CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE
Curry! If you love curry you have come to the right island! The Japanese love their curry and according to one 2005 survey they eat it an average of 125 times a year! Here on Okinawa you can sample a whole world of curry: there are Japanese curry places like Coco Ichibanya, curry buffets likeFAB Curry, Tai curry places like SomChai, Indian curry places such as Krishnas, Nepalese curry places like Kasthamandap and many other restaurants feature curry on their menus, too. If you love curry (please say you do!) you won’t lack for the amount or variety of curry on Okinawa!
But there’s always room for more! Taj Okinawa recently opened their doors so we went to try it out. Here’s what we found:
Taj Okinawa, as you may have guessed, is an Indian-style restaurant that, along with many varieties of curry, offers Indian dishes. They had extensive tandoor selections, naan bread, beverages (alcoholic as well as non) and desserts.
We ate there for lunch and the prices ranged from 600 yen (for the children’s set) to 1,100 yen for the largest adult set (which included a beverage and dessert). We each ordered the “C Lunch Set” which included curry, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, naan, soup, salad, desert and soft drink. We could choose the type of curry and soft drink. My husband choose keema mutter and ice Indian milk tea, while I had the curry of the day, which was pork, and lassi. The food was very tasty! Their naan bread was huge and made fresh upon placing our order! The staff were all pleasant and eager to help. The restaurant felt new, clean and spacious. Both menu and staff were very English-friendly.
Directions: One of the best features of this place may be the location. It is easily within walking distance from Kadena’s Gate Two, as close as you can get to base on Gate Two Street. This makes it a viable lunch option for those of us who work on Kadena. Go straight out Gate Two, over 85, and take the first left into a parking lot. Taj Okinawa is just around the corner from China Pete’s. When we went, we parked at the USO and walked, but there is parking in that lot marked for Taj Okinawa.
UPDATE: Taj has expanded to a second location. It is on the north side of 23, between the school gate and 58. The exact address is 北谷町上勢頭544-5.
Hours/Phone: Lunch is served from 1100 – 2200. They take yen, American dollars and credit card. Take out is available. If you would like to call ahead to reserve a table the number is 938-5900.
Great to see how easy this is to get to. And another Curry place is always good. Next time!
There’s another Taj Okinawa down Rt. 23 towards Rt. 58 if you’re coming from Kadena! It’s the same restaurant, but on the main road. They must have expanded. Great review and awesome food!
This is one of our “hey, wanna grab lunch?” staples — it’s always good and the owner is especially welcoming and hospitable. From what I understand they have restaurants on the mainland too. Times I have called in an order for pickup, they go out of their way to pack it up nice and neat and keep the quality of the food for travel. It’s also some of the best naan I’ve had on island; not greasy, not too crisp, but not too doughy…kids can watch them make the naan thru a plexiglass window. Definitely a great spot for a quick lunch – but also wonderful to stick around and chat if you’ve got the time – I’ve never felt rushed either.
I “forced” the hubby to go to lunch here today. He said that he likes Coco’s curry, but doesn’t actually like curry.
I’m happy to say that we’ll both be returning sometime in the future. We both really enjoyed our lunch sets-the naan bread was fabulous. The soup was simple but delicious and we both enjoyed our curry. Our children shared a children’s set and it was plenty of food for them. They even brought juice for both kids with no charge for the extra juice!
Definitely a great lunch spot.
I absolutely LOVE Taj! It’s my favorite Indian restaurant on the island and I have been to almost all of them. They actually have 3 locations on island; one on gate 2, one on route 23, and the other in Naha. I highly recommend the mutton (lamb) curry with naan. It’s FANTASTIC!
thankyou very much for your veiws about us,but I am sorry to inform you that we have no branch at naha as yet.
Awesomeness!
The Taj is a great place to enjoy fresh Naan that you can dip in Masala or one of the many Curries. It is clean, friendly, good service, great food, reasonable prices.
This is my fave Indian restaurant in Okinawa so far. I think the flavor here is the best & the service is good. Today I went back to order some take out & they actually gave me a free lassi while I was waiting!
It’s always good and the owner is especially welcoming and hospitable. From what I understand they have restaurants on the mainland too, It’s FANTASTIC!I absolutely LOVE Taj! It’s my favorite Indian restaurant on the island and I have been to almost all of them.
Great to see how easy this is to get to. And another Curry place is always good. Next time!
Chicken Dhal blew my mind, got that and some bhatura. Saga mutton is also fantastic and any of the curry marinated chicken
Love this place! The food is amazing, and if you want something special, you can ask and it just might be made for you! I highly recommend the lamb chops – they are coated with a really tasty spice and they fall off the bone. Yum!
I just had Taj Okinawa Indian Curry right by eagle lodge and it is AMAZING. I just moved to Okinawa a few days ago but came from the East Coast so I have had my share of Indian and middle eastern foods but honestly, this is the best BEST curry place and the amount of food they give you is plentiful! I asked for the lunch special B and selected the chicken curry and if they could make it spicy. The naan was as wide as their plates (rectangular shaped probably a foot long). The owner and staff were very nice and spoke english, whoo hoo!!! If you are near Kadena or Eagle Lodge or anywhere in Okinawa Chatan area, I highly recommend ditching COCO’s and heading over here. I had COCO’s in LA and also here but they don’t compare plus they are not wallet friendly( COCO’s) at all. We paid 1000Y for soup, salad, drink, bread, curry of your choice as well as a hunk of chicken. Don’t let the menu fool you when it says “one piece of chicken” “one piece of meat.” I was extremely skeptical of this place and so glad my husband forced me to go here. It wasn’t packed at all, until maybe around 4-5 when we were about to leave, where 4-5 families came in right after another.
Please try this place for all you curry and indian food lovers!!! OH and they do take out!
Amazing food, nice atmosphere, friendly staff, and reasonably priced. What are you waiting for go try it! Don’t forget to order the mango lassee!
Love this place. You have to try the samosas and the garlic naan! Mm, mm, mm. I see it from the Habu Trail when I walk every day and it makes me hungry. Nice interior, nice staff, and yummy chicken masala!
Neither the directions or Japanese address above seem to be correct. Can anyone provide updated directions? Thank you