Taj Mahal in East Devon - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

My partner and I visited this first class restaurant for only the second time with three of my Grandchildren this time. We live in Merseyside, but in Devon this is definitely one of the places to visit. Staff very kind and friendly, food first class and my eight year old enjoyed Chicken Nuggets and chips. Well there is something for everyone.

Very tasty takeaway meal from here. We ordered inside, 3 meals with rice, breads and poppadoms with chutneys, plenty of customers eating in restaurant despite being a Monday night and a couple who had ordered takeout like us. Not too long a wait and hot delicious food. I noticed a review that said it was cash only but we paid by credit card and no issues 👍🏼

Awful. And worse thing was when we trued to pay told inky accept cash despite credit card sign on door and paying by credit card before. No warning when we booked, arrived or ordered and very embarrassed as we didn't have enough cash with us. One of my guests had to go to cash machine and pay extra to get cash. What's worse is when complained about not being warned manager was very rude. Other customers also complained. Probably on verge of going bust as in my experience that's first indication.

Pretty generic UK/Indian food with a curry that tasted mostly of tomato soup. By no stretch was is the best Indian food I've had, although it's not the worst either. The whole experience was slightly surreal, with a confused and fussy waiter who never actually did the thing I asked. The worst thing, and this is not on the owners of the restaurant, was sitting and eating my meal having to listen to someone talk effusively about right wing racist politics on the next table in the run up to the general election; in a INDIAN restaurant! My guess is that this restaurant doesn't have a lot of competition in Budleigh but you'll be letting yourself in for mediocre food in a slightly unusual (not in a good way) setting if you choose to eat here.

Can't understand the 5-star reviews on here, to be honest. The food was average at best. My Tandoori Chicken starter was a bit scrawny and under-spiced. The deep-fried bread in the King Prawn Puri was too thick, although the sauce was tasty. Chicken Tikka was dry and lacking in flavour. In the main courses the Coriander King Prawn didn't taste of coriander. Chicken Kurma was nice though. Tarka Dhal was watery and contained few lentils. Accompanying rice dishes were not flavoursome although the Peshwari Naan was tasty. Best thing about Taj Mahal was the very pleasant and accommodating staff. Bill came to over £120 for 6 of us, which was expensive for the quality of the food but what one expects to pay now in the overpriced UK. Overall it was disappointing, sorry.

Absolutely lovely delicious food. Ordered delivery to Ladram Bay Holiday Park which was on time. Would definitely recommend.

Have eaten here and got take away more time than I can remember and have never had a bad meal. Consistently the best restaurant in the town by far with everything on the menu (and more) that you would expect from an Indian restaurant. Not much else to say, it's great :-)

First time using this eatary, & Oh my goodness, what a find. Every dish was an exceptional and individual explosion of taste. From the delicate spices to the richness of beautifully crafted sauces. Highly recommend the Chicken Rezalah Special & the Persian Lamb. We definitely be coming again. If we could give more than 5 stars we would. Thank you Akash for your wonderful hospitality.

Excellent take away 16/02/2024 polite staff and meal was on time for nominated pick up time Food excellent Generous portions and value for money looking forward to our next meal thank you chef

Best India food l have ever tasted. Highly recommended. Staff are also super friendly. I like spicy, however opted to try the Devon special which was creamy. So glad l tried this dish as it was so delicious and like nothing l have tasted before. Can’t wait to return.

Fantastic curry. Live in the Midlands and have access to numerous indian restaurants and weirdly this restaurant in sleepy Budleigh Salterton is the best i have visited. Bring friends regularly and it has become their favourite. The food is so consistent. You may choose the wrong thing for you and not enjoy but have another go. I have never had a bad meal.

Extremely disappointed with the food from this restaurant. Had 3 curries and they were all incredibly sweet. The butter chicken was inedible and the lamb korma wasn’t much better. Cannot recommend at all. This is not authentic Indian food.

This restaurant has had a revamp since we were last here 3 years ago. Staff were very pleasant, but food was okay nothing to write home about dull taste for most of the dishes and the poppadoms were very soft almost like they had gone soggy.

