Indian restaurants in the city that offer buffets, so when I learned that India Taj Palace was serving a buffet-style lunch for just $15.99, I knew I had to check it out. I visited on Monday, January 12, to see what sorts of Indian dishes were served by the restaurant during its buffet hours and to check out the general vibes of the place.
India Taj Palace is sort of tucked away off the corner of Huebner Road and Stonehue, but still easy to find amongst its neighbors, like Los Güeros Taco Diner and Shahi IndoPak Groceries. When I arrived at the restaurant, a host saw me to a booth where I could get a look at the space in its entirety. There were two buffet spreads set up along a pink wall stamped with a red floral print. Overall, the dining room was spacious and colorful, offering plenty of seating.
Since it was a buffet, I simply dropped off my bag at the table and went to fill up a plate with whatever struck my fancy. There was a hot bar and a cold bar, each with a different variety of Indian dishes, and I found myself mostly gravitating to the area where all the curries were presented. I tried to get a little bit of everything, like chicken tikka masala, biryani and even some goat curry, for my first plate.
When I sat down, the host returned with a complimentary basket of toasted naan seasoned with garlic, which I would later use to sop up various curries. I will say that some of the spice levels of the food felt toned down from what I’m used to at other Indian restaurants, but otherwise, everything was satisfactory. I got a second platter with a samosa, saag paneer and more of the biryani, plus I tried a different chicken curry that actually had some heat to it…