Update

When we went to Maharaja for lunch in February 2002, it was gone.

Original review follows.


Maharaja graphic

Restaurant: Maharaja India Cuisine

Address:
29906-A Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA

Phone: (858) 586-1142

Price Range: $10.75-$14.99 for full dinner including dessert.

Number of visits: 1-5
Last visit before review: February 10, 2001

Randy had: Chicken tikka masala (thali dinner), iced tea.

Jeff had: Lamb curry (thali dinner), iced tea.

Thali dinner included: nan (Indian bread), sambar (thick lentil soup), rasam (thin tamarind soup), dahal (lentil curry), entree, vegetable korma (instead of rice), and ice cream made of kheer (rice pudding). Dessert varies daily. It is interestingly presented in small steel bowls on a larger steel plate. We also got chutneys: coconut, red, and tamarind sauce.

Rating
8 chunks
8
(of 12)
Good
Randy says: I found the chicken tough and the lamb salty. The iced tea was from a mix and it was awful, just awful. But the chutneys were very good. The tamarind sauce was sweet but with a little kick. The coconut chutney tasted like humus, and the red was tomato based and tasted not unlike marinara sauce.

Jeff says: I didn't think the iced tea intolerable. I didn't find the lamb especially salty or the chicken especially tough, and I found the sauces they were cooked in very flavorful. The vegetable korma was a little too spicy for me. Next time we'll have to remember to ask for it mild. I like the thali dinner because I love soups. The thick lentil soup was wonderful and it reminded me of my grandmother's thick pea soup. The thin tamarind soup was spicy and made my eyes water, but it's good. I like the nan at Maharaja better than any I've had elsewhere so far because it has a rich taste and is not dry. The rice pudding ice cream was very rich and unusual.

The service at Maharaja can be slow. We've seen people waiting for service at a table get up and walk out. Service on this visit was only slightly slow, but the waiter was very accommodating to our request to substitute a vegetable dish for the rice and to try several of the chutneys.

The times we have visited, there have not been very many people, so the atmosphere was pleasantly quiet.

Besides the thali dinners, you can get the usual traditional Indian dishes such as tandooris and birianis, which we have not tried at Maharaja. They also have Madras specialties such as dosas (crepes made with lentil and stuffed with vegetables) and idli (steamed bread). We have not tried these yet, but a friend of Jeff's who is from that part of India recommends them. She says, however, that the quality at Maharaja has declined recently. She says there used to be an Indian woman who cooked there, but now you see more non-Indian staff.

In summary, while the food at Maharaja is not excellent, the variety and presentation merit a visit, and we plan to go back.

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