Came with family and 2 year old granddaughter whilst on holiday, the staff were really lovely, the food amazing and the restaurant cozy and immaculately clean. We loved our visit and cannot wait to come back. Thanks for a lovely evening.

Lovely meal, great service, lovely staff, lovely takeout food too, would definitely recommend, only 15 min drive from our holiday home in ladram bay so that’s a bonus

Really enjoyed the food and friendly service. We were lured to the restaurant by the tempting smells when passing and despite them being very busy we were offered a table and received excellent service throughout. Lamb Biryani and Lamb Madras, both full of tender meat, great flavours Will definitely return now we've discovered this place

Ce restaurant indien est très sympathique, il est parfaitement situé dans le centre ville. les plats sont très copieux et avec beaucoup de goût. toute l'équipe de serveur est très sympathique et dynamique. Nous ahoutons une mention spéciale pour le chèque nan.

Fantastic food & great surroundings. Akash & the staff make you feel very welcome. Would thoughly recommend 5*

Have had numerous curries down south now and really been struggling to find any decent ones. After looking through many reviews I came across this place it is by far the best that I’ve come across. Potentially a little bit on the pricey side but worth it in my opinion.

We absolutely love coming down whenever we have something to celebrate! Every time we come the staff are so welcoming, attentive! Makes you feel so welcome even when the restaurant is so busy ( which we love to see it so busy) the food is second to non! Always satisfied! Akesh was our server! Again so bubbly, friendly and as always gets everything spot on! Price for the 2 of us was brillaint value! Never a complaint from us! See you in a few weeks time ❤️

Really smashing Indian food. Hot, tasty and promptly served by Akash our jolly waiter. My prawn dhansak was delicious and the accompanying Peshawari Naan went down a treat with the Kingfisher larger.

My Goa chicken curry was the most delicious meal I've ever had! My Fiancé had Persian Lamb and equally enjoyed his. Akash was extremely attentive and fun with his customer service. Absolutely fabulous, we will be back soon I'm sure

I did a just eat order for £35.00 after a 8 hour journey and having not eaten!. I was then told 10 minutes later that they rejected my order!!. Totally unacceptable !!. If you advertise the fact that you are open and doo delivery to a certain area then at least doo it!!!!.

Excellent food and friendly service. The chicken tikka and mushroom pilau were lovely. We’ll look ones after by attentive, friendly team.

My wife and I have had 2 takeaways from the Taj Mahal and both different meals have been fantastic. Looking forward to spending time in the restaurant to enjoy the atmosphere and of course the food.

Every never off staff that works at the front desk is so rude and has no customer service. They are not prepared to listen to you if something has gone wrong with your order, disrespectful over the phone and not prepared to help. I would highly suggest to not use this service, in the restaurant or over the phone, there are WAY better Indian’s around. Thought I’d try my local considering these desperate times and my god I won’t be trying them again!! TERRIBLE!!!

We were a bit fed up with lock down and decided to have a lunch time take away as a treat. Ordered the night before, it was ready for collection at the correct time. Piping hot and very very tasty. Fantastic mixed started for 2, 2 main meals and rice and an amazing Peshwari nan. The portions are very generous, moist, flavoursome and piping hot. Look foward to returning to try some other dishes - huge choice. Definitely cheered us up.

Went with my wife at a weekend in October. Great food & attentive service but the manager seemed to be uncomfortably assertive (aggressive) towards his staff.

This was the best curry I’ve had in a long long time , and as for the naan bread it was something else . Food was hot and tasty and there was so so much of it . I have a large appetite but could not eat half of it .Nice service as well friendly guys .Well worth a visit

This is the best curry we’ve had in a long time (and we live on east London so are spoilt for choice). Huge portions, very tasty, good amount of spice. Staff were very nice. Good value - especially considering how much food we had. Cobra and kingfisher on tap. I’d highly recommend this place - it was full every time we walked past for good reason! Get the naga chicken if you like some spice! Also had a lamb dish with spinach/lentils/chickpeas - was very good. Thankyou!

