A new Indian eatery is set to open this week on Fifth Avenue in Fifth By Northwest/Grandview, appropriately called Taj on Fifth! We were excited to see the opening, as one of the partners in it is Ajay Kumar, whose family was long history with restaurants in Columbus. His father started Taj Mahal, one of Columbus’ first Indian restaurants, in Old North in 1984. (It was in the old home where Cazuela’s now sits.)
We visited many, many times over the years, enjoying the dinners and their weekend buffets. Ajay was always wonderfully welcoming to our family. When Taj closed in 2013, it was sold to relatives and briefly became Mughal Darbar, while AJ ran AJ’s Cafe downtown where 4th and State is now. But he’s been out of the restaurant business for a while, until he partnered with other folks (including the owners of Everest Cuisine in Worthington) to open Taj on Fifth.
Taj on Fifth occupies the western corner of The View on Fifth, a relatively new development on Fifth Avenue. (In the parking lot behind it is the excellent Moonbird Coffee Co. trailer.) The space has cycled through a couple different concepts already. It features a full bar and dining room, plus a front covered patio.
The bar features a range of beers (including some Indian beers), wines, a selection of scotches, and a signature cocktail list. This is the mango piña colada with Jamaican rum, coconut milk, and mango chutney.
I enjoyed a taste of Brew Kettle’s White Rajah IPA.
We started with a mixed pakora platter, which incorporates lightly fried cauliflower, onion, potato, kale, paneer – served with a pair of cilantro mint and tamarind chutneys.
We also tasted a special starter of fried salmon sticks. Both were nicely seasoned and crispy without being too heavy.
And then we rolled out a quartet of entrees. They’re all served with sides of jasmine rice.
First up, and our clear favorite of the meal, was the dal makhani. The dish consists of black lentils and kidney beans that have been slow simmered with a mix of spices, butter, and cream. It’s wonderfully rich and even a touch smoky. It reminded us of the black dal we’ve had at Dishoom in Edinburgh and in London.
The Mughali beef korma was another hit. It’s slow-cooked with cashews in a cream sauce, and served with half a hard boiled egg.
We enjoyed the saag paneer, too. Cubes of mild saag cheese are cooked in a spinach sauce.
And we can’t go to any Indian restaurant without ordering their version of chicken tikka masala. We enjoyed this take on it, although the sauce was a touch grainy.
And of course we ordered up a couple baskets of garlic naan to scoop it all up!
It was great to see Ajay and crew return to form! We anticipate many more visits, and we hope Taj on Fifth continues the traditions of great Indian food in Columbus.
Taj on Fifth
1021 W. Fifth Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212
(614) 696-4844
Web: tajonfifth.com
FB: Taj on Fifth
IG: @tajonfifth
