Taj Mahal Grill & Bar in Baltimore: North Indian Cooking with Weekend Lunch Buffet
Taj Mahal Grill & Bar is a full-service North Indian restaurant in Fells Point that serves tandoori, curry, and bread-based dishes with a cocktail program and dine-in and takeout service. It occupies a storefront on Thames Street and draws a mix of neighborhood regulars, tourists, and diners traveling specifically for its lunch buffet.
What the restaurant actually is
The kitchen focuses on North Indian preparations: tandoori-grilled proteins, cream-based curries, and breads from a clay oven. The dining room seats about 50 and includes a bar along one wall. The space reads casual, with framed Bollywood posters and warm lighting. A rear patio opens seasonally. The restaurant has operated at this Thames Street location for over a decade and competes directly with Akbar in Canton, which emphasizes Pakistani and North Indian food, and Wooden Spoon in Federal Hill, a smaller vegetarian-focused Indian cafe.
Menu and pricing
The dinner menu runs roughly $13 to $20 per entree. Standouts include lamb vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, paneer makhani (cottage cheese in tomato cream), and chana masala. Breads—naan, garlic naan, roti, paratha—cost $3 to $5. Appetizers like samosa and pakora range from $6 to $10. The wine list skews toward affordable bottles under $40; cocktails cost $8 to $12.
The weekend lunch buffet (Saturday and Sunday, roughly 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.) costs around $15 per person and includes three to four curries, rice, bread, and raita. The buffet rotates dishes weekly, so vegetable korma one week may become chole bhature the next. Prices should be verified directly, as buffet costs sometimes shift seasonally.
How it compares to other Indian restaurants in Baltimore
Akbar, four miles south in Canton, leans Pakistani and serves larger portions in a more formal dining room; entrees average $15 to $24 and the space attracts business diners and dates more than the casual Fells Point crowd at Taj Mahal. Wooden Spoon focuses entirely on vegetarian dishes and is cramped and carryout-oriented, making it a choice for plant-based eaters without time to linger. Taj Mahal sits between the two: more upscale than Wooden Spoon, less formal than Akbar, with a balanced menu for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.
Who it suits and who it does not
This restaurant works well for weekday dinners before a Fells Point bar crawl, lunch-buffet seekers, and groups ordering family-style. The noise level rises in the evening, so it is not suited to quiet, lingering meals. Diners expecting Michelin-house refinement or highly regional specialties (like Kerala seafood curries or Chettinad meat preparations) will find it straightforward rather than adventurous.
What the first visit involves
Order at the table from a printed menu or request the lunch buffet on weekends. Service is attentive but unhurried. Entrees come with rice; bread is ordered separately. Water arrives without request. The kitchen accommodates spice adjustments: ask for mild, medium, or hot when ordering. Expect a 45-minute to 1-hour table time for a full meal.
Hours, parking, and logistics
Taj Mahal is open Tuesday through Thursday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; it is closed Mondays. Street parking along Thames is tight, especially evenings; a municipal lot sits one block east on Broadway. The restaurant accepts reservations for groups of six or more, though walk-ins are typical. Hours should be confirmed, as they occasionally shift for holidays.
The lunch buffet and straightforward execution make Taj Mahal a reliable choice for North Indian food in Fells Point without requiring advance planning or appetite for risk.