Once a week although never the same day it has to be a curry and what better than a walk across the road to collect your takeaway. Always great food and friendly staff who have time to say Hello.

King prawn puri was sweet and not spicy. A total of 4 prawns was disappointing. Tandoori mixed grill average. Meat was dry and no real defining taste. Yoghurt dip sweet again? Don’t bother as they clearly don’t know how to spice a curry.

Takeaway order-Charged £7 for poppadoms (which lets face it cost pennies and normally get thrown in for free on takeaways). Asked to come for a time, when I arrived they hadn’t even started it so had to sit around for an additional half hour. Not ideal for a quick takeaway dinner, £56 for 3 people with no starters and it is ready late.

Delicious meal, huge portions. The only slight issue would be eating with plastic cutlery. Even during these times crockery can be disinfected.

Recently went back to the Taj Mahal, having previously had an enjoyable meal there. What a disappointment this time. Unfortunately the staff are continually arguing and shouting at one another, with total disregard for their customers. This is totally unacceptable and we will not be returning until there is a change in staff behaviour. The staff should lose their jobs. It’s embarrassing and it was making many of the customers feel very uneasy and unwelcome, particularly those with children. We left before finishing our meal. Budleigh deserves a lot better.

A throughly enjoyable meal with varied choices of traditional and alternative Indian dishes. Although sitting where we did was dimly lit and could do with a little more lighting it was restaurant we would visit again.

This was our second visit to this establishment. While the decor is a bit 20th century the food is very good with a very varied choice. Our waitress, unusually not Indian in an Indian restaurant was very friendly and welcoming. Would’ve been 5 star if the restaurant was more modern in decor. Would definitely go again if in the area.

We have been many times previously and noticed things were going downhill. Staff were shouting and arguing with each other. Starter arrived and was curdled and off so asked to cancel main meals. Staff made a scene after I had tried to be discreet so everyone knew what was going on and more shouting and screaming! Such a shame we had always loved it in Budleigh and had chosen for my birthday but won’t be returning. So many unhappy customers which is sad to see. Toilets also need attention particularly during these difficult Covid times and quite frankly always. Went away feeling unwell and frustrating! Then checked online hygiene rating never again! Disappointing!

So lucky to have this as our local Indian restaurant. They have excelled with ordering for both collection and delivery. Food has been delicious. Service welcoming and new way of working felt safe and thought through.

this is the best curry house ever and we have been to many many curry houses in our long lifetimes. The staff are really nice and always give us great service and i think we must have tried most of the currys by now especially on the specials lists and they have ALL been exquisite. We love the oranges and chocolates afterwards too (: my absolute favourite restaurant

We should have walked out earlier.We weren’t even greeted on arrival.The waiter just pointed to a table and walked off.53 minutes and they hadn’t even taken our order.We went to settle the bill for our two drinks and couple of poppadums and my husband was rudely told to ‘sit down’.£12 for a white wine,coke and a couple of poppadums.Appalling service!!!We will never go back!

Had to wait 53 minutes and still did not take order. Charged £12.60 for two drinks and told to sit down when asked for bill! Awful service.

We have been getting takeaways from here for many years and has never let us down! The food is very nice and the staff seem very pleasant

Had a meal here with family to celebrate a birthday. Staff in the beginning were okay but awkward atmosphere. Food arrived timely and was nice. However on receiving our bill we were being ripped off and overcharged. This was questioned with a member of staff who became aggressive, argumentative and nasty in front of our children. Eventually the right money was charged but the staff member continued to act aggressively towards us. Used to be a regular take-out customer but unfortunately we won’t buy from here in the future as service is everything. I wouldn’t recommend.

Meals were ok but the papadums were stale. Our meal took over half an hour to arrive much slower than usual and not really busy!

Food was lovely as usual.Staff where arguing and a polish waitress was overheard swearing saying how the other staff “can’t speak f******g English” and stormed around a lot.There was an argument between staff about a runner going to shop for bananas.When we finished we wanted deserts and had to pile our plates up and wait ages for them to take them away. When we asked about desert we where left waiting for ages and kept asking. The staff where more interested in the new customers coming through the door so we paid and walked out and got pudding from the shop.

