Taj Palace

About

Itaewon Indian curry buffet with tandoori chicken and house curries; weekend buffet format with attentive Indian head chef.

Taj Palace sits on the second floor of a yellow building down a quiet Yongsan alley near the fire station—easy to miss unless you're looking for it. This is where local cooks prepare Indian cuisine with a precision that distinguishes it from Seoul's typical curry houses. The kitchen is helmed by an Indian chef, and that foundational expertise shows in every dish. The tandoori chicken arrives on a sizzling iron plate, the bird's meat staying tender despite the char, accompanied by sliced onions that pick up caramelized sweetness from the heat. The accompanying sauce—with its citrus bite and hints of Sichuan pepper—amplifies rather than masks the spiced marinade. Chicken tikka masala carries genuine warmth without the flatness of mass-produced versions; chunks of chicken emerge seasoned like tandoori pieces themselves. Paneer makhani offers restraint: soft cheese cubes in a mild, slightly sweet cream sauce that appeals to those who find pure spice intimidating. The butter chicken, which appears on weekend buffet plates, coats the palate in a silken tomato reduction that tastes deliberate rather than canned. Naan arrives with crispy edges that shatter slightly, the interior still yielding—particularly the garlic version. Basmati rice comes separate if you order it, grains distinctly separate rather than adhesive, meant to absorb rather than overwhelm the curry's intensity. Multiple visitors note the salt content runs pronounced; portions are generous enough that sharing becomes practical. Weekend and Friday evening buffets operate at lower prices than à la carte dining, though the kitchen still delivers. The dining room carries a muted warmth—chandeliers, proper place settings, an unhurried atmosphere that rewards lingering. For those seeking Indian food that tastes neither diluted nor aggressively foreign, Taj Palace delivers the subtlety of someone who knows the cuisine's actual grammar, not just its vocabulary.