Taj Agra

Few Indian restaurants I’ve been to that have attempted to go Establishment or Boutique upmarket have impressed. Overpriced and undervalued for listless, tasteless curries which can be found at your local food court. Give me the cheap and nasty any hour, any day of the week. Sit me on a freakin milk crate and make me eat off my lap, will come with own stainless steel if the food is awesome.

Hungry, tired and sick of Oriental food, Taj Agra was one of the few things in Dickson my party were willing to try. What’s wrong with Ethiopian I ask?

Upon entering through the purple framed glass doors, things didn’t feel quite right. Things were too comfortable, the neutral tan tones splashed on the walls, off white suede upholstered chairs, sharp and clean wooden table tops, wine glasses ready and waiting. It was too much, and too late, we had already been shown our seats.

The usuals appear, from your vindaloos to rogan joshs, butter chickens to kormas and briyani. If the mainstream Indian doesn’t appeal, there’s the Pakistani section to tickle the fancy, though the ordered Pakistani lamb dish used meat that was gristly and seemed about as old as your grandfolks. The rest is pleasant enough though the garlic naan almost charred to the point that could have set off smoke alarms. The price certainly did the customer no favours either; paying a price that did not represent value for the portions presented.

A massive generalisation: places like this share the Establishment flaws, pretending to be something it ain’t with an exterior that hides a distinct lack of substance. Pass me that milk crate from Hyde Park anyday.

1.5 / 5 yums!
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Where? 35 Woolley St, Dickson, ACT
What? Mains Under $16