Bog standard curry which we all enjoyed. At 13 quid my mixed grill promised more than it delivered with two piddly bits of chicken and the rest over cooked. No king prawn that I'm used to at our local in Sussex. Our popadums were stale and the lime pickle had a hair in it. Slow service despite not being that busy. Would have been 2 stars but I wasn't paying.

We enjoyed our meal and the welcome we had; however a visit to the toilets meant that we will not be returning until they have been completely renovated, either for a meal or a take-away. The toilets were not clean and were totally unacceptable. A great disappointment.

Very ordinary Indian food and at £45 for two, poor value. Came here on a recommendation, so maybe it was just an 'off' evening?

This is our third time having takeaway from Taj Mahal in the last few weeks and we will not be returning after our last experience. When we received our first order there was food missing but we gave them the benefit of the doubt as the food was good. Tonight we called from home and asked for delivery to be told ‘it’s too busy come and get it’ so excepting it’s a busy Saturday night we did. When we arrived it was obvious that someone else had been given our order so we were told to wait. After 10 minutes another customer came back in with our order, which was then given to us. When we questioned why we were receiving food that had been given to someone else that was getting cold we were told to LEAVE. Based on this experience I would not recommend

We enjoyed our take away from the Taj, the dhansak was rich with a good depth to the flavour and I was asked my preference for prawns (thankfully, as I do not like the texture of king prawn). It was not as chilli hot as in some restaurants but was very tasty. My partners' vindaloo was declared a 'hot madras' heat but the chicken was tasty and seemed to have been marinated (rather than just boiled and put in sauce). The veg curry was tasty but a little overcooked for my liking but that is a personal comment.

Popped in for a takeaway after going to the Feathers pub

I ordered a chicken tikka masalaa, but the meat was not in a good condition. It had a dried out texture and old taste. Either it was from the freezer or just old. Other side dishes were OK, but a pretty underwhelming meal and far below the standard of what I expect from a restaurant meal.

Went here while on holiday and glad we did. Was recommended by a local and a good recommendation it was. They happily seated 11 of us without problem. Restaurant was pretty busy for a Tuesday but food came out in a timely manor and tasted amazing. Shame we don’t have a curry house like this near me.

The men working are Taj Mahal were rude and abrupt with us. Food was fine but atmosphere not good. Rest rooms are out of the 60s and in bad need of a fresh. Waitress was fine but men need an attitude ajustment.

Always come here,am welcomed and spoken to with respect and very nice people. Food os excellent amd good service

Ordered takeaway whilst in budleigh on holiday. Really varied dishes, recommend the madras and the Dhansak. Good quality, not too oily, good depth of spice and flavour. The guys were nice whilst we waited and gave us a free beer. Restaurant looked busy, nice cute small town vibe.

Came again after about a year & still good curry. Lovely chicken tikka masala & chicken dansak. Next time will have pickle tray or nan bread as just too much, & all really tasty. Only gripe is service slow when you want the bill, but nice not to be rushed.

Food always good here, freshly cooked and a lot of choice. My only criticism is that the waiters should smile more.

Called in for takeaway. Very friendly, good menu choices, only 30 minutes wait. Reasonable price, excellent food

One very happy staff member, and one completely miserable , such a shame as food was very nice. Flat coke, and reluctant water given , Good food menu and very popular take away during our visit, just spoilt by that one member of staff

Absolute nightmare started when we saw an advert for 3 course meal for a good price, but were told after we sat down that meant starter and main course with rice or nan bread. Waiter that served us could not understand or speak English so it was frustrating trying to order. We will not be going back.

The menu says they cater to allergies. Our first waiter told us the papadum are gluten free, but fried in the same oil as gluten-full food, so it might be risky depending on how sensitive I am. For the rest of the menu, he said he’s new and doesn’t know the menu very well, so he got someone else to help us. So far so good.

well as the title goes it was a very quiet night and you had the feeling that you were being watched all the time ,as soon as the starter was finished ,bang,the main course was on the table ,food was ok , but certainly not the best ,to be quite honest was glad to pay the bill and get out

We come from the Balti capital in England near Birmingham and we know a good curry when we have 1. We visit Sidmouth every year and have at least 2 meals at this restaurant. Its not the most visually inspiring interior when you step through the doors but dont let that put you off as the food is spot on. The portions are big with plenty of meat/vegetables and the spice just right with plenty of flavour. Any dish you order from here will not disappoint.

Had a fabulous meal early evening.

4 of us went , great food , good drinks , clean , helpful staff , v reasonable prices - will visit again v soon 👍

After booking we received a good welcome in the restaurant. We enjoyed the meal which included a range of meat and veggie dishes. There were 4 of us and we were were all well satisfied. The portions were of a good size, this especially was true of the side dishes and starters which were the highlights of the meal. Plenty of choice s and we will probably come back again.

Local to us but not the best in the area - still very tasty and nice treat! Eaten in once, service was good.

We have been going here for a meal about once a month for quite a while. The food is always excellent and the staff friendly. One of the best Indian restaurants I have been too.

Hands down my favourite takeaway around! Beats any local Indian by miles. Have recommended to friends in exmouth as it is well worth the drive to collect

I have lost count of how many Indian Restaurants we have been in and this one served

Brought my 5 girls here for a Christmas treat. We were greeted on arrival and shown to our table the drinks order was taken and we sat back and read the menu. Drinks arrived soon after and meal order was taken by a lovely waiter. Food was delicious freshly cooked and hot 6 different curries naans and rice. We had a great evening in pleasant surroundings with great food, drinks and service. Will be back again.

Came to eat here 3 months ago and decided to give it another go. Pleasantly surprised this time by the more gracious and helpful attitude of all the staff. They were not that busy with few takeaways to add pressure or distract staff. We were offered our choice of table and drink orders were taken promptly, and delivered. Our food was again of a high standard, although the poppadoms were not the freshest and a little soft. The rice, naans, sag aloo and curry were hot, freshly cooked and very tasty. Definitely 9 out of 10

While working in the area I fancied sampling the local Indian restaurant.

Walked in for table for 5. Prompt and attentive service without being in our faces. Food was excellent and arrived in timely manner. Pricey.

Been here before some 2 years ago and not disappointed on return visit. Saturday evening was not too busy and a very pleasant meal was enjoyed by four persons, all different selection but well presented.

clean cosy restuarant, manager welcoming but other waiter on duty very shy and not the chattiest. Service was a little slow and considering it was quiet when we popped in it was abit frustrating.

lovely place excellent cake selection nice olde worlde feel with china cups and saucers ,we were there a bit late in the afternoon it appeared that they rather we had not bothered,nice tea and cake though

Attended the Budleigh Literary Festival - Patrick Gale - missus wanted a curry. Why we didn’t drive back to Exeter I don’t know; but Taj Mahal was the worst place we could have gone.

They have the usual Indian Restaurant menue. Food was ok but nothing special. Service is good. Prices standard for Indian Restaurants.

Really lovely curry to be had here service very good and discreet. Really enjoyed our curries and sides. £65 for three mains two sides and 6 Popodomes !!! Not forgetting drinks.

Ordered takeaway and it was fantastic. It was ready when they said it would be and it tasted great: authentic, spicy and full of flavour.

What a lovely place to celebrate my sisters birthday. We love a nice curry and were not disappointed. Service was friendly and efficient. Food was superb. Lots and lots of shared dishes, tasty naan, we all loved it and were fit to burst at the end of the meal. Good memories were made. We would go back in a flash.

Ate here on a Thursday night & lucky to get a table as didn’t pre book because very busy. It’s a little gem of a place to eat, fairly old fashioned decor but friendly, quick service & our meal was so tasty, beautiful. It was refreshing not to be rushed out & would recommend chicken damask & chicken tikka masala for sure. Only negative was slightly dark but not too much of a problem. They also do takeaway which is just as good so I’ve been told.

Went for an early evening meal , very quiet , think the place also does takeway or collection business , as we had to wait for the only guy working the front to be off the phone on a couple of oocasions , when he was , he was attentive and food and drink wise cannot complain , a little pricier than im used to , but overall , if curry is your thing and your hungry , this will do

Decent food. Only Indian restaurent in the area so Saturday night was fully booked, but staff manage to fit us in and provided a good service.

Visited the Taj last Friday after watching the Red Arrows at Sidmouth, having pre-booked a table for 8. Restaurant packed with take away customers and diners. No welcome as such and after finding our own seats the waiter would not take our food order saying that we had to wait until others had made up their minds! The take away business dominated the whole evening and after ordering a simple main course we waited 1 hour 15 minutes before getting up and asking how much longer it would be. One couple had already walked out. The management at the Taj need to understand how important it is to listen and talk to their customers and show some empathy rather that reiterate and force home their point of view i.e that we had to understand that they were busy. Nil points for customer service. Very rude except for one young waiter who understood but was powerless as his boss repeatedly ignored him when he was trying to speak on our behalf. Food was delicious though the peshwari naan was burnt on the underside. The message is a better balance needed between take away orders and in house dining where currently customers are left in the dark not knowing when their meal will arrive. Even in the queue of take away customers there was bad feeling and disagreements No apology or a thoughtful gesture of a drink on the house. Not likely to return in a hurry anytime soon. We left as another table were explaining how unhappy they were with the service they had suffered. Management need to put aside excuses and wake up to the customer who is paying for the food.

Dreadful experience which was so embarrassing as we took friends. The waiter did not listen when taking our order, we had to stress selection a few times but he did repeat back the order correctly. When the food came one of the dishes was incorrect so it was reluctantly returned to the kitchen by the waiter, the correct dish eventually arrived! I had ordered Chiken Bengal which the menu described as chicken breast cooked with fresh red and green peppers and fresh green chillies. It did not state mixed vegetable selection which looked suspiciously like frozen veg. There no sign of peppers or chillies. The manager eventually came and told me to either eat it or leave it. None of the dishes had any spice heat to them. No apologies given by staff, in fact they were very rude after we had ordered!

We have used this Indian restaurant many times over the last 18 months, took friends there in July and the service was very slow, almost 2 hours to get our main meal, but takeaways were coming out in 20 mins.

After waiting an hour and a half for our food to come out it was cold! Waiters seemed to find the poor service amusing

We visit Budleigh Salterton regularly and always head for a curry at the Taj Mahal. Good service, delicious food at reasonable prices.

Visted for the second time with four friends, excellent service and really good food. A must visit if in the area and wanting a curry.

Food was very good as usual but the man who served us was very rude and more interested in what time they close. We weren't allowed to order a sweet or coffee, as the kitchen is closed. I would rather have gone elsewhere. This is the second time I have experienced bad manners there and don't think I will return

We popped in here for a quick family supper. Really friendly and lovely food. The biryani in particular as great. As you’d probably expect in a town like Budleigh the food is on the mild side. However it is delicious, and the staff are friendly too. Well worth a visit!

We visited the Taj Mahal twice in a week, once as a family of 4 including a 10 year-old and once as a couple. We couldn't fault the food on either occasion; it's the best Indian food that we've eaten for a very long time. Our choices ranged from mild and sweet kormas and passandas to hot garlic chilli chicken (which was increased to vindaloo hot upon request). The staff were efficient and friendly. Would strongly recommend a visit here.

Ordered a take away meal 13/7/18 which I clollected. When I got home it was someone elses order. I had to take it back and get them to change it, I asked them to check the order to make sure it was correct and then took it home AGAIN. Not only was the order wrong again! it had obviously been rushed and was not of good quality. When I complained by phone they did not seem to be interested.....I gave up to be honest.

This was the best Indian I have eaten in for a very long time. The five of us shared different dishes, and every one was absolutely delicious.

This restaurant seems popular and we received a friendly welcome. Menu was wide ranging but too 'British' in that it was mainly meat and prawn based -not enough good vegetarian options (we just had some 'side' vegetarian dishes).

Well we went back after about a year of not going due to bad service and not good food however it has changed hands recently and seems to be 100% better so we will be back again very soon due to good food